5. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J K Rowling

(1) Book Cover

The most iconic example of twenty-first century children's fiction, Harry Potter frequently explores the manipulation of bodies - transfiguration, magical medicine, and of course, dangerous potions. As with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the prospect of non-fatal poisoning is explored. These poisons are meant to distort the body or corrupt the thoughts. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Ron is mistakenly poisoned twice: first with a love potion, and then, more sinisterly, by poisoned mead. Here, then, are two different types of poison - one of the mind, the other of the body. 

Ron, unaware, greedily eats a box of chocolates sent as a gift to Harry. These chocolates were laced with love potion, causing Ron to pine for the sender, Romilda. This use of a 'poison' is comedic, used to justly punish Ron for his theft:

‘“They didn’t fall off your bed, you prat, don’t you understand? They were mine, I chucked them out of my trunk when I was looking for the map, they’re the Chocolate Cauldrons Romilda gave me before Christmas, and they’re all spiked with love potion!"' (393)

Harry brings Ron ingloriously to the office of the Potions master, Horace Slughorn, to have an antidote administered. After deceiving Ron into taking it, the three decide to celebrate with Slughorn's mead:

“I’ve got one last bottle of this oak-matured mead . . . hmm . . . meant to give that to Dumbledore for Christmas . . . ah, well . . .” He shrugged. “He can’t miss what he’s never had! Why don’t we open it now and celebrate Mr. Weasley’s birthday?” (397-398)

The jovial atmosphere of this scene is shattered by the advent of a dangerous poison in the mead, drunk by Ron before the toast. This contrasts the previous example of greed from Ron - now his life is in genuine danger. The scene returns to the more traditional usage of poison, as presented in previous works in this blog - as a murderer’s tool. Yet it is also tragic, as once again it is clear that Ron was not the intended target, simply an unwitting victim of a wider intrigue.

“Ron had dropped his glass; he half-rose from his chair and then crumpled, his extremities jerking uncontrollably. Foam was dribbling from his mouth, and his eyes were bulging from their sockets. [...] Harry leapt over a low table and sprinted toward Slughorn’s open potion kit, pulling out jars and pouches, while the terrible sound of Ron’s gargling breath filled the room. Then he found it — the shriveled kidney like stone Slughorn had taken from him in Potions. He hurtled back to Ron’s side, wrenched open his jaw, and thrust the bezoar into his mouth. Ron gave a great shudder, a rattling gasp, and his body became limp and still.’ (398-399)

These grisly details highlight the threat of the poison to the body. The experienced Professor's failure to react reflects the shock of the reader at the sudden change of pace, expressing the social power of poison as a hidden threat that cannot be guarded against. 

Film

Below, for comparison to the text, is the film clip of Ron's poisoning:

Works Cited
(1) Doodle Books. "J K Rowling - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 1/1 HB". 2005. Doodle Books, England. Web. <http://www.doodledbooks.com/j-k-rowling---harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-11-hb-56-p.asp> Accessed March 2017.
Rowling, J K. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Arthur A Levine Books, New York. 2005. Web. <http://publish.uwo.ca/~hamendt/WD%20final%20Project/litertaure/Half%20Blood%20Prince.pdf> Accessed March 2017.