Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ======Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets====== =====Book Information===== * **Author:** [[J.K. Rowling]] * **Series:** Book 2 of 7 in the //Harry Potter// series * **UK Publisher:** [[Bloomsbury]] * **US Publisher:** [[Scholastic]] * **UK Release Date:** 2 July 1998 * **US Release Date:** 2 June 1999 * **Follows:** [[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book)]] * **Precedes:** [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book)]] =====Synopsis===== The second installment in the series follows [[Harry Potter]]'s tumultuous second year at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. The story begins with a warning from a mysterious [[house-elf]] named [[Dobby]], who implores Harry not to return to school. Undeterred, Harry arrives at [[Hogwarts]] to find a new, sinister legend coming to life: the [[Chamber of Secrets]] has been opened. As students are found petrified, a message written in blood on a castle wall declares that the "Heir of [[Slytherin]]" has returned to purge the school of those with non-magical heritage. Harry finds himself at the center of the suspicion when he is revealed to be a [[Parselmouth]], a rare ability he shares with [[Salazar Slytherin]] himself. With his friends [[Ron Weasley]] and [[Hermione Granger]], Harry must uncover the secrets of the Chamber, identify the monster within, and confront a dark piece of [[Lord Voldemort]]'s past. =====Plot Summary===== The story opens with [[Harry Potter]] enduring a miserable summer with the [[Dursleys]]. His isolation is broken by the sudden appearance of [[Dobby]], a [[house-elf]] who warns him of a terrible plot against him at [[Hogwarts]] and attempts to prevent his return. After Dobby's magical interference ruins a dinner party and earns Harry a warning from the [[Ministry of Magic]], the [[Dursleys]] lock him in his room. He is soon rescued by [[Ron Weasley]] and his brothers, [[Fred Weasley|Fred]] and [[George Weasley]], in a flying [[Ford Anglia]], and he spends the rest of the summer at [[The Burrow]]. During a trip to [[Diagon Alley]] via [[Floo Powder]], Harry accidentally lands in [[Knockturn Alley]] and observes [[Draco Malfoy]] and his father, [[Lucius Malfoy]], at the dark arts shop [[Borgin and Burkes]]. Later, at [[Flourish and Blotts]], they meet the vain and famous author [[Gilderoy Lockhart]], who is revealed to be the new [[Defence Against the Dark Arts]] teacher. When Harry and Ron are mysteriously blocked from entering [[Platform Nine and Three-Quarters]], they fly the [[Ford Anglia]] to [[Hogwarts]], crashing into the [[Whomping Willow]] upon arrival and damaging Ron's [[wand]]. Soon after the term begins, the [[Chamber of Secrets]] is opened. Harry begins to hear a disembodied voice that no one else can, and soon after, caretaker [[Argus Filch]]'s cat, [[Mrs. Norris]], is found petrified. A message on the wall proclaims, "//The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.//" The legend, as explained by Professor [[Minerva McGonagall|McGonagall]], tells of a hidden chamber built by [[Salazar Slytherin]] that houses a monster only his heir can control, meant to cleanse the school of [[Muggle-born]]s. Suspicion falls on Harry when, during a chaotic [[Duelling Club]] run by [[Gilderoy Lockhart]], he is revealed to be a [[Parselmouth]]—one who can speak to snakes—a trait famously associated with [[Slytherin]] and [[Lord Voldemort]]. Convinced that [[Draco Malfoy]] is the heir, Harry, Ron, and Hermione begin brewing [[Polyjuice Potion]] in [[Moaning Myrtle]]'s bathroom to disguise themselves and interrogate him. While the mission proves Malfoy's innocence, Harry discovers an enchanted diary in the same bathroom, which belonged to a former student named [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]]. The diary shows Harry a memory from fifty years prior, where [[Rubeus Hagrid]] was accused of opening the Chamber and expelled. As more students are petrified, including [[Hermione Granger]], the school faces closure. [[Albus Dumbledore]] is suspended as Headmaster and [[Rubeus Hagrid]] is taken to [[Azkaban]]. Before being arrested, Hagrid leaves a cryptic clue: "follow the spiders." Harry and Ron venture into the [[Forbidden Forest]], where they encounter [[Aragog]], a giant [[Acromantula]] whom Hagrid had raised. [[Aragog]] denies being the monster from the Chamber and reveals that the true beast is something spiders fear above all else, and that the last victim died in a bathroom. Piecing together the clues, including a note clutched in Hermione's petrified hand, Harry deduces the monster is a [[Basilisk]] that