(I still don't remember being introduced to Tonks.)

Me neither. I kept thinking, "WHO IS THIS?"

I've definitely been reading too much HP fanfic, because a lot of the 'ships in the book are prominent in fanfic (although I love that JKR had Remus and Tonks hook up, apparently before the end of OotP if Tonks is that depressed in HBP over their relationship) . Speaking of 'ships, "Won Won"? Love it! This book did a good job of balancing the lighter moments ( "Mollywobbles"!) with the darker ones ( the scene in the cave with the potion drinking was heartbreaking) .

I'm definitely going to have to reread it, but so far I'd rank it as my favorite after PoA.

Any hints on a good place over at lj for HPB discussion? I searched on the chapters title that was provided upthread but found nothing. There are 404 hp lists!

I'm so glad to see my views on Snape validated here. Let's just hope that JK doesn't take a wrong turning in the next 2 (Please no!) years.

I don't do LJ at all (unless linked to a particular post by someone), but I definitely can recommend the forum at The Sugar Quill, one of the top HP fanfic sites. Actually, there is an LJ by Fernwithy (just search for her LJ site) that has some excellent points about HBP, as well as links to her fanfic site with some of the best HP fanfics I've read. (Her "Of a Sort" and "Shifts" are both excellent, and she's already followed up "Shifts" with a post-HPB oneshot story that might be the first chapter of a sequel. "Of a Sort" is a look at various characters' sorting ceremonies, from Dumbledore through McGonagall and Voldemort to Tonks. "Shifts" is a possible storyline for what exactly Tonks and Lupin were up to during OotP--since she has them engaged by the end of the story, Fernwithy was thrilled at the now-canon Tonks/Lupin! )

Thanks so much! I'll check them all out.

I remembered Tonks, because she had the cool-colored hair and the attitude and I liked her vibe a lot.

Whew! I finished. And am really late for bed. But!

The pacing was a bit odd for my taste. There were things happening, but there was also page after page (after page!) of "Malfoy's up to something." "Er, yeah, okay, Harry." "No, but seriously. Malfoy's up to something. Also, I don't trust that Snape guy. He's shifty." "Yeah, uh-huh, just like the last five years, right? Okay, whatever." "Hey, Malfoy's up to something." "So, how's that homework coming?" I mean, sure, he was up to something, but all that obsessing didn't help at all! Also, did Dumbledore really need Slug's memory before they could do anything? Ah well.

The Remus/Tonks was nice (although I'm a die-hard Sirius/Remus fan, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive) except I felt kind of cheated. It's hard to be very heart-warmed (and I wanted to be, because it was heart-warming) off of half a page out of nowhere. Oh, and also? Waaaaah! Not entirely shocking, and it does make structural sense -- the books have become gradually less safe, so if there's only going to be one more it makes sense that that last parental figure be taken away. Still, NNNOOOOOO! Albus! Sniff.

So, who's the half-blood prince?

Silly Jesse. I have not read a single page of the last 2 HP novels and can tell you that. You are not spoiled enough.

Answer surmised from spoils: Snape.

Right? Am I right?

You know, it's funny. For about half the book, I was absolutely certain it was Voldemort. Like, smacking my head, 'Of course!' certain. And then it wasn't, and my head was sore.