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[edit] Chapters

Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday

Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning

Chapter 3: The Burrow

Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart

Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

Chapter 11: The Dueling Club

Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

Chapter 15: Aragog

Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin

Chapter 18: Dobby's Reward

[edit] Overview

The second book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is written from the point of view of the now-12-year-old Harry Potter. The book's title refers to a chamber which was, according to legend, created in Hogwarts castle by one of the founders, Salazar Slytherin, at the time of his departure from Hogwarts; and much of the action of the book revolves around that chamber, and what may be in it, if in fact it exists.

[edit] Book Highlights

• New places visited: Whomping Willow, The Burrow, Knockturn Alley, Slytherin common room, Chamber of Secrets
• New characters met: Dobby, Mr. Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Moaning Myrtle, Colin Creevey, Lucius Malfoy
• Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher: Gilderoy Lockhart
• Title refers to: the Chamber of Secrets.

Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday

[edit] Synopsis

Harry has returned to stay with the Dursleys for the summer holidays, and things are not running smoothly. On Harry's birthday, Harry and Uncle Vernon have an argument over breakfast, triggered by Dudley commanding Harry to pass him the bacon, and Harry informing him that he forgot the magic word. The mere mention of magic or anything like it is enough to send Uncle Vernon into a towering rage.

Uncle Vernon then launches into his plans for the evening, entertaining a prospective client, who was called Mr. Mason. Harry's part in these plans is very simple, reiterated many times: he will remain in his room, making no noise, pretending not to be there.

When Harry is sitting in the yard later that day, Dudley nastily reminds him that it is Harry's birthday and asks why all his "weird friends" have not even bothered to send him any cards or presents. Harry tells him he is trying to set the garden hedge on fire with magic; although he is only teasing, as he is not allowed to practice magic outside Hogwarts. But Dudley tells his aunt, and as a punishment for mentioning magic Harry has to work all day at cleaning the house.

That evening, as Mr. and Mrs. Mason arrive, Harry is sent to his room. However, when Harry enters the room, he is shocked to see there is someone sitting on his bed.

[edit] Analysis

As is usual, this first chapter reinforces the framework for the contrast that will be echoed throughout the series between the magical and the mundane. In this chapter and the one following, we will see the spiritual poverty and deprivation of Harry's non-magical life.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. Harry notices something with very large, green eyes apparently looking at him from within the hedge. What or who could this be? Is magic sneaking into the staunchly Muggle environs of Privet Drive?

[edit] Greater Picture

We will find out shortly that the green eyes in the hedge belong to Dobby, a House-elf. Dobby will prove to be an important character throughout the remainder of the series.

What we see, mostly, in this chapter, is the characters of the Dursleys, the family that Harry has been living with. We see how they remain stolidly pinned to the fabric of the everyday, and how they live by the impression they make on their neighbours and associates. As the series progresses, we will see some character growth and change on the part of Dudley; he will eventually come to realize that there may be some good in magic. Vernon and Petunia will remain stubbornly convinced that magic is wrong. Petunia's reasons for this belief will eventually become clear to us; Vernon, likely, was simply the least magical person that Petunia could think of to marry.

Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning

[edit] Synopsis

The strange creature on Harry's bed introduces himself as Dobby, the house-elf. Dobby is unable to reveal the wizarding family he works for, as he starts hitting himself uncontrollably each time he tries. He also needs to punish himself for speaking badly of his masters and for leaving his home without consent, yet he did this in order to deliver Harry a dire warning: He must not return to Hogwarts for terrible events will happen at the school. Dobby is once again unable to provide more details. When Harry refuses to stay home from Hogwarts, Dobby taunts him about how his friends have not written to him all summer. When Harry asks how Dobby had known about that, he admits having intercepted Harry's letters hoping that if Harry felt his friends did not care about him, he would not want to go back to school.

Furious, Harry chases Dobby downstairs, where the Dursleys are having dinner with the Masons. Dobby then uses his powers to levitate Aunt Petunia's cake and threatens to let it fall unless Harry promises not to return to Hogwarts. Harry refuses, so Dobby drops the cake, filling the Dursley's spotless kitchen with cream before vanishing magically. The noise attracts the attention of the Dursleys, who blame Harry. At first it seems Uncle Vernon manages to gloss things over, explaining to the Masons that his nephew is slightly disturbed, but then an owl arrives with a message for Harry, scaring Mrs. Mason and dashing Uncle Vernon's hopes for a huge business opportunity.

The letter is an official warning from Mafalda Hopkirk at the Ministry of Magic. Apparently, Harry has violated the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery by performing a Hover Charm, and the letter states that further use of magic on Harry's part away from school could lead to his expulsion from Hogwarts. Uncle Vernon tells Harry to read the letter aloud, and decides to lock Harry into his bedroom and bar the window, now knowing that he can not use magic to break out.

Three days later, Harry is awoken by rattling at the bars across his window, and finds Ron peering in at him in the moonlight.

[edit] Analysis

Harry, it turns out, is once again being manipulated by forces beyond his control. In this case, a house-elf has apparently decided to try and keep him away from Hogwarts, nominally for his own protection. Harry, believing in his own strength, seems not to consider that there could be any danger to him at Hogwarts, at least not one serious enough to prevent him returning to the place he feels most at home.

The letter from the Ministry is clearly a surprise to Harry. While he had been cautioned about use of magic at home, he had not been aware that he was being monitored by the Ministry. Harry's obvious fear in the kitchen earlier, as far as we know, was occasioned purely by the concern that Vernon would hear him, and would be enraged at Harry's having violated the instructions he was given. Harry knows that Vernon still has significant power over him and can make his time most uncomfortable. Harry may also fear that Vernon may be able to prevent his returning to Hogwarts, a fear that seems manifest when Harry's bedroom is turned into a virtual jail cell.

Throughout the course of this chapter, the tension gradually mounts as the chances of Harry's returning to the place he loves seem to grow ever more remote. With the appearance of Ron at the window, there is an immediate sense of relief, but associated with this comes a question: Ron, equally, is underage. Though he is now aware of the situation, what can he do to help Harry escape it?

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. How could Dobby, as a servant in another wizard household, be able to stop Harry's mail for all that time without his masters' noticing his absence?
2. Why was Dobby's magic noticed, and not the magic that Hagrid used in the first book?

[edit] Greater Picture

Though we don't yet know this, as Dobby cannot tell Harry, it will turn out that Dobby is the house-elf of the Malfoy family. Perhaps not surprisingly, the poor condition of Dobby shows how the Malfoys treat their inferiors. We have already seen this attitude toward those the Malfoys deem less than themselves, as Draco has displayed it towards both Harry and Ron, and we will see that it continues almost throughout the series. It is the similarity of this shabby treatment of Dobby by his family, with the treatment of Ron, Hermione, and Harry by Draco, that leads the reader to guess, possibly even before Harry does, that Dobby is the Malfoy house-elf.

Dobby, while never a major character, will yet prove extremely useful to Harry during the course of the series. We can see here that Dobby is violating orders to speak to Harry; we gather that it is because Dobby is aware of how the lot of House-Elves have improved since the fall of the Dark Lord, and, aware that the Malfoys are somehow planning mischief at Hogwarts, has taken it upon himself to warn Harry. Dobby's freely-given loyalty to Harry will continue throughout the series, and will only be enhanced by Harry's treating Dobby with the respect due an equal. The contrast between Dobby's response to Harry's needs, and his responses to the Malfoys, provides something of an object lesson in the value of loyalty freely given against that which is demanded.

It should perhaps be noted here that Dobby's low expectations for treatment from humans seem to be common across all House Elves; we will see it again in Winky and Kreacher. Later, we will see that Ron also treats House Elves as menials, though both Harry and Hermione do not; Hermione is even moved to create a student organization, S.P.E.W., to try and get some rights for them. Perhaps Harry's being raised in a non-magical household, which has prevented him learning of the existence of house-elves, has also isolated him from the prevailing beliefs that house-elves should be treated as an under-class.

The specific thing that the Malfoys have planned is the return of Tom Riddle's diary to the school. It is always uncertain whether Lucius Malfoy is entirely aware of exactly what the result of this will be; the diary, we will later learn, had likely been given to him with information that would lead him to believe it was an anti-Mudblood weapon, though not precisely how it would act. If he had known that the weapon was only barely controlled and somewhat indiscriminate, it is likely Lucius would have balked at putting it in proximity to his son Draco.

It is mentioned elsewhere that stories about magic have a very real danger: by making anything possible and largely effortless, it becomes far too easy for the hero to succeed, and the story becomes uninteresting. The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery is one of the more intriguing ways that the author has developed to provide limits on the magic. Harry certainly could make his life easier by judicious use of magic during his summer vacations, but that would remove one of the points of interest in the story. The Dursleys, annoying as they are, will remain a useful contrast to Harry's life in Hogwarts, and his means of dealing with them without the use of magic will be a way of measuring his own increasing strength of character and maturity. The Decree will also provide a significant point of interest in the story in later books.

Chapter 3: The Burrow

[edit] Synopsis

Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George are outside Harry's window in a flying Ford Anglia. Ron says they have come to rescue him. They yank the bars off the window, freeing Harry. Fred and George gather Harry's Hogwarts belongings that are locked in the cupboard under the stairs.

As they are leaving, Hedwig screeches, reminding Harry that he has forgotten her. The screeching awakens Uncle Vernon, and he barges into Harry's room as Harry is half way out the window. He grabs Harry's ankle and attempts to pull him back in, but Harry manages to escape, and he, Ron, Fred, and George are off to the Weasleys' home, The Burrow.

On the ride there, Harry tells Ron, Fred, and George about Dobby, and they speculate about who owns him, eventually deciding that he could be the Malfoys'. Harry also learns that Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, once supported Lord Voldemort.

They arrive at The Burrow, only to find Mrs. Weasley waiting for them. She is furious over them "borrowing" the car. After yelling at Fred, George, and Ron, she greets Harry warmly. While eating breakfast, Harry meets, or rather gets a fleeting glimpse of, Ron's sister, Ginny.

As punishment for taking the car, Mrs. Weasley sets the twins and Ron the task of ridding the garden of gnomes, using a technique from Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. Harry assists, even though Mrs. Weasley says he does not need to.

After degnoming the garden, Harry meets Arthur Weasley, and learns that he works for the Ministry of Magic. He is a fan of Muggle technology and gadgets.

Harry is overjoyed to get away from the Dursleys, and looks forward to spending the remaining summer with Ron.

[edit] Analysis

We mentioned, at the end of the last chapter, the question: what can Ron do? Ron is underage, and so are Fred and George, capable though they may be, so they cannot use magic to release Harry from his prison. However, apart from the flying car, which apparently does not trigger the prohibition against magic, Fred and George don't attempt to use magic to free Harry. The bars are pulled off his window by the car, and Fred and George pick the lock of his bedroom door and the lock on the cupboard under the stairs with a Muggle implement, a hairpin. Either Harry or Ron, it is not exactly made clear, then uses the same hairpin to pick the lock on Hedwig's cage, to allow Hedwig the first bit of freedom she has had all summer. It is never made clear in the series why casting a spell or presumably making a potion would trigger the prohibition against magic, but using a charmed object like the flying car would not; for some speculation on this matter, please see the article on The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.

Gilderoy Lockhart, who will play a large role in the book, is introduced in this chapter, although he is only mentioned by name. He is handsome ("'Mum fancies him,' said Fred in a very audible whisper"), and his solutions for problems look good, but only seem to work temporarily. By sunset, Harry, looking out Ron's window, can see the gnomes sneaking one-by-one back through the Weasley's hedge.

Ginny Weasley is reintroduced to the series, although she still only glances at Harry from afar; every time she sees him (twice in this chapter), she squeaks and runs away. Says Ron, "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy, she never shuts up normally . . ." This is a classic schoolgirl crush; she has built Harry up in her mind as some heroic figure, and now that he is actually physically in her presence, she is afraid to speak.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

Ginny's reaction to Harry makes it seem likely that their relationship is doomed. So many times, a schoolgirl crush simply fades over time, and Ginny's feelings to seem to have the superficiality of that sort of hero-worshiping relationship. Ginny, however, will be the center of several events that will bring her a great deal of maturity in a very short time, and her feelings for Harry will deepen as she comes to understand more about who he really is. Starting even before this chapter, Ginny will reward a more in-depth study, as we can see that the author writes a very realistic maturation for her, ending with a true romantic relationship with Harry.

Harry, even after only a day at The Burrow, has learned what a functional family is and how it interacts with itself. He thinks to himself, at the end of the day, how much he feels at home there. This is what he has been missing, what he has wanted all these years, and what he will continue to want throughout the series. Hogwarts, we have already seen, provides a sort of surrogate home, a place where he knows everyone and everyone knows him, where his abilities are not feared and hated but welcomed. However, good as it is, there is no real family there; the teachers must remain, to a large extent, professionally remote in order to do their jobs. Here, in The Burrow, there are people who like him, who make him feel at home, and he knows that this is what he has been missing.

Several other small points might be mentioned as well. We have already mentioned that Gilderoy Lockhart will re-appear in this book, and will be true to the image we already have of him: extremely attractive physically, plausible in his descriptions and instructions, but ultimately unreliable. The flying Ford Anglia will also have a few more appearances in this book. Arthur Weasley mentions one Mundungus Fletcher, who tried to jinx him when his back was turned; he, too, will reappear, and will be as shady as this brief mention leads us to expect, in the fourth book and each book after that. And Mr. Weasley's job with the Ministry will also prove important in later books, not only because it will give him the power to investigate other characters for Dark magic, but because his lack of ambition, his joy in what he actually does rather than the seeking of status apparently common among other Ministry employees, is unusual and apparently attracts attention from the likes of Lucius Malfoy.

Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

[edit] Synopsis

Life for Harry has never been this good, far better than Privet Drive. Finally, he has found a family that accepts him, and that treats him as one of their own, rather than as an inferior. True, he still cannot do magic, but magic is all around him, and is an accepted part of life.

The letters from Hogwarts, including Harry's, arrive at the same time. As always, the letters start with the reminder that the term starts September 1st, and provide the list of schoolbooks.

Second year students will require:

• "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2", by Miranda Goshawk
• "Break With A Banshee", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Gadding with Ghouls", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Holidays with Hags", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Travels with Trolls", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Voyages with Vampires", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Wandering with Werewolves", by Gilderoy Lockhart
• "Year with the Yeti", by Gilderoy Lockhart

Based on the list's content, Fred surmises that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is a witch and a fan of Lockhart. George has a more practical thought: "This lot won't come cheap." Mrs. Weasley says they will manage, although she seems worried.

An owl arrives from Hermione suggesting they all meet in Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley agrees that that makes sense, and the boys then go off to practice Quidditch. On the way, they mention that their brother, Percy has been acting oddly and often remains shut up in his room.

On the appointed day, the Weasleys head to Diagon Alley using Floo powder, something Harry has never done before. Unfortunately, he mispronounces the destination and goes one grate too far, landing in what appears to be a Dark Magic shop. While there, he sees Draco Malfoy and his father, and overhears a conversation between Mr. Malfoy and the proprietor, Borgin, in which it appears Mr. Malfoy is offering to sell some magical equipment back to Borgin.

Harry exits the shop undetected, only to discover he was in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, an unsafe area frequented by dark wizards and other unsavory characters. Fortunately, Harry is soon found by Hagrid, who steers him back to Diagon Alley. Harry finds the Weasleys and Hermione, and they proceed to Gringotts Bank. Harry is embarrassed by the wealth in his vault, particularly after seeing the small sum the Weasleys have to draw on.

The group separates to do their shopping, agreeing to meet later at Flourish & Blotts for school books. They arrive there during a book-signing event. The popular author, Gilderoy Lockhart, is signing copies of his autobiography, Magical Me, and the long line has to be held in check by a "harassed little wizard." Spotting Harry, Lockhart drags him to the front and presents him with a complete set of his autographed books while posing for photos. Lockhart then announces that he is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts.

Staggering away from the limelight, Harry dumps the Lockhart books into Ginny's cauldron; Draco Malfoy observes this byplay and taunts Harry. Mr. Malfoy suddenly appears, and examining one of Ginny's second-hand books, makes rude comments before returning it to her cauldron. Mr. Weasley comes over and begins arguing with Mr. Malfoy. The argument becomes physical; Hagrid reappears and drags the Weasleys away from the battle while the Malfoys stalk off. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry, return to the Leaky Cauldron and then back home.

[edit] Analysis

This is our first exposure to Gilderoy Lockhart in person; he is handsome, charismatic, and has a legion of fans, comprised largely of middle-aged witches like Mrs. Weasley. He is also vain, opportunistic, and a fame-seeker who exploits Harry to get his photo onto the front page of the Daily Prophet. Lockhart's celebrity was achieved by writing about his many exciting adventures, and he seems to believe that everyone, most notably Harry, is as driven for fame as he. When the fight erupts between Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley, Lockhart is heard planning to spin it to promote himself in the paper.

This chapter also marks our first real exposure to Ginny Weasley's true character. When Draco insults Harry for the attention he gets in Flourish and Blotts with Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny tells him to leave Harry alone, and that he didn't want the attention. This shows us that, despite Ginny's schoolgirl crush on Harry, she is very aware that he does not like the fame he gets from his history with Voldemort. It is possible that she is unable to speak to him in part out of fear that he will think her attention is rooted in his fame, rather than in himself. It is characteristic of a schoolgirl crush, however, that the person with the crush is afraid to talk to the person she has the crush on.

Another Malfoy family member is introduced: Lucius Malfoy. Proud, rich, and arrogant, he is a strict and demanding parent who holds a tight rein on Draco. In the bookstore, he is insulting and bullying towards Ginny Weasley, although just why his attention falls on her is as yet uncertain. It is learned that the Malfoys and the Weasleys, both old pure-blood wizarding families, have very different ideas of what "disgraces Wizardkind."

The argument between Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley points up one of the great divisions among the characters in our story. Lucius is clearly scornful of Arthur's endless lobbying on behalf of the Muggles, where Arthur is affronted at Malfoy's apparent belief in his own superiority in ancestry. What is highlighted here is that one group of wizards feels themselves superior to others because of their breeding, and the fact that there are no non-Magical people in their bloodlines. This group has come to feel that those who cannot do magic are somehow subhuman, and that those wizards who choose to work with them or protect them are somehow traitors to the idea of blood purity. While the Weasley family is as old and pure a bloodline as any other, to the "pure-blood" wizards, their ongoing commerce with Muggles is seen as somehow demeaning them

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

Three items shown in Borgin and Burkes come back in a later book. Draco uses the Hand of Glory in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while he is departing the Room of Requirement. The opal necklace with the note warning that it was cursed is used in an attempt to kill Dumbledore, also in Harry Potter and the The Half-Blood Prince. And it turns out that the cabinet in which Harry is hiding will also make an appearance in that book.

Lucius Malfoy's looking at one of the books that Ginny is holding is an excuse to put Tom Riddle's diary inside it. As we later find out, Voldemort had left the diary with Lucius, with the intent that it would be used at some point against Hogwarts. Lucius, not knowing exactly what the diary was, had apparently decided that, given his son's discouraging marks (as mentioned to Borgin), it was time to cause some problems for the school.

While we have not seen this explicitly yet, we can already begin to guess that it is among the pure-blood families that Voldemort had found his allies. We see that Lucius is returning some Dark magic items to Borgin and Burkes, and hear him saying that it is getting dangerous for him to have them around. We also see Lucius' disdain for those of less pure-blood breeding than himself, and his annoyance that Draco, pureblood though he is, is not able to beat Hermione's grades. In the previous chapter we learned that Lucius had been believed to be one of Voldemort's supporters; his possession of Dark magical objects seems to lend weight to this, as we have been told that Voldemort was a Dark wizard. This suggests quite strongly that Voldemort may have been playing on the pure-blood belief in their own superiority to fuel his initial rise to power.

Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

[edit] Synopsis

Summer is quickly over, and it is soon time to return to Hogwarts. After several false starts, everything is loaded into Mr. Weasley's car, the flying Ford Anglia. The car is magically larger inside than out, so they all fit in quite easily, and head to King's Cross Station. It is nearly time for the Hogwarts Express to depart; everyone is on the platform, except Harry and Ron, who cannot get through the barrier. The clock strikes 11:00 a.m and the train leaves, stranding Harry and Ron at the station and without any Muggle money.

Harry suggests waiting back by the car; Ron, worried that his parents may be unable to get back out through the barrier (except in the US edition, where Ron states that his parents can apparate) and in a panic about getting to school, suggests flying to Hogwarts in the car. They take off, flying above the clouds except to occasionally see where the Hogwarts Express is. The flight is uneventful until they reach the school. On the final approach, the car loses power and crashes into the Whomping Willow, breaking Ron's wand. The massive tree pounds the car. The battered Ford extricates itself and lands on the ground, then ejects Harry, Ron, and their luggage before wildly driving off into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry and Ron peer into Great Hall through a window, seeing that the Sorting ceremony has started. Unable to locate Professor Snape at the staff table, they speculate on why he is absent, only to find him standing behind them. He takes them into his office, demanding they explain themselves and wanting to know what they have done with the car—the Evening Prophet has reported that a flying car was sighted by several Muggles. Snape fetches Professor McGonagall, who requires that Ron and Harry repeat their story. She asks why they did not send an owl, since they actually have one. Ron admits that he did not think of that.

Professor Dumbledore enters and hears the story. He says he will be writing to their parents, although they will not be expelled. Their punishment will be decided by Professor McGonagall, their House Head. After Snape and Dumbledore return to the Feast, Professor McGonagall says each will serve detention but, possibly because Ron points out that school hadn't actually started yet, does not deduct any House points. They have missed the Sorting ceremony but McGonagall says that Ginny was placed into Gryffindor House. She provides them sandwiches, telling them to eat in Snape's office and then go directly to their dormitory.

Hermione meets them outside the The Fat Lady's portrait and gives them the password ("wattlebird"). She is definitely unhappy about what they did, as are Harry and Ron, but the other Gryffindors in the Common room applaud their audacity for driving a flying car into the Whomping Willow.

[edit] Analysis

We have already seen that it takes some effort to select a wand, and a reasonably large amount of money to buy one. We can guess that Ron, already in trouble for taking and wrecking the car, will not be likely to report to his parents that his wand has broken; however, we don't yet know what the effect of the wand's breaking will be. We do know that Hagrid's wand was broken when he was expelled, but that it still seems to work somewhat; we don't know how that compares to the damage that Ron's wand has taken. In any event, Ron is almost certainly going to try to make some sort of temporary repair and carry on as best he can with a damaged wand.

We can see in this chapter that Snape dearly wants to get rid of Harry, and is hoping that McGonagall or Dumbledore will see fit to expel him, along with Ron. Snape is quite clearly disappointed that Dumbledore requires that Snape accompany him to the Great Hall, leaving Harry and Ron with McGonagall — we can see that he wants to witness the punishment that Harry will receive. We also see that McGonagall, though never losing her sternness, is still trying to be fair. She likely knows that Ron will be disciplined by his mother, and chooses to lighten her own punishment accordingly, even though this will mean that Harry gets off relatively lightly.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

1. What kind of tree do Harry and Ron crash into, and with what?

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

Ron's broken wand will prove to be a useful plot element throughout this book, as it will produce humorous effects at several places in the book, and will finally backfire at an ideal time, rendering harmless a major threat to Ron and Harry. It will be replaced when Ron's family wins a contest at the beginning of the next book.

The flying Ford Anglia will also prove useful in this book, saving Ron and Harry from a colony of Acromantulae. It will not be seen after that time, however.

The Whomping Willow proves to be an important element in the next book. The tree was planted over an entrance to a tunnel that leads from the school grounds to the Shrieking Shack, where, as a student, Lupin went every month during the full moon. We will see that this tunnel, which proved useful some thirty years before the series began, and will be an important plot item in the third book, will also be useful in the final book.

It is perhaps of interest that Snape seems to believe that Harry and Ron deliberately chose to arrive at Hogwarts by flying car, in order to gain some fame for themselves. We will see shortly that Gilderoy Lockhart shares this misunderstanding of Harry's motives. With Lockhart this is understandable, as his main motivation is fame, but it is not clear why Snape has this belief; in almost every other respect, Snape seems to oppose Lockhart to the best of his abilities.

Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart

[edit] Synopsis

The next day begins less appealingly. Ron receives a Howler during breakfast in the Great Hall. Mrs. Weasley's voice loudly scolds him for taking the car. Ron is utterly humiliated in front of his classmates.

Professor McGonagall hands out timetables; first class is double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout arrives late; she has been bandaging the Whomping Willow, "assisted" by Professor Lockhart who gave "valuable pointers." A disgruntled Professor Sprout directs the class to Greenhouse Three, which contains more interesting and dangerous plants like the Venomous Tentacula.

Professor Lockhart draws Harry aside and says he understands why he and Ron took the flying car—for fame and recognition. Lockhart blames himself for giving Harry a taste of fame at Flourish & Blotts and ignores Harry's protest that he and Ron only did it to get to school.

As Harry returns to the greenhouse, he finds that the class is preparing to transplant Mandrakes. The trio is joined by Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff, who casually mentions that he is Muggle-born and was headed for Eton before he got his Hogwarts letter.

Next class is Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Harry seems to have forgotten all he learned last year and is unable to Transfigure his beetle into a coat button. Ron is having problems with his wand. Although he repaired it with magical tape, it is producing grey smokey clouds and unexpected noises.

After lunch, Harry is cornered by little Colin Creevey, who wants to take Harry's picture to show his parents that he has actually met "Harry Potter." Overhearing this, Draco begin badgering Harry about signing photos. Lockhart comes over and forces Harry to pose for a photo, then hauls him away for some "fatherly advice" on handling fame. They enter Defence Against the Dark Arts class together, although Harry hides in the back.

Lockhart sets a test to see how much the students knows about him. Predictably, Hermione, who apparently thinks Lockhart is wonderful, gets a perfect score. Next, Lockhart releases Cornish Pixies into the classroom, but he is unable to control them. At the bell, he flees, leaving it to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to get the remaining pixies back into their cage. Ron and Harry are now suspicious about how truthful Lockhart's books really are, though Hermione still seems to have a bad case of hero worship.

[edit] Analysis

In this chapter, we see one of Harry's great dislikes reinforced. As in Flourish and Blotts, Harry finds himself very uncomfortable with his fame, particularly as expressed by Colin, who is quite a rabid fan. Colin Creevey, in his enthusiasm at meeting Harry, easily forgets that Harry may not wish to be photographed and that he could, perhaps, not desire fame. Of course, other people take it out of context: Draco Malfoy starts to noise it about, in his usual way, that Harry is signing autographs, while Lockhart, quite plainly still believing that Harry is as motivated by fame as he is himself, lectures Harry on going too fast with his career as a famous person. In Lockhart's self-centeredness, he cannot see that anyone would deliberately shun the limelight, and so disregards Harry's attempts to say that he didn't want to be photographed.

