Harry Potter 06 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

are still four of them out there. I’ve got to find them and destroy them and then I’ve got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort’s soul, the bit that’s still in his body, and I’m the one who’s going to kill him. And if I meet Severus Snape along the way,’ he added, ‘so much the better for me, so much the worse for him.’
    There was a long silence. The crowd had almost dispersed now, the stragglers giving the monumental figure of Grawp a wide berth as he cuddled Hagrid, whose howls of grief were still echoing across the water.
    ‘We’ll be there, Harry,’ said Ron.
    ‘What?’
    ‘At your aunt and uncle’s house,’ said Ron. ‘And then we’ll go with you, wherever you’re going.’
    ‘No –’ said Harry quickly; he had not counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking this most dangerous journey alone.
    ‘You said to us once before,’ said Hermione quietly, ‘that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We’ve had time, haven’t we?’
    ‘We’re with you whatever happens,’ said Ron. ‘But, mate, you’re going to have to come round my mum and dad’s house before we do anything else, even Godric’s Hollow.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Bill and Fleur’s wedding, remember?’
    Harry looked at him, startled; the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist seemed incredible and yet wonderful.
    ‘Yeah, we shouldn’t miss that,’ he said finally.
    His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.

 
     
    Titles available in the Harry Potter series (in reading order):
     
    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
     
     
    Other titles available:
     
    Quidditch Through the Ages
    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    The Tales of Beedle the Bard
     
     
    Read on for the first chapter of the next book in the Harry Potter series...



 
    HARRY
POTTER
and the Deathly Hallows
     

     
J.K. ROWLING

 
    All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher
    This digital edition first published by Pottermore Limited in 2012
    First published in print in Great Britain in 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
    Copyright © J. K. Rowling 2007
    Cover illustrations by Claire Melinsky copyright © J.K. Rowling 2010
    Harry Potter characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Ent.
    J.K. Rowling has asserted her moral rights
    The extract from The Libation Bearers is taken from the Penguin Classics edition of The Oresteia , translated by Robert Fagles, copyright © Robert Fagles, 1966, 1967, 1975, 1977
    The extract from More Fruits of Solitude is taken from More Fruits of Solitude by William Penn, first included in Everyman's Library, 1915
    A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
    ISBN 978-1-78110-013-4
    www.pottermore.com

 
    by J.K. Rowling
     
     
    The unique online experience built around the Harry Potter books. Share and participate in the stories, showcase your own Potter-related creativity and discover even more about the world of Harry Potter from the author herself.
     
    Visit pottermore.com

 

                 The
                  dedication
                      of
this book
                 is
split
         seven ways:
    to Neil,
         to Jessica,
             to
David,
                 to
Kenzie,
                           to
Di,
                      to
Anne,
                 and
to you,
             if you
have
                stuck
                       with
Harry
                              until
the
                           very
                       end.

 
     
    Oh, the torment