August 21, 2024
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Book and Movie Differences
Read about the main differences between Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book and movie, from plot omissions to character changes and new scenes!
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Chapter 1: The Other Minister
Movie |
Book |
The Death Eaters are depicted assaulting Diagon Alley and abducting Ollivander. |
The attack and abduction are only briefly noted. |
The Millennium Bridge is attacked, but all Muggles manage to get away safely. |
The Death Eaters destroy the Brockdale Bridge, resulting in the deaths of 50 Muggles. |
This is not depicted. |
A scene from Fudge’s perspective depicts him discussing Voldemort’s return with the Muggle Prime Minister and others. |
At the start, Harry is sitting in a diner reading the Daily Prophet when a Muggle waitress starts flirting with him. |
This scene is not included in the book. |
Chapter 2: Spinner’s End
Movie |
Book |
Peter Pettigrew answers the door and guides Bellatrix and her sister to Snape, who then shuts the door on him. |
Snape opens the door and escorts Bellatrix and her sister to the parlor. Meanwhile, Pettigrew serves them drinks and listens in on their conversation. |
When Bellatrix and Narcissa visit Snape, Bellatrix makes it clear that she strongly dislikes Snape and proposes the Unbreakable Vow. Snape is reluctant to agree to it. |
When Bellatrix and Narcissa visit Snape, Bellatrix is less hateful. Narcissa suggests the Unbreakable Vow and Snape agrees to it. |
Chapter 3: Will and Won’t
Movie |
Book |
While Harry is at a train station, Dumbledore unexpectedly appears and takes him to meet Slughorn. |
Dumbledore visits Harry at Privet Drive, shares tea with the Dursleys, and then takes Harry to meet Slughorn. |
These details are not mentioned. |
Harry inherits Grimmauld Place and Kreacher, while Hagrid regains custody of Buckbeak. Additionally, the Ministry introduces new safety measures. |
Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn
Movie |
Book |
Dumbledore's hand doesn't appear to be causing him any pain, and he reveals it to Harry before he has a chance to ask. |
Dumbledore’s hand shows signs of discomfort, and when Harry notices, he inquires about it. |
The clue that Slughorn is in the house is the presence of Dragon’s Blood. |
The mistake in Slughorn’s plan is that he forgot to use the Dark Mark, which gives him away. |
Dumbledore alone restores the house. While he is in the bathroom, Harry and Slughorn have a conversation, and they leave as soon as Dumbledore returns. |
Dumbledore and Slughorn fix up the house before they all share drinks together. Afterward, Dumbledore goes to the bathroom and then declares Slughorn a lost cause. |
Dumbledore Apparates Harry to the Burrow, but Harry ends up alone in a swamp. |
Dumbledore Apparates Harry to the Burrow, where they discuss the prophecy, private lessons, Sirius’s death, and other matters. |
Chapter 5: An Excess of Phlegm
Movie |
Book |
Harry arrives alone at the Burrow, where Ginny first spots Hedwig. She is the first to find him, followed by Hermione and Ron. Mrs. Weasley was unaware that Dumbledore would be dropping him off, and Tonks is not present. |
When Harry arrives at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks welcome him and Dumbledore. Ron and Hermione don’t see him until the next morning. Mrs. Weasley was prepared for his arrival, as Dumbledore had informed her in advance. |
Once Harry arrives, he spends time with Ron and Hermione. |
After arriving, Harry shares soup with Mrs. Weasley, and they talk about Mr. Weasley’s promotion and Slughorn. Mr. Weasley returns home and joins them for dinner. |
Bill and Fleur’s wedding is not mentioned until the next film, and Tonks and Lupin’s relationship is only subtly suggested later in this movie. |
While Harry is staying at the Burrow, Fleur is also present. Her and Bill’s upcoming wedding is mentioned. Additionally, Tonks confides in Mrs. Weasley about her feelings for Lupin. |
Ron and Hermione are already aware of the prophecy. |