Also, it seems that Ron and Harry are starting to have doubts about their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. If Gilderoy Lockhart has done so many wonderful things, why wasn't he able to stop the Cornish pixies? Hermione, who seems to have a crush on him, dismisses the possibility that Lockhart didn't have an idea about the pixies, saying that he has done many things, although Ron subtly remarks that he can't offer any real proof that he has done them apart from his word. One must wonder why Hermione is so blind to what Lockhart's abilities actually are, even at this early stage.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

1. What is the spell Professor Lockhart uses to control the pixies? Does it work? Is there anything strange about it?

[edit] Further Study

1. Is Gilderoy Lockhart's teaching likely to be useful to Harry, Ron and Hermione? If not, why?

[edit] Greater Picture

Hermione's trust in Lockhart's abilities will continue throughout much of the book, despite significant evidence that he is a sham. He will never again try to demonstrate Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Dueling Club he starts up will prove to be a travesty, and his attempt to heal Harry's broken arm will result in Harry's arm being de-boned, among other less-than-stellar accomplishments. Faced with all of this, why will Hermione persist in believing in his abilities? The author does not provide many clues, but Ron, in later years, will indicate that he believes that it was Lockhart's good looks that kept Hermione in thrall, and that certainly seems to be what's happening at this stage. Possibly, also, Hermione has a subconscious trust in books, and a belief that if it is in a book, it must be true. In this chapter, she does say "Look at all the things he's done!" Ron, more skeptical, does not seem to agree with her trust that what's in the books actually happened. We will see this blind faith in published works again as late as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Hermione sticks to the published text in her copy of Advanced Potion-Making, despite the fact that the marginal notes in Harry's copy seem to produce much better results.

Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

[edit] Synopsis

During the first week of classes, Harry has avoided Professor Lockhart with some success and Colin Creevey with less, only to be awakened far too early Saturday morning by Oliver Wood who wants to start Quidditch practice before the other House teams. First he gives the team a long lecture on tactics. When they finally get to the pitch, and after doing some basic warm-ups, they find they have been pre-empted: the Slytherin team is there. A note from Professor Snape gives them permission to use the Pitch to train their new seeker: Draco Malfoy. It also seems that Draco's father has presented the entire Slytherin team with new Nimbus 2001 brooms that are even faster than Harry's Nimbus 2000.

Ron and Hermione have appeared to watch the practice. Hermione comments that nobody on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. Malfoy, angered by the aspersion, calls Hermione a "mudblood." To retaliate, an angry Ron attempts to jinx Malfoy, but his broken wand backfires and he jinxes himself instead. Hermione and Harry carry him, belching slugs, to Hagrid's hut, where they narrowly miss Professor Lockhart, who is just leaving. Hagrid uncharacteristically criticizes Professor Lockhart, suggesting that his books may not be entirely truthful. He also mentions that Lockhart was the only applicant for the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. Apparently word is out that the position may be jinxed.

Ron tells Hagrid he tried to curse Malfoy because he called Hermione a mudblood. Hagrid is shocked. This is evidently the most insulting term used to denigrate a Muggleborn's ancestry.

Hagrid then pokes a bit of fun at Harry for giving out signed photos. He says Lockhart was displeased to hear his opinion that Harry was more famous than Lockhart would ever be. He then takes them out to his pumpkin patch to see what he has been growing. Apparently, despite being prohibited from performing magic, he has managed an Engorgement charm. The pumpkins, with a month to go before Hallowe'en, are the size of small boulders.

At lunchtime, they return to the Castle. Professor McGonagall meets them in the entrance hall and tells them their detentions. Ron will be polishing silver with Mr. Filch; Harry will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail.

That evening, Harry goes to Professor Lockhart's office to serve his detention. Lockhart's office is decorated with pictures of himself, some even signed. As midnight nears, Harry, worn out with stuffing envelopes and ignoring Lockhart pontificating about fame, hears a low voice muttering violently. Harry jerks to attention to try and follow what it is being said. Lockhart says he cannot hear it, but notices that it is nearly midnight and dismisses Harry.

Ron arrives at the dormitory half an hour later. He has had a rough time, having one final slug attack on a Special Award for Services to the School which required massive amounts of work to clean up. When told about the voice, Ron comments that it is odd Lockhart could not hear it, particularly since the door remained closed. Even if someone was invisible, they would have had to open the door to get in.

[edit] Analysis

There are several main points that are brought up in this chapter. The first of these is, of course, Draco's addition to the Slytherin Quidditch team, and the appearance of the team's new brooms, which are very probably related. We have been told that members of Slytherin house will use any advantage they can to achieve their goals, and it is quite likely that Draco, having decided that he must oppose Harry directly in Quidditch, had convinced his father to buy brooms for the team on condition that he was selected as Seeker. Likely his plan was to try and humiliate Harry by out-flying him. We don't yet know how well this will work.

Draco's animosity towards those he perceives as less well-bred than himself is also now brought into sharp focus. We see him here insulting Hermione on the basis of her parentage, using terms that quite shock both Ron and Hagrid, even though Hermione does not understand the depth of the insult that has been thrown at her.

Another point brought out is Ron's wand. We have already seen that it has become unpredictable, producing clouds of grey smoke and odd noises, but we now see that it no longer necessarily casts spells in the desired direction, even when it does work.

We are led to believe that there is a certain amount of solidarity among the teachers, that one teacher will generally not criticize another. This will be stated explicitly in a later book, but so far has been only implied. Given that Hagrid does state that Lockhart's books might not be entirely truthful, one gathers that there is a lot of suspicion in the staff room that Lockhart is not anywhere near as good a wizard as he pretends.

We are exposed to an extremely large dose of Lockhart's personality as Harry serves his detention. Lockhart here clearly believes that Harry is as driven by celebrity as he is, and is in need of tips as to how to handle fame. We see that Lockhart deeply enjoys being famous, to the extent that he does not even seem to mind having to send out tons of autographed pictures every week. Possibly, Lockhart's self-image is fueled by the belief that, being so widely known, he is universally loved, and he cannot conceive of anyone not being similarly in need of affirmation by the masses.

This also is the first appearance of the mysterious voice within the walls. Something seems to be murderously angry in the castle, and Harry already is concerned that he will need to find out what it is, despite being worried that he seems to be the only one who can hear it.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

The Award for Special Services to the School is specifically singled out in later chapters, because it was the one given to Tom Riddle. Tom will play a large part in the end of this book, and it will turn out that he will play a significant part in the series as a whole.

As we will see later in the book, the voice Harry heard in Lockhart's office was actually the Basilisk, the monster in the Chamber, which had been released and is now starting to roam through the school. Harry is the only one that can hear the voice because he is a Parselmouth; to everyone else, the sound is a low and undefined hissing noise. It is interesting that Harry perceives Parseltongue as English; this will prove to be a plot point much later in the series.

Hermione learns that Harry can understand snakes, and from the effects of the Monster, and Harry's description of how it seems to be moving through the castle, she eventually determines that it is a Basilisk. Harry does manage to get this information from her even after she is Petrified herself.

It is also important to note how Ron's wand backfired and hit him instead of Malfoy. This plays a big part later in the book when Harry, Ron, and Professor Lockhart delve into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ginny.

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

[edit] Synopsis

October is marked by continuous rainstorms; the lake rises, the flowerbeds turn into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swell to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood, however, does not see any reason to let up on Quidditch practice, so it is no surprise that Harry is soaked and dripping mud one Saturday morning as he walks back to Gryffindor Tower after practice. On the way he meets Nearly Headless Nick, and they discuss their respective troubles: Nick is upset because his application to join the Headless Hunt has been rejected again, it seems that being nearly headless is not enough to qualify. Harry, meanwhile, is not looking forward to meeting Slytherin at Quidditch with the entire team mounted on new Nimbus 2001 brooms. As Harry is speaking, he is interrupted by Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. Nick mentions that Filch is in a bad mood. Harry tries to make a quick escape but is thwarted by Filch's sudden appearance through a tapestry. Incensed at the water and mud dripping off Harry's Quidditch robes, Filch orders him to his office where he fills out a form recommending punishment for "befouling the castle." A loud noise interrupts him, and Filch charges off after Peeves in the hopes that he has finally done something unforgivable that will permanently ban him from Hogwarts.

During Filch's absence, Harry notices an envelope on his desk. It is for a correspondence course called "Kwikspell," intended to improve a person's magical abilities. When Filch returns, he notices the envelope has been moved and, becoming embarrassed, lets Harry go without being punished.

On exiting Filch's office, Harry meets Nearly Headless Nick again. Nick tells him that he arranged for Peeves to tip over a black and gold cabinet to distract Filch. Nick is relieved it worked and invites Harry to his Deathday Party to celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of his death, which occurred 31 October, 1492. He also invites Ron and Hermione, who are both keen to go.

On Hallowe'en, they descend to the Dungeons where they are met by Nick and a panoply of ghosts, including Moaning Myrtle and Peeves. The gathering is rather uncomfortable for living people, and when Peeves insults Moaning Myrtle sending her off in tears, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide it is a good time to exit.

As they depart the Dungeon, Harry hears the same voice he heard in Professor Lockhart's office. He follows it upwards, with Hermione and Ron following, through the Entry Hall to the first floor. Sloshing through a puddle of water on the floor, he sees writing on the wall: "The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of the Heir, Beware." Mrs. Norris is hanging from a torch bracket, apparently dead. Before the Trio can react, students leaving the Hallowe'en Feast surround them. Malfoy's voice rings out: "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

[edit] Analysis

One of the main things that the author excels at is called "the set-up and the pay-off", the ability to write something that begs a question, followed by, at some later point, the answer which illuminates much more than the question was asking. This chapter contains a relatively minor instance of this: we see that Filch has, on his desk, an envelope from a course that seems designed to teach basic magic, and we see that Filch is horribly embarrassed by this. Why?

This is the first place that we get a concrete date for when the series is taking place within the books themselves. Unfortunately, this date conflicts with many of the days of the week reported in the story; specifically, for instance, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, we learn that Harry was orphaned on October 31. If his second year at Hogwarts starts in September 1992, as here implied by the date given for Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday, then he must have turned 11 on 31 July 1991. As his birth date then would be 31 July 1980, he would have been orphaned on October 31, 1981. The book explicitly states that the next day was a Tuesday; but November 1, 1981 was a Sunday. Similarly, days of the week are given for Hallowe'en and for all three tasks in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but do not line up with the days of the week in 1994 and 1995.

These failures of correspondence between the series calendar and our physical calendar are unimportant to the sweep of the story, so while they may be mentioned, they are provided more as a curiosity than as something for the scholar to concern himself with.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

Moaning Myrtle's departure from the party proves somewhat critical for reasons that are fully explained later in the story. Because Peeves had so upset her, Myrtle floods the hallway outside her bathroom. While we don't go into the bathroom this time to see this, in a later instance, when someone "throws a book through Myrtle's head," Harry and Ron will enter the bathroom and find all of the taps turned on and water all over the floor and the hall outside. As an aside, one of the popular slang terms for someone starting to cry is "turning on the waterworks;" it seems that Myrtle takes the expression literally. We will find out in the next chapter that Mrs. Norris is Petrified; if the hallway had not been flooded, the basilisk's glance would have killed Mrs. Norris. Because Mrs. Norris saw the Basilisk's reflection from the water, instead of looking at it directly, she was spared. Mrs. Norris will be the first to avoid direct sight of the Basilisk, and through luck or design all the other victims of the Basilisk this time will equally avoid direct eye contact, but we will also learn that earlier, the same had not been true.

Harry has inadvertently discovered a secret about Filch: he is a squib. Squibs are born into wizarding families but have no magical abilities themselves. Filch is apparently attempting to overcome this "accident-of-birth" by taking a correspondence magic course. Harry's understanding, though, is incomplete at this point. While Harry now knows that Filch is trying to learn magic, he does not yet understand the import of this fact. Harry will learn the details in the next chapter.

It is worth noting that although the cabinet that Peeves knocks over to distract Filch is insignificant to the overall storyline of this book, it reappears in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince it is a major plot device. In both of these appearances, it is an important fact that it is broken.

Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

[edit] Synopsis

Filch appears and immediately accuses Harry of killing his cat. The situation is defused by the arrival of Professor Dumbledore and several other teachers. Dumbledore indicates that he needs a place to examine Mrs. Norris, and Professor Lockhart volunteers his office. Professor Dumbledore asks Filch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione to accompany him. Professors Lockhart, McGonagall, and Snape tag along. While Lockhart babbles about deaths he has prevented, Dumbledore examines Mrs. Norris, concluding she is not dead, merely Petrified, and that Harry could not have done it. Filch still believes that Harry was somehow involved because he knows Filch is a Squib. Harry states he does not even know what a Squib is. Snape suggests that while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were possibly just in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is suspicious that they were absent from the Hallowe'en feast. They explain that they were at the Deathday party but do not say why they did not go to the Feast afterwards. Harry does not want to reveal that he heard voices, but the excuse he does offer is rather flimsy. Snape suggests punishment for dishonesty, but is overruled by McGonagall and Dumbledore, to Filch's great displeasure. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are dismissed, and Ron explains to Harry that a Squib is a non-magical person born to wizard parents.

The possible opening of the Chamber causes a change in some students: Justin Finch-Fletchley avoids Harry in the halls, and Hermione is spending all her time in the library, among other things. Harry goes to speak with Ron in the library and finds that Hermione is upset because she cannot find any copies of Hogwarts: A History. In their next class, History of Magic with Professor Binns, she manages to persuade the old ghost to recount the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.

Binns says that over a thousand years ago there was a falling out amongst the school's four founders, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. They argued over whether Muggle-borns and Muggles' descendants (half-bloods) should be admitted to Hogwarts. Slytherin alone believed only pure-bloods should be admitted, and he left the school when the others rejected his beliefs. The legend says he created a secret Chamber and hid a monster within it. Only Slytherin's true Heir can control the monster or open the Chamber. Although the Chamber has never been found, Binns is unsuccessful in convincing the class it does not exist.

While passing between classes, little Colin Creevey mentions that someone said Harry could be the Heir; Harry realizes this could explain why Justin avoided him earlier.

