History Heartwarming / HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince

-->'''Harry:''' Sorry for making you miss the carriages, Luna.

-->'''Harry:''' Thanks for walking me to the gate.
-->'''Luna:''' I rather enjoyed it. It was like having a friend.
-->'''Harry (surprised):''' ...I AM your friend, Luna.

** During this conversation, Ginny tells Harry that she ''never'' stopped loving him even when she started seeing other people.

* Harry only has to endure a mere fortnight at the Dursleys' before Dumbledore arrives to take him away. After his horrible mistake in letting him starve for information and connection the previous summer, and with this being his penultimate stay (and the last stay that Dumbledore himself will live to see), one could see this as a massive apology and reward to make up for all the suffering. Harry gets to spend the vast majority of the summer with his true family, the Weasley's.
** Before they go, Dumbledore gets the chance to sternly, but calmly give Vernon and Petunia a piece of his mind for all their torture and abuse.

** The same can be said for the centaurs - we have plenty of examples from PS and this book in particular that set out their dislike of wizards and humanity. Nevertheless, they came as a flock and fired arrows to pay tribute to Dumbledore at his funeral as a clear sign of their respect for him.

** During the holiday, both Harry and Ginny are in the sitting room with Mr. Weasley with palpable (good) tension; Mr. Weasley has the common ShipperOnDeck courtesy to excuse himself so he can LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone.

---->'''Ginny''': I can stay hidden up here too if you'd like.

* When Ron tells Harry about Unbreakable Vows, he mentions that Fred and George almost made him take one as a kid, but Mr. Weasley stopped it just in time. He notes that it was the only time he'd ever seen him as mad as his mother gets. Something about that small mention of the PapaWolf moment really did it for this troper.

* After Dumbledore dies, and the whole class puts their wands up in the air to get rid of the Dark Mark in the sky, we cut to the next morning. The scene alone with [=McGonagall=] and Harry was very sad yet heartwarming, but what had this troper burst to tears was when [[PowerTrio The Trio]] went up to the astronomy tower, and discussed what their next move would be now that Dumbledore is dead, and now that they know that the Horcruxes are the key to defeating Voldemort. Harry is determined to find them all by himself, but Hermione quite funnily retorts to him that he couldn't do it alone, with Ron agreeing. They then all huddle up on the balcony of the astronomy tower as they watch Fawkes the phoenix fly away, across the black lake and into the morning sun. Not really heartwarming in the description, but ''good lord''. The way they did it... with the cinematography... and then when placed into the context of the events that had just occurred.... and when you put on top of that that this is basically signaling the beginning of the end of the series, I began to cry. For people like me, who've grown up with the films more so than the books, who've grown up with the actors and their characters (and for whom the viewer can genuinely see the camaraderie that they have for each other)... it just... ahhhhh. It was a poetic and heartwarming moment on ThePowerOfFriendship and the loss of innocence.

** While their BigDamnKiss of the book being left out is still something fans will agree was a mistake, the kiss they share in the Room of Requirement is still a heartwarming scene on it’s own.

** When Harry must rid himself of the Half-Blood Prince's book, Ginny quietly leads him to the Room of Requirement to do so, just the two of them:
*** Ginny: "Take my hand."
*** Once inside, she instructs him to close his eyes so he won't know its location and be tempted to look for it. She whispers the instruction again that elicits a reaction on his face of an anticipated nervousness, which is on the money considering Ginny returns and wordlessly leans in and kisses him. In the film canon, this is treated as their OfficialKiss. Undoubtedly the most heartwarming moment in the film.
---->'''Ginny''': I can stay hidden up here too if you'd like.

[[folder:From the Book]]

** On a similar note, his loyalty to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's trust in him. While the culmination of their relationship is a tearjerker, Dumbledore cared about Snape enough to trust him with his life and his death; he's not afraid, even surrounded by psychos like Bellatrix and Greyback, because he knows Snape won't let him die painfully. Add up the fact that Dumbledore believed his defection was genuine all those years ago, and he's pretty much Snape's ParentalSubstitute. As much of a {{jerkass}} as Snape is, Dumbledore has always seen the best of him.

* Early in the year, when the students are selecting their N.E.W.T. subjects, [=McGonagall=] tells Neville, not unkindly, that he doesn't have the required grade to continue Transfiguration past O.W.L. level, and goes so far as to ask him why he wants to continue it in the first place, given that he didn't particularly enjoy it in the past. Neville mutters something about his grandmother wanting him to do so, prompting [=McGonagall=] to respond thusly:

** This is added on with what happens next. [=McGonagall=] suggests that Neville takes up Charms, but Neville says his grandmother thinks it's a soft option

* Hermione hesitantly trying to ask Ron to Slughorn's party, and the burgeoning ShipTease, is absolutely adorable for Ron/Hermione shippers. Of course, Ron screws that up by making out with Lavender for half the book, while Hermione screws up by dating Cormac and assaulting Ron, but still.

