Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

“‘There is nothing I wouldn’t do any more!’ Narcissa breathed, a note of hysteria in her voice, and as she brought down the wand like a knife, there was another flash of light. Bella let go of her sister’s arm as though burned.”

Narcissa is desperate for a way to save Draco and approaches Snape for help against her sister Bellatrix’s warnings. The power of a mother’s love and the lengths it will drive her to is an important idea in the book: Lily gave up her life for Harry, imbuing him with an ancient and powerful protection based on love. On the contrary, Voldemort, whose mother never prioritized him, grows up evil and twisted into a Dark wizard past redemption.

“The nature of that prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter […]. Some are going so far as to call Potter the ‘Chosen One,’ believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He Who Must Not Be Named.”

While Dumbledore and Harry remain the only two people to have heard the prophecy in its entirety, the wizarding world has hazarded a guess that Harry is destined to defeat Voldemort. This prophecy originally propelled Voldemort to single out and attack Harry, his choice effectively setting the prophecy in motion. Within this context, the idea of fate is explored throughout the book, often raising the question of how much an individual contributes to the realization of their destiny.

“Horace […] likes the company of the famous, the successful and the powerful. […] He used to handpick favorites at Hogwarts, sometimes for their ambition or their brains, sometimes for their charm or their talent, and he had an uncanny knack for choosing those who would go on to become outstanding in their various fields.”

Horace Slughorn is the new Potions master at Hogwarts; Dumbledore warns Harry early on that Slughorn will try to “collect” Harry to join his exclusive group of handpicked favorites. Slughorn is a significant character in the book.