Could Dean Thomas be the HBP?

[Annalisa Moretti]

No: HPFGUIDX 103402

This is the first thing which popped into my head as I read JKR's 
update, but it's complicated.

Evidence:
-- In "Title of Book Six: The Truth", JKR states: "Certain crucial 
pieces of information in book six were originally planned 
for 'Chamber of Secrets', but very early on (first draft of Chamber) 
I realised that this information's proper home was book six. I have 
said before now that 'Chamber' holds some very important clues to 
the ultimate end of the series. Not as many as six, obviously, but 
there is a link."

-- Extra Stuff-->Dean Thomas' Background (Chamber of Secrets) 
reveals that Dean is a half blood, that this was initially supposed 
to be an important part of the series but was cut again and again 
from the books, starting with CoS, but "I suppose in some ways I 
sacrificed Dean's voyage of discovery for Neville's, which is more 
important to the central plot."

However, she also states "Now I don't think his history will ever 
make it into the books."

Clearly, this gives Dean the ONLY character with the strongest 
ground to stand on to be the HBP, but would JKR tell us all about 
him on the page and say she thought it was never going to turn up in 
the books when all along she was planning on naming Book 6 about 
him? It seems unlikely. However, she did she "THINKS" it will never 
make it into the books, it's not definite. And therefore her putting 
it up on the site could be a case of her trying to get us to rule 
him out ... or ... alternately, she might be trying to make us think 
it IS him, when it really isn't.

Keeping all of this in mind, I think it's impossible to ignore Dean 
as a candidate. How strange is it that JKR would tell us all of this 
info about a half blood character whose story was supposed to be an 
important part of CoS but was cut out, and then tell us the title of 
Book 6 is about a half blood, and that it's tied to info which was 
eliminated from CoS?

After some thought, my current theory is that, Dean might appear in 
the book to the characters and/or the reader as a candidate to be 
the HBP, but it ends up being someone else entirely ... Seamus 
Finnigan for example (I count him probably as #2 after Dean, because 
of his also being half-blood, and the line about this being kept in 
the CoS movie, possibly at JKR's request).

Now, I suppose the question we all REALLY should be considering 
here, is WHAT is the Half Blood Prince, rather than WHO. 

Annalisa
Who wrote this all in a burst of excitement and good intentions, so 
do excuse any typos or bizarre leaps of logic and sense if they 
happen to have occured.