* Harry gets Dumbledore's back in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. He notes how Rufus Scrimgeour accused Harry of being "Dumbledore's man through and through." Dumbledore notes, amused, how very rude that was of him. Harry then says he effectively accepted it as a compliment... and suddenly notices how very damp Dumbledore's eyes seem, with Dumbledore being moved to tears by this display of loyalty towards him. What perhaps makes this moment even better is this exchange right at then end when Harry and Scrimgeour meet at Dumbledore's funeral:

* When Harry complains about Snape's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, expressing disgust at how Snape waxed poetic about the dark arts' power and ever-changing nature, Hermione replies that the point he was making there (that you need to be incredibly quick-thinking and adaptable if you want to have any hope of overcoming them) was actually not so different from what Harry said about the Dark Arts when he was teaching DA the previous year, citing when he said what's really most important when fighting dark wizards is being brave and quick-witted, otherwise everything you've learned is just going to fail you. Rather than getting angry at Hermione for indirectly calling him similiar to Snape, he's instead stunned into silence at the realization that she memorized ''his'' lectures just as dutifully as she did those of actual proper teachers.
* Harry asks Luna to accompany him to Slughorn's Christmas party, and Luna is thrilled. The scene is sad, funny, and heartwarming; it's very well done. And despite the various sideplots also being developed at the party, we still get to see Luna thoroughly enjoy herself.

*** Yes, that's right - Luna ''knows'' she is different, but '''doesn't care in the slightest and is perfectly happy being totally different to everyone else''', because she has friends that care for her. And even in those times when she ''didn't'' have friends who genuinely liked her for who she was, she chose to be the person who makes '''her''' happy, and if people don't like that person, ''that's not her problem''.

* Ron's boasting about Hermione's skill at apparition, after their multi-chapter big fight earlier in the book, is very sweet in its own way.

* Harry's triumphant kiss with Ginny after Gryffindor wins the cup. Without thinking he just goes for it, and then warily looks over to Ron. Keep in mind the entire book the main thing keeping Harry from acting on his feeling was Ron's bile towards the idea of anyone snogging his sister. Ron's response? A second of shock followed by a nod of approval.
** Several pages before, after Harry's confrontation with Draco that nearly killed the latter, Hermione can't help but get in a fit of IWarnedYou over trusting any spell in the Half-Blood Prince's textbook, while coming just shy of saying Harry deserved whatever punishment would be given. In a surprising (to him) move, Ginny immediately unloads on Hermione for not supporting Harry and that he was perfectly in the right to use self-defense. The rare argument -- Harry can't remember ''any'' time Ginny and Hermione were at odds -- is the biggest signal that Ginny feels the same about him as he does her, eventually leading to the BigDamnKiss by the end of the chapter.

* Surprisingly, Seamus' shouting match with his mother. His loyalty to Dumbledore does shine after all.
* Filch and Pince showing up in Dumbledore's funeral together. Maybe they are couple afterall.

[[folder:From the Film]]

* In a weird way, Ginny's first scene. It's the first time in the films she's introduced by herself, and is the focal point of the scene (and she and Harry have a close embrace that immediately signals a shift in hormonal feelings since the last time they've seen each other). It practically shows that she's earned the right to be treated like a main character. This scene also introduces the other familiar faces in the Burrow, set to a rare Yates-era appearance of "Hedwig's Theme".

* Harry comforting Hermione after Ron and Lavender get together; Hermione also voices to him she considers Harry "my best friend", that she can see he feels for Ginny what she feels for Ron, and Harry holds her close while she sobs.

** Then there's Slughorn's moment in the scene before, when he "says a few words for" the deceased Aragog, the giant monster-spider who was Hagrid's friend. The way it's done, an event which could have been just plain silly was transformed into a heartwarming moment and is possibly the first time we begin to see Slughorn as a person with depth; as being more than just a shallow glory-seeker.
* Near the beginning of the film, Draco whines about Hogwarts like it's some kind of disgrace for him to him to have to go back. But by the end of the film the Great Hall is nearly destroyed, Dumbledore is dead, and [[BreakTheHaughty ''Draco'' is very clearly heartbroken]].
* After Dumbledore dies, and the whole class puts their wands up in the air to get rid of the Dark Mark in the sky, we cut to the next morning. The scene alone with [=McGonagall=] and Harry was very sad yet heartwarming, but what had this troper burst to tears was when [[PowerTrio The Trio]] went up to the astronomy tower, and discussed what their next move would be now that Dumbledore is dead, and now that they know that the Horcruxes are the key to defeating Voldemort. Harry is determined to find them all by himself, but Hermione quite funnily retorts to him that he couldn't do it alone, with Ron agreeing. They then all huddle up on the balcony of the astronomy tower as they watch Fawkes the phoenix fly away, across the black lake and into the morning sun. Not really heartwarming in description, but ''good lord''. The way they did it... with the cinematography... and then when placed into the context of the events that had just occurred.... and when you put on top of that that this is basically signaling the beginning of the end of the series, I began to cry. For people like me, who've grown up with the films more so than the books, who've grown up with the actors and their characters (and for whom the viewer can genuinely see the camaraderie that they have for each other)... it just... ahhhhh. It was a poetic and heartwarming moment on ThePowerOfFriendship and the loss of innocence.

