Malfoy's hand of glory is mentioned. I don't remember him having it before.

And, just to check, Harry is right about Draco having the dark mark, right? I cannot remember whether he actually has it or is about to earn it.

The usefulness of unvoiced spells keeps showing up. It was there at the end of the last book, during the fight at the ministry, and then pops up repeatedly in these chapters: Harry wishes he could do it when trapped in the carriage, and Snape dedicates the first lesson of the year to it.

Then there is the reveal of the DADA job. I am a little … is confused the word? … on this point. Why did Dumbledore give it to Snape? What has changed? Except the fact that he needs Slughorn? Is it just that Snape is such a good potions master, with such excellent talents, Dumbledore has been reluctant to use him for anything else? In that case, the interpretation of it as a reluctance to let him have anything to do with the dark arts is clearly wrong, even though it seems to be the prevalent opinion at Hogwarts. I wonder to what extent Snape really wanted the DADA job -- he does LOVE potions. It seems to me that the DADA job thing is more of a substitute for Voldemort thing.