Here we are at number six, the Half-Blood Prince! I can’t believe we’re already here. Erica & I were speaking about how we don’t even want to start Deathly Hallows because we don’t want this to end! It truly has been so magical re-visting our favorite series. Honestly I’m still just in awe at how much depth and intricacy is built into these plotlines, they are so well done and just complete, magical, shocking, inspiring, emotional stories that truly are so relatable and hit you all in the feels!

If you’re just joining us on this post, at the beginning of this year, my friend Erica Haskett & I decided to re-read all the Harry Potter books and follow up each novel with a blog post, highlight all the inspirational life lessons we can take away from key moments!

Now here we are at Half-Blood Prince!

First of all, I love this one (I mean, I love all of them hahaha but especially this one) the teenage love triangles, Voldemort’s backstory, a Draco-centric plotline, SNAPE AND DUMBELDORE AT THE END, it’s so well done. There’s so many subtle intricacies that really set the stage for an amazing finale. I remember reading this for the first time back in 2005 as a freshman in high school and being so shocked at the twist at the end that Snape really was on the dark side. However, once you’ve read Deathly Hallows and know the truth about Snape and how he really was the best double agent of all time, it gives Half-Blood Prince such a new meaning. Instead of seeing that Snape is angry and hateful, you see that he’s conflicted and hurt about Dumbledore, and really just trying to do his duty to not only help out his friend Dumbledore, but to honor Lilly, whom he everlastingly loved. That’s one thing I love about Harry Potter is that the characters have such depth. So many of them like Snape and Draco you keep second guessing, but this is the turning point where you start to see a new side to them. As a Slytherin myself, I love this because it proves that the stereotype that Slytherin’s are “evil” isn’t true. They’re ambitious and emotional and flawed but brave, like all humans really. Everyone has layers and you don’t really know a person until you truly get to really know them.

So, let’s get into it then, shall we?

Here’s mine and Erica’s takes on Half-Blood Prince!

Erica Rose, House Slytherin

First off, I just want to say that Severus Snape is proof that it’s never too late for your dream job! LOL. Our man Snape wanted that Defense Against the Dark Arts position for what? 16, 17 years? He could’ve just relegated to the fact that it would never happen and he’d stay in his dungeon forever, but no I think deep down he never gave up hope, and finally nearly two decades later he received the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Proof, it’s never ever too late. Don’t give up on your dream job even if it feels like it’s taking forever beaus you just never know. It can still always happen for you!

My next takeaway is that I was blown away and actually kind of mad about how mean Ginny, Hermione, and Molly were to Fleur! So, if you remember, Fleur is engaged to Bill, so she’s spending time at the Burrow, just trying to get to know the Weasleys and spend time with the family of the man she loves … and those three women are SO mean to her for literally no reason! Ginny calls her Phlegm 😢 And it’s so very obvious that they’re only mean because they’re so jealous of her! She’s beautiful and ambitious and that just triggers something within them. Hermione even scoffs and says that Fleur isn’t that intelligent, but I love that Harry claps back and says Fleur is clearly smart because she was the Beuxbatons champion of the Triwizard Tournament.

This whole scene really stood out to me because in the past in one of my corporate jobs, there was one older girl who was so mean to me and it was clearly because I was everything she was not. She was jealous that I got a promotion because I had design skills she didn’t have, and jealous that I dressed nicer and was kinder, and she even tried to turn a few of the other women against me. I clearly see now she hated me for no reason other than jealously (also confirmed by a few other people in that office who said its as obvious as well). I’ve also had other women, usually middle-aged women unfortunately, who I now recognize were unhappy with their own bodies, accuse me of having an eating disorder because I’m skinny. Women just need to stop hating on women who are what they wish they were and instead celebrate each other! We need to support each other, cheer each other on, and appreciate our gifts, talents, beauty because we’re all uniquely beautiful and wonderful in our own way.

I do love in the end that after Bill gets attacked and disfigured by Fenrir Greenback, Fleur stands up for herself against Molly after Molly believes Fleur will leave Bill because he’s no longer handsome. Fleur tells her of course she’d still love Bill, she’s not shallow, he’s an amazing man, and I love that she says “I’m good looking enough for both of us!” and only then does Mrs. Weasley finallyaccept Fleur and realize she’s great. Fleur is not only super beautiful, but she’s so strong, and smart, and loyal, and truly does have a great heart. She absolutely does not deserve all the unnecessary hate and jealously.

