History Tearjerker / HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince

** Fawkes flying around Hogwarts lamenting his owner. Later than night, he leaves Hogwarts, [[PutOnABus never to return]].
*** Not only that, he’s never seen or heard from again outside of Hogwarts. Which is saying a fair bit, as most of the following book takes place away from the school…

** It's a pretty heartwarming moment, too, however, when you realize that Harry isn't exactly telling the entire truth (despite his whole "chest monster" jealousy, he's not angry with Ginny like Hermione is with Ron) but knows Hermione needs to hear that he knows exactly how she feels.

[[folder: From the Book]]

-->'''Prime Minister''': But for heaven's sake--you're ''wizards!'' You can do ''magic!'' Surely you can sort out--well--''anything!''\\
'''Minister of Magic''': ''(smiling sadly)'' The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.

*** His assertion that the weeks they spent together felt like 'something out of someone else's life'. This book's status as a BreatherEpisode really highlighted all the things that ''should have'' been expected of a 16-year-old kid - negotiating his class schedule, playing sports, dipping his toes into the dating pool... but after Dumbledore died, Harry realized that [[IJustWantToBeNormal as much as he ached to be normal]] - as far as wizards go, anyway - it wasn't in the cards for him. Not until Voldemort was dead. And the decision to break up with Ginny was followed shortly thereafter - or perhaps actually preceded - by his decision to leave Hogwarts, which he had often called [[YouCantGoHomeAgain his one true home.]]
** Fawkes flying around Hogwarts lamenting his owner. Later than night, he leaves Hogwarts, [[PutOnABus never to return.]]

** Merope’s whole life was sad. She was abused by her father, bullied by her brother and possibly subjected to sexual abuse, which led to her being inept at magic and only gave her father more reasons to abuse her since he thought that she was a Squib. She longed for love and nourished a crush on Tom Riddle, but she knew that he would never show interest in her because she was poor and unattractive (and he didn’t know that her family had been the wizard equivalent of nobility) unless she used magic. And while she was wrong to use a LovePotion to brainwash Tom into marrying her and then basically rape him, she wanted the real thing so badly that she dropped the spell and might have hoped that Riddle would have fallen in love with her too, only for him to naturally run away as far as possible, destroying all her hopes and leaving her too depressed to live long enough to raise her son, dying in childbirth.

-->''"It's going to be all right, sir," Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore's silence than he had been by his weakened voice. "We're nearly there.... I can Apparate us both back.... Don't worry...."''
-->''"I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."''

** A bit of a [[FridgeLogic Fridge]] TearJerker when you realize that Snape didn't properly ''lose it'' with Harry until he uses ''Levicorpus'', which is the same spell that James used to attack Snape all those years ago. Now Harry, who is near-identical to James, is using the same spell, bringing Snape back to the moment which, through Snape's own doing, set him on the path that would lead him to where he is now, the darkest moment of his life.

--->'''''Hating''' himself, '''repulsed''' by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet back toward Dumbledore's mouth and tipped it, so that Dumbledore drank the remainder of the potion inside.''
--->''Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was '''revulsion''' and '''hatred''' etched in the harsh lines of his face.''

** And in general, everyone's reactions to it being Snape who killed Dumbledore, particularly the staff's ([=McGonagall=] didn't believe it until she heard it from Harry, Hagrid couldn't believe it though Harry told him explicitly several times, even tries to defend Snape and had to see Dumbledore's body to finally believe Slughorn's reaction...) are not immediate anger/outrage, but shock and disbelief. It is clear that whatever doubts about Snape they held in the beginning, they trusted Dumbledore so much to eventually trust and accept Snape as one of their own after all these years of working alongside him. To imagine how the pain of this betrayal must have hurt; after all, not only is Dumbledore dead but that he is killed "at the hands of one of our colleagues is a terrible stain upon Hogwarts’s history. It is horrible." Especially as it was not betrayal at all and only Snape knows this now, but they don't find out until after his death, and the last encounter between him and his former teachers/colleagues/fellow Heads of Houses ends with their duel and driving him out of the castle.
--->''"Snape," repeated [=McGonagall=] faintly, falling into the chair. "We all wondered...but he trusted...always...Snape... I can't believe it..."''
--->''"Snape!" ejaculated Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale, and sweating. "Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!"''

