Question: In the Astronomy tower, Dumbledore tells Harry to go and get Professor Snape, but then Harry has to hide. So, how did Snape know that Draco and the Death Eaters were in the Astronomy tower with Dumbledore? Draco would not have told him because he did not want help with the mission.
Question: If Voldemort wants Dumbledore dead, then why didn't he just kill him, instead of giving the mission to Draco?
Answer: It's a little complicated. Voldemort never intended that Draco would succeed in his mission to kill Dumbledore. He wanted Dumbledore dead, but it was also his plan to punish Lucius Malfoy for his failure to retrieve the prophecy at the Ministry of Magic (in Order of the Phoenix). Any follower who failed the Dark Lord suffered severe consequences, often fatal. Voldemort intended to execute Draco when he failed to kill Dumbledore. His purpose was to devastate Lucius by taking his son's life.
Question: Why is Voldemort afraid of Dumbledore?
Answer: Voldemort knew Dumbledore was not only an extremely powerful wizard with loyal allies, but that he had no fear of the Dark Lord. Dumbledore knew Voldemort better than anyone else, his strengths and his weaknesses, having known him since he was the young Tom Riddle. Dumbledore could always predict what Voldemort's intentions were.
Question: After Harry gets Slughorn's memory, he watches it with Dumbledore. Dumbledore says "This is beyond anything I imagined" after the viewing. But then he goes on to say that he's been hunting for the horcruxes. I don't understand his remark when he's been finding and destroying them, since he must know what they are. How else can you look for something if you don't know what it is? (01:50:20)
Chosen answer: Dumbledore did not know that Tom Riddle was planning to create seven Horcruxes, which was more than he expected.
Question: In the book, it's revealed that Katie spent 6 months in hospital after the cursed opal necklace attacked her. How was it so harmful? It does seem fairly sharp, but there's no blood or cuts in her neck.
Question: This question could be for the movie and book since I don't remember it being answered in the book. Why has Snape continued to live in his childhood house? It's in a predominantly Muggle neighborhood, and his childhood was unhappy.
Answer: Interesting comment. I live in my childhood home, which I love and will never sell, even though it was not a particularly happy childhood. I've always separated family issues from other good memories and the house itself. Maybe Snape does the same and finds some comfort in familiar things. It was his father who was abusive, not his mother, so he may associate the house with her or even with Lily, his childhood friend he came to love.
I think Lily is a big reason. They grew up in the area, and they probably spent summer holidays together before Lily ended their friendship.
Question: What spell did Snape use on Dumbledore to knock him off the tower? It couldn't have been the Killing Curse because when that's used, it produces a green light and the light from Snape's wand was blue.
Answer: It was the killing curse. You hear him say Avada Kadavra, too. I think the lighting in the scene makes the color seem a bit off, more turquoise than real green.
Question: Who is Dumbledore talking about "who made all the wrong choices"? Is it Voldemort or Draco? I don't think it's Draco, because he is the "Boy who didn't have a choice."
Question: Arthur Weasley tells Harry, who tells Ron and Hermione, "If Dumbledore's traveling, then that's news to the ministry." What kind of news is that to the ministry? Is this good or bad news?
Answer: When someone says "that's news to [whomever], " a very common expression, it just means that it is a surprise, and that they had no prior knowledge of that fact. The goodness or badness of the news is not germane to the use of the phrase.
Question: Before this year, why did Snape repeatedly apply to teach "Defence Against Dark Arts" if the position was cursed (in the fifth book, when Dolores Umbridge questions him, he admits that he applies every year)? I understand that he really wanted to teach the subject, but everyone knew that the position was cursed. Why put himself in danger, no matter how much he wanted the job?
Answer: There was never any explanation given in the books or the movies as to why Snape continually applied each year. He so coveted the position that most likely his ego was such that he believed his skills and abilities were superior enough to overcome any curse. Also, it was never specifically known that Voldemort had cursed the position. Dumbledore only surmised that he did because from the time Tom Riddle (Voldemort) first applied and was turned down, it was from that point on that no instructor lasted more than one year.
Question: In Horace Slughorn's house, what was that dragon blood dripping on the ceiling about? He has a dragon?
Answer: Slughorn knew Dumbledore was on his way and what he wanted. He made the house a "disaster" area in hoped it would fool Dumbledore into thinking Deatheaters were there. He put the dragon blood there hoping Dumbledore believed someone had been killed and would leave. But when Dumbledore realized it was dragon's blood, not human, he knew what Slughorn was up to.