This really is a novel with SO much jealously. Ron scoffs over the Slug Club (Because Harry, Hermione, and Ginny are all invited and he’s not), he calls it pathetic - again, being so obviously jealous he’s excluded. Hermione gets mad at Harry for outperforming her in potions (not a good friend!). Ron only dates Lavender Brown because Ginny teases him about being the only one to have never kissed someone which makes him feel embarrassed and again, jealous of the others. People are upset with Harry for picking Dean and Ron for the Gryffindor Quidditch team saying it’s unfair - again people just lashing out because they’re jealous.

Harry even acknowledges that if the team won, everyone would swear they knew all along it was going to be a great team and stop criticizing his choices. Which proves, people will always have something to say. You just have to let go of other’s opinions and do what you know is right. Trust your gut and don’t let the hater’s bring you down!

As for jealously, I think we can all work a little bit on our jealously meter. It’s a very normal human reaction, but it so very much pops up and truly creates so much conflict between people - and yet it’s so unnecessary. Next time you find yourself going to feel jealous over something, stop and ask yourself why? Why does someone else having that make you feel inadequate or why it makes you feel like because they have it, you can’t have it? Remind yourself we live in an abundant universe and absolutely everything is possible for you. Like I always say, when you see others achieving or having something you want, all it is is proof it’s on your frequency and therefore possible for you too!

Speaking of appreciating people, I love, love love when the Gryffindors are meeting with Professor McGonagall to discuss their 6th year schedule and Neville admits that his grandmother has been pressuring him to take or not take certain classes and McGonagall says, “Your Grandmother needs to stop ignoring the grandson she wishes she had and appreciate the one she has!” Acknowledging all the amazing things Neville did a few months earlier battling Death Eaters in the Ministry.

You tell ‘em Minerva!

We need to see people for who they truly are, not what we wish they were! Just the same, we need to recognize that sometimes people (like parents or guardians) will put so much pressure on us to be their version of success, but the truth is, we are perfectly great and amazing just as we are, just by being fully, 100% us! Don’t let someone’s disapproval what you’re not take away from all the incredible things that you are!

This is true for Luna Lovegood as well. Ron admits that Luna has grown on him and he actually enjoys her uniqueness now. While at first he thought she was odd, he know appreciates all that she is. This is something I experienced first hand going to art school in the city (New York City) for college. I’m going to be honest, at first there were a bunch of people who high school Erica would’ve thought was weird or wouldn’t have wanted to be seen associating with, but the more I got to know certain people, I realized that they were awesome souls; that they were so refreshingly unique, and I appreciated and adored their ability to be 100% themselves. Going to art school truly taught me you can’t judge a person by the way they dress or how many colors are in their hair or by the seemingly dorky hobbies they like, because if you really get to know someone, you’ll most likely see what a wonderful gem of a human being they are.

So just like Ron with Luna, remember even people who may seem super odd, may grow on you the more you get to know them! It’s really true to not judge a book by it’s cover, because everyone has depth, everyone has soul, and underneath it all, majority of people actually are fantastic.

Speaking of depth of character, let’s talk Draco. I love Draco Malfoy and yes I will fully admit it’s 100% because of Tom Felton, my first celebrity crush. I remember watching Chamber of Secrets in 2002 as an 11 year old thinking “that is the cutest boy I have ever seen!” LOL. I’ll admit, book Draco is not as great as movie Draco because he doesn’t have Tom’s charm and he’s truly so mean to the others.

BUT I love his story because it shows he really is a product of his environment. Sometimes people are the way they are because of what they’ve experienced and how they’ve been raised. Draco is proof that his meanness was never about actually disliking Harry and the others (remember he even tried to befriend Harry in book one!) it was always because he learned meanness. Lucius was cruel to everyone and definitely mean to Draco so that was Draco’s example of what a man should be. He adapted his father’s ways because hurt people hurt people. Draco liked to act powerful and tough because that’s how his father acted.

But in this book, we finally see the human side of Draco. We hear from Moaning Myrtle that Draco had been crying from the pressure Voldemort was putting on him to perform his task. In the final scene with Dumbeldore, atop the astronomy tower, Draco even admits to Dumbledore the pressure on him was so high, and that he was scared of what Voldemort would do to do him should he fail. Draco begins to lower his wand, he was never going to kill Dumbledore, and if he Death Eaters hadn’t barged in, Draco was seriously about to accept Dumbledore’s offer to get him and his mother into hiding to protect them.

