How we cite our quotes: (chapter.paragraph)
Quote #1
"The point is, we're at war, Prime Minister, and steps must be taken." (1.69)
Cornelius Fudge doesn't sugarcoat anything when discussing the state of affairs with the Prime Minister. In the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we learn that war will be the backdrop of the story that follows. What war is being fought? Who is on what side? What are the sides fighting for?
Quote #2
"Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The Wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own." (3.99)
Listen to the words Dumbledore uses in this moment: open warfare, kill, danger, murder, doorstep, parents, hope, care. Dumbledore's words are filled with both vivid violence and with messages of peace, a fact that says much about the great wizard. He is both realistic and hopeful. He does not delude himself that times aren't troubling, but he also believes the good of people will prevail. It is this constant struggle of violence and peace, despair and hope, chaos and order that colors Harry's life.
Quote #3
"In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark." (7.16)
If evil presents itself tangibly in the form of a mark on the arm or a mark over the castle tower, how does love present itself tangibly? Does love ever present itself in physical form? Is love at war with evil in this story, or is it way more complicated than that?