Harry reveals the prophecy to Ron and Hermione. |
This is not featured in the film. |
Hermione accidentally gets punched by a boxing telescope that Fred and George had left in their room. |
In a bustling corridor at Hogwarts, McGonagall remarks that Harry has surpassed expectations in Potions. |
The owls deliver the test results from the O.W.L.s. Harry has surpassed expectations in Potions. |
Chapter 6: Draco’s Detour
Movie |
Book |
The movie does not explain how Fred and George managed to open their joke shop. |
Fred and George used the winnings from the tournament that Harry gave them to start their shop. |
This detail is not mentioned. |
Igor Karkaroff is killed. |
The trio only observes Draco and his mother visiting Borgin and Burkes. |
The trio encounters the Malfoys at Madam Malkin’s, which ends in a confrontation. |
The trio observes Draco from a rooftop as he examines a cabinet in Borgin and Burkes. |
Harry, Ron, and Hermione follow Draco with the Invisibility Cloak and use an Extendable Ear to overhear his conversation with Mr. Borgin. Draco is attempting to learn how to repair a cabinet. Hermione tries to trick Mr. Borgin into revealing more details about their discussion. |
Chapter 7: The Slug Club
Movie |
Book |
The next scene shifts to the Hogwarts Express. |
The trio returns to the Burrow. |
Harry shares a compartment with Ron and Hermione. In the hallway, Luna sells copies of The Quibbler to Ginny and Dean. |
As Ron and Hermione are Prefects, Harry ends up sharing a compartment with Luna and Neville. He attempts to join Ginny, but she leaves to meet Dean. |
Slughorn’s very first Slug Club meeting takes place in his office at Hogwarts. |
Slughorn holds his first Slug Club meeting in a compartment on the train. |
Harry uses Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, which he obtained from Fred and George’s joke shop, to gain access to the Slytherin compartment. |
Harry, concealed by the Invisibility Cloak, follows Blaise Zabini into the Slytherin compartment. |
Chapter 8: Snape Victorious
Movie |
Book |
Luna discovers Harry on the train using her Spectrespecs. |
Tonks spots Harry on the train and mentions that she didn’t see him leave. Knowing he had his cloak, she decided to double-check. |
Professor Flitwick greets Harry and Luna at the gate, and Luna uses the Episkey spell to mend Harry’s broken nose. |
Snape greets Harry at the gate and escorts him to the castle. He notices that Tonks’s Patronus has changed due to her feelings for Lupin and tells her that she is making a mistake. |
By the time Harry reaches the Great Hall, he is already in his robes. With Luna having already healed his nose, Ginny offers him a handkerchief. |
Harry arrives in the Great Hall wearing his usual clothes, and Hermione uses the Tergeo spell to clean them. |
Dumbledore’s hand goes unnoticed, and there is no scene of Hagrid arriving late. Harry doesn’t show any anger about Snape’s appointment, and there are no Defense Against the Dark Arts classes depicted. |
Students react upon seeing Dumbledore's injured hand, but he brushes off their concerns. Hagrid arrives late after spending time in the forest with Grawp. Harry is enraged when he learns that Snape has been appointed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. |
Chapter 9: The Half-Blood Prince
Movie |
Book |
Harry and Ron argue over the new Advanced Potion-Making book, and Harry ends up with the older edition after losing the dispute. |
Slughorn gives both Harry and Ron older editions of Advanced Potion-Making. |
The Felix Felicis potion is clear, and Slughorn does not specify how long its effects will last. |
The Felix Felicis potion is gold, and Slughorn states that its effects last for 12 hours. |
Chapter 10:The House of Gaunt
Movie |
Book |
The memories only feature a young Tom Riddle, with no mention of the Gaunt family. |
Dumbledore shows Harry a memory of the Gaunt family, which includes Merope Gaunt, Voldemort’s mother. |
Dumbledore states that the ring belonged to Voldemort’s mother. There is no reference to the Peverell family or the Resurrection Stone. |
