Liquid Luck!

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince is the penultimate segment of this enchanting series. First published in 2005, and selling 9 million copies in the first 24 hours alone, there is no surprise that it is just as thrilling as the 6 other books. The film adaptation released in 2009 with familiar faces provides us with a further 2 and 1/2 hours of visual Potter head madness!

The first scene I want to discuss in this film is Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes. This scene is full of fun, colour and chaos. It also provides some comic relief in what is otherwise quite a dark start to the movie. The scene in fact does exactly what Ron says shortly after it, “Fred reckons people need a laugh these days” this line truly resembles the previous scene that appeared only seconds before, it then leads the audience back to darkness. The bright colours of the shop, purple and orange are extremely bubbly and out there, almost representing the twins and their personalities, this is a big contrast to the rest of the deserted damaged Diagon Alley. The rest of the Alley signifies the rest of the magical world at that moment, depressing, scary and lonely. We also ‘meet’ new characters Lavender Brown and Cormac McLaggen, as well as learning that Ginny Weasley is dating fellow Gryffindor student Dean Thomas.

Another great scene within this movie, is the first Gryffindor Quidditch match. This is Ron’s time to shine, for years he has been competing with not only his siblings but also his two successful best friends. Although he is unaware that Harry has tricked him into believing he has drank liquid luck, his pure talent and strength win the game. He is hailed a hero upon his return to the common room and is the centre of attention, he even gets ‘the girl’ something we are lead to believe he has wanted for a while and links us back to his first year dream in the Mirror of Erised. This scene represents all young adults who not only feel inadequate but who doubt themselves. You really can do anything you want to, as long as you try. This is another great lesson that the franchise teaches its audience.

The final scene I want to talk about is the death of Dumbledore. I personally feel that the death of Albus Dumbledore is a firm end to Harry’s childhood. Although not the first death of the second wizarding world, he is one of the more significant as he is often refereed to as ‘The Greatest Sorcerer in the world’ and therefore if he has been killed and couldn’t stop it happening then really what hope does the rest of the magical world now have? As well as asks the question, how will Harry cope now his idol has gone? When the loyal students and colleagues gather around his body, and shine their wands to the sky, this highlights their innocence within all of this. All of them wearing varied brighter colours as opposed to the death eaters who flee the school and were all in black. This clearly shows the split between the now two very separate sides.

At the very end of this book and movie, we are again reminded of the relationships that Harry has with Ron and Hermione. They are really all he has left alongside his girlfriend Ginny. His presumption that he would have to continue to fight on his own proves how courageous he really is as a character. Ron and Hermione have no objection in joining him in continuing what Dumbledore started and this shows the ultimate friendship. A friendship we all have grown to love and want to be a part of!