Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* is the second novel in the seven-part *Harry Potter* series by J.K. Rowling. The story chronicles Harry Potter's tumultuous second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The plot revolves around the mysterious reopening of the legendary Chamber of Secrets, leading to a series of attacks on students. This installment is crucial to the overall saga, introducing the concept of Horcruxes through Tom Riddle's Diary, exploring Harry's connection to Lord Voldemort via his ability to speak Parseltongue, and delving into the deep-seated prejudice within the wizarding world concerning blood purity.

The story begins with Harry Potter enduring a miserable summer with the Dursleys. His return to Hogwarts is obstructed by Dobby, a house-elf, who warns him of a terrible plot. After being rescued by Ron Weasley and his brothers in a Flying Ford Anglia, Harry enjoys a brief stay at The Burrow. At Diagon Alley, he has a tense encounter with Draco Malfoy and his father, Lucius Malfoy, at Flourish and Blotts during a book signing for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. Upon arriving at King's Cross Station, Harry and Ron find the magical barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters sealed. They resort to flying the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts, crashing into the Whomping Willow and damaging Ron's wand. Soon after the term begins, a message appears on a castle wall, written in blood: “THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.” Argus Filch's cat, Mrs Norris, is found Petrified nearby. The legend, as told by Professor Binns, states that Salazar Slytherin built a hidden chamber containing a monster that only his true heir could control, intended to purge the school of those unworthy to study magic, specifically Muggle-borns. Suspicion falls on Harry when, at a Duelling Club meeting, he instinctively speaks Parseltongue to a snake conjured by Draco Malfoy. This rare ability is famously associated with Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort. Determined to clear their names, Harry, Ron, and Hermione Granger brew Polyjuice Potion in a disused bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle. Harry and Ron successfully disguise themselves as Crabbe and Goyle to interrogate Malfoy, but learn he is not the heir. Harry discovers a small, blank diary that once belonged to a Tom Marvolo Riddle. Writing in it, Harry is transported into a memory from fifty years prior, where he witnesses the young Tom Riddle accuse Rubeus Hagrid of opening the Chamber and unleashing the monster, leading to Hagrid's expulsion. As more students are Petrified, including Hermione Granger, Hagrid is arrested and taken to Azkaban, while Albus Dumbledore is suspended as Headmaster by the school governors, led by Lucius Malfoy. Following a clue from Hagrid, Harry and Ron venture into the Forbidden Forest and encounter Aragog, a giant spider Hagrid raised. Aragog reveals that he was not the monster from the Chamber and that the real monster's first victim died in a bathroom. Piecing together clues, including a page torn from a book found in Hermione's petrified hand, Harry deduces the monster is a Basilisk. When Ginny Weasley is taken into the Chamber, Harry and Ron, along with a fraudulent Gilderoy Lockhart, find the entrance in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Lockhart's attempt to erase their memories backfires due to Ron's broken wand, causing a rockfall that separates Harry from the others. Harry proceeds alone into the Chamber of Secrets, where he finds an unconscious Ginny and a spectral form of Tom Riddle, preserved by his diary. Riddle reveals that he is the younger Lord Voldemort and that he used Ginny, through the diary, to reopen the Chamber. He summons the Basilisk to kill Harry. Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, arrives with the Sorting Hat. Fawkes blinds the Basilisk, and Harry pulls the Sword of Gryffindor from the hat. He slays the beast but is poisoned by a Basilisk fang. Fawkes's tears heal Harry's wound. Harry then stabs the diary with the fang, destroying the memory of Riddle and saving Ginny. At the conclusion, Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house-elf, Dobby.

• Introduction of Horcruxes: Tom Riddle's Diary is revealed to be the first Horcrux that Harry encounters and destroys, although the term itself is not introduced until *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*. It establishes the concept of a soul fragment being stored in an object.
• Harry's Connection to Voldemort: Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue is revealed, providing a tangible link between him and Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore later explains that this is because Voldemort transferred some of his powers to Harry on the night he tried to kill him.
• History of Tom Riddle: The book provides the first detailed backstory for Lord Voldemort, revealing his real name, his time as a student at Hogwarts, his status as the Heir of Salazar Slytherin, and his early acts of malice.
• Theme of Prejudice: The central conflict heavily features the wizarding world's prejudice against Muggle-borns, personified by the Malfoy family's ideology and the Chamber's original purpose. The derogatory term “Mudblood” is introduced.
• Choices vs. Abilities: A recurring theme, articulated by Dumbledore, is that it is our choices, not our abilities, that define who we are. This reassures Harry that despite his Parseltongue ability, he truly belongs in Gryffindor.

• Dobby: A house-elf bound to the Malfoy family who tries to “protect” Harry through self-punishing and dangerous means.
• Gilderoy Lockhart: The vain, incompetent, and fraudulent celebrity author who becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Lucius Malfoy: The patriarch of the Malfoy family, a former Death Eater, and an influential member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors.
• Ginny Weasley: While present in the first book, she becomes a central character in this story, manipulated by Tom Riddle through his diary.
• Moaning Myrtle: The ghost of a Muggle-born witch who haunts a girls' bathroom and was the Basilisk's first victim fifty years prior.
• Aragog: An Acromantula, or giant spider, raised by Rubeus Hagrid.
• Fawkes: Albus Dumbledore's highly intelligent and loyal phoenix.
• Tom Marvolo Riddle: The memory-form of a sixteen-year-old Lord Voldemort, preserved within his school diary.
• Colin Creevey: A star-struck first-year Gryffindor student who is one of the Basilisk's victims.

• Locations:
  • The Burrow: The magical, chaotic, and loving home of the Weasley family.
  • Chamber of Secrets: The legendary hidden chamber created by Salazar Slytherin.
  • Borgin and Burkes: A dark magic shop located in Knockturn Alley.
  • Flourish and Blotts: The primary bookstore for Hogwarts students in Diagon Alley.
• Magic & Spells:
  • Parseltongue: The rare magical ability to speak to and understand snakes.
  • Polyjuice Potion: A complex and time-consuming potion that allows the drinker to assume the appearance of another person.
  • Expelliarmus: The Disarming Charm, which becomes Harry's signature spell after he learns it in the Duelling Club.
  • Serpensortia: A spell that conjures a snake.
  • Obliviate: The Memory Charm, which Gilderoy Lockhart uses to steal credit for other wizards' achievements.
  • Floo Network: A method of wizarding transportation using Floo Powder to travel between connected fireplaces.
• Objects & Creatures:
  • Tom Riddle's Diary: A bewitched diary that functions as a Horcrux, containing a memory of the young Lord Voldemort.
  • Sword of Gryffindor: A goblin-made sword that presents itself to any worthy Gryffindor in need.
  • Flying Ford Anglia: An enchanted car belonging to Arthur Weasley.
  • Howler: A magical letter that shouts its message at the recipient.
  • Mandrake: A magical plant whose cry is fatal to those who hear it fully grown; its potion is the antidote for Petrification.
  • Basilisk: A gigantic serpent known as the King of Serpents, whose gaze causes instant death.

• Publication: The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc.
• Film Adaptation: The film adaptation was released in 2002, directed by Chris Columbus. It was the second film in the series and the last to be directed by Columbus. Key differences include the simplification of how Harry and Ron discover the nature of the Basilisk and the omission of Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party. (film)
• Author's Notes: J.K. Rowling has stated that the idea of Tom Riddle's Diary was a way to introduce the concept of a piece of a soul being hidden in an object, which became the foundation for the Horcruxes that are central to the later books. She found the diary to be a very frightening object, representing the power of hidden and malevolent influence. (J.K. Rowling interview)