The ring that injured Dumbledore’s hand is a Peverell family heirloom that belonged to Voldemort’s uncle. The Resurrection Stone is set in the center of the ring, but it is cracked. |
Chapter 11: Hermione’s Helping Hand
Movie |
Book |
Hagrid is still around Hogwarts, and Aragog is not mentioned until his funeral. |
Hagrid is noticeably absent and does not interact much with the trio when he is present. They eventually visit him, and he informs them that Aragog is dying. |
Chapter 12: Silver and Opals
Movie |
Book |
Harry encounters Slughorn at The Three Broomsticks, where Slughorn invites Harry and Hermione to his upcoming dinner party. Harry happily agrees to attend. However, Slughorn mistakenly calls Ron "Wallenby.". |
Harry bumps into Slughorn at Honeydukes, and Slughorn extends an invitation to the dinner parties Harry has been missing. Harry explains that he has a meeting with Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Slughorn mistakenly refers to Ron as "Ralph." |
This doesn’t occur. |
Harry encounters Tonks and Mundungus Fletcher in Hogsmeade. |
After Katie is cursed, Harry suspects Draco. When asked why, he simply says he "just knows." |
When McGonagall asks why Harry suspects Draco cursed Katie, he explains that he followed Draco to Borgin and Burkes. |
Chapter 13: The Secret Riddle
Movie |
Book |
Dumbledore and Mrs. Cole ascend the orphanage steps, and she briefly notes that there have been some “incidents” involving Tom and the other children. |
In the memory, Dumbledore shares drinks with Mrs. Cole, who reveals that Tom has been harming other children in a cave. Tom then asks Dumbledore if his father is a wizard. |
Chapter 14: Felix Felicis
Movie |
Book |
Luna is the one who sees Harry put something into Ron’s drink. |
Hermione spots Harry pretending to add Felix Felicis to Ron’s drink. |
During the match, the scene focuses on Ron. The scene then shifts to the after party rather than showing the entire match. |
The book describes Ron saving goals, Ginny scoring one, and Harry catching the Snitch during the match, with Malfoy also playing for the Slytherin team. |
This doesn’t occur in the film. |
Before Ron begins dating Lavender, he and Ginny have a quarrel. She mentions Hermione possibly kissing Krum and notes that Ron has never been asked out before. |
Chapter 15: The Unbreakable Vow
Movie |
Book |
Harry invites Hermione to Slughorn’s party, but she is already attending with McLaggen. He then turns to Luna and asks her instead. |
Harry invites Luna to Slughorn’s party. |
Harry hides around a corner and overhears a short conversation between Draco and Snape about the Unbreakable Vow. |
Harry conceals himself under his Invisibility Cloak and listens to an extended conversation between Snape and Draco. |
Chapter 16: A Very Frosty Christmas
Movie |
Book |
During the Christmas break, Death Eaters launch an attack on the Burrow. |
This event does not occur. |
Lupin doesn’t bring this up. |
Lupin discloses that Snape provided him with a Wolfsbane Potion each month during his time at Hogwarts. He also informs Harry that Fenrir Greyback bit him and that he’s been assigned the task of persuading werewolves to join their cause. |
This event doesn’t occur. |
Percy and Rufus Scrimgeour arrive, with Scrimgeour trying to convince Harry to support the Ministry and tell others that it’s performing well. However, Harry supports Dumbledore instead of the Ministry. |
Chapter 17: A Sluggish Memory
Movie |
Book |
These memories are not featured. |
There are additional memories showing Voldemort killing the Riddle family, stealing the ring, working at Borgin and Burkes, and more. Each memory suggests the presence of a Horcrux. |
In Slughorn’s altered memory, the word Horcrux is obscured. |
In Slughorn’s altered memory, he mentions the word Horcrux. However, Dumbledore wants to understand precisely what Slughorn said about the Horcruxes. |
Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises
Movie |
Book |
There are no Apparition lessons, and the trio simply knows how to do it in the next film. |
Wilkie Twycross conducts the Apparition lessons. |