travels through the school's plumbing, and that its first victim was [[Moaning Myrtle]]. They realize [[Ginny Weasley]] has been taken into the Chamber and force the cowardly [[Gilderoy Lockhart]] to accompany them. Lockhart's attempt to erase their memories backfires due to Ron's broken [[wand]], causing a cave-in that separates Harry from the others. Harry proceeds alone into the [[Chamber of Secrets]], where he finds an unconscious Ginny and the spectral memory of [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]], preserved by his [[diary]]. Riddle reveals that he is the young [[Lord Voldemort]] and the true Heir of [[Slytherin]]. He used the [[diary]] to possess Ginny, forcing her to open the Chamber and unleash the [[Basilisk]]. Riddle then summons the [[Basilisk]] to kill Harry. [[Fawkes]], Dumbledore's [[Phoenix]], arrives with the [[Sorting Hat]]. [[Fawkes]] blinds the [[Basilisk]], and Harry pulls the [[Sword of Gryffindor]] from the [[Sorting Hat]]. Harry slays the [[Basilisk]] but is poisoned by one of its fangs. Near death, he is saved by [[Fawkes]]'s healing tears. Harry then stabs the [[diary]] with the [[Basilisk]] fang, destroying Riddle's memory and the piece of his soul within it. Ginny awakens, and they all return to the surface. In the aftermath, [[Albus Dumbledore]] is reinstated, Hagrid is released, and all petrified victims are cured by a [[Mandrake]] Restorative Draught. Dumbledore explains that Harry's ability to speak [[Parseltongue]] comes from [[Lord Voldemort]], and reassures Harry of his place in [[Gryffindor]] by stating, "//It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.//" Finally, Harry discovers that [[Lucius Malfoy]] was responsible for planting the diary on [[Ginny Weasley]] and tricks him into freeing his [[house-elf]], [[Dobby]]. =====Major Themes===== * **Prejudice and Blood Purity:** The book introduces the derogatory term "[[Mudblood]]" and explores the prejudice of [[Pure-blood]] families like the Malfoys against [[Muggle-born]] witches and wizards. This theme is central to the conflict of [[Slytherin]]'s legacy. * **Choices Versus Abilities:** A key moral of the story, articulated by [[Albus Dumbledore]], is that a person's character is defined not by their inherent traits (like Harry's [[Parseltongue]]) but by the choices they make. * **Confronting the Past:** The narrative delves into the history of both [[Hogwarts]] and [[Lord Voldemort]]. [[Tom Riddle's Diary]] serves as a physical link to the past, showing how past events and unresolved conflicts continue to affect the present. * **The Nature of Fame:** The contrast between Harry, who is burdened by his fame, and [[Gilderoy Lockhart]], who fraudulently manufactures his, serves as a commentary on celebrity and integrity. =====Introductions to the Harry Potter Universe===== * **Characters:** [[Dobby]], [[Gilderoy Lockhart]], [[Lucius Malfoy]], [[Arthur Weasley]], [[Moaning Myrtle]], [[Aragog]], [[Tom Marvolo Riddle]] (memory form), [[Colin Creevey]], [[Ginny Weasley]] (first significant role). * **Creatures & Races:** [[Basilisk]], [[Phoenix]], [[Acromantula]], [[Mandrake]], [[Cornish Pixies]], [[Gnomes]], [[House-elf|House-elves]]. * **Spells & Magic:** [[Polyjuice Potion]], [[Floo Powder]], [[Parseltongue]], [[Expelliarmus]], [[Obliviate]], [[Howler]], [[Disarming Charm]]. * **Objects:** [[Tom Riddle's Diary]], [[Sword of Gryffindor]], The [[Whomping Willow]], the flying [[Ford Anglia]]. * **Locations:** [[Chamber of Secrets]], [[The Burrow]], [[Borgin and Burkes]], [[Knockturn Alley]]. * **Concepts:** The legacy of the [[Hogwarts Founders]], blood status ([[Pure-blood]], [[Half-blood]], [[Muggle-born]]), the term "[[Mudblood]]", the role of a school [[Governor]]. =====Behind the Scenes===== * **Book-to-Film Differences:** * The film adaptation omits [[Nearly Headless Nick]]'s 500th Deathday Party, a chapter that provides background on his character and the castle's ghosts. * In the book, after Harry frees [[Dobby]], [[Lucius Malfoy]] attempts to attack Harry with an unspecified curse before Dobby intervenes. In the film adaptation, Lucius begins to cast the [[Killing Curse]], //Avada Kedavra//, a significant escalation of his intent. (film) * The book provides more detail on how [[Tom Riddle's Diary]] influenced [[Ginny Weasley]], explaining that she was responsible for killing the school roosters (as a crowing rooster is fatal to a [[Basilisk]]) and writing the messages on the wall, details which are less explicit in the film. * The book establishes that [[Percy Weasley]] had a secret girlfriend, [[Penelope Clearwater]], who was petrified alongside [[Hermione Granger]]. This subplot is absent from the film.
