Heeere we go! The Harry Potter Cam is up and running, and I’m about to start reading the Half-Blood Prince. Woohoo!

How fast will my reading go? Well, last time, I finished the first 675 pages of the book in less than 24 hours, and finished the whole book (870 pages total) within 48 hours. This time, the book is only 672 pages long — but my first-day reading clip probably won’t be quite as fast, since Becky and I are planning to go to the Venetian Festival tomorrow evening. We’ll see.

I’ll post updates below, after the jump. WARNING: Spoilers possible!!!

UPDATE, 1:15 AM: Just finished Chapter 2. Snape… holy crap!

UPDATE, 2:11 AM: Just finished Chapter 5. Getting sleepy. But Becky’s still reading, so I have to keep going, too! :)

UPDATE, 3:07 AM: Just finished Chapter 8. That’s 170 pages and counting, so I guess I’m about 25% done! Not bad for two-and-a-half hours’ worth of reading.

So, Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. I wonder if he really is on Voldemort’s side, or if Rowling is just trying to confuse us?

Anyway, on to Chapter 9… which is called “The Half-Blood Prince.” Oh boy oh boy oh boy! :)

UPDATE, 3:35 AM: All right, I finished Chapter 9 … that’s 193 pages total … and now I’m going to bed. (Becky just went to bed about 10 minutes ago, having also finished Chapter 9.) Back to Hogwarts in the morning. :)

UPDATE, 3:38 PM: And when I said “morning,” I meant “mid-afternoon.” Dammit. Didn’t mean to sleep that long… I guess I needed it after a somewhat sleep-deprived week. Now Becky is hopelessly ahead of me. Oh, well. Back to the book!

UPDATE, 5:36 PM: Just finished Chapter 13; I’m now done with 278 pages out of 652. (I just checked; the online reports of 672 pages was apparently incorrect. It’s 652 pages long.) So I’m 43% done. :)

Becky’s on page 513. Dammit! ;) She and I are going to leave shortly for the Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, so, no more Harry Potter for a while (although… I might bring it in the car…)

UPDATE, 7:16 PM: After I spent some time updating the website with news on Hurricane Emily, we were about to leave for the festival… but then we changed our minds at the last minute, and decided to stay here, reading Harry Potter. What can I say — we’re nerds! :)

Becky says she knows who the Half-Blood Prince is. She’s on page 604.

UPDATE, 8:00 PM: Becky just finished. I’m on page 316, so almost halfway done. (Stupid sleeping late! We were reading at the same pace last night…)

UPDATE, 8:44 PM: Favorite scene so far: the confrontation in the garden between Harry and Scrimgeour. “You’re making Stan a scapegoat, just like you want to make me a mascot.” Sweet!

Through p. 348 now… about to start Chapter 17.

UPDATE, 9:47 PM: I just finished Chapter 19. Chapter 20 is called “Lord Voldemort’s Request.” Ooooo! Ooooo! Ooooo! :)

422 pages down, 230 to go…

UPDATE, 10:30 PM: Voldemort cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts job!!!

On to Chapter 21…

UPDATE, 11:08 PM: “I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him. I need that memory.”

On top Chapter 23, “Horcruxes.” What the heck is a Horcrux? Hopefully, I’m about to find out…

UPDATE, 11:19 PM: Mid-chapter break: Riddle’s diary (in Book 2) was a horcrux!! Oh, the continuity…

UPDATE, 11:29 PM: Another mid-chapter break. This chapter is clearly setting the stage for the plot of the rest of the series. Horcruxes, you see, are objects that contain pieces of a Dark wizard’s soul — in this case, Voldemort’s soul. Their existence effectively makes the wizard immortal. Hmm… The One Ring, anyone? :) Excerpt:

Harry sat in thought for a moment, then asked, “So if all of his Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort could be killed?”

“Yes, I think so,” said Dumbledore. “Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical powers remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort even without his Horcruxes.”

Perhaps if you cast him into a volcano… :)

UPDATE, 12:06 AM: I just finished Chapter 24. How perfect: twenty-four chapters in twenty-four hours. And Harry and Ginny just got together!! YAY!!!

117 pages to go…

UPDATE, 1:10 AM: SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!!!! AAAAHH!!!!

On page 596. I’ll check the ramifications for the contest later. On to Chapter 28…

UPDATE, 1:55 AM: One chapter left: “The White Tomb.” 632 pages down, 20 to go. I have to go walk the dog, then I’ll come back and finish the book…

UPDATE, 2:27 AM: I’m done!

P.S., 3:08 AM: Oh, I almost forgot to tell you… Severus Snape is the Half-Blood Prince.