As Lord Voldemort's grip tightens on both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, Harry Potter and Dumbledore work to unlock the key to the Dark Lord's immortality, while a mysterious textbook reveals dark secrets and teenage romance blooms at Hogwarts.
Synopsis
Voldemort's Death Eaters are wreaking havoc openly, and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. As Harry Potter begins his sixth year, he suspects that new dangers lie within the castle walls, specifically surrounding his rival Draco Malfoy. While Headmaster Dumbledore prepares Harry for the inevitable final battle by exploring Voldemort's dark past and memories, Harry discovers an old potions textbook belonging to the "Half-Blood Prince" that teaches him dangerous spells. Amidst the rising darkness, teenage hormones run rampant, complicating the lives and loves of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United Kingdom
United States |
Premiere date |
July 15, 2009 |
Running time |
153 minutes |
Genre |
Adventure
Fantasy |
Budget |
$250,000,000 |
Box Office |
$934,400,000 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
David Yates |
Produced by |
David Heyman David Barron |
Written by |
Steve Kloves |
Music by |
Nicholas Hooper |
Cinematography |
Bruno Delbonnel |
Edited by |
Mark Day |
Production Co. |
Heyday Films |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #06 in Harry Potter Collection
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The Plot
Recruiting the Potions Master
As Voldemort tightens his grip on both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Before the start of the 1996–1997 school year, sixteen-year-old Harry Potter accompanies Albus Dumbledore to the temporary hideout of Professor Horace Slughorn. Slughorn, a well-connected bon vivant, has been in hiding, fearful of the Death Eaters. Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague to resume his post as Potions Master at Hogwarts, believing Slughorn holds information crucial to the fight against the Dark Lord. After securing Slughorn's agreement, Dumbledore uses magic to repair the damage Slughorn had inflicted on the house as part of his disguise.
Following this successful recruitment, Dumbledore takes Harry to The Burrow. Here, Harry is reunited with his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as well as Ron’s younger sister, Ginny Weasley. Amidst the warmth of the Weasley home, Harry voices a dark suspicion: he believes that Voldemort has initiated Draco Malfoy into the ranks of the Death Eaters to replace his disgraced father, Lucius. However, both Ron and Hermione remain skeptical of this theory.
Ambush on the Hogwarts Express
On the journey to school aboard the Hogwarts Express, Harry decides to investigate his suspicions. Using his Invisibility Cloak, he sneaks into the Slytherin carriage and climbs onto the baggage shelf, eavesdropping on Draco Malfoy. Harry hopes to remain undetected, but Draco notices a disturbance. Once the train arrives at Hogsmeade and the other students—including Ron and Hermione—have disembarked, Draco lingers behind. He casts Petrificus Totalus on the invisible Harry, freezing him instantly.
Draco pulls the cloak off his paralyzed rival and violently stomps on Harry's face, breaking his nose. Before leaving him hidden under the cloak again, Draco sneers, "Enjoy the ride back to London." Harry is left helpless until his eccentric friend, Luna Lovegood, wanders into the carriage. Using her Spectrespecs, she locates Harry, claiming his head is full of "Wrackspurts." Luna casts the counter-spell Finite to lift Draco's curse, allowing Harry to fix his nose and accompany her to the school gates.
The Half-Blood Prince and the New Curriculum
Upon arriving at the castle, Dumbledore makes a startling announcement during the welcome feast: Severus Snape has finally been appointed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, while Horace Slughorn will take over the Potions position. Dumbledore also grimly explains that security has been tightened, noting that students were searched upon entry due to Voldemort's return to power.
In their first Potions class, Harry and Ron find themselves without textbooks. They borrow old copies from the cupboard. Harry receives a battered copy inscribed with the property of "The Half-Blood Prince." This mysterious owner has filled the margins with handwritten annotations, spell corrections, and shortcuts. By following these instructions rather than the official text, Harry excels in the class, even surpassing Hermione, and wins a vial of Felix Felicis (Liquid Luck).
Memories of Tom Riddle
Throughout the term, Dumbledore begins private lessons with Harry, which involve viewing memories in the Pensieve. He shows Harry the childhood of Tom Riddle at the orphanage where he was raised, highlighting the boy's early cruelty and solitude. Dumbledore reveals the ultimate goal of these sessions: Slughorn possesses a specific, tampered memory that is critical to defeating Voldemort, and it is Harry's task to retrieve the true version.
