Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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This article is about the book. See Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) for other formats.

Image:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.jpg Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling, is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is the second book in a series of seven Harry Potter books. The book was published in 1998. A film was theatrically released in November 2002.

Editions

Translations

See: Harry Potter in translation

Plot overview

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While Harry is staying with the Dursleys for the summer of 1992, he is warned by Dobby, a house elf, that he will be in mortal danger if he returns to Hogwarts for his second year. Harry is determined to return, despite Dobby's advice, pleas, and attempts to stop him using magic (which get Harry in trouble). The Dursleys have locked away Harry’s books and wand since his homecoming, making Harry a prisoner, but the Weasley brothers (Fred, George and Ron) come to the rescue in their dad's flying car. After spending a pleasant summer together, everyone goes off to platform 9¾ for the school train, but Harry and Ron are unable to enter. In desperation, Harry and Ron take the car and fly to Hogwarts where they crash into the Whomping Willow, Ron's wand breaking in the process and the semi-sentient car deserting them.

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In the new year, Harry finds himself the center of attention of three people: the vain new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, a wizard perpetuating his own legend; admirer Colin Creevy, a young Gryffindor who loves taking photos; and Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, who has a crush on Harry. Events take a very bad turn when the Chamber of Secrets is opened and some monster goes on a rampage, turning students into petrified statues. According to legend, the Chamber was built by Salazar Slytherin and can only be opened by his true heir to purge Hogwarts of students who are not pure-blood wizards. Many suspect Harry of being the heir, especially after he inadvertently speaks Parseltongue (the language of snakes), a distinctive ability of Dark wizards which Harry gained when Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend the majority of the novel trying to discover the true identity of the Heir of Slytherin.

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The attacks increase in frequency throughout the year, leaving more petrified characters in the hospital wing, including Hermione. Most horribly, a message is written on a wall declaring that a student - Ginny Weasley - has been taken into the Chamber, where "her bones will lie forever."

With Ron's help, Harry discovers the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, where he learns that it was Ginny who opened the Chamber, but that she was not acting of her own free will - she was possessed by Lord Voldemort, whose real name was Tom Riddle. Riddle had imprinted a memory of himself in an enchanted diary, hoping to one day continue the work he had begun when he first opened the Chamber fifty years ago while attending Hogwarts. At that time, Hagrid had been blamed for the attacks and had been expelled from the school.

The memory of Tom Riddle becomes steadily more alive as it steals the life from Ginny. It tries to kill Harry by setting loose the basilisk (the monster responsible for petrifying the students) but Dumbledore sends Fawkes, his phoenix, to give Harry the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Fawkes blinds the basilisk so that it cannot use its fatal gaze, and Harry slays it with the sword. Riddle is vanquished and Ginny restored to life when the diary is destroyed. The petrified students are eventually restored to normal. Lucius Malfoy, had originally owned the diary and had given it to Ginny when encountering the Weasleys in a Diagon Alley bookshop. However, there is no evidence to prove what he did.

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Harry meets Dobby again, who reveals that he works for the Malfoys, and knew of their treachery. He had been trying all year to convince Harry to return home for his own good. In a quick idea, Harry gives the remains of the diary to Lucius, wrapped in one of Harry’s socks. Lucius unwraps the book and throws the sock to the side, which is caught by his Dobby. This sock constitutes a gift of clothing, which is the traditional way a master frees a house-elf service. Dobby is forever grateful to Harry and even protects him from an attempted reprisal from Lucius.

As for Harry, his fears that he is akin to the evil of Slytherins instead of the good of the Gryffindors are dispelled when Dumbledore points out his choices define him and he could not have wielded the sword of Gryffindor if he didn't truly belong to that house.

Meanwhile, Gilderoy Lockhart, having been discovered by Harry and Ron as a fraud who wipes the memories of others and claims their achievements, is confined to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, after having one of his memory charms backfire while using Ron’s wand in the Chamber of Secrets.

Points to consider

• Many fans noted that Dumbledore said that Voldemort was the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin, instead of descendant. J. K. Rowling said this was a "deliberate mistake". This could support the theory that time travel will recur in the series (see "Rumour" note for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). This mistake was fixed on further printings, though, so it's more likely to be a mistake that slipped past the editors than an actual hint. Some versions have put it back after Rowling's comment, perhaps overlooking the tongue-in-cheek nature of the term "deliberate mistake". This line was left out of the film. It is highly unlikely that any such event will occur, however, given the release of Half Blood Prince; noting that there was a lot of background history on Voldemort in said book.

• It was implied in the book that Ginny had sent Harry his singing valentine. Some members of the online fandom have questioned this conclusion, suggesting it being a prank by the Weasley Twins or a genuine overture from Moaning Myrtle as other possibilities. However, during an interview around the time of the launch of Half-Blood Prince, Rowling confirmed that it had indeed been Ginny who had sent Harry the valentine.

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External links

• Mythological Structure of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Courtesy of MonoMyth.org

Harry Potter Series

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