While walking in the hall, Harry, Ron, and Hermione realize they have reached the spot where Mrs. Norris was Petrified. They see a clutch of spiders running away from something. Ron is terrified of spiders, and, to change the subject, Harry mentions the water that is all over the floor. It is coming from the girls' bathroom that Moaning Myrtle inhabits. This bathroom is now in disrepair; it is also very wet, evidently because a moping Myrtle causes floods. She is less than communicative with them. Percy catches the three leaving the bathroom and docks five House points from Gryffindor.

During a later discussion, Ron suggests that Malfoy would be the logical choice to be the Heir. Hermione says there is a way to find out. They could use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate someone else. However, she needs a copy of Moste Potente Potions from the library's restricted section to learn how to make it. For that, she needs a teacher's signature. "But what teacher," says Ron, "would be so thick?"

[edit] Analysis

In this chapter we see the pay-off of the set-up that was made by the discovery of Argus Filch's Kwikspell course in the previous chapter. Filch admits that he is a Squib; Ron explains what a Squib is. In these two passages, we have learned why Filch feels the need to buy a beginner's magic course, and why he was not educated in the normal manner for Wizards. However, much more than this: we can now see why he is so very bitter. Year after year, he sees children that could have come from his family enter, get trained in the ways of magic that he can never know, and leave to careers he possibly once dreamed of, while he remains behind. Being a Squib is a horrible sort of half life, aware of the world of magic, but despite being surrounded by it, not being a part of it.

We are also granted a bit more insight into the nature of Gilderoy Lockhart. As we step into his office, all of the pictures of him whisk themselves out of their frames and into hiding; some of them, overcome by curiosity, reappear later, and Harry notes that some of them are wearing hairnets. Lockhart himself, instead of helping with the investigation, babbles on about deaths he has supposedly prevented. When Mrs. Norris is found to be merely petrified, Lockhart suggests that he could whip up a restorative potion in short order, irritating Snape, who of course, as Potions master, would expect that job to be his.

This last point also highlights the dislike that Snape has for Lockhart. By this stage, most of the teachers have dismissed Lockhart as a fraud, and no doubt Snape shares that opinion. We suspect that Professor Dumbledore is aware of this as well, and has only hired him as Lockhart was the only applicant for the post (according to Hagrid). We should note that Snape was apparently irritated in particular by Harry's fame in the previous book; it was the fact that Harry was famous that Snape had dwelt on in Harry's first Potions lesson. Harry does not actively seek the spotlight, but Lockhart does, to the point that almost everything he does is aimed at getting himself more attention. This can only serve to increase Snape's dislike of Lockhart, a dislike that is heightened still more by Lockhart's self-serving attempt to take over some of Snape's duties.

The core of the plot line of this story is here revealed. While Binns states that there can be no Chamber of Secrets, that multiple headmasters have looked for it for years and never found even a broom-closet of secrets, still it is evident to the reader, as it is to the students, that the Chamber does exist and does have some monster in it. There is no other possible explanation for the petrification of Mrs. Norris.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. Since Mrs. Norris is just a cat (not an Animagus), why would she have been selected as the first victim?

[edit] Greater Picture

While Harry, Hermione and Ron are examining the area where Mrs. Norris’s body was found, they notice some strangely-behaving spiders. Ron admits that he has a fear of spiders, which is confirmed later in this book, and also in the next two books: by his Boggart in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and his behavior during Mad-Eye Moody’s Unforgivable Curse demonstration in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The peculiar behavior of the spiders in this scene sets the stage for events later on by giving a clue about the monster Slytherin concealed within the Chamber.

One must wonder about Professor Binns' vehement denial of the existence of the Chamber of Secrets. We will find out that the Chamber had been opened before, some fifty years previously, and the headmaster of the day, Professor Dippet, had considered closing the school as a result of that. While it is possible that occurrence had been before Professor Binns joined the school, that seems unlikely; Binns' apparent refusal to teach anything later than about the nineteenth century argues for his having been a teacher for many more years than a mere fifty.

It is noted in this chapter that Percy penalizes Harry and Ron house points; this could be a plot hole since prefects, as we find out in later books, are not given this power. It is possible, however, that Percy has taken on an over-inflated sense of his own importance, and when that importance is questioned, as Ron does here, Percy reacts by saying he's docking House points, when in fact he can do no such thing. The author said in an interview that she believes Percy is more likely to be right than Ron, who said in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that prefects could not dock House points; she later reinforced this statement on her official web site. Against this, however, we must mention that Draco Malfoy, then a prefect, agreed that Prefects could not dock House points. One can be sure that if Draco were able to dock House points from Gryffindors, he would, and in fact as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad he was allowed to, and did. In this particular case, it makes more sense in the story as a whole to have Percy be overstepping his boundaries through over-officiousness, a very Percy-like thing to do, than to have Draco later refrain from abusing a power he has been given.

Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

[edit] Synopsis

After the rather disastrous episode with the Pixies, Professor Lockhart has changed the Defense Against the Dark Arts course; now it is mostly Lockhart re-enacting scenes from his books with the unwilling assistance of Harry. Today Harry is being a werewolf, playing along because he wants to stay on Lockhart's good side. At the end of class, Hermione asks him to sign a note for a book that will help her understand something in one of his works; he signs it without bothering to see what the book is, then offers to provide Harry advice on being a Quidditch Seeker. At the school library, Madam Pince accepts the note, though with some misgivings, and gets a copy of Moste Potente Potions for Hermione.

Shortly thereafter, Hermione, Harry, and Ron are in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom; this is one place they are unlikely to be disturbed. Looking over the ingredients and methods for the Polyjuice Potion, they find that they need ingredients (Boomslang skin and Bicorn horn) not stocked in the student supplies cupboard. The potion will take about a month to make. Hermione, surprisingly, convinces Harry and Ron that they have to take some chances in order to do this.

Next day is Quidditch against Slytherin. As soon as they get into the air, a Bludger targets Harry. Despite Fred and George's best efforts, the Bludger seems determined to knock Harry off his broom; as the rest of the team is getting slaughtered by the remaining Bludger and the Slytherin Beaters, Harry tells Fred and George to let him deal with the Bludger on his own. Eventually, Harry spots the Snitch, hovering over Malfoy's head, but while lining up to grab it, he is hit by the Bludger. It breaks his arm, but he manages to catch the Snitch with the other hand and land on the ground intact. Regaining consciousness, he is dismayed to see Lockhart standing over him. Lockhart promptly uses a spell to "mend" Harry's broken arm but it instead removes all the bones from his arm and hand.

In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey is furious — she can easily fix broken bones, but regrowing them will be an overnight job, and a painful one at that. Ron helps Harry into pyjamas. The Gryffindor team arrives to celebrate the win over Slytherin but are promptly thrown out by Madam Pomfrey.

Later that night, Harry is awakened by Dobby sponging his forehead. Dobby admits that he closed the barrier at Kings Cross station to prevent Harry from returning to school and that he enchanted the Bludger in hopes it would injure Harry enough to send him home where he would be safe. He tells Harry that a House-elf can only be freed if his Master gives him clothing, which is why he wears an old pillowcase. He also mentions that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once before. Realizing he was not meant to mention that, he punishes himself by smashing Harry's water jug over his own head. Hearing a noise, he vanishes. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bring in a Petrified Colin Creevey, who was apparently on his way to visit Harry, carrying his camera and a bunch of grapes. Colin's camera is completely melted inside; Dumbledore says that this proves that the Chamber is open again, but the main question is not who, but how?

[edit] Analysis

Lockhart's apparent ineptness with magic is shown in significantly more detail. Now, instead of teaching charms for self-defence, Lockhart has chosen to re-enact scenes from his books, seemingly in order to avoid something like the Cornish Pixies incident. And, despite his claim that he is an expert in healing magic, his attempt to heal Harry only results in a worse injury. One must wonder why Hermione, normally so logical, again rejects the possibility of Lockhart being incompetent despite this proof. It is perhaps telling that at the close of the previous chapter, Ron asks, he thinks rhetorically, which teacher would be so thick as to give second-year students permission to take a book out of the Restricted section of the library, and at the beginning of this chapter, we see that Hermione is assisting in getting a signature from Lockhart. Could she be starting to see, despite her infatuation, that he is perhaps not quite as brilliant as he claims?

Dobby is clearly still trying to convince Harry to leave Hogwarts; he quite clearly knows that the Chamber has been opened in relatively recent memory and that something happened then that could indicate that Harry's life is in peril. His attempts to chase Harry away, or prevent his traveling to Hogwarts, are almost laughable. We have seen four attempts so far. Dobby first tried intercepting all of Harry's mail to try and convince him that none of his Hogwarts friends cared about him, so that he would choose to stay home instead. When that failed, he threatened to wreck a dessert in the Dursley kitchen unless Harry promised to stay away from Hogwarts. Harry's refusal to promise resulted in the dessert being wrecked. Dobby could not have predicted the side effects of that; the owl from the Ministry of Magic, and Uncle Vernon's decision to lock Harry into his room were not things that Dobby would have expected to happen. Dobby's next attempt, blocking the barrier to the platform, failed when Harry and Ron used the flying car to get to Hogwarts, and this last attempt, to injure Harry badly enough to send him home, seems extremely poorly thought out. Does Dobby actually believe that Muggle medical care is better than what Harry can receive at Hogwarts? Or does he believe that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would allow magical healing to happen in their house? Dobby seems to be blind to the idea that Harry's house is not a home for him, and that even with the threat that Dobby is unable to enunciate, Hogwarts is a more welcoming place than Privet Drive.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

After stating that the Chamber of Secrets has been reopened, Dumbledore comments that the question should not be who opened it, but how it was opened. This implies that Dumbledore does not follow the commonly-held belief that Hagrid opened it before, and Tom Riddle had caught him in the act and stopped it. If Dumbledore suspects that Riddle had opened the Chamber fifty years ago and believes that he has reopened it now, Dumbledore may have already formulated theories about horcruxes. Until the revelation of the diary, however, any such theory would be extremely tentative; Dumbledore no doubt also remembers the year before when the shade of Voldemort was riding Professor Quirrell, and may be wondering if Voldemort might have found another mount, despite rumours placing him in Albania.

It seems that Dobby is more aware of the nature of the weapon that Lucius has brought into the school than Lucius himself is. We will find out in a later book that Hogwarts employs several hundred House Elves, and it is extremely likely that the House Elf society communicates amongst themselves. So it is quite likely that Dobby knows, if not the true nature of what the Chamber of Secrets conceals, at the very least that Lucius has provided the means to reopen the Chamber, and the fact that the chamber had been opened fifty years previous and that a student had then died. It is almost certainly fear for Harry's life that is causing Dobby to carry out these ineffective, almost childlike attempts to get Harry to return "home" to Privet Drive.

Having revealed that he is, in fact, trying to get Harry back home, and having been so fiercely rebuffed, Dobby will not attempt again. Dobby likely is now aware that, if anything occurs which appears to be trying to send Harry home, Harry will believe that it is Dobby up to his old tricks, and so further attempts would be ineffective.

Chapter 11: The Dueling Club

[edit] Synopsis

By morning, Harry's arm is better and he is discharged from the hospital wing after breakfast. He finds Ron and Hermione in Moaning Myrtle's washroom, already making the Polyjuice Potion. Harry tells them about Dobby's visit; Ron observes that if Dobby does not stop trying to help Harry, he is likely to kill him.

The news about Colin Creevey's Petrification has spread, and Ginny, who is in Colin's class, is distraught; also, there is a brisk business in Talismans and other supposedly magical protective objects. Neville buys a lot before being reminded that he is a Pureblood, but he says "they went for Filch first," and believes he may be a target due to his weak magical ability.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sign up to stay at the school over Christmas after hearing that Malfoy is doing the same. But the Polyjuice potion is nowhere near ready, and they will need to raid Professor Snape's private stores for some ingredients. Surprisingly, Hermione volunteers to steal the ingredients if Harry or Ron can create a diversion. During the next Potions class, Harry tosses a firecracker into Goyle's Swelling Solution. The resulting splashed potion requires Snape to administer Deflating Draughts to everyone. While he is occupied, Hermione sneaks into Snape's office and retrieves Boomslang skin and Bicorn horn. After class has ended, Hermione adds the new ingredients to the potion, saying it will be ready in a fortnight.

A week later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione see a notice about a Dueling Club being started. Harry reckons it will be useful, so at 8:00 p.m. all three are in the Great Hall, only to find out that it is being taught by none other than Professor Lockhart, with Professor Snape as his assistant. In the first demonstration, Professor Snape throws Professor Lockhart across the room with an Expelliarmus jinx. Rather than try a second time, Lockhart breaks the students into pairs with Snape's assistance; Harry is paired with Malfoy, Ron with Seamus, and Hermione with Miss Bullstrode. Lockhart counts down and mayhem ensues: Malfoy jinxes Harry before the start signal, but Harry retaliates; Ron's wand misfires, doing something horrible to Seamus. Hermione and Millicent Bullstrode have dropped their wands and are wrestling—Millicent has Hermione in a headlock, and Harry has to break her out of it, a tough job considering Millicent is bigger than he is. Lockhart suggests they have one pair of students on stage to demonstrate, and suggests Neville and Justin Finch-Fletchley; Snape overrules him and suggests Harry and Malfoy. At the count, Malfoy conjures a snake that slides down the stage towards Harry. Lockhart attempts to eliminate it, but merely sends it flying ten feet into the air. When it lands, it seems to be preparing to attack Justin; Harry yells at the snake to leave Justin alone. Surprisingly the snake obeys. Justin makes a comment to Harry and leaves the Great Hall at a near run as Snape destroys the snake. Ron drags Harry out of the room exclaiming, "I didn't know you were a Parselmouth!" Harry does not know what that is, and Ron explains it is someone who can talk to snakes. Hermione adds that it is a very rare ability, and it is what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. Now Harry has to wonder—could he be the Heir of Slytherin?