In this book, Draco realizes that he’s in with the wrong crowd. He truly is just a product of his environment. He acts tough, but deep down is so scared and hurt, and it’s proof that people aren’t always as put together as they seem. The “School bully” in your life is most likely a bully because they’re just as scared and hurt on the inside as Draco clearly always was.

Harry even pities Draco after the fact and wonders what would become of him and his parents.

Draco really does have a great arc in that he breaks away from the childhood abuse, the limiting beliefs instilled upon him by his parents, as the walls around him start to crumble down, realizing he’s on the wrong side. I do love in Deathly Hallows how he and his family really kind of trade sides, showing that even Lucius and Narcissa (who is a Queen for lying to Voldemort to save Harry) have evolved and grown. Draco and Harry even nod at each other respectfully in the epilogue all those years later, which to me I can only assume that means Draco has grown even more and recognizes he was a brat kid but has done better to be better.

Now, my favorite metaphor, in all of Harry Potter, exists in this very book! Felix Felicis, or rather, Liquid Luck! If you take any piece of this blog with you, make sure it’s this one!

Before the Quidditch Match, Harry pretends to slip Ron liquid luck. Thinking he actually took it, Ron goes out there and has the best match of his life. He saves nearly everything, he wins the match! He even gets a girlfriend after the match LOL. Ron is lucky because he BELIEVES he’s lucky! He didn’t actually take the potion, it was all him, and all his mindset. The truth is you will receive and achieve whatever you believe is possible for you! Ron, previously, got too in his head about Quidditch and that’s usually why he failed miserably every match. But now, thinking and knowing luck was on his side, he performed phenomenally! So, pretend you took some liquid luck, pretend that you know without a doubt everything will go your way, and sure enough that’s one of the best ways to manifest and make it actually so!

I also really love when Harry actually takes Liquid Luck! He’s trying to get the memory from Slughorn, but because of the potion, he feels the urge to go to Hagrid’s. So he does and of course we know that leads him to running into Slughorn and finally getting the memory! He knew that by following his intuition it would lead him to his desired result somehow. He didn’t question why his gut told him to do something, he just trusted and acted upon it and that is what led him to success.

So, again, treat everyday like you just took a swig of Felix Felicis! Set your intention to what you want, but then trust your gut with everything you’ve got. Don’t question those intuitive nudges that pop up for you. They’re clues from the Universe, leading you and directing you to best get what you want in the easiest way possible. Remember, like Harry, you don’t need to know how you’ll get there, you just need to know that you will somehow! And that should be enough to just fully trust and follow and have faith that luck truly is always on your side!

At the end of the novel, upon learning the prophecy that Harry either has to kill Voldemort of vice versa, Dumbedlore talks to him about being prepared and having choices. “The difference is between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people perhaps would say there was little choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew & so do I, thought Harry, and so did my parents, there was all the difference in the world.”

This to me stands out because it’s true with any aspect of life. Life is really hard some times and painful and it hurts, but we can either let life scare us and be forced to face it, or we can go forth, with our head held high, knowing we are strong enough, capable enough, and being brave enough to face any challenge. It’s okay to be scared, but at the end of it, you always have to muster up your courage and know that the best things come from leaving our comfort zone, and that the best things come when we face our fears, and the best things come when we take control of our destiny and choose courage.

Finally, at Dumbledore’s funeral, Harry realized there was so much he never asked Dumbledore or said to him which I think is a good reminder to always say and ask and cherish the people in your life bc you never know how long you have together. Appreciate every moment and never hold back, in the words of that John Mayer song: “say what you need to say!” <3

Erica Haskett, House Hufflepuff

Okay so book 6. The Half Blood Prince. Up until this read, I never truly appreciated how well laid out this particular book is, or how accurate the movie is to it (aside from the Weasley’s house catching on fire in the movie-what the actual hell was that all about?😂). HBP was never one of my favorites, but after this read I definitely have a new level of respect for it, and there are ssooo many life lessons in it and just so many good things about it-particularly where potion is concerned. Let’s dive in.

