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Genre 

Fantasy, coming-of-age narrative

Narrator 

Third-person, very close to Harry Potter

Point of View 

Third-person subjective, with insights into Harry’s private thoughts

Tone 

Ominous, suspenseful, clever

Tense 

Past

Setting (time) 

Present day

Setting (place) 

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, United Kingdom

Protagonist 

Harry Potter

Major Conflict 

Harry and Dumbledore must collect six Horcruxes belonging to the evil Lord Voldemort to render him mortal again.

Rising Action 

Katie Bell is cursed and Ron is poisoned, both by objects intended for someone else. Harry tries to establish the guilt of Draco and Snape.

Climax 

Snape, Professor of Potions, murders Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts.

Falling Action 

Dumbledore is buried, and Hogwarts may or may not reopen the following year.

Foreshadowing 

Harry overhears a suspicious conversation between Snape and Draco Malfoy. Harry is paralyzed while invisible in Draco’s train car, just as he is when Dumbledore is killed.

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Popular pages: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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