Harry wants to explain to Justin exactly what happened, but next day's Herbology class is canceled due to snow. At Hermione's urging, Harry goes to the library to find Justin and overhears Hufflepuffs talking about why he has gone into hiding. Justin fears Harry is the Heir of Slytherin and would Petrify him next because he is a Muggle-born. Harry tries to explain what happened, but Ernie, the group's apparent leader, says that all he saw was Harry speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake towards Justin. Furious, Harry stalks out and runs straight into Hagrid, who is on his way to see the Headmaster about something that is killing his roosters. Leaving Hagrid, Harry trips over a Petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and finds himself staring at Nearly Headless Nick, now black and smoky rather than his usual transparent white, and also apparently Petrified. Harry also notices spiders running away from the bodies.

While Harry is trying to figure out what to do, Peeves discovers him and determines that the most fun thing to do is summon everyone. Professor McGonagall arrives and sends everyone back to class. She assigns Ernie Macmillan to take Nick to the Hospital Wing while Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra take Justin. Professor McGonagall then leads Harry through a door guarded by a gargoyle (password: Sherbet Lemon), up a revolving spiral stone staircase and to an oaken door. Harry knows he has been brought to see Professor Dumbledore.

[edit] Analysis

Hermione's ongoing unbending is shown here in her willingness to raid Snape's stores for the ingredients they need for the Polyjuice potion. Her willingness to break the rules should not be much of a surprise to the reader, who has been watching her get steadily less stiff through this and the previous book; however, it is quite a shock to Ron, who will continue to believe that Hermione is rule-bound, despite evidence to the contrary, well into Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The Dueling Club shows us Gilderoy Lockhart's continuing ineptness, as he is unable to block a simple spell from Snape, stop the student duels, or eliminate the snake that Draco had produced. By now, we should be starting to wonder whether Gilderoy is a wizard at all, or merely a very good self-promoter. It is curious that Hermione is still so apparently taken with him. Snape, of course, sees through Lockhart; Ron observes that if Snape had looked at him like he was looking at Lockhart, Ron would have run for cover.

In the dueling club, we also learn that Harry can talk to snakes, and that this is a very rare achievement, linked only to Salazar Slytherin and his descendants. Given that the school is now fearing the ongoing depredations of "the Heir of Slytherin", this is a major concern, of course; proof of the connection between Salazar Slytherin and Harry could not be any plainer, and Harry, who is unsure of his ancestry, cannot disprove even to himself that he could be the Heir. The only mitigating factor that we, as readers, have is the knowledge that Harry himself was not present when the petrifications happened. Harry knows this as well, but cannot prove it in the two cases preceding the Dueling Club, or the one following. (The final one, as we will see, largely proves his innocence; but that does not occur for several months yet.)

This whole episode throws Harry into a great deal of confusion. The Sorting Hat wanted to put him into Slytherin house; he remembers quite plainly that the only reason it didn't was that he didn't want to be there. Obviously, the Hat had recognized the link to Slytherin that is now made manifest by Harry's Parseltongue ability. Yet Harry has come to enjoy being a Gryffindor; is he there under false pretenses? This uncertainty, to a greater or lesser extent, preys on Harry for the remainder of the book.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

Colin Creevey is the first Petrification of a student. The fact that he is in Ginny's class is apparently sufficient to cause her concern; in fact, her concern is caused by the slowly-dawning realization that she may be the one responsible for it, as it happened during a time that she cannot remember what she was doing.

The wrestling match between Hermione and Millicent Bullstrode is useful to our plot, as it is here that Hermione collects a hair that will later be used as part of Hermione's dose of Polyjuice Potion. This will, however, turn out to be something of a disaster as the hair in question does not come from Millicent herself.

We will learn in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that Harry's ability with Parseltongue is in fact due to a link with Slytherin; it will be a sideways link, though, as it is related to the piece of Voldemort's soul that adhered to Harry and remains with him. The author has confirmed in a later interview that Harry's parseltongue ability vanished with that soul shard, and he has not missed it since.

Dumbledore later quiets Harry's doubts by showing him that he has received the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat. "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry." While Dumbledore likely already knows about the soul shard, it is not something that he believes Harry is ready to hear about yet. It is only at the end of Harry's fifth year that Dumbledore finally tells Harry of the prophecy, which says either he or Voldemort must die. Dumbledore already understands that Harry will have to die in order to destroy the soul shard he carries; he believes, probably correctly, at the age of twelve Harry is too young to carry that weight of destiny.

Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

[edit] Synopsis

Leaving Harry in the office, Professor McGonagall departs. Looking around, Harry sees intricate small mechanisms on the many tables, portraits of sleeping past Headmasters and Headmistresses on the walls, and the Sorting Hat on a shelf behind a desk. Seeing nobody around, Harry tries on the Hat, asking it if it still believes he should be in Slytherin. The Hat says Harry would have been great there. Replacing it on the shelf, Harry tells it that it is wrong. A slight noise attracts Harry's attention, and he sees an ill-looking bird sitting on a perch burst into flames. As it crumbles into ashes, Professor Dumbledore enters. He seem unperturbed about the bird catching fire. He explains, "Fawkes is a Phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flames when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes." Lifting a chick from the ashes and placing it back on the perch, Dumbledore tells Harry that Phoenixes are extremely beautiful, except on a burning day. Also, "they can carry extremely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make extremely faithful pets."

Dumbledore is about to ask Harry something when he is interrupted by Hagrid, who bursts into the office, loudly proclaiming Harry's innocence. Dumbledore assures Hagrid that he does not suspect Harry of anything. Abashed, Hagrid leaves the office.

Dumbledore asks Harry if there is anything he would like to tell him. Harry silently recalls Ron's comment that hearing voices no one else can, even in the Wizarding world, is a bad thing, so he decides to say nothing to Dumbledore about it. Dumbledore dismisses him, and he returns to his dorm.

Nearly everyone in the school is now convinced that Harry is the Heir; Fred and George, however, joke about it, which Harry appreciates, as it makes it clear they do not believe it. Ginny, however, seems quite distraught.

The term ends, and there are a few stayovers for Christmas, including Draco Malfoy, and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. On Christmas day, Hermione barges into the boys' dormitory, waking them up and letting them know the Polyjuice Potion is ready. Harry receives Christmas presents from the Weasleys, while the Dursleys have sent him a toothpick. After Christmas dinner, Hermione gives Harry and Ron a pair of small cakes loaded with Sleeping Potion. They place them where they know Crabbe and Goyle will find them after stuffing themselves at dinner and leaving the Great Hall. Spying the cakes, Crabbe and Goyle promptly eat them; Ron and Harry drag the unconscious pair into a closet, gather a few hairs, and take their shoes. They head off to Moaning Myrtle's washroom where Hermione awaits with the potion.

Hermione has a hair from Millicent Bullstrode's robes, acquired during the Dueling Club debacle. After each adds a hair to their potion and drinks it, Ron and Harry painfully transform into Crabbe and Goyle's likenesses. Hermione, as did Ron, quickly retreated to a cubicle as the potion took effect. A few moments later Hermione tells Harry and Ron to go without her—something seems amiss, but she does not elaborate.

After much searching, Ron and Harry finally find the Slytherin Common room, although they run into Percy, who threatens detention for being in the halls after hours. They are rescued by Malfoy, who demands to know where they have been and leads them into the Common room. He begins discussing the Chamber of Secrets and says the Chamber was opened once before. A girl died then, killed by the Monster, and that the person who released it is likely still in Azkaban. Although he does not know who the Heir is, he wishes it was himself. He says his father has told him not to become involved in the matter, however.

As the potion starts wearing off, Harry and Ron rush back to Moaning Myrtle's washroom, politely leaving Crabbe and Goyle's shoes outside the closet they are still stashed in. They find Moaning Myrtle is happier than they have ever seen her, laughing wildly at Hermione. Apparently, the hair Hermione plucked off Millicent Bullstrode's robes was not Millicent's at all, but her cat's. Hermione now has a furry face, pointed ears, yellow eyes with slit pupils, and a bushy tail. As Polyjuice Potion is not intended for species transformations, it will not wear off on its own.

[edit] Analysis

Our introduction to Dumbledore's office here gives us additional insight into the nature of the Headmaster. At this point, we should be able to see that the Put-Outer, which we saw in the first chapter of the first book, is the same sort of magical / mechanical device which fills Dumbledore's office. We will gather that Dumbledore actually creates these things, rather than simply collecting and using them.

Once again, the Sorting Hat states that Harry would be great in Slytherin House. Harry, by this time, has started seeing indications that there is a link between him and Slytherin, notably Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue. This has left him unsure of whether he is, in fact, the Heir of Slytherin, as he has no way to trace his ancestry at this point. Despite his vehement denial of the Hat's belief, Harry, already troubled at the possibility, must be even more upset at the Hat's insistence on this link.

The emphasis that Dumbledore places on the abilities of the Phoenix seems a little more than we would expect; it is likely that this is a bit of foreshadowing. We are told of extreme loyalty, ability to lift heavy weights, and that its tears have healing powers; how could these abilities be of assistance to Harry?

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. Should Harry have told Dumbledore about hearing voices? What would Dumbledore have done?

[edit] Greater Picture

It is in this chapter that Harry first meets Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix. Fawkes plays an important part later in the year, saving Harry from dying twice (once by blinding the Basilisk, the other one by curing him from the Basilisk venom). Additionally, his other abilities are necessary in the end of this book, because it is his loyalty that will summon him to Harry's defence, and his ability to lift heavy weights will be what brings Harry and his co-adventurers back to the surface after the battle is complete. Fawkes will prove helpful both to Harry and to Dumbledore throughout the series.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry learns that the phoenix feather core of his holly wand comes from Fawkes, as does the core of Voldemort's yew wand.

Draco's admission that he does not know who the Heir of Slytherin is, and that his father hasn't told him anything except to stay out of it, is somewhat telling. Knowing what the Diary actually is, we can see that the Heir of Slytherin is, as Dumbledore has suggested, the same person as it was last time, Tom Riddle. However, the fact that Lucius has given Draco no instructions except to stay clear, again indicates that Lucius does not have a clear idea of what he has unleashed.

Ginny's being distraught at the Twins' fooling around is worthy of mention. We believe that Ginny has a crush on Harry, and we presume that this alone is enough to leave Ginny upset; the twins seem to be making fun of Harry, and we believe that Ginny is upset at this, despite Harry's appreciation of the fact that at least two people find the association of him with Slytherin to be laughable. In fact, though, a large part of Ginny's dismay is likely due to her beginning to wonder if she is acting as the Heir. Clearly, by this time, she has determined that the times when these things happen are times that she cannot remember what she has been doing, and, as the horcrux of Tom Riddle tells us later, is beginning to fear that she is losing her mind.

The portraits of the sleeping headmasters and headmistresses will play a part starting from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The reader must be a bit curious, actually, as to why all these portraits are so sleepy when the portraits in the school proper are talkative and interact with the students. It will turn out that their apparent sleepiness is a form of concealment.

Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

[edit] Synopsis

Returning to Gryffindor tower after visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing, Harry and Ron hear an outburst from Filch and cautiously investigate. A large puddle of water has covered the floor near Filch's usual post, the hallway where Mrs. Norris was petrified. The water is coming from Moaning Myrtle's washroom. When Harry and Ron enter the washroom, they find she is even more distraught than usual. Someone threw a book at her while she was in her favorite U-bend pipe. In her watery reaction, she washed the book from the cubicle and onto the floor. Harry finds it is a diary, dated fifty years previously, belonging to one T. M. Riddle, but the pages are blank. From his detention, Ron remembers that a T. M. Riddle received an award for Special Services to the School fifty years ago. He especially remembers having to polish it about fifty times because of slug slime.

In early February, Hermione, now fur-free and tailless, leaves the Hospital Wing. Harry tells her about Riddle's diary. She notices a correlation between the diary and the Chamber of Secrets: the Chamber was last opened fifty years ago. Thinking the diary may contain information about the Chamber, she attempts several revealing spells on it, but it remains stubbornly blank. Harry visits the Trophy Room to find some information about Riddle, but apart from his award, and his name on the list of Head Boys, there is no mention of what he did or who he is. Harry keeps the diary, hoping to learn about Riddle.

The mood at school is lighter; the attacks have ceased for now and spring is coming. The only cloud on the horizon is Professor Lockhart claiming credit for halting the attacks. Lockhart proposes a little "morale-booster" for Valentine's Day, which turns out to be a squad of dwarves dressed as Cupids running around the school delivering live Valentines. One corners Harry to deliver a Valentine (most likely from Ginny). In the resulting fracas, Harry's bag is ripped, and ink from a broken bottle spills over everything. Malfoy is there, grabs the diary, and starts waving it around. Ginny seems terrified, and Harry reclaims the diary using the disarming jinx. Harry notices that the diary does not have any ink stains. He tries to point this out to Ron, but Ron is occupied with his recalcitrant wand and ignores him.

That night, Harry discovers that if he writes in the diary, it responds with Tom Riddle's written words. When Harry asks about the Chamber of Secrets, the diary shows him the events of 13 June, fifty years back. Tom Riddle asks then-headmaster, Professor Dippet, if he can remain at Hogwarts for the summer, rather than return to his orphanage "home." Professor Dippet says because the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, that is impossible, and the school may have to close permanently. Riddle is then seen in the dungeons, secretly watching another student sneak in to care for an unknown large creature. It is Hagrid, then a third-year student. Tom confronts Hagrid and accuses him of releasing the Monster from the Chamber. As the creature scuttles away, Harry is suddenly ejected from the memory. He then tells Ron what he saw and that it was Hagrid who supposedly opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago.