Question: Does anyone know what town/city the scene at Snape's house was filmed in?
Answer: The scene is set in the fictional village of Cokestown. Based on some Internet research, there does not appear to be an actual town where this was filmed. According to Helen McCrory, the actress who played Narcissa Malfoy, the street scene was filmed before a blue screen. Most likely, the aerial view consisted of CGI composite shots to simulate a late-19th Century Northern England industrial town. Snape is supposed to have lived in an area of abandoned row houses on Spinner's End street. There was also information that some footage may have been filmed near Black Country near Birmingham, Tyneside or the Clyde area in Scotland.
Question: When Snape tells Dumbledore that he "doesn't want to do this anymore", does he mean his spy work in general or just the agreement to kill Dumbledore?
Question: Every time I've watched The Half Blood Prince I've found myself asking whether or not, at some point during shooting, Daniel Radcliffe actually broke his nose in reality. I'm not sure if it's because of the way the scene is lit, but during several moments within the movie, particularly at the end during his scene with Professor McGonagal, his nose looks swollen. Was any news about an actual broken nose ever reported during the filming?
Answer: At the beginning of the film, when they are travelling to Hogwarts, Harry hides under his invisibility cloak to spy on Draco. Draco finds out and knocks Harry to the floor where he cannot move. Draco then kicks Harry in the face, breaking his nose. Luna fixes his nose with a spell, but says she onle practiced on toes before. Maybe what you are seeing is the spell not being done properly and it wearing off through the movie. There were no reports of him actually breaking his nose.
Question: After Dumbledore is killed, Snape, Draco and the other Death Eaters are leaving the castle from the Astronomy Tower, why/how is it that they end up exiting the Great Hall (then blasting the Auror and then exiting the castle)?
Chosen answer: There is a bit of a time lapse from when they leave the Astronomy Tower, but the Death Eaters are creating as much mayhem as possible within the castle. The movie tones this down, but in the book, there is an all-out battle between the Death Eaters and the Aurors, Hogwarts staff, and "Dumbledore's Army."
Question: How is a memory retrieved from the bowl of liquid and returned to its vial after it is viewed? Does it say in the book?
Chosen answer: First, someone removes a memory from their own mind using a wand. The memory is a silvery mist that attaches itself to the wand's tip and is extracted from a person's head. To save the memory, it is often stored in a flask or vial until it can be poured into a magical bowl called a pensieve. The memory can be viewed at anytime by peering into the pensieve, although in the movie it appears that one must actually submerge their head into the liquid. A memory can also be removed from the penseive with a wand and transferred to a storage flask or another pensieve.
Question: In the books Malfoy fixes the vanishing cabinet to allow death eaters through and there is a fight between them and the order. However in the film the fight is cut making the whole point of Malfoy fixing the cabinet irrelevant as the death eaters do not need to witness the death as proved by Malfoy's earlier attempts to kill Dumbledore. Considering this, why do they cut the fight, when it is such a vital part of the story line?
Answer: Because it's not actually vital at all. The Death Eaters are there to kill Dumbledore if Malfoy can't (as his previous attempts have been woefully unsuccessful) - that's their goal. The battle against the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix is, for the most part, irrelevant to the overall storyline. It also allows them to avoid repetition, as the final book also finishes with a big battle through Hogwarts. If they kept the fight in, they'd have to make it look good, which would give them problems in depicting the final, much larger battle in the last film as expectations would be so much higher. By leaving it out and solely showing the main features of the storyline, namely Dumbledore's death at Snape's hands, it keeps the story focused and allows them to show the final battle in the last film without having already set a high mark that they'd then have to ensure that they exceeded.
Question: I know that in the book Harry strongly regretted that he almost killed Malfoy. But why didn't he regret it in the film? In the novel he even states that he regrets it but in the movie there is no mention that he feels remorse or regret for almost killing Draco.
Answer: It can only be speculated as to why Harry didn't verbalize his regret in the film. While it's implied that he regretted his actions, was confused, and unable to process how he felt, it was vague and neutral enough that it keeps the audience in doubt about how the two truly feel about each other and what their future interaction will be.
Answer: Snape was acting as a double agent for Voldemort. He knew because the Death Eaters who invaded told him.
Greg Dwyer