Chamber of Secrets [Harry Potter Lexicon]

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======Chamber of Secrets======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** Secret Chamber, Lair
  * **Location:** Deep beneath [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], [[Scotland]]
  * **Owner/Residents:** Created by [[Salazar Slytherin]]. Later inhabited by his [[Basilisk]]. Accessed by [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]] and [[Harry Potter]].
  * **Key Features:** Concealed entrance requiring [[Parseltongue]] to open, a long subterranean tunnel, a colossal statue of [[Salazar Slytherin]], and defensive enchantments to hide it from discovery.
=====Description and History=====
The **Chamber of Secrets** is a legendary hidden chamber constructed by [[Salazar Slytherin]], one of the four [[Hogwarts Founders]]. According to legend, [[Slytherin]] built the [[Chamber]] following a fundamental disagreement with the other founders—particularly [[Godric Gryffindor]]—over whether to admit [[Muggle-born]] students to [[Hogwarts]]. Before leaving the school, [[Slytherin]] sealed the [[Chamber]], leaving behind a monster—a [[Basilisk]]—that only his true heir could control. The heir was prophesied to unleash the monster to purge the school of all those [[Slytherin]] deemed unworthy to study [[magic]].
For centuries, the [[Chamber]] was considered a myth. Its location remained undiscovered until the 1942-1943 school year, when a fifth-year student named [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]], the true heir of [[Slytherin]], found and opened it. [[Riddle]] used his ability to speak [[Parseltongue]] to control the [[Basilisk]], resulting in the death of a student, [[Myrtle Warren]] ([[Moaning Myrtle]]). The [[Ministry of Magic]] threatened to close [[Hogwarts]], forcing [[Riddle]] to seal the [[Chamber]]. He framed [[Rubeus Hagrid]] and his pet [[Acromantula]], [[Aragog]], for the attacks.
The entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] is located in the second-floor girls' lavatory, which became known as [[Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom]]. One of the copper taps on a sink is etched with a tiny [[snake]]. Speaking the [[Parseltongue]] word "Open" to it causes the sink to move aside, revealing a large pipe wide enough for a person to slide down. This pipe leads to a dark, stone tunnel far below the castle, littered with the skeletons of small animals. The tunnel ends at a solid wall carved with two entwined stone [[serpents]] with emeralds for eyes, which serves as a second door that also requires [[Parseltongue]] to open.
Beyond this door lies the main [[Chamber]]. It is described as a long, high, and dimly lit room with an eerie greenish glow. Stone pillars carved with more entwined [[serpents]] line the path, rising to a ceiling lost in darkness. At the far end stands a colossal, "ancient and monkey-like" statue of [[Salazar Slytherin]], with a long beard that reaches the hem of his stone robes. The [[Basilisk]] resided within this statue, emerging from its mouth on the command of the [[Heir of Slytherin]].
=====Role in the Story=====
The [[Chamber of Secrets]] is the central setting and mystery of //Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets//. [[Harry Potter]] first learns of the legend from [[Professor Binns]] after the [[Basilisk]] is unleashed for a second time by the memory of [[Tom Riddle]], acting through a bewitched [[Ginny Weasley]]. The monster petrifies several victims, including [[Mrs. Norris]], [[Colin Creevey]], [[Justin Finch-Fletchley]], [[Nearly Headless Nick]], [[Penelope Clearwater]], and [[Hermione Granger]].
With help from [[Ron Weasley]] and information from [[Hermione]], [[Harry]] discovers the entrance in [[Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom]]. He enters the [[Chamber]] to rescue [[Ginny]], where he confronts the memory of sixteen-year-old [[Tom Riddle]]. [[Riddle]] reveals his true identity as the future [[Lord Voldemort]] and summons the [[Basilisk]]. [[Harry]], aided by [[Dumbledore]]'s [[phoenix]], [[Fawkes]], and the [[Sword of Gryffindor]], successfully slays the [[Basilisk]]. He then uses one of its venomous fangs to destroy [[Tom Riddle's Diary]], which is later revealed to be one of [[Voldemort]]'s [[Horcruxes]].
The [[Chamber]] reappears in //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows// during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]]. [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Hermione Granger]] go to the [[Chamber]] to retrieve [[Basilisk fangs]], knowing the venom is one of the few substances capable of destroying [[Horcruxes]]. [[Ron]] successfully opens the entrance by mimicking the [[Parseltongue]] sounds he heard [[Harry]] make. They retrieve several fangs from the [[Basilisk]]'s skeleton, and [[Hermione]] uses one to destroy [[Hufflepuff's Cup]].
=====Known Areas Within=====
  * **[[Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom]]**: The location of the secret entrance.
  * **Entrance Pipe and Tunnel**: A long, dark slide and tunnel system leading from the bathroom deep into the dungeons.
  * **Antechamber Door**: A wall carved with two entwined [[serpents]] that opens with [[Parseltongue]].
  * **Main Chamber**: The final, vast chamber containing the statue of [[Salazar Slytherin]] and the remains of the [[Basilisk]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * **Design in the Films:** The film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets// depicts the [[Chamber]] largely as described in the novel, featuring massive snake-headed statues, a flooded floor, and a colossal statue of [[Slytherin]]. The entrance pipe is portrayed as a long, twisting slide. (film)
  * **Plumbing at Hogwarts:** J.K. Rowling explained on Pottermore that the [[Chamber]] was created long before [[Hogwarts]] had modern plumbing. When a plumbing system was installed in the eighteenth century, a [[Slytherin]] descendant and [[Hogwarts]] student named [[Corvinus Gaunt]] knew of the [[Chamber]]'s entrance and ensured it was preserved and incorporated into the new pipework of the girls' bathroom built on that spot. (Pottermore)