[edit] Analysis

It is mentioned here that Filch's usual post is a chair under the writing on the wall where Mrs. Norris was found. Thus, Mrs. Norris was found very close to Moaning Myrtle's washroom. While Harry and Ron never consciously make this connection, it may help Harry solve the riddle of the entrance to the Chamber later in the story. This also, incidentally, explains where the water came from that was on the floor of the hallway when Mrs. Norris was found. We had already seen that Peeves' insults had chased Myrtle back to her washroom; her distraught turning on of all the water in the washroom on that occasion, and the resulting flood in the hall, will likely prove important to the story.

The "mood lightener" at the school shows exactly how little understanding Lockhart has of how real people think. It does allow us to see how the other teachers feel about Lockhart. Additionally, it causes Harry to ask a question about the diary (why didn't it get ink-stained?), and as a result he learns how to communicate with it.

The episode with the diary will re-confirm that the Chamber had been opened fifty years before, and a girl had died at that time. Draco Malfoy had told us this earlier, and that he did not know who had been responsible then. Evidence later in the series will indicate that Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father had attended Hogwarts some twenty years before Harry, so he could not have been there when the Chamber had been opened previously; it is possible that Lucius does not actually know who the Heir is, as he told Draco, though by now he may be having some suspicions.

This will be the first, but by no means the last, of Harry's experiences in other people's memories. Note that Harry is initially confused that Dippet does not react to him; this is the key indicator that he is in someone else's memories, which are of course unchanging. One possibly confusing issue is that if we are in Tom's memory, as stated, how can we see what Dippet is doing before Tom arrives? This is never completely explained. The author has said that when you are in someone else's memory, what you see is what happened, not what they perceived. It is possible that there is a range of effectiveness of the charm that retrieves the memory, such that anything happening within 30 feet (10M) or so of the owner of the memory can be retrieved.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

For several reasons, this is a pivotal chapter in the book.

An important part of the whole plot of the Harry Potter series is shown here: this is Harry's first contact with Tom Riddle's diary, which we learn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the first Horcrux found of six believed made by Voldemort (whose original name was Tom Marvolo Riddle). We will learn that it is this soul shard of Tom's that is opening the Chamber, and he is doing it by controlling Ginny. It is because Ginny has finally connected the diary with the strangeness that is going on that she attempts to get rid of it by flushing it down the toilet in Moaning Myrtle's washroom, thus arousing Myrtle's ire and attracting Harry and Ron's attention. The episode with Draco Malfoy, where he is waving the diary around, particularly disturbs Ginny because she recognizes the diary and thought she had gotten rid of it, and now was deathly afraid that Harry might learn how to communicate with it, and through it learn the secrets that she had entrusted to it. We are led to believe, however, that her mortification is because she is the originator of the Valentine greeting being delivered to Harry.

It is because Ginny no longer has the diary, and thus is no longer being controlled by it, that the attacks cease. Ginny will eventually retrieve the diary, and the attacks will immediately start up again, though nobody will make the connection between the two events.

This is also where Harry learns a fundamental piece of the story, although it is incomplete: apparently, Hagrid had something to do with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. However, we will shortly learn that the pet Tom Riddle saw him with was an Acromantula, a large spider which is capable of speech. While Hagrid and the Acromantula will prove to be totally unconnected with the Chamber, it will be this Acromantula, Aragog, who will give Harry a clue he needs to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

While the memory that Tom shows Harry is accurate, it is incomplete and is slanted to imply Tom is innocent and Hagrid is the one who opened the Chamber. Harry, like the school of Tom Riddle's day, is taken in by this. Of course, it was Tom, who was the only remaining heir of Slytherin at that time, and who had been exploring the school extensively, who had found and opened the Chamber, and who was controlling the Monster within it. It is because of Tom's exposure of Hagrid, and his carefully not releasing the Monster again after Hagrid's expulsion, that the Headmaster of the day, Dippet, and the rest of the school (with the possible exception of Professor Dumbledore), believed he had correctly identified the one who was opening the Chamber. It is for this that Tom was given the Special Services award.

As a side note, we should mention that memories of this nature can be edited; we will see an instance of that in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Professor Slughorn has edited his memories before giving them to Professor Dumbledore. The editing in that case was done rather clumsily. Unlike Slughorn, Riddle does not try to replace segments of memory which he wants to keep hidden; instead he simply jumps over them.

It is actually in this book, looking back on it from the end of the series, that we first see the habit of Dumbledore to hold his cards extremely close to his vest. Dumbledore, we are told, had his suspicions about Riddle from the beginning, suspicions that were held by none of the other staff. Dumbledore seems to have suspected that Riddle had not been entirely truthful in his exposure of Hagrid as the one who was opening the Chamber. Dumbledore has clearly retained this suspicion through the intervening fifty years, and believes that it is Riddle who is again opening the Chamber, but as seen in an earlier chapter, only wonders how he is doing it.

Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

[edit] Synopsis

Harry, Ron, and Hermione discuss this revelation endlessly—none want to believe that Hagrid would have anything to do with a monster. And yet, they know he was expelled from Hogwarts and likes large and scary creatures, like "Fluffy," the giant three-headed dog that guarded the Philosopher's Stone the previous year. The attacks must have stopped after Tom Riddle turned in Hagrid. Otherwise, Tom would not have received the Special Services award. They decided to do nothing unless there are more attacks. The school seems to be returning to normal, and the Mandrake plants are maturing and almost ready be used to treat those who have been Petrified.

Starting in their third year, Hogwarts students can attend elective courses, so over Easter Break, the second-years are to select their third-year classes. Everyone wants advice on what to take, except Hermione, who eventually decides to take everything. Harry asks Percy, who pompously tells him to stay with his strengths. Feeling he has no strengths except Quidditch, Harry decides to take the same courses as Ron so they can work together.

Oliver Wood is mercilessly practicing the Quidditch team. The game against Hufflepuff House is coming up, and they have the best chance in years to win the trophy. Returning from practice, Harry discovers his dorm has been ransacked, apparently by someone searching for something. While reorganizing his things, Harry discovers Riddle's diary is gone. Harry surmises that a Gryffindor must have taken it; nobody else knows the password to the tower.

The next day, as Harry heads to the Quidditch pitch for the match against Hufflepuff, he hears the voice again. Ron and Hermione, who are with him, hear nothing, but something suddenly occurs to Hermione. With her usual cryptic comments, she heads to the library. Ron and Harry go to the Pitch, but just before the game starts, Professor McGonagall announces it has been canceled and orders everyone to their House Common rooms. She singles out Harry and Ron and has them follow her to the infirmary. There has been a double attack: a Ravenclaw girl and Hermione have been petrified. Both were found near the library, and Hermione was clutching a small mirror.

Professor McGonagall announces new restrictions, including a 6:00 p.m. curfew. A teacher must escort students between classes, and there is a ban on all evening activities, including Quidditch practice. She also says the school may close permanently.

The attacked Ravenclaw girl is a Prefect, Penelope Clearwater. Percy is in shock, apparently having believed Prefects were immune from attacks. Harry and Ron decide it is time to ask Hagrid what he knows about the Chamber of Secrets. Using Harry's Invisibility Cloak, they go to his hut, but before they can ask him anything, they are interrupted by a knock at the door. Harry and Ron hide under the Cloak as Professor Dumbledore and Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge enter. Fudge apparently believes, like Harry and Ron, that it was Hagrid who opened the Chamber fifty years earlier. Over Dumbledore's protests, Fudge is sending Hagrid to Azkaban as a precaution. Ron whispers to Harry that Azkaban is the Wizard prison. Lucius Malfoy arrives with an Order signed by the Governors of Hogwarts calling for Dumbledore's removal as Headmaster, although Fudge objects. As he is leaving, Dumbledore says, "I will only truly have left the school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." As he speaks, he looks directly at Harry and Ron huddled under the Cloak. Malfoy and Dumbledore then leave. Hagrid says that if anyone wants to find some answers, they should just follow the spiders, and he leaves as well, escorted by Fudge.

[edit] Analysis

The revelation that Hagrid may be involved with the opening of the Chamber is clearly a hard one for Harry to deal with. The proof seems incontrovertible, Harry has actually seen the events of the day Hagrid was discovered. Harry's trust in Hagrid has been shaken, but still remains in place for the moment; it is only after the attacks start again that Harry feels he has to approach Hagrid to find out about the events that resulted in his expulsion.

In the meanwhile, the diary has been stolen; Harry seems to believe that it was a targeted theft, as nothing else of his has been taken. Harry and Ron have also concluded that it was someone in Gryffindor. Both of these facts could turn out to be significant. One thing that is certain at this point is that Harry will not be able to learn anything more about the night Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts by this route.

If Harry had braced Hagrid about those events, almost certainly he would also have had to explain how he had seen them, and the early revelation of the role of the diary would have significantly weakened the story. Thus, Hagrid's arrest at this point, or some other way of rendering Hagrid unavailable for the remainder of the year, is necessary to the story line. Having Hagrid arrested at this point also introduces us to Azkaban Prison and the fear wizards have of the place. From the title of the next book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, we can figure that Azkaban will figure largely in it; and as it has been at least mentioned now in both this and the previous book, we can guess that Azkaban will reappear a number of times in future books as well.

From what we have seen of him already, we can gather that Lucius Malfoy is seldom, if ever, straightforward in his motives. In this case, he tells us that the Board of Hogwarts has seen fit to suspend Dumbledore for not preventing the attacks on the students. Readers are, by this time, well aware that his motives are seldom what they seem, and his machinations are extensive. It is a safe assumption that he has coerced the board into suspending Dumbledore; his evident air of satisfaction when delivering the document speaks to that. However, we are left wondering exactly what he hopes to gain by this action. Is his hatred of Dumbledore sufficient for this level of action against him? Or is there something more that we have not yet discovered?

Hagrid is careful to tell Harry and Ron about the spiders; we don't yet know why. We have seen the spiders acting oddly already, near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. Before he leaves, Dumbledore seems to look directly at Harry and Ron, though they are under the Invisibility Cloak. Can Dumbledore really see them?

[edit] Greater Picture

It should be noted that a new attack occurs immediately after the theft of the diary. It is certain that the diary was deliberately disposed of; carrying something into a disused bathroom and flushing it down the toilet is not something that would happen accidentally. Almost immediately after the diary is stolen from Harry, there is another attack. If in fact the diary is somehow connected to the attacks, which seems likely, then equally it seems likely that the original owner has stolen it back for some reason. Additionally, we are told that the thief is almost certainly a Gryffindor student. We will find out that the diary is, in fact, associated with the attacks and with a Gryffindor student in the final chapters of this book.

We are led to believe, by what the Twins say, that Percy is distressed only because a Prefect has been attacked. Percy had quite plainly believed that Prefects would be invulnerable. Even so, his reaction appears to be extreme, until we learn in the end of this book that Ginny had caught him kissing Penelope Clearwater. Revelation of this romantic entanglement makes Percy's shock understandable at last.

The fact that Hermione runs to the library after Harry hears "the voice" again is perhaps the thing that will help Harry the most in his task of saving the day again: she is able to connect the fact that Harry is the only one that can hear a voice inside the walls with some details her own intelligence provides. She comes to the conclusion at this point that the monster is a Basilisk, which Harry can hear because of his Parseltongue ability, which allows him to speak to snakes. A Basilisk kills with its gaze if someone looks directly into his eyes. However, no one in this book has yet died, because they have seen the monster in an indirect fashion: Mrs. Norris reflected in the puddle of water outside Myrtle's bathroom, Colin through his camera, Justin through Nearly-Headless Nick (who sees it directly, but since he is already dead, it can't kill him again), and Hermione and Penelope reflected in a mirror Hermione was carrying. Hermione also guesses why the voice that Harry hears seems to pass easily through floors, and does not appear to have a source: the Basilisk uses the pipes to go through the walls of the school unmolested.

Lucius' motives in getting Dumbledore suspended are never entirely cleared up, but some clarification comes from the understanding that Lucius engineered the attacks, even though he apparently remains not entirely certain of the mechanism involved. Knowing that Lucius provided the weapon, we can see that his arranging for Dumbledore's suspension is an attempt to give the weapon free reign. Of all of the teachers at Hogwarts, only three seem to be willing to accept the idea that there might be a Chamber of Secrets that could contain a monster: Dumbledore, who had been at Hogwarts at the time, McGonagall, who accepts Dumbledore's word on it implicitly, and Lockhart, who is utterly ineffectual. By removing Dumbledore, Lucius is effectively halving the strength of the forces countering the monster.

Chapter 15: Aragog

[edit] Synopsis

Security is tighter than ever. Harry and Ron are unable to visit Hermione in the infirmary. Teachers shepherd students around in little groups. Most students are upset and frightened, although Malfoy is seemingly pleased over having played some role in Dumbledore's removal.

About a fortnight later in Herbology, Ernie Macmillan, the Hufflepuff who had earlier accused Harry of being the Heir of Slytherin, apologizes and asks Harry if he believes Malfoy could be the Heir. Harry points out some spiders to Ron, the first they have seen since Hagrid's arrest, and comments that they appear to be headed for the Forbidden Forest. Ron is not cheerful over this news. As they are escorted to their next class, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry says that in order to follow the spiders, they will need his Invisibility Cloak, and they should take Fang. Professor Lockhart bounds into the classroom, gaily saying that with Hagrid arrested, the danger has passed. Ron wants to dispute that, but Harry reminds him that they were not actually there. Harry decides they should follow the spiders that night.