[[folder: From the Film]]

--->''(Harry and Dumbledore return from the Pensieve memory of young Tom Riddle)''
--->'''Harry:''' ...Did you know, sir? [[StartOfDarkness Then?]]
--->'''Dumbledore:''' Did I know that I just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No. If I had... ''(trails off)''

** It’s a pretty heartwarming moment, too, however, when you realize that Harry isn’t exactly telling the entire truth (despite his whole “chest monster” jealousy, he’s not angry with Ginny like Hermione is with Ron) but knows Hermione needs to hear that he knows exactly how she feels.

** The staging of the next scene, with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione leaning against the wall and Harry sitting on the couch, is reminiscent of an ''intervention.''

** Fawkes flying around Hogwarts lamenting his owner. After the funeral, he leaves Hogwarts, never to return.

* Dumbledore's death is just one big TearJerker. He was one of the very first characters we ever met and has always been a source of wisdom, comfort, and gentle humor. From the end of ''Order of the Phoenix'' onwards, he became a ParentalSubstitute to Harry as well as opened up and became more human. Now, he's gone, and [[NightmareFuel Voldemort's biggest opposition is out of the way]].

* There's something sad about the fact that Merope named her son, Tom Marvolo Riddle, after two people in her life that didn't care a fig about her, simply because she had no one else. One was her father who abused her all her life for being bad at magic, the other was the father of her child who she brainwashed into loving her, and they were all she had.

* Slughorn's story about the magical fish that Lily gave him and how, when he came downstairs and looked at it one day, it had vanished and so he knew that she was dead because a wizard's magic only stops when they do.

* Fawkes flying around Hogwarts lamenting his owner.

* There's something sad about the fact that Merope named her son, Tom Marvolo Riddle, after two people in her life that didn't care about her, simply because she had no one else. One was her father who abused her all her life for being bad at magic, the other was the father of her child who she brainwashed into loving her, and they were all she had.

[[folder:From the Book]]

** A bit of a [[FridgeLogic Fridge]] TearJerker when you realize that Snape didn't properly ''lose it'' with Harry until he uses ''Levicorpus'', which is the same spell that James used to attack Snape all those years ago. Now Harry, who is near-identical to James, is using the same spell, bringing Snape back to the moment which, through Snape's own doing, set him to the path that would lead him to where he is now, the darkest moment of his life.
* Similar to the above, Snape looking at Dumbledore with hatred and revulsion seems like the betrayal, but it's more hate at having to do this at all, especially with the later heavy implication that Dumbledore is his ParentalSubstitute.

** Even more Fridge Sadness in this scene when considering the above line that Slughorn gives. By this point we know he was reluctant to give Harry and Dumbledore the memory out of guilt over having given young Voldemort information about Horcruxes, info which Voldemort used to aid him in committing all sorts of crimes, one of which being the murder of Harry's mother and his favourite student, Lily. Like [=McGonagall=], Snape was also his student, and he evidently thought that despite how he was, him something this vile was beyond his doing. Adding to that is his reaction as described above and it gives the feeling he had this exact reaction to learning of Voldemort's many upon many MoralEventHorizon crossings, especially in regards to his ex-student committing murder against someone he holds dear.

* [[DownplayedTrope Sure it's a bit low priority compared to everything else mentioned above]] but the fact that Harry wasn't allowed to participate in what would be the last Quidditch match in the entire story, and not to mention the last one that Harry would've ever played if not for the unfortunate circumstances that prevented him from doing so, is still very sad. It doesn't help that the last one he actually played in, he suffered a nasty injury and lost badly.