Teenage Heartbreak and the Attack on the Burrow
Outside the classroom, teenage hormones cause turmoil. Ron becomes the Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and begins a highly public romantic relationship with Lavender Brown. This leaves Hermione disconsolate and simmering with jealousy, though she tries to hide her pain. Harry, meanwhile, finds himself increasingly drawn to Ginny Weasley, though he struggles with his feelings as she dates Dean Thomas. In a moment of vulnerability, Harry consoles Hermione, admitting his own feelings for Ginny.
Harry spends the Christmas holidays with the Weasleys, but the festivities are violently interrupted. On Christmas Eve, Bellatrix Lestrange and the werewolf Fenrir Greyback launch a surprise attack, setting fire to The Burrow. The Weasleys and Harry are forced to watch as their home burns, marking an escalation in the war.
Poisoned Mead and the Sectumsempra Curse
Back at Hogwarts, tragedy nearly strikes again on Ron's birthday. Ron accidentally consumes a box of chocolates spiked with a love potion meant for Harry by Romilda Vane. Harry takes him to Slughorn's office for a cure. After Ron is cured, Slughorn offers them a toast with oak-matured mead. However, the mead—originally intended as a gift for Dumbledore—is poisoned. Ron collapses and is nearly killed. While recovering in the hospital wing, Ron unconsciously murmurs Hermione's name, signaling the end of his relationship with Lavender Brown.
Tensions reach a breaking point when Harry confronts Draco Malfoy in a bathroom. The two duel, and Harry, in a panic, casts a spell he learned from the Half-Blood Prince's book: Sectumsempra. The curse slashes Draco across the chest, inflicting severe, bloody wounds. Snape arrives suddenly, quickly healing Draco to save his life. Terrified that the book contains more Dark Magic, Harry and Ginny agree to hide it in the Room of Requirement. In the quiet of the room, they share their first kiss.
The Horcrux Revelation
Empowered by a dose of Felix Felicis, Harry finally succeeds in persuading Slughorn to surrender the true memory. Viewing it with Dumbledore, they learn that a young Tom Riddle had asked Slughorn about Horcruxes—dark objects used to enclose parts of a wizard's soul to attain immortality. Voldemort sought to create not one, but seven Horcruxes. Dumbledore confirms that two have already been destroyed: Tom Riddle's Diary and Marvolo Gaunt's Ring. They must now hunt the remaining fragments.
The Cave and the Lightning-Struck Tower
Having located a potential Horcrux, Harry and Dumbledore travel to a desolate seaside cave. Inside, they find a basin filled with a glowing potion. To reach the locket at the bottom, Harry is forced to feed the torture-inducing liquid to Dumbledore, who begs for it to stop. Once the potion is gone, Dumbledore is severely weakened. When he attempts to drink water from the surrounding lake, an army of Inferi (undead corpses) attacks. Dumbledore summons a firestorm to drive them back, and they retrieve the locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin before Apparating back to the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts.
Upon their return, they discover the school has been infiltrated. Draco Malfoy, aided by a Vanishing Cabinet he repaired, has smuggled Bellatrix, Greyback, and other Death Eaters into the castle. Dumbledore instructs Harry to hide below the floorboards. Draco bursts in and disarms Dumbledore, causing the Elder Wand's allegiance to shift to him. Draco reveals he was chosen by Voldemort to kill the Headmaster but hesitates, unable to cast the killing curse.
Snape arrives on the tower, silencing Harry with a gesture before ascending. He steps forward and casts Avada Kedavra, blasting Dumbledore off the tower to his death. As Bellatrix conjures the Dark Mark in the sky, the Death Eaters flee.
The Flight of the Prince
Harry pursues Snape and Draco across the grounds. In a rage, Harry attempts to use the Sectumsempra curse against Snape, but Snape effortlessly deflects his attacks. Before escaping, Snape sneers at Harry for using his own spells against him, revealing that he is the Half-Blood Prince. He leaves Harry behind and vanishes into the night.
Harry returns to the castle, joining Hagrid, the staff, and the students who have gathered at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. They mournfully stare at Dumbledore's broken body. Harry approaches, stroking Dumbledore’s hair and placing a hand on his heart. Ginny joins him, offering silent comfort as he weeps. One by one, led by McGonagall, the students and teachers—including Luna, Ron, and Hermione—raise their lit wands to the sky, extinguishing the Dark Mark.
The Fake Locket and the Final Vow
In the aftermath, Harry reveals a devastating truth to Ron and Hermione: the locket they risked everything to retrieve is a fake. Inside, a note signed by "R.A.B." states that the real Horcrux was stolen with the intent of destroying it. Realizing the immense task ahead, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide not to return to Hogwarts for their final year. Instead, they vow to stick together to seek out and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, determined to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.
