Dumbledore makes a late night visit to Privet Drive in Chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, “Will and Won’t,” and guest Meg joins Andrew, Eric, and Micah to talk through all of it.
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You can listen to the full episode above. Below are the biggest takeaways from our conversation.
What Does “Will and Won’t” Mean?
The hosts started with the chapter title. Micah thought it had more going on than it seems at first. “The title of this chapter, you could make the argument has multiple meanings,” he said.
Meg broke it down. “It’s about the reading of Sirius’ will, and you have Kreacher saying won’t, which is the opposite of the other definition of will.” Not everyone was impressed. Andrew called it “a lazy chapter title,” though Eric admitted the wordplay landed better once Meg explained it.
The Chosen One Sleeps With His Mouth Open
After two chapters of other people talking about Harry, we finally catch up with him, and he’s asleep against his bedroom window with his glasses askew. Andrew loved that. “This is one of the most important wizards of our time, and yet he’s just like us. He snores too,” he said.
Meg pointed out how well that works after the first two chapters. The Muggle Prime Minister, Snape, and the Malfoys have all been discussing the Chosen One from a distance, “and then it’s like, here we finally meet him, and he’s sleeping on the window.”
The Ministry’s Safety Advice Comes Way Too Late
Harry’s room is full of Daily Prophet clippings and a Ministry leaflet on protecting yourself from the Dark Arts. Don’t go out alone after dark. Agree on security questions with your family in case someone is using Polyjuice Potion or the Imperius Curse. It’s practical advice, but also pretty terrifying.
Eric thinks it’s useful, just very late. “The second best time for them to send this is now, but the first was literally anytime before this,” he said. The Ministry spent a whole year denying Voldemort was back, and now it’s scrambling to catch up.
Everyone wants a piece of the Chosen One right now, and Micah thinks he knows why the Ministry is so interested in Harry. “They’re looking for a figurehead. They’re looking for somebody for the wizarding world to really rally behind,” he said.
Harry Is Afraid to Get His Hopes Up
Dumbledore has written to say he’ll pick Harry up, but Harry isn’t sure he’ll actually come. After the way Dumbledore kept his distance in Order of the Phoenix, who could blame him? He even wonders if the letter is some kind of trick.
Meg zeroed in on a small detail that says a lot. Harry can’t bring himself to finish packing, because he couldn’t stand the disappointment of having to unpack again if Dumbledore never showed. Leaving the Dursleys early feels almost too good to be true. Eric related, comparing it to winning concert tickets and not quite believing it until you’re actually there.
Dumbledore Shows Up at 11 p.m.
Dumbledore arrives at 11 o’clock at night, which the hosts found pretty rude. The episode opened with them joking that they’d be annoyed if somebody showed up at 11 p.m., or honestly even at 3 p.m.
Once he’s inside, Dumbledore offers the Dursleys a drink, then finally tells Vernon and Petunia exactly what he thinks of how they’ve treated Harry. He also says they’ve done real damage to Dudley. Micah wondered if that crosses a line. Who is Dumbledore to comment on how they raise their own son? Andrew agreed it’s not Dudley’s fault, but given how the Dursleys treated Harry, he understood why Dumbledore would criticize their parenting across the board.
Eric thinks it does cross the line. Dumbledore clearly feels protective of Harry, which is why he can tell the Dursleys they did a bad job raising him. But he doesn’t know Dudley at all. He hasn’t been watching through the window for Dudley’s whole life, so any judgment he makes about him is superficial by definition. Meg agreed the criticism is undeserved, but she thinks this scene matters a lot for Dudley later on. When Dudley tells Harry in Deathly Hallows that he doesn’t think he’s a waste of space, Meg sees the seeds of that moment right here.
Eric took a more cynical view of the whole visit. “This whole, ‘I’ll pick Harry up at Privet Drive,’ yeah, he’s taken him to the Burrow. That’s great for Harry. But this is all about using Harry,” he said. Dumbledore needs Harry’s help to recruit Horace Slughorn, so standing up to the Dursleys is a good way to win Harry back. The hosts agreed it can be both. Dumbledore can care about Harry and use him at the same time.
Dumbledore Isn’t Kind to Kreacher Either
To test whether Harry really inherited Grimmauld Place, Dumbledore summons Kreacher right into the Dursleys’ living room. Micah and Eric called it a violation of the Dursleys’ home, but Meg thought about Kreacher.
“It’s also extremely unkind,” Meg said. “He’s clearly in emotional distress and doing something that he doesn’t want.” Kreacher throws a tantrum on the floor, and Dumbledore barely seems to care. For all his criticism of how Sirius treated Kreacher, Dumbledore isn’t treating him much better. Meg said she’s happy that Kreacher gets his turnaround in Deathly Hallows, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally show him some kindness.
What Harry Inherits From Sirius
Sirius’s will leaves Harry everything: 12 Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, and Buckbeak. Harry sends Kreacher off to work in the Hogwarts kitchens, and Buckbeak stays with Hagrid. None of it is just stuff. Every item is tied to the godfather Harry just lost.
That’s what makes “Will and Won’t” more than a quick pickup scene. Harry finally gets out of Privet Drive, but he’s carrying Sirius’s legacy, a lot of doubt about Dumbledore, and a mission he doesn’t fully understand yet. Coming up: a sleepy Muggle village and a man pretending to be an armchair.