[[folder:From the Film]]

* When Malfoy is in the Room of Requirement, trying to get the Vanishing Cabinet to work, and the finch appears to have died. On top of being shown his utterly disturbed expression, you can hear him crying and you can really feel how stressed and scared he is. Pushed even further when he's in the bathroom later, breaking down.
** It's enhanced by the fact that, in the book, Draco is definitely sympathetic, but still clearly not to be rooted for. The movies, however, humanize him and turn him from just another caricatured antagonist into a boy who made all the wrong choices and is lonely and afraid. One may be unable to help but see the similarities between Draco and Regulus Black, as both are forced down the path of darkness out of loyalty to their family.

* When Hermione is crying in the abandoned room and Harry tries to comfort her, only to have the lovebirds interrupt and be driven off by the real lovebirds. Specifically the line "How does it feel...when you see Dean with Ginny?". Christ, you can ''hear'' how heartbroken she is.

* If the events of ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'' wasn't enough, Lestrange singing "I killed Sirius Black" in the cornfield to taunt Harry and Co. will elicit both BerserkerTears and sad tears.
* Pay attention to Creator/AlanRickman's performance when Snape kills Dumbledore. In the book, he shouts out "''AVADA KEDAVRA''!" but in the movie, his tone of voice (remember, he's being asked by Dumbledore to do this against his wishes) is more like "God forgive me..." It's one of regret and remorse.

* In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9By0u8CoV0 deleted scene]], we see the Hogwarts students sing a hauntingly beautiful choir that takes place immediately before Dumbledore's death. We witness Snape overlooking the window, thinking about what he will have to do while shedding a single tear.

[[folder: Book]]

[[folder: Film]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/albusdumbledore_pm_b6c30m1_dumbledoresfuneral_moment.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A final farewell.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_likxeb5fg61qago4i.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The school of Hogwarts mourn the passing of a great wizard.]]

* The Muggle Prime Minister's position is not an enviable one either. He has vague information of what really goes on at best while his country is getting steadily worse and worse (and he can't even tell his fellow Muggles because they wouldn't believe him), is patronized by those who know more and ridiculed/thought ineffective by those who don't, and in the end of the meeting with Scrimgeour, he desperately pleads with the two wizards to solve the problems with magic, like a kid asking their parents for something the kid is convinced their almighty parents can do... only to be told, no, it isn't that simple.

** A bit of a [[FridgeLogic Fridge]] TearJerker when you realize that Snape didn't properly ''lose it'' with Harry until he uses ''Levicorpus'', which is the same spell that James used to attack Snape all those years ago. Now Harry, who is near-identical to James, is using the the same spell, bringing Snape back to the moment which, through Snape's own doing, set him to the path that would lead him to where he is now, the darkest moment of his life.

** The awful moment when when Dumbledore is begging Snape "Please" and you later realize Dumbledore was begging Snape to kill him to spare Draco from having to do it and Dumbledore from unnecessary suffering.

** And in general, everyone's reactions to it being Snape who killed Dumbledore, particularly the staff's ([=McGonagall=] didn't believe until she heard it from Harry, Hagrid couldn't believe it though Harry told him explicitly several times, even tries to defend Snape and had to see Dumbledore's body to finally believe, Slughorn's reaction...) are not immediate anger/outrage, but shock and disbelief. It is clear that whatever doubts about Snape they held in the beginning, they trusted Dumbledore so much to eventually trust and accept Snape as one of their own after all these years of working alongside him. To imagine how the pain of this betrayal must have hurt; after all, not only is Dumbledore dead, but that he is killed "at the hands of one of our colleagues is a terrible stain upon Hogwarts’s history. It is horrible." Especially as it was not betrayal at all and only Snape knows this now, but they don't find out until after his death, and the last encounter between him and his former teachers/colleagues/fellow Heads of Houses ends with their duel and driving him out of the castle.

--->''"Snape!" ejaculated Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating. "Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!"''