Ron takes the love potion and drinks the poisoned mead on Valentine’s Day. |
Ron consumes the love potion and drinks the poisoned mead on his birthday. |
Chapter 19: Elf Tails
Movie |
Book |
This match is not featured. |
In another Quidditch match with Luna providing commentary, McLaggen hits Harry with a Bludger, causing him to fall off his broom and end up in the Hospital Wing. |
This does not occur. |
Harry has Dobby and Kreacher keep an eye on Draco for him. |
A few professors, along with Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione, are visiting Ron in the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore commends Harry for using a bezoar. |
Hagrid, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George also visit Ron in the hospital. Fred commends Harry for using a bezoar, while Hagrid shares with Harry an argument he overheard between Snape and Dumbledore. |
Chapter 20: Lord Voldemort’s Request
Movie |
Book |
This memory is not included. |
There is a memory featuring a house-elf named Hokey and Hepzibah Smith, who assisted Voldemort in locating Slytherin’s Locket and Hufflepuff’s Cup. |
Dumbledore does not bring this up. |
Dumbledore notes that Voldemort may have cursed the DADA teaching position after Dumbledore turned down his request for the job. |
Chapter 21: The Unknowable Room
Movie |
Book |
Draco is depicted visiting the Room of Requirement and testing the vanishing cabinet several times. |
These scenes are not included in the book. Harry observes Draco disappearing from the Marauder's Map when he enters the Room of Requirement. |
Chapter 22: After the Burial
Movie |
Book |
Harry goes to Hagrid’s Hut and finds Hagrid mourning Aragog. |
Hagrid writes to the trio to let them know about Aragog’s death. |
Harry drinks the whole luck potion and skips wearing his cloak. He comes across Slughorn in the act of stealing tentacula leaves. |
Harry takes a small dose of Felix Felicis and puts on his Invisibility Cloak. He runs into Ginny, which sparks an argument between her and Dean that leads to their breakup. Afterwards, Harry discovers Slughorn working alongside Professor Sprout. |
Slughorn talks about a gift Harry’s mother gave him, and they have a brief discussion about the deaths of Harry’s parents. |
Before drifting off to sleep, Hagrid brings up Harry’s parents, leading to an in-depth conversation between Harry and Slughorn about them. |
Chapter 23: Horcruxes
Movie |
Book |
Only the ring and Tom Riddle’s diary are mentioned as Horcruxes. Dumbledore notes that there could be other Horcruxes as well. |
Dumbledore and Harry identify the locket and the cup as possible Horcruxes. They also discuss other items significant to the founders and consider Nagini as another Horcrux. |
Chapter 24: Sectumsempra
Movie |
Book |
After questioning Katie, Harry follows Draco to the boys' bathroom. They engage in a duel, casting several spells, until Harry uses Sectumsempra. |
Days after questioning Katie, Harry tracks Draco on the map. He finds Draco crying with Moaning Myrtle present. Draco tries to cast Crucio on Harry, who quickly responds with Sectumsempra. Myrtle begins screaming "Murder," which draws Snape’s attention. |
Harry escapes while Snape is tending to Draco’s injuries. |
Harry remains in the bathroom while Snape takes Draco to the Hospital Wing. Upon returning, Snape uses Legilimency on Harry to discover how he learned the spell. He then orders Harry to bring all his books to him. Harry complies but brings Ron’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making instead of his own. |
Harry does not face any punishment. |
Harry is assigned detention every Saturday for the remainder of the year, causing him to miss the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match. |
Both Hermione and Ginny persuade Harry to permanently discard the book. Ginny and Harry go to the Room of Requirement, where Ginny hides the book before they share a kiss. |
Ginny stands up for Harry when Hermione advises him to dispose of the book. They take it to the Room of Requirement, and Harry intends to return for it later. |