First off, we gotta talk about Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. A complete and utterly successful manifestation if I’ve ever seen one. They chased their dreams fearlessly and boyyy did it pay off! I love love looove walking into the joke shop for the first time and I extra love that the first new thing we’re introduced to in the shop is the patented daydream charms. “One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream…” It sounds to me like a very blissful meditative experience and I would absolutely love to try it. Just mutter a little incantation and set sail on a remarkable adventure of your wildest dreams all from the comfort of wherever you are–a divine experience I’m sure.

Then we move onto potions. Amortentia and Liquid Luck are two of the most intriguing potions of the whole Harry Potter series, along with a potion that’s an elixir to induce euphoria that’s sunshine yellow. First, amortentia. I love that there are love potions, and I equally love that there’s a potion that makes you incredibly lucky for a day. Amortentia is supposed to smell differently to every person according to what attracts each person, and I don’t know about you but I find that to be deeply interesting. I love a lot of things so I’m not exactly sure what I would smell, but I imagine linseed oil, some sort of candle scent, and maybe like warm brownies or cookies hahaha idk just throwing out the first few distinct smells that come to mind that I love. And it’s interesting but makes perfect sense that the most powerful love potion in the world smells differently to every person because we’re all attracted to and love different things. I am so intrigued by what this potion would smell like and how it would make me feel. I can imagine it being a powerful manifestation tool, especially for true love, but I can also imagine it being very tricky and confusing to whoever takes it since it doesn’t create actual love. All in all I think it’d be a fun potion to experience.

And then there’s liquid luck. The most intriguing potion of all. A sublime, perfect, completely in the vortex day to whoever drinks it. I’ve had a few extremely powerful, perfect days like the one Harry experiences after taking liquid luck, and man oh man to get my hands on a potion that could make everyday like that? MAGICAL. Of course, any day can be that magical if you just believe it to be so. Like Ron when he thought he had taken liquid luck. He didn’t have a single drop of it but he believed he had, so he accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish that day. He manifested a perfect day without a drop of LL, and you and I can do that to every single day. It’s all about mindset. Asking, believing, and receiving day in and day out. And then just flowing as much as possible. Watching it all unfold and having fun with it all. Harry had the most fun time ever when taking liquid luck hahaha I loved getting to read and experience what he was experiencing. How wonderful he felt. How confident he was that everything was going to go his way. How easy everything was. How he just flooded and followed his intuition without any doubts at all. Everything about liquid luck this whole book was so powerful and I loved it ssooo much. Such a good life lesson that you can do, be and achieve anything you set your mind to you just have to believe! Believe you’re lucky and you will be. Believe everything you desire can happen for you and it will–whether you’ve drunk liquid luck or not.

The third less talked about potion is a potion to induce euphoria. It’s said to be sunshine yellow, and though we don’t know much about it I looove the thought of a sunshine yellow potion that makes me feel all euphoric. That’s a very Erica potion hahaha and another one I would absolutely try.

Another thing that stood out to me was the apparition lessons. Destination, determination, deliberation. This again reminds of manifesting because they are literally manifesting and attracting where they’re going through their minds. They focus firmly on their destinations, let their desire to go their fill them up completely with determination, and then turn on the spot and feel their way into nothingness directly to their desire with deliberation. Again, no fear, no doubts, just destination, determination, deliberation. Easy enough, right? Trust yourself and focus on the outcome, and you’ll get to wherever you want to go. If only we could really apparatus haha that’s my dream superpower-teleportation. Think of all the time I’d save and places I’d get to go!!

Okay last thing I want to talk about is the whole concept of love that Dumbledore explains to Harry in regards to the prophecy and Harry’s fate. I love how simply Dumbledore breaks down that Harry doesn’t have to do anything the prophecy says. That he’s not bound to see it through. That he can still choose to do whatever he wants to do, that he has this power because of how pure his heart his. Because of his ability to love. I love the confidence it gave Harry knowing that his battle with Voldemort was his own choosing. That is sooo powerful and so true to each and everyone one of us in every situation. We have the power to choose always. To love, to hurt, to fight, to move on, to do literally whatever we want to do. It doesn’t matter what anyone else wants us to do or tells us to do, we can choose. We can choose to follow in the wake of the things that have made us suffer and become one of the people that we’ve never liked, OR we can choose differently. We can choose to carve a new path and follow our hearts and act in love. We. Can. Choose. How freakin powerful is that?!