Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

How it opens

Near midnight, Cornelius Fudge steps out of the fireplace in the Prime Minister's office to tell him that He Who Must Not Be Named is back and that the Dementors have deserted Azkaban to join him. Fudge has been sacked, and his successor as Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, tells the Prime Minister that his new secretary, Kingsley Shacklebolt, is an Auror assigned to protect him. Many miles away, at the last house in Spinner's End, the sisters Narcissa and Bellatrix call on Severus Snape, whom Bellatrix says she does not trust. Narcissa begs Snape for help with the deed the Dark Lord has ordered her son, Draco, to perform, and Snape makes the Unbreakable Vow with Bellatrix as Bonder.

Who you meet early

• Cornelius FudgeCornelius Fudge is no longer Minister for Magic. He tells the Prime Minister he was sacked three days ago, and his successor says Fudge has agreed to stay on in an advisory capacity.
• Rufus ScrimgeourRufus Scrimgeour is the new Minister for Magic, the successor to Cornelius Fudge. He walks with a slight limp, and the Prime Minister thinks he understands why the wizarding community prefers Scrimgeour to Fudge in these dangerous times.
• Severus SnapeSeverus Snape, who teaches Potions at Hogwarts, is at his house in Spinner's End with Wormtail when Narcissa and Bellatrix call. He tells Bellatrix that the Dark Lord has asked him every one of her questions, and she says she knows the Dark Lord believes him.
• Bellatrix LestrangeBellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa's sister and Sirius Black's cousin, was sent to Azkaban for using the Cruciatus Curse on Neville's parents and broke out with other Death Eaters. In the battle at the Ministry, Sirius was duelling her when a jet of light hit him and he fell through a veil hanging from an arch.