Harry Potter - half blood prince In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the wizarding world is no longer pretending that things are fine. After the return of Lord Voldemort at the end of the previous year, fear spreads across both the magical and non-magical worlds. People disappear without explanation. Strange attacks happen in secret. Hogwarts is still standing, but even the castle feels heavier now — less like a school and more like the last safe place before war fully breaks out.