Waiting until past midnight for the Common room to clear, Harry and Ron make their way through the halls, crowded with teachers and ghosts looking for signs of the Monster. They get Fang from Hagrid's hut and, making their way into the Forest, follow the spiders by wand light. Hearing something large moving, they investigate. It is Mr. Weasley's flying car, wandering the Forest. As they look to see how it is doing, they are caught by giant spiders and dragged to a hollow among the trees. There they meet Aragog, the patriarch of a huge giant spider colony. Aragog, cranky at having his sleep disturbed, tells his children to kill Harry and Ron. Harry forestalls this by saying they are Hagrid's friends, and he is in trouble, arrested again for apparently opening the Chamber. Aragog admits he was believed to be the Monster, but he was not. The Monster is another creature, one that is an enemy to spiders, and such that he cannot even name it. Aragog was blamed for killing a girl, but he says the girl died in a bathroom, a part of the Castle he was never in. Hagrid kept him in a cupboard in the dungeon. As Aragog is unable to help them further, Harry says they will just go. Aragog says no, his children will not harm Hagrid on his command, but he does not have enough control over them to keep Hagrid's friends safe. As the spiders start their attack, Mr. Weasley's car screeches onto the scene. Harry and Ron bundle themselves and Fang into it, and it carries them back to Hagrid's hut, leaves them, and returns to the Forest.

Back in the Gryffindor dorm, Harry has a sudden thought: was the girl killed in the bathroom Moaning Myrtle?

[edit] Analysis

Hermione's being Petrified, as alarming as it is, is not without some good effects. Until now, Harry had been suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin, because of his being able to talk to snakes. Now, though, even the most suspicious of Harry's fellow students agree that Harry cannot be the instigator of the attacks, as he would not have injured Hermione. Ernie, in particular, announces his belief that it is not Harry but Malfoy who is the Heir; Ron's evident amusement at the idea is probably due to Harry and Ron having come up with the same idea several months previously.

We see here the truth to Hagrid's utterance that if people wanted to learn some stuff, they should follow the spiders. Whenever we have seen the spiders in the past, Harry has thought that it looked like they were trying to run away from something. It now seems that they were trying to run towards something. We find that they are apparently headed for a spider colony in the Forbidden Forest led by Aragog, perhaps feeling that the Acromantula colony will afford them some protection. It is from Aragog that Harry and Ron learn at least some of the truth about events at Hagrid's expulsion from Hogwarts. And Aragog also gives Harry a clue to where the entrance to the Chamber is.

It is, for a while, uncertain as to whether Harry will be able to use this knowledge, as they seem to be surrounded by masses of inimical and hungry spiders. The flying car being present and willing to help them seems fortuitous, but is an indication of the author's deftness at preparing situations to pay off in future chapters (and future books). We were led to believe that, having delivered Harry and Ron to Hogwarts and gone off to sulk in the Forest, the role of the flying car was done; we are pleased to see that in fact there is still something that the aging and ailing car can do for Harry. While it certainly seems odd, at first glance, to assign personality to a machine, we see that the car in this chapter does show personality, and that personality is consistent from the arrival at Hogwarts through this chapter.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. The monster, now, has petrified Mrs. Norris, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione, and Penelope Clearwater. Is it targeting those who are not pure-blooded? Or is this random?
2. The flying car has come to Harry's rescue; will it do so again, in a later book?

[edit] Greater Picture

There is very little in this chapter that will carry forward to later books. We will learn that Harry's guess, that the girl who died is Moaning Myrtle, is correct, and we will learn how she died. We see further illumination of Lockhart's character in this chapter. We learn of the existence of Aragog. However, rather than laying groundwork for future books, this chapter is almost entirely involved with the business of moving this book's story forward to its close.

Aragog's fate is revisited in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when he dies from old age and brings Hagrid, Professor Slughorn, and Harry together to mourn his death. Hagrid at that point will be surprised to find that Aragog's offspring do not grant him free passage, but rather actually try to attack him. Given their experiences in this chapter, neither Harry nor Ron is at all surprised by their behaviour.

Aragog's children will appear again in the closing chapters of the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Hagrid will again assume that they are less dangerous than they are.

We will not see the flying car again, and while Moaning Myrtle will appear in future books, the circumstances of her death will not prove important after this book.

Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

[edit] Synopsis

With increased security, getting into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom will be difficult, but Harry and Ron will need to talk to Myrtle to find out if their guess is correct.

Professor McGonagall reminds them that exams will be starting in only a week's time. Apparently this catches everyone by surprise. With the school in the state it is in, it seemed unlikely that exams would continue.

Three days later, Professor McGonagall announces at breakfast that the Mandrakes are ready, and the Petrified victims will be revived that night. Ginny sits down beside Harry and Ron. It seems she has something important to say to them, but when Percy arrives after a night's patrolling, she runs away. Percy says he knows what she was going to talk to them about, and that it had nothing to do with the Chamber; but he deflects questions about what it was.

While it is possible that the mystery will be solved with Hermione's revival, Harry still wants to see if Moaning Myrtle can help them. An opportunity appears that morning: as Professor Lockhart escorts students to History of Magic class, Harry and Ron suggest that he doesn't really need to guard them with Hagrid arrested and the threat gone, and he agrees and goes off to take a nap. Harry and Ron manage to leave the group and head for Myrtle's bathroom, but are found by Professor McGonagall, who demands to know what they are doing. Harry says they want to visit Hermione in the hospital wing. Touched by their concern, McGonagall allows them to go, and now they are forced to actually go to the infirmary. While visiting Hermione, they find paper caught in her hand. Removing it with some difficulty, they see it is a page from a book describing Basilisks. "Pipes" is handwritten in the margin. Harry realizes that a Basilisk kills with its gaze, but because no one was looking directly at it, nobody died. Mrs. Norris saw a reflection in the water on the floor. Colin Creevey was looking through his camera lens. Justin saw it through Nearly Headless Nick, and, of course, Hermione had her mirror. This explains both the spiders fleeing it and the roosters being killed — a rooster's crow is fatal to it. Harry can hear the voice because he is a Parselmouth—the Basilisk is a snake. It travels through the walls and ceilings using the plumbing. It occurs to Ron that, if Myrtle was the Basilisk's victim last time, the Chamber's entrance may be in Moaning Myrtle's washroom.

Harry and Ron go to the staff room to report their findings to Professor McGonagall; nobody is there, so they decide to wait. There is an announcement ordering all students to their Houses. Harry and Ron hide so they can find out what has happened. Professor McGonagall and the staff arrive, and McGonagall says a student has been taken into the Chamber. It is Ginny Weasley. Lockhart arrives, belatedly, and is told what has happened. Several teachers call him on his boasts over the past few weeks and he is appointed to open the Chamber and defeat the Monster. He excuses himself to go to his office and "prepare". Having gotten rid of him, the remaining instructors plan how they will inform the students and the future of the school.

Harry and Ron rush to Lockhart's office to tell him what they know. There they find him hastily packing his belongings. He admits that he never actually did the feats in his books. Rather, he took credit for other wizards accomplishments and used a charm to erase their memories. He threatens Harry and Ron with a memory charm, but Harry disarms him, and Ron throws his wand out the window. They force Lockhart to go with them to Moaning Myrtle's washroom. Myrtle says that when she was a student, she went into the washroom to have a bit of a cry. Hearing a boy's voice, she looked out of the cubicle and saw big yellow eyes—then she died. She points out one particular basin. Harry addresses it in Parseltongue, and it opens to reveal a vertical shaft. Ron and Harry push Lockhart down the shaft first, then follow.

Finding themselves in a tunnel, they investigate. A giant snake skin is lying on the ground. Lockhart pretends to faint, but as Ron approaches him, he grabs Ron's wand. He says he will tell everyone that he defeated the monster, and use a piece of the snake skin as proof, but that Harry and Ron were unfortunately rendered insane after seeing Ginny's dead body. He casts a memory charm, but Ron's broken wand backfires and explodes, causing Lockhart to erase his own memory and the ceiling to collapse. Harry and Ron are unhurt, but the fallen rubble separates them. Harry leaves Ron to clear the rock fall while he explores the tunnel further ahead. He finds a door, which also opens when he speaks Parseltongue.

[edit] Analysis

It is here that the truth about Lockhart's abilities is revealed: all the things he said he did in his books were actually done by other people, and having learned their stories, he alters their memory so that he can claim the credit for the others' doings, without fear of their contradicting his claims. As we have seen, he is magically quite weak, with the apparent exception of his Memory charms, and here is defeated by Harry's disarmament charm, as he was by Professor Snape in the Dueling Club. We can suppose that he is somewhat transparent to other wizards as well; he is certainly not held in particular esteem by any of the instructors at Hogwarts, so it is entirely possible that he is given misinformation by those whose stories he is stealing. This would, in fact, explain his confidence in the ineffectual Pixie-banishing charm he had used in the first Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Of course, he had never used it himself, merely borrowing it from a more accomplished wizard. It is likely that the wizard he borrowed it from, out of disgust at Lockhart's general pandering to the audience, gave him an ineffectual charm in hopes that it would bring Lockhart down a few notches when he did try to use it.

It is worthwhile examining the technique used by the Weasley children for de-gnoming the garden earlier in the light of this revelation. While we are never explicitly told that the technique was from Lockhart's book, the reference to Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests does tend to indicate that as the source. The fact that the technique is, ultimately, ineffectual would also tend to suggest Lockhart as the original source.

This is a particularly telling comment on the nature of celebrity and those who seek it. Lockhart, who the author has said was modeled on a real person, is clearly willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in order to keep his own star bright. Harry, who Hagrid had earlier said was more famous than Lockhart would ever be, clearly is not interested in the fame he has fallen into; we see throughout this book that he is trying, in some cases futilely, to stay out of the limelight. In contrast to Harry, who remains a solid, sympathetic character despite his renown, Lockhart has made himself into a glossy, empty shell, and the reader cannot help but be pleased to see him hoist by his own petard.

When they are approaching the Chamber, Ron's broken wand finally does something well: when Lockhart steals it and, ignoring the possibility that Ginny may still be alive, attempts to erase Harry and Ron's memories, it backfires and Obliviates him, as well as causing a small explosion. This backfire ends Lockhart's plan to claim to have found the Chamber and destroyed the Monster, at the cost of three student lives; it also causes a rock fall that separates Harry and Ron. Now, Harry will have to search for Ginny alone, without his friends' help.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

[edit] Greater Picture

We will later find out that the effects of the memory charm backfire on Lockhart are quite long-lasting, and Lockhart is not yet recovered when we meet him some three years later. This is to be expected, in a way; Lockhart had been intending the charm he placed on Ron to be permanent, so when it backfired on him, it is only to be expected that it act permanently.

Even as early as this, we start to see some signs of the future romantic entanglements of the main characters in the series. Ginny, having something important that she needs to tell people, approaches Harry first, rather than one of her own brothers. Of course, earlier in the book, we had seen that Ginny was showing all the signs of the classic schoolgirl crush on Harry, but it should be noted that a person with such a crush is almost always too much in awe of the subject of the crush to ever approach him. This would be an indication that Ginny's feelings have matured and deepened, possibly beyond the crush level. Despite several side roads on both Harry's and Ginny's part, this relationship will persist, off and on, throughout the entire series.

We also see the first of several progressively-larger hints that the author drops about the relationship between Ron and Hermione. While Ron is upset at the depredations of the Monster, we can see that he is much more upset at Hermione's Petrification than at the fate of anyone else, except Ginny, his sister. True to his character, though, Ron will not recognize his concern for what it is for several years yet.

The fact that Harry is unable to tell whether he is speaking English or Parseltongue should be unsurprising, as he cannot tell the difference between the two languages when hearing them. It is in this chapter that this is pointed up; nobody else can hear the Basilisk, because to them its speech is a low, undifferentiated hissing, but to Harry it sounds like plain speech. This will prove a plot point in the final book of the series.

Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin

[edit] Synopsis

Harry finds himself at one end of a long chamber; at the other is a giant statue, probably Salazar Slytherin. The statue has an ancient, monkey-like face with a long thin beard, and is wearing sweeping robes. Lying on the floor is Ginny. His efforts to revive Ginny are interrupted by a tall, black-haired boy who identifies himself as Tom Riddle. Riddle, who is holding Harry's dropped wand, explains he is a memory, preserved in his diary for fifty years. He opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, intending to purge Muggle-borns and half-bloods from the school. However, when the school was to close due to the attacks and because Dumbledore (then the Transfiguration teacher) was keeping such a close watch on him, he halted the attacks and framed Hagrid. Not wanting to waste the years spent searching for the Chamber, he left behind a diary containing the memory of his sixteen-year-old self in hopes it would, one day, fall into the hands of an unsuspecting victim who would help finish his work.

Ginny had been writing in the diary all year. Riddle wrote back sympathetically, and Ginny confessed her fears, hopes, and feelings to him. She essentially poured some of her soul into him, which was exactly what he wanted. He gradually grew more powerful and eventually poured some of his soul back into her, possessing her and using her body to strangle the school roosters, write on the walls, and open the Chamber of Secrets. He tells Harry how Ginny told him Harry's entire history and how happy he was when Harry picked up the diary after Ginny became fearful and threw it away. He says he was disappointed when Ginny reclaimed it. Having seen Harry with the diary on Valentine's day, she was afraid it would reveal her secrets, and so she ransacked Harry's room to retrieve it. Tom forced Ginny into the Chamber for two purposes: first, to sap her remaining life force and come fully to life; and second, to lure Harry Potter there so he could meet him directly.

Tom wants to know how Harry, an ordinary baby wizard, could have defeated Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard of the age. Harry wonders why Tom cares. Riddle reveals he is, in fact, a half-blood. His mother named him Tom after his Muggle father and Marvolo after his wizard grandfather, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He scrambled his name to create a new one—Lord Voldemort, a name he knew people would fear when he became the most powerful wizard in the world. It was also a way to eliminate his Muggle father's name. Harry states Voldemort was not the most powerful wizard, Albus Dumbledore is. He says Dumbledore probably saw right through Tom when he was at school and is still stronger than Voldemort. When Tom says Dumbledore was driven from the school by Tom's memory, Harry retorts that Dumbledore may be closer than Tom realizes.

Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix, suddenly appears in a burst of fire and drops the Sorting Hat at Harry's feet. It then perches on his shoulder. Tom is openly contemptuous: a songbird and an old hat. This is what Dumbledore sends to his allies? Tom again demands to know how Harry defeated Voldemort. Harry notices that Riddle's form is becoming more solid while Ginny's life force fades. Harry must act quickly if he is to defeat Riddle. Harry tells Riddle that by sacrificing her life for her son, his mother saved him from Voldemort and reduced him to an ineffectual remnant.

Mastering his rage, Tom agrees that indeed would be a powerful protection. He then summons the Monster—it is the Basilisk. Harry avoids its deadly gaze, as Fawkes leaves his shoulder. Harry is smashed against the wall by the snake's coil but is not bitten. He sees that Fawkes has blinded the Basilisk. Tom is still ordering the serpent to kill Harry, telling it to smell him. The thrashing snake has swept the Sorting Hat into Harry's arms. He puts it on, thinking "Help me!" The Hat constricts sharply and something hits him in the head. Taking it off, Harry finds a sword inside. As the Basilisk strikes, Harry impales it through the roof of its mouth and into its brain, killing it. But a single venomous fang pierces his arm.

Harry removes the fang, but it is too late. As the venom spreads, Harry dimly sees Fawkes land beside him. Riddle tells Harry he will soon be dead, even Dumbledore's bird knows; he is weeping. But both have forgotten that Phoenix tears heal wounds. Tom suddenly realizes this and attempts a killing curse. Before he can strike, Fawkes drops the diary into Harry's lap, and Harry stabs the diary with the fang. Tom Riddle is destroyed.

As Riddle vanishes, Ginny awakens. She gives a great gasp, begins crying, and says she wanted to tell Harry at breakfast that it was her that who was helping Riddle, that the diary was controlling her, but she could not speak in front of Percy. Now she is afraid of being expelled. Harry comforts her and takes her to where Ron has been clearing rocks. Ron wants to know where the sword and the bird came from, but Harry wants to explain later when Ginny is not around. Harry asks where Lockhart is. Ron points to the end of the tunnel. Lockhart has forgotten everything, even his own name.

Fawkes hovers near Harry, and Harry remembers that Phoenixes can lift amazingly heavy loads. Everyone holds on to each other and, with Harry holding Fawkes' tail, are flown from the Chamber to Moaning Myrtle's washroom. Myrtle seems mildly upset that Harry is still alive. She was going to offer him space in her toilet if he died. Fawkes flies to Professor McGonagall's office. Harry knocks on the door and opens it.

[edit] Analysis

This chapter is largely concerned with first, providing the hidden story behind the events that have occurred, and second, the action involved in defeating the adversary (here, Voldemort, as in the first book) and the Monster, and saving Ginny. As such, in the context of the book, there is not much analysis that can be done. The first part of the chapter is largely exposition, with Riddle explaining the back story; then, there is the brief battle with the Basilisk, and the return to the end of the tunnel where Ron waits. This leaves very little to analyze. However, it is perhaps useful to note that "a memory of Tom Riddle" can act independently and can take over another person's life force to return itself to life. This may prove unusual enough a characteristic to warrant special attention.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

1. How does Harry see the Basilisk without dying?

[edit] Further Study

1. Fawkes must see the the Basilisk's eyes, in order to puncture them. How does he do so without dying?
2. How does Tom Riddle manage to see the Basilisk? He, too, will be vulnerable to its eyes. Or can the Basilisk switch that function on and off at will?

[edit] Greater Picture

Riddle repeatedly says that the diary contains a memory of Tom. What Harry is seeing and talking to is only a memory. However, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Professor Dumbledore points out that Riddle's diary does far more than a memory should be able to - it can think and respond on its own, it can take over another person and make them do its bidding, and it can sap the life force from another person to create a body for itself. This strongly indicates that the diary is actually a Horcrux. Or rather, was a Horcrux; Harry has destroyed it.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it will be revealed that Harry has lucked into one of the very few techniques that will destroy a Horcrux: Basilisk venom. In that book, it is revealed that a Horcrux will act to keep its physical container intact, to the full extent of ordinary magic; in order to destroy a Horcrux, its physical container must be damaged beyond the ability of ordinary magic. Also in that chapter, it will be revealed that the only known cure for Basilisk venom is Phoenix tears, which, due to the extreme rarity of Phoenixes, are certainly outside the realm of ordinary magic.

This of course leads to an apparent problem: there is actually a phoenix in close proximity shortly before Harry stabs the diary. Could not the diary, making use of more ordinary magic similar to the Accio charm, summon some of Fawkes' tears to itself? Possibly it could, but the author has stated, in an interview given after the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that she had very carefully distanced the phoenix before the death blow. And looking at the sequence of events, we see that Riddle had, in fact, attempted to Curse Fawkes, driving him away and presumably out of range, before Harry stabbed the diary.

There are a few other useful items that are mentioned in passing in this chapter. Thinking Harry will shortly be dead, Riddle mentions his grandfather's name, Marvolo, something that we will learn much later Voldemort had been taking some pains to conceal. This will not be useful to Harry, though Dumbledore, who also knows it, uses it to unearth one of the Horcruxes: given the approximate age, and the name Marvolo which evidently is not common in the Wizarding world, plus the name Riddle associated with a Wizard-caused death in Tom's youth, Dumbledore is able to locate Tom's mother's home and retrieve a Horcrux hidden there. Tom also mentions what has likely become his greatest shame in the intervening fifty years: that despite being the last heir of Slytherin, Tom is descended from a Muggle, and so is one of the very half-bloods that he despises. Harry is able to cause some dissension in the ranks of a group of Death Eaters that he is facing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, before the Battle in the Ministry, by mentioning that to them.

Chapter 18: Dobby's Reward

[edit] Synopsis

In Professor McGonagall's office, Harry finds Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley, who immediately sweep Ginny into a hug. Also present are Professor Dumbledore and, of course, Professor McGonagall. McGonagall demands to know what happened, so Harry tells them, omitting Ginny's role and the diary as much as possible. Professor Dumbledore wonders how Lord Voldemort enchanted Ginny, as he is currently hiding in Albania. Harry is relieved, as this means Dumbledore is aware Ginny was under the influence of someone else. He says it was Riddle's diary, which he has brought with him, along with the sword and the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore confirms that Riddle and Voldemort are one and the same. Mr. Weasley chastises Ginny: "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain!" Dumbledore sends her to the hospital wing, saying that there will be no punishment, as it is not her fault. "Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He also says she should have bed rest and perhaps a large mug of hot chocolate, one of his favorite things to do when he is distraught. He says that Madam Pomfrey will still be awake, giving out Mandrake juice. Ron is heartened to discover that Hermione will have suffered no permanent damage. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley leave with Ginny. Dumbledore dispatches Professor McGonagall to alert the kitchens that a feast is called for.

Professor Dumbledore awards Ron and Harry Special Awards for Services to the School plus two hundred House points each; then asks Professor Lockhart why he is so quiet about his part in the adventure. Lockhart gazes vaguely around to see who Dumbledore is talking about, as Ron explains about his wand backfire. Dumbledore has Ron take Lockhart to the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore and Harry are now alone.

Harry admits to Dumbledore that Riddle alarmed him by noting their similarities: they are both orphans, dark-haired, and speak Parseltongue. Dumbledore believes Voldemort transferred some of his powers, including the ability to speak Parseltongue, when his curse on the one-year-old Harry failed. Harry says the Sorting Hat saw Slytherin's power in him and wanted to put him in Slytherin. Dumbledore said it put him in Gryffindor instead. Harry says it was only because he asked it to. Dumbledore says, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." He then shows Harry the sword. Engraved on the blade is, Godric Gryffindor. "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry."

The door bursts open and Lucius Malfoy stalks in, accompanied by, to Harry's amazement, Dobby. Lucius is furious that Dumbledore has returned after being suspended. Dumbledore replies that when the news of the attack on Mr. Weasley's daughter had gotten out, he was asked to return by the other eleven Governors, some of whom had been under the impression that if they had not voted for his suspension, Malfoy would have cursed them and their families. Lucius demands to know if the culprit has been found. Dumbledore says it was the same as last time, via the diary, and most ingeniously. If the plot succeeded, Ginny Weasley would been blamed, reflecting badly on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act. Behind Mr. Malfoy's back, Dobby is performing a charade, which Harry suddenly understands: it was Malfoy who gave the diary to Ginny at Flourish and Blotts. Lucius demands that they prove this accusation. Dumbledore says that is impossible with the diary destroyed, but if other such artifacts are passed to anyone, Arthur Weasley will be sure to link them back to Lucius Malfoy. Lucius stomps off, kicking Dobby along the way. Harry takes Riddle's diary, wraps it in one of his socks, and runs out to return it to Lucius. Lucius angrily strips the sock off and tosses it aside. Dobby catches it. He is free at last. He protects Harry against Mr. Malfoy's rage. Lucius leaves Hogwarts, defeated on all fronts. Dobby asks how he can repay Harry, and Harry says all he has to do is never try to save his life again.

The feast is an odd one, even for Hogwarts, with everyone in pyjamas, lasting all night, and enlivened by the return of the Petrified students and Hagrid. Everyone is further cheered by the announcement that exams are canceled; all except Hermione.

The remaining year is peaceful. The only grim face is Draco Malfoy's. His father has been fired from the Board of Directors. On the train back home, Harry asks Ginny what she knew about that Percy had not wanted her to tell anyone about. Ginny reveals that Percy has a girlfriend, the same Penelope Clearwater who was Petrified with Hermione. She saw them kissing. Fred and George plan to have some fun with Percy about this over the summer. Harry does not expect to have any fun at all, and asks Hermione and Ron to call him on the telephone so they can arrange to meet. And then the train pulls into Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

[edit] Analysis

Having used the time-honoured technique of having the villain explain to the hero exactly what had happened in the previous chapter, the author here completes the story by laying out the parts the other players had in the events. We learn here that the diary originated with Lucius Malfoy, and that Dobby, as we suspected, was his house-elf. We learn also that Dumbledore was perhaps more aware of what had been going on than we suspected, but was constrained, probably by forces with which we are not yet aware, from taking a more active role in things. Finally, we also see, with almost breakneck speed, the closing days of the school year, with the recovery of the victims of the Basilisk, the return of Hagrid, and the eventual return to London on the Hogwarts Express.

It is interesting to note that Tom Riddle, Ron, and Harry all received Special Awards for Services to the School for closing the Chamber of Secrets. Fifty years on, other students may be wondering what Ronald Weasley did to merit this award. It is unlikely that Harry's role will be questioned: after all, he is the famous Harry Potter.

One of the guiding principles of the series is here voiced, by Dumbledore, of course: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Although in the mouth of another character, such as Percy Weasley, this would seem overly sententious, Dumbledore is able to say this without pontificating, perhaps in part due to his reputation as an eccentric. It is perhaps worthwhile at this point to look back and see where Harry had been given a choice, and which choices he has taken. Already we can see that Harry has seldom taken the easy choice, often choosing the hardest course because he thought it was right. It will probably be instructive to see if Harry maintains this course.

This particular instance is of interest in another direction as well. Throughout this book, we have seen Harry's increasing doubt that he is, in fact, meant to be in Gryffindor house where he has been placed by the Sorting Hat. In his meeting with Tom Riddle, we see this doubt again, though interestingly it does not seem to affect his course of action. It is Dumbledore's pronouncement, as mentioned above, coupled with the discovery that the sword in the hat was Gryffindor's, that finally removes Harry's doubt about the Sorting Hat's decision. We can safely guess that Harry will not be troubled about this matter again.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

[edit] Further Study

1. How did they administer a restorative potion to Nearly Headless Nick? He is a ghost, and ghosts can't even taste ordinary food. How could a potion have any effect on him?

[edit] Greater Picture

Curiously, the fact that Voldemort is currently believed to be hiding in Albania will prove germane to the overall story arc. Voldemort had found an artifact that he had changed into one of his Horcruxes there, and had apparently returned there as a disembodied spirit after his initial encounter with Harry. It was there, apparently, that Professor Quirrell had encountered him, and it was there that Peter Pettigrew will rejoin him between books three and four. One wonders what attraction Voldemort had to Albania, or what the author intended him to find there.

It is in the sixth book that we will discover that this "memory of Tom Riddle" is, in fact, a Horcrux, and that Dumbledore had been very concerned when he discovered this fact, though we will not see that here: Dumbledore, throughout the relation of this story, seems as imperturbable as ever. Later, however, Dumbledore will tell Harry that the discovery of this Horcrux had worried him. As long as the Horcrux remains intact, the wizard who created it cannot die, his soul remaining tied to the earth by the Horcrux; thus, the primary purpose of a Horcrux is immortality, and wizards who do create them invariably protect them as they would their own lives. Yet this one was apparently crafted to be used as a weapon, and placed in the hands of a schoolgirl. Dumbledore concludes that there must be others, that this is not Voldemort's only Horcrux, and attempts to determine how many others there might be. Harry manages to secure a memory which suggests that Tom Riddle saw seven as the most magical number, and so Dumbledore concludes, correctly, that Voldemort had intended to have seven pieces of his soul: one remaining within himself, and six in Horcruxes.

We can see immediately that Harry's arranging Dobby's release from servitude, and Dobby's gratitude for that act, will have some effect on Harry's future, but it is not exactly clear yet what that effect will be. Dobby does not rejoin the story until the fourth book, and at that time he will help Harry solve one of the three major problems he is set. True to Harry's request, Dobby will not again try to save Harry's life, until directed to do so late in the seventh book; but in the mean while, Dobby will assist Harry in his work with Dumbledore's Army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and his attempts to determine Draco's mission in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.