Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the "Harry Potter" series. Set during protagonist Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle against Voldemort alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury, and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold nine
Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series most names changed to those of "Harry Potter" characters. The book was quickly recognised by media outlets as a fake. Rowling and Warner Bros. took steps to stop its distribution. Copies were briefly distributed around the world, including e-book copies traded on the Internet. In November 2002, the Bashu Publishing House, in the southwestern city of Chengdu, agreed to pay a £1,600 (US$3,400) fine and publish an apology in China's "Legal Times" for printing and distributing the novel. As of 2007, the identity of the anonymous "author" has not been discovered. The opening of "Harry Potter and Bao Zoulong", translated