** Even more Fridge Sadness in this scene when considering the above line that Slughorn gives. By this point we know he was reluctant to give Harry and Dumbledore the memory out of guilt over having given young Voldemort information about Horcruxes, info which Voldemort used to aid him in committing all sorts of crimes, one of which being the murder of Harry's mother and his favourite student, Lily. Like [=McGonagall=], Snape was also his student, and evidently he thought that despite how he was, him something this vile was beyond his doing. Adding to that is his reaction as described above and it gives the feeling he had this exact reaction to learning of Voldemort's many upon many MoralEventHorizon crossings, especially in regards to his ex-student committing murder against someone he holds dear.

* Sirius's name is cleared but [[AcquittedTooLate it's too late for him]].
* Remus describing himself as "too old, too poor, too dangerous" for Tonks. It's clear just how low the poor man's self-esteem is, and also suggests that after Sirius's death he doesn't want to get close to anyone again for fear of losing them. He's lost all of his closest friends, either because they died (like James and Sirius) or because they betrayed everyone (like Peter Pettigrew).

* Dumbledore's death is just one big TearJerker. He was one of the very first characters we ever met and has always been a source of wisdom, comfort, and gentle humor. From the end of ''Order of the Phoenix'' onwards, he became a ParentalSubstitute to Harry, as well as opening up and becoming more human. Now, he's gone, and [[NightmareFuel Voldemort's biggest opposition is out of the way]].

** It comes back when Draco confronts Dumbledore atop the Astronomy Tower. An important part of Dumbledore's plan up until this point is that no harm come to Draco whatsoever. He's outright ''pleading'' another one of his students to not go down the same path as Tom Riddle.

* Slughorn's story about the magical fish that Lily gave him and how, when he came downstairs and looked at it one day, it had vanished and so he knew that she was dead, because a wizard's magic only stops when they do.
** It's a double one because, up until now, the audience is lead to believe that Slughorn only cared for his Slug Club members to cash in on their fame and get gifts from it. However, upon learning that Lily died, he was completely devastated, showing that he did care for their well-being.

** It's a good thing none of the Death Eaters could directly see his face, because you can tell Snape is in damn ''pain.'' Especially with the heavy implication that Dumbledore is his ParentalSubstitute.

* The opening scene, which is essentially a deleted scene from the aftermath of the battle from the previous instalment. Harry is being photographed like a celebrity, and he's so devastated over the loss of Sirius that he barely registers it.

* A downplayed moment is that the day after Ron's run-in with Ginny, it's said that he's treating "a hurt and bewildered Hermione" very frostily as well. Only because he found out she had kissed Viktor Krum some two years ago. One of her best friends suddenly starts treating her in a hostile way, and she has no idea why. Harry says he doesn't even want to tell her.

** ** What's worse is JK Rowling said she was tired of writing Quidditch scenes and intended while writing for that match to be the last one featured in the series, which was fine by the actors and filmmakers, as filming them was tiring. Needless to say, a lot of readers felt otherwise and were very disappointed.

* [[DownplayedTrope Sure it's small potatoes compared to everything else mentioned above]] but the fact that Harry wasn't allowed to participate in what would be the last Quidditch match in the entire story, and not to mention the last one that Harry would've ever played if not for the unfortunate circumstances that prevented him from doing so, is still very sad. It doesn't help that the last one he actually played in, he suffered a nasty injury and lost badly.
** ** What's worse is JK Rowling said she was tired of writing Quidditch scenes and intended while writing for that match to be the last one featured in the series, which was fine by the actors and filmmakers, as filming them was tiring. Needless to say, a lot of readers felt otherwise and were very disapointed.

** ** What's worse is JK Rowling said she was tired of writing Quidditch scenes and intended while writing for that match to be the last one featured in the series, which was fine by the actors and filmmakers, as filming them was tiring. Needless to say, a lot of readers felt otherwise.

* [[DownplayedTrope Sure it's small potatoes compared to everything else mentioned above]] but the fact that Harry wasn't allowed to participate in what would be the last Quidditch match in the entire story, and not to mention the last one that Harry would've ever played if not for the unfortunate circumstances that prevented him from doing so, is still very sad.

* The opening scene, which is essentially part of the aftermath of the battle from the previous instalment. Harry is being photographed like a celebrity, and he's so devastated over the loss of Sirius that he barely registers it.