What is the Half-Blood Prince?

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 125886


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "LadyOfThePensieve"
<chrissilein at y...> wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> No I honestly started to think the Half-Blood Prince is a POTION!
>

Valky:
Well, like everyone else who has responded, I really like this!

What I would usually do now is adopt the assumption and try to find
support and a further hypothesis to go with it, no exceptions here!

Going from an assumption that the HBP is a potion.. lets find support
for it...

Lady wrote: 
> Here in Europe we have got the funny tradition to give alcoholic
> drinks funny names.
>

Valky:
Here in Australia too, it's not uncommon to give a drink a funny name,
and the name usually relates something of the experience of drinking
it. for example...

Lady wrote: a very popular bitters is called "Jägermeister" (Master
> of Hunting. 

Having never drunk a Jagermeister myself, I would assume from it's
description as a master of hunting that it is a rather masculine
drink, hence its association with the masculine sport of Hunting. 
Being called a "Master" would mean it's probably not a light drink.
You would expect it to be the choice of a burly masculine bloke.

Another example Lady wrote: Another drink is called "Kleiner Feigling"
(Little Coward). Indeed no person, but a form of schnapps.
>

Haven't had this one either, but I would be inclined to say that the
word "coward" implies its a sweet drink (but still quite a stiff one),
and Kleine(little) means its served in smaller amounts. You'd probably
also expect to see this drink in the hands of a not-so-burly and less
masculine person.

So if the HBP as a potion is supported by the tradition of naming
drinks we should be able to glean some information about the potion
itself from the name Half Blood Prince. Furthermore, if the naming
tradition applies to potions, then it's likely that we should be able
to find *another* potion that is named in this way somewhere in text..

so is there one?

No there isn't according to the Lexicon encyclopaedia of potions, I
have confidence in the exhaustive coverage of everything in the
lexicon, so I would conclude there is so far no Potions that have been
named "personage style". Unfortunately HBP!Potion is not fully
supported, but I will have a go at some speculative nonsense on the
assumption anyway..

Half Blood Prince - If this were a potion named in the aforementioned
tradition, I would expect it to be Princely and hence I would expect
that it endows the drinker with princely qualities such as courage,
dignity, rightness. 
A drink called Half Blood I would expect might be difficult to
swallow, possibly gag inducing, probably a salty drink. 

If I were offered a goblet of Half Blood Prince I would hold my nose
and gulp it down quickly... 

Valky