Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Chapters - J. K. Rowling
Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday
On his twelfth birthday, Harry is miserable at number four Privet Drive, where Vernon, Petunia and Dudley treat him like a nuisance and forbid any mention of magic. Forced to do chores all day while the Dursleys prepare a dinner party for Vernon's business clients, Harry has received no birthday cards and believes his friends Ron and Hermione have forgotten him. After retreating to his bedroom as ordered, Harry discovers someone is already sitting on his bed.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Dudley Dursley·Mentioned: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid, Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, Arabella Figg
Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning
Harry meets Dobby the house-elf, who has been intercepting letters from Ron, Hermione and Hagrid in an effort to make Harry believe his friends have forgotten him. Dobby warns that terrible things will happen at Hogwarts and begs Harry not to return, but refuses to reveal who is plotting. When Harry will not promise to stay away, Dobby destroys Petunia's pudding, triggering an owl from the Ministry that reveals Harry cannot use magic outside school - and Vernon locks him in his room with bars on the window.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Dobby, Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Hedwig·Mentioned: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Rubeus Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort
Chapter 3: The Burrow
Ron, Fred and George rescue Harry from Privet Drive in their father's flying Ford Anglia, ripping the bars off his window while Vernon tries to hold Harry back. At the Burrow, Molly furiously scolds her sons for taking the car but warmly welcomes Harry. Arthur arrives home from a night of raids at the Ministry and is delighted to meet Harry, while Ginny is too shy to speak in front of him. The twins speculate that Draco Malfoy's family may own Dobby, given that Lucius Malfoy is known to be wealthy and was a supporter of Voldemort.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Percy Weasley·Mentioned: Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Dobby, Lord Voldemort, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Hedwig
Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts
Harry travels by Floo powder to Diagon Alley but ends up in Knockturn Alley, where he hides inside Borgin and Burkes and overhears Lucius and Draco Malfoy selling Dark artefacts. Hagrid rescues Harry and delivers him to Hermione and the Weasleys. At Flourish and Blotts, Lockhart announces he will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and drags Harry into a photo opportunity. A confrontation erupts when Lucius insults Arthur Weasley, and Arthur punches him - during which Lucius slips Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny's cauldron.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Rubeus Hagrid, Gilderoy Lockhart, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Percy Weasley, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle·Mentioned: Dudley Dursley, Dobby
Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow
When the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters mysteriously seals itself, Harry and Ron fly Arthur's enchanted car to Hogwarts, crashing into the Whomping Willow and snapping Ron's wand. Snape catches them and brings McGonagall and Dumbledore, who spare them from expulsion but assign detentions. Through a window of the Great Hall, Harry spots Ginny being Sorted into Gryffindor and Lockhart at the staff table. Hermione, Fred, George and Neville greet them in the common room, impressed by their daring arrival.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Rubeus Hagrid, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Errol, Percy Weasley, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Sorting Hat
Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart
Harry's first day back at Hogwarts goes badly as Molly sends Ron a Howler at breakfast, and Lockhart corners Harry to lecture him about seeking fame. In the courtyard, Draco Malfoy mocks Harry about signed photos and calls Hermione a nobody, while Lockhart drags Harry into another photo. Lockhart's first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson is a disaster - after a self-obsessed quiz, he releases Cornish pixies that wreck the classroom, and Neville is left hanging from the candelabra. Harry, Ron and Hermione are left behind to recapture the pixies.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Gilderoy Lockhart, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Colin Creevey, Percy Weasley, Oliver Wood, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Peeves, Poppy Pomfrey, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Madam Hooch·Mentioned: Ginny Weasley
Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs
At early-morning Quidditch practice, Draco Malfoy appears as Slytherin's new Seeker, bought onto the team by his father with seven Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. When Hermione points out the Gryffindors got in on talent, Draco calls her a 'Mudblood', and Ron's broken wand backfires, leaving him belching slugs. Harry and Hermione take Ron to Hagrid's, where Hagrid explains the slur. McGonagall assigns detentions for the flying car - Ron polishes trophies with Filch while Harry helps Lockhart with fan mail. During his detention, Harry hears a chilling disembodied voice threatening to kill, but Lockhart hears nothing.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Rubeus Hagrid, Gilderoy Lockhart, Minerva McGonagall, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Colin Creevey, Argus Filch, Mrs Norris, Peeves·Mentioned: Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Lucius Malfoy
Chapter 8: The Deathday Party
Harry, Ron and Hermione attend Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party on Hallowe'en instead of the feast, enduring freezing temperatures and rotten food in the dungeons. As they leave, Harry hears the sinister voice again - 'kill ... time to kill' - and follows it upstairs. On the second floor, they discover the message 'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE' daubed on the wall, with Filch's cat Mrs Norris hanging stiff and Petrified beneath it. Draco Malfoy pushes to the front of the arriving crowd and gloats, 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Argus Filch, Nearly Headless Nick·Mentioned: Ginny Weasley
Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall
Dumbledore examines Mrs Norris in Lockhart's office and determines she has been Petrified, not killed. Snape tries to implicate Harry, but McGonagall and Dumbledore defend him. Ginny is deeply upset by the attack. Hermione asks Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets in History of Magic and learns the legend of Slytherin's hidden chamber containing a monster only his heir can control. Harry, Ron and Hermione investigate the corridor, find spiders fleeing the scene and water flooding from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and Hermione proposes using Polyjuice Potion to interrogate Draco Malfoy.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick·Mentioned: Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom
Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger
Hermione tricks Lockhart into signing a permission slip for a Restricted Section book containing the Polyjuice Potion recipe. During the Quidditch match against Slytherin, a rogue Bludger relentlessly pursues Harry, breaking his arm, but he catches the Snitch near Draco's head. Lockhart attempts to heal Harry's arm but removes all the bones instead. That night in the hospital wing, Dobby visits and confesses to blocking the platform barrier and bewitching the Bludger, revealing that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before. Harry then witnesses Dumbledore and McGonagall bringing in Colin Creevey, who has been Petrified.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Gilderoy Lockhart, Draco Malfoy, Dobby, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Moaning Myrtle, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Cuthbert Binns·Mentioned: Lord Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy
Chapter 11: The Duelling Club
Harry tells Ron and Hermione about Dobby's revelations, and they begin brewing the Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Ginny is distraught over the attacks, and Fred and George try to cheer her up by jumping out in disguises. At the Duelling Club, Snape blasts Lockhart off the stage, then pairs Harry with Draco, who conjures a snake. Harry instinctively speaks Parseltongue to stop the snake attacking Justin Finch-Fletchley, but the whole school now suspects he is Slytherin's heir.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Gilderoy Lockhart, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Colin Creevey, Argus Filch, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Nearly Headless Nick, Peeves, Poppy Pomfrey·Mentioned: Dobby, Lucius Malfoy
Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion
Harry finds Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick Petrified in a corridor, and is taken to Dumbledore's office, where he witnesses a phoenix's Burning Day. Hagrid bursts in to defend Harry, but Dumbledore assures everyone he does not suspect him. Fred and George joke about Harry being the heir of Slytherin, which annoys both Draco and Ginny. On Christmas Day, Harry and Ron use the completed Polyjuice Potion to transform into Crabbe and Goyle, and Draco reveals he does not know who the heir is, though his father told him the Chamber was last opened fifty years ago. Hermione's transformation goes wrong - she accidentally used a cat hair and must stay in the hospital wing.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Fawkes, Argus Filch, Poppy Pomfrey, Pomona Sprout·Mentioned: Arthur Weasley, Lucius Malfoy
Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary
While visiting Hermione in the hospital wing, Harry and Ron find Moaning Myrtle's bathroom flooded and discover a small black diary belonging to T. M. Riddle, which had been thrown at Myrtle. Though the pages appear blank, Harry discovers the diary absorbs ink and writes back. Tom Riddle tells Harry the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, a girl was killed, and he caught the culprit. The diary pulls Harry into a memory where he watches Riddle confront a young Hagrid, accusing him of keeping the monster. A younger Dumbledore appears briefly in the memory, already suspicious of Riddle. Harry is shaken to learn it was Hagrid who was expelled.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Rubeus Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Moaning Myrtle·Mentioned: Draco Malfoy, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley
Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge
Harry, Ron and Hermione debate whether Hagrid truly opened the Chamber fifty years ago. On Valentine's Day, Lockhart's dwarf cupids deliver singing Valentines, and Ginny sends Harry an embarrassing poem. When Draco snatches Riddle's diary in the commotion, Harry uses Expelliarmus to recover it. Harry then discovers the diary repels ink, writes in it, and learns Riddle's memory - but the diary is stolen from his dormitory. Neville finds Harry's trunk ransacked. Harry hears the voice again, and Hermione races to the library with a sudden insight - only to be found Petrified alongside a Ravenclaw prefect. McGonagall cancels the Quidditch match and shows Harry and Ron their friend lying rigid in the hospital wing.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, Cornelius Fudge, Tom Riddle (diary)·Mentioned: Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Lord Voldemort
Chapter 15: Aragog
With Dumbledore suspended and Hagrid sent to Azkaban, Harry and Ron follow Hagrid's cryptic instruction to 'follow the spiders' into the Forbidden Forest. Draco struts about gloating that his father Lucius had Dumbledore removed and wishes death on Muggle-borns, nearly provoking Ron to attack him. In the forest's depths, giant spiders carry Harry and Ron to Aragog, who reveals he is not the monster of the Chamber - he was raised by Hagrid from an egg and was falsely blamed. The real creature is something even spiders fear and will not name, and the girl who died was found in a bathroom. Arthur's wild Ford Anglia saves them from becoming spider food.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Aragog, Fang·Mentioned: Rubeus Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Lord Voldemort
Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets
McGonagall announces the Mandrakes are ready and the Petrified victims will soon be revived. Ginny nervously tries to tell Harry something important but is interrupted by Percy. Harry and Ron visit the hospital wing, where they find a torn page about Basilisks in Hermione's clenched fist with the word 'Pipes' scrawled on it - solving the mystery. Before they can report to McGonagall, she announces that Ginny has been taken into the Chamber. The teachers force Lockhart to confront the monster, but Harry and Ron discover him packing to flee. They march him to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, where Harry speaks Parseltongue to open the entrance, and they descend into the Chamber beneath the school.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, Severus Snape, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Penelope Clearwater, Percy Weasley, Poppy Pomfrey·Mentioned: Draco Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore
Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin
Harry finds Ginny barely alive in the Chamber and confronts the memory of Tom Riddle, who reveals he is Voldemort's younger self, preserved in the diary. Riddle explains that he possessed Ginny through the diary, making her open the Chamber and set the Basilisk on Muggle-borns. He framed Hagrid fifty years ago and now intends to kill Harry to restore himself fully. Riddle summons the Basilisk, but Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes blinds the serpent and brings the Sorting Hat, from which Harry draws Godric Gryffindor's sword. Harry slays the Basilisk but is pierced by a fang - Fawkes's tears heal the wound. Harry destroys the diary with the fang, Riddle vanishes, and Ginny revives.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ginny Weasley, Lord Voldemort, Ron Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Moaning Myrtle, Fawkes, Tom Riddle (diary), Sorting Hat·Mentioned: Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid
Chapter 18: Dobby's Reward
Harry, Ron, Ginny and an amnesiac Lockhart emerge from the Chamber to find Molly, Arthur, Dumbledore and McGonagall waiting. Dumbledore exonerates Ginny, awards Harry and Ron two hundred points each and Special Awards for Services to the School, and reveals that Tom Riddle became Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy storms in with Dobby, furious at Dumbledore's return. Harry realises Lucius planted the diary on Ginny and tricks him into freeing Dobby by hiding a sock inside the ruined diary. Hermione and all the Petrified victims are restored, Hagrid returns from Azkaban, and the year ends in celebration.
POV: Harry Potter·On page: Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, Dobby, Hermione Granger, Rubeus Hagrid, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Fawkes, Percy Weasley, Filius Flitwick·Mentioned: Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, Dudley Dursley