THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE IS THE OFFICIAL TITLE

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Yes they could. Hermione should figure it out anyday now... I hope...

[sunnygal]

maybe the longbottom parents are undercover at St. Mungo's. all the doctors think they are a hopeless case so they hang around searching for clues. and they try to give neville hints when they know something, like the bubblegum wrapper.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

That's an idea.... They could even make themselves look horribly unhealthy. It's a terrible sacrifice though.

[gary]

Yes, that does make sense

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

But you would think they'd reveal the fact that they're ok to order members and to their own son.

[sunnygal]

dunno, it might be too risky...?

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Revealing it to people in the order wouldn't be risky, order people know how to handle top secret info.

[Celinra]

Maybe they've just never had a chance to reveal it to other Order people without anyone else finding out (i.e. there's always someone else, such as a hospital worker, closeby).

[ineedyourhelp]

I think its very unlikely, but its still a possibility. Maybe the Order does know, but they dont tell Neville because it would hurt him to much. Him thinking his parents were like that all these years and they really werent.

[ineedyourhelp]

Rowling announces that Arthur Weasley is NOT the new Minister of Magic, Tom Riddle and Voldy are the same person so Riddle is NOT the HBP. And the way Cos and HBP are related is not because of the prince, its because of something Harry discovers in Cos that has to do with HBP.

[Celinra]

That was an extremely helpful update.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Ineedyourhelp said:

Rowling announces that Arthur Weasley is NOT the new Minister of Magic, Tom Riddle and Voldy are the same person so Riddle is NOT the HBP. And the way Cos and HBP are related is not because of the prince, its because of something Harry discovers in Cos that has to do with HBP.

Thanks so much for the update! But WHAT?!?!?!?! NO ARTHUR MINISTER?? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Celinra]

Because I'm bored...

Will Arthur Weasley be the new Minister for Magic?
Alas, no.

Why are some people in the wizarding world (e.g., Harry) called 'half-blood' even though both their parents were magical?
The expressions 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'Muggle-born' have been coined by people to whom these distinctions matter, and express their originators' prejudices. As far as somebody like Lucius Malfoy is concerned, for instance, a Muggle-born is as 'bad' as a Muggle. Therefore Harry would be considered only 'half' wizard, because of his mother's grandparents.

If you think this is far-fetched, look at some of the real charts the Nazis used to show what constituted 'Aryan' or 'Jewish' blood. I saw one in the Holocaust Museum in Washington when I had already devised the 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'Muggle-born' definitions, and was chilled to see that the Nazis used precisely the same warped logic as the Death Eaters. A single Jewish grandparent 'polluted' the blood, according to their propaganda.

Is Tom Riddle the Half-Blood Prince?
Well, as Tom Riddle is the same person as Voldemort, and Voldemort is NOT the Half-Blood Prince… do I really need to answer this?

In what way is 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' related to 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'?
I have been engulfed by an avalanche of questions on the subject of 'Prince' having once been a title of 'Chamber'. I am therefore attempting to answer most of them under this heading, which I think just about covers all the answerable variations (the unanswerable ones include questions such as 'who's the Half-Blood Prince?' 'what happens in the Half-Blood Prince?' and 'what does Half-Blood Prince mean?')

The plot of 'Prince' bears no resemblance whatsoever to the plot of 'Chamber', nor is it an off-cut of 'Chamber'. The story of 'Prince' takes off where 'Phoenix' ended and does not hark back to four years previously. True, mention is made to events that happened in 'Chamber,' but of course, mention is also made of events that happened in 'Stone', 'Azkaban', 'Goblet' and 'Phoenix'.

'The Half-Blood Prince' might be described as a strand of the overall plot. That strand could be used in a whole variety of ways and back in 1997 I considered weaving it into the story of 'Chamber'. It really didn't fit there, though; it was not part of the story of the basilisk and Riddle's diary, and before long I accepted that it would be better to do it justice in book six. I clung to the title for a while, even though all trace of the 'Prince' storyline had disappeared, because I liked it so much (yes, I really like this title!). I re-christened book two 'Chamber of Secrets' when I started the second draft.

The link I mentioned between books two and six does not, in fact, relate to the 'Half-Blood Prince' (because there is no trace left of the HBP storyline in 'Chamber'.) Rather, it relates to a discovery Harry made in 'Chamber' that foreshadows something that he finds out in 'Prince'.

What is the significance, if any, of Mark Evans?
I couldn't answer the poll question before now, because I've been making arrangements to take my family into hiding. It takes time to arrange fake passports, one-way air tickets to Bolivia and twenty-four hour armed security.

Why should I resort to such desperate measures? Because after you've heard this answer, I'll have to disappear for my own safety.

Now before I get down to it (you can guess what's coming, can't you?) I am going to put up a feeble pre-emptive defence. Firstly, you were all spinning highly ingenious theories about Mark Evans, so I thought that you would welcome the chance to hear the truth about him. Secondly, I tried hard not to raise hopes or expectations by adding the crucial words 'if any' to the question. Thirdly... there is no thirdly. I'm just killing time.

(Takes deep breath)

Mark Evans is... nobody. He's nobody in the sense that Mr. Prentice, Madam Marsh and Gordon-Dudley's-gang-member are nobodies, just background people who need names, but who have no role other than the walk-on parts assigned to them.
(Checks that Neil has immunized the dog and that Jessica has packed her Gameboy, and continues)

I've got nobody to blame but myself. Sirius Black, Mrs. Figg and Mundungus Fletcher were all mentioned in passing well before they burst onto the stage as fully-fledged characters, so now you've all become too clever, not for your own good, but for mine. The fact is that once you drew my attention to it, I realised that Mark Evans did indeed look like one of those 'here he is, just a casual passer-by, nothing to worry about, bet you barely noticed him' characters who would suddenly become, half way through book seven, 'Ha ha! Yes, Mark Evans is back, suckers, and he's the key to everything! He's the Half Blood Prince, he's Harry's Great-Aunt, he's the Heir of Gryffindor, he lives up the Pillar of Storgé and he owns the Mystic Kettle of Nackledirk!' (Possible title of book seven there, must make a note of it).

Then why – WHY – (I hear you cry) – did I give him the surname “Evans”? Well, believe me, you can't regret it more than I do right now. “Evans” is a common name; I didn't give it much thought; I wasn't even trying to set up another red herring. I could just as easily have called him 'Smith' or 'Jones' (or 'Black' or 'Thomas' or 'Brown', all of which would have got me into trouble too).

What else can I say? Many of the theories you presented were highly plausible. If you knew how often I've checked the FAQ poll hoping that one of the other questions might edge into the lead...

Well, that's that. The car with false license plates is at the door and I've got to glue on my goatee. Goodbye.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Thanks for the interview Celinra! I never really thought Mark Evans was important anyway... But no Arthur as minister? AHHHH!

[ineedyourhelp]

I kinda knew that Arthur wouldnt be the Minister. I think my top choice to actually be minister could be Percy. JKR's thrown lots of surprises at us. I think once Percy becomes Minister hell apologize with his parents.