Chapter 25: The Seer Overheard
Movie |
Book |
This doesn’t occur because Harry used up all of the potion. |
Harry gives Ron and Hermione the remaining Felix Felicis. |
Harry overhears the conclusion of an argument between Snape and Dumbledore before they Disapparate from the Astronomy Tower. |
Harry, under his Invisibility Cloak, trails Dumbledore to the Hog’s Head Inn, where they both Disapparate. |
Chapter 26: The Cave
Movie |
Book |
The movie does not depict how they traveled from the rock to the cave. |
Harry and Dumbledore must swim from the rock to the entrance of the cave. |
Dumbledore understands how to enter the hideout and knows that the potion must be consumed. |
Dumbledore spends time considering how to access the hideout and realizes that someone will need to drink the potion. |
The basin contains a black liquid. They use the shell beside it to drink the potion. Dumbledore begins to react after the first cup but remains conscious. When Harry tries to fetch him water, the shell refuses to pick any up. |
The basin contains a green potion. Dumbledore summons a cup and begins to react after his third drink, eventually falling unconscious. Harry attempts to fill the cup with water, but it’s empty before he can get to Dumbledore. |
Chapter 27: The Lightning Struck Tower
Movie |
Book |
Harry and Dumbledore Apparate to the Astronomy Tower, and the Dark Mark has not yet been cast. |
Dumbledore and Harry Apparate to Hogsmeade, where Madam Rosmerta informs them that the Dark Mark has been cast. They use her broomsticks to fly to the Astronomy Tower. |
Dumbledore instructs Harry to hide below. Although Harry hesitates, he follows the order. Snape spots him and tells him to remain silent, and Harry complies. |
Dumbledore casts a spell to freeze Harry, preventing him from interfering, and no one notices him. |
Bellatrix attempts to convince Draco to kill Dumbledore. |
Bellatrix is absent. |
Chapter 28: Flight of the Prince
Movie |
Book |
Snape declares that he is the Half-Blood Prince. |
It’s revealed that Snape is the Half-Blood Prince because he is a Half-Blood and his mother’s maiden name is Prince. |
Death Eaters wreak havoc at Hogwarts, wrecking the Great Hall and setting Hagrid’s Hut on fire. They also cast the Dark Mark in the sky. |
A brief battle occurs between Aurors, students, and Death Eaters, during which Fenrir Greyback bites Bill Weasley. |
Harry tries to cast Sectumsempra on Snape. |
Harry attempts to cast the Cruciatus Curse on Snape. |
Chapter 29: The Phoenix Lament
Movie |
Book |
There is no mention of Fang being inside the hut, although the next scene shows Hagrid with Harry in the courtyard. |
Fang is trapped inside Hagrid’s burning hut. Harry and Hagrid use Aguamenti Charms to extinguish the flames. |
The fake locket resembles the real one perfectly, and Harry doesn't open it until later. |
Harry opens the locket next to Dumbledore’s body after he notices it looks different from the memories. |
This is not shown. |
As Harry heads to the Hospital Wing, he notices Bill's injuries, and Fleur declares that she still wants to marry him. |
Chapter 30: The White Tomb
Movie |
Book |
These scenes are not shown. The film concludes with the trio watching Fawkes fly away. |
Dumbledore’s funeral takes place, and Hermione informs Harry that Ron is okay with his relationship with Ginny. Harry and Ginny then break up because he wants to keep her safe. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the major plot differences between the book and movie in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
+How does the movie handle the Unbreakable Vow differently from the book?
+Are there any key scenes missing from the movie that are present in the book?
+How does the movie depict the relationship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione compared to the book?
+What changes were made to Draco Malfoy’s storyline in the movie?
+How does the movie portray Dumbledore’s hand injury differently from the book?
+Does the movie include Dumbledore’s funeral?
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