* Before they set off for the cave, Dumbledore warmly muses that Harry needs to shave, and reflects on how much Harry has grown. He probably knows he won't survive the night, so in a way this is him expressing affection for his surrogate grandson one last time as just that - not as a hero, but Harry, his ''grandson''.
* Ron's achievements as a Keeper. For those of you who read Order of the Phoenix, to see how far he has came is wonderful.

*** Once inside, she instructs him to close his eyes so he won't know its location and be tempted to look for it. She whispers the instruction again that elicits a reaction on his face of an anticipated nervousness, which is on the money considering Ginny returns and wordlessly leans in and kisses him. In the film canon, this is treated as their OfficialKiss.

** The same can be said for the centaurs - we have plenty of examples from PS and this book in particular that set out their dislike of wizards and humanity. Nevertheless, they came as a flock and fired arrows to pay tribute to Dumbledore at his funeral.

** The same can be said for the centaurs - we have plenty of examples from PS and this book in particular that set out their dislike of wizards and humanity. Nevertheless, they came as a flock and paid a formal tribute to Dumbledore.

* Hermione hesitantly trying to ask Ron to Slughorn's party, and the burgeoning ShipTease, is absolutely adorable for Ron/Hermione shippers. Of course, Ron screws that up by making out with Lavender for half the book, but still.
* After he's been poisoned, it's mentioned that Hermione had run up to the hospital wing and been very pale and quiet all day. No matter how much of an idiot he's been, she still loves and worries about him.

* When Harry complains about Snape's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, expressing disgust at how Snape waxed poetic about the dark arts' power and ever-changing nature, Hermione replies that the point he was making there (that you need to be incredibly quick-thinking and adaptable if you want to have any hope of overcoming them) was actually not so different from what Harry said about the Dark Arts when he was teaching DA the previous year, citing when he said what's really most important when fighting dark wizards is being brave and quick-witted, otherwise everything you've learned is just going to fail you. Rather than getting angry at Hermione for indirectly calling him NotSoDifferent to Snape, he's instead stunned into silence at the realization that she memorized ''his'' lectures just as dutifully as she did those of actual proper teachers.

* When Harry complains about Snape's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, expressing disgust at how Snape waxed poetic about the dark arts' power and ever-changing nature (in the process of explaining that you need to be quick-thinking and adaptable if you want to have any hope of overcoming them), Hermione replies that it's actually not so different from what Harry said about the Dark Arts when he was teaching DA the previous year, citing when he said what's really most important when fighting dark wizards is being brave and quick-witted, otherwise everything you learn is just going to fail you. Rather than getting angry at Hermione for indirectly calling him NotSoDifferent to Snape, he's instead stunned into silence at the realization that she memorized ''his'' lectures just as dutifully as she did those of actual proper teachers.

* When Harry complains about Snape's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, expressing disgust at how Snape waxed poetic about its power and ever-changing nature (in the process of explaining that you need to be quick-thinking and adaptable if you want to have any hope of overcoming them), Hermione replies that it's actually not so different from what Harry said about the Dark Arts when he was teaching DA the previous year, citing when he said what's really most important when fighting dark wizards is being brave and quick-witted, otherwise everything you learn is just going to fail you. Rather than getting angry at Hermione for indirectly calling him NotSoDifferent to Snape, he's instead stunned into silence at the realization that she memorized ''his'' lectures just as dutifully as she did those of actual proper teachers.

* Harry gets Dumbledore's back in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. He notes how Rufus Scrimgeour accused Harry of being "Dumbledore's man through and through." Dumbledore notes, amused, how very rude that was of him. Harry then says he effectively accepted it as a compliment... and suddenly notices how very damp Dumbledore's eyes seem. What perhaps makes this moment even better is this exchange right at then end when Harry and Scrimgeour meet at Dumbledore's funeral:

* Before they set off for the cave, Dumbledore warmly muses that Harry needs to shave, and reflects on how much Harry has grown. He probably knows he won't survive the night, so in a way this is him expressing affection for his surrogate son one last time as just that - not as a hero, but Harry, his ''son''.

* Ron's achievements as a Chaser. For those of you who read Order of the Phoenix, to see how far he has came is wonderful.