Chapter Summaries

Harry heard the eerie whispering voice again but tried to ignore it, then joined his friends at the Halloween feast. The Skeleton Dance Troupe arrived onstage, and the students waited for its performance to begin.

• Harry heard the chilling voice again while walking with Padma and Sally, but pretended he was only tired and resolved not to investigate.
• Harry joined Ron, Hermione, and Neville at the Gryffindor table, where Ron said Fred and George had seen the Skeleton Dance Troupe backstage.
• The Twins teased Harry about Padma, and Hermione joked that Padma would not be angry with him.
• Neville spotted thirteen skeletons in formal outfits onstage, and Ron eagerly announced that their tap dance was about to start.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaked away to attend Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party, where they watched ghostly performances and encountered Peeves and Moaning Myrtle. As they left, they were surprised to see two more girls emerge from the classroom.

• Harry and Ron decided to visit Nick's Deathday Party, and Hermione joined them after noticing their plans.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived in time to watch the Headless Hunt gallop around with their heads.
• Peeves harassed Moaning Myrtle until Nick drove him away from the party.
• Harry and his friends watched the musicians and clowns, then said goodbye to Nick and left.
• As Harry, Ron, and Hermione departed, two more girls emerged from the other side of the classroom.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron found a blood-written warning and Filch’s petrified cat, Mrs. Norris, in a flooded corridor after the Halloween Feast. Dumbledore stopped Filch from attacking them and summoned the three students and Filch to accompany him, while Lockhart offered his office.

• Harry, Hermione, and Ron discovered the message that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and saw Mrs. Norris hanging petrified beneath a torch.
• The three tried to leave, but students arrived and one girl screamed when she noticed the writing and the cat.
• Filch rushed to Mrs. Norris, then accused Harry, Hermione, and Ron of killing her and threatened them.
• Dumbledore arrived, calmed Filch, took Mrs. Norris down, and asked Filch and the three students to come with him.
• Lockhart offered his office to Dumbledore as a place to take them.

Dumbledore investigated Mrs. Norris's petrification while Filch accused Ron of writing the message on the wall and attacking his cat. Snape questioned Harry, Ron, and Hermione about why they were in the corridor, then proposed suspending them from the Quidditch team until they told the whole truth.

• Dumbledore examined Mrs. Norris with his wand but found no response, and he said the petrification required exceptionally advanced Dark Magic.
• Filch accused Ron of attacking Mrs. Norris and writing on the wall because Ron had learned that Filch was a Squib.
• Ron denied the accusation, while Harry knew Ron had been with him and Hermione for almost the entire evening.
• Snape questioned the trio about their whereabouts, and Harry said they had attended Nick's Deathday Party.
• Hermione explained that shifting corridors and staircases had led them to the scene, but Snape said they had not told the whole truth and suggested suspending them from the Quidditch team.

After Mrs. Norris was petrified, students speculated about the Chamber of Secrets while Hermione searched for answers. The chapter ended with Hermione getting Professor Binns to tell her the Chamber’s story.

• Harry and Hermione tried to comfort the upset Ginny, while Ron said Mrs. Norris could be restored when the mandrakes matured.
• Students discussed the glowing message and the Chamber of Secrets, but neither Hermione nor the older Ravenclaws could find information about it.
• Lockhart claimed to know about the Chamber and its location, but changed the subject whenever students asked him for details.
• Hermione coaxed the story of the Chamber of Secrets out of Professor Binns during a History of Magic lesson.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville visited Hagrid to ask about magical creatures that could live for more than a thousand years and petrify their victims. Hagrid listed several possibilities, then realized they might be investigating the creature that petrified Mrs. Norris and asked whether they suspected a monster from the Chamber of Secrets.

• Hagrid welcomed Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville to his hut and mentioned that all his roosters had mysteriously died.
• Hermione asked Hagrid which magical creatures could live for more than a thousand years, claiming the group was considering Care of Magical Creatures.
• Hagrid named phoenixes, sphinxes, and runespoors as long-lived creatures, but the four students thought they did not fit the clues.
• Ron asked about Medusas, and Hagrid explained that Gorgons could live for over a thousand years and had a deadly petrifying gaze.
• Hagrid stopped and asked whether the students suspected that a monster from the Chamber of Secrets had petrified Mrs. Norris.

Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione suspected Draco Malfoy of opening the Chamber of Secrets, but they had no proof. Hermione proposed using Polyjuice Potion to question him, and Harry offered to sneak into the Restricted Section to copy its recipe.

• Ron and Neville supported the theory that Draco Malfoy had opened the Chamber of Secrets, citing his prejudice and his father Lucius’s ties to Voldemort.
• Harry pointed out they had no way to prove Draco’s guilt or make him confess, so Hermione suggested they might question him indirectly.
• Hermione proposed using Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as Slytherin students and question Draco, though brewing it would require a restricted book and difficult-to-find ingredients.
• Harry offered to use his invisibility to enter the Restricted Section and copy the recipe from Moste Potente Potions.

Hermione began researching the Polyjuice Potion while Hogwarts students speculated about Slytherin’s heir and ranked the likely suspects. As Quidditch season approached, Harry resolved to help Oliver Wood win the House Cup despite the challenge posed by the rival team’s new brooms.

• Hermione estimated that brewing the Polyjuice Potion would take six to seven weeks and took charge of researching it.
• Rumors about Slytherin’s heir spread through Hogwarts, and students made a suspect ranking that placed Dulang Shafiq first, Draco Malfoy second, and Harry third.
• The Twins and Lee Jordan repeatedly asked Harry whether he was Slytherin’s heir.
• With Quidditch matches nearing, Oliver Wood focused on winning the House Cup, and Harry resolved to help him.
• Seven Nimbus 2000 and Ones appeared, and most Hogwarts students doubted Harry’s team could win despite its hard training.

Harry won Gryffindor’s Quidditch match against Slytherin in under two minutes on the experimental Firebolt Neville had given him. As the celebration began, a rogue Bludger struck Harry’s arm and knocked him off his broom, leaving him dangling in the air in severe pain.

• Hermione learned that Neville had kept quiet for two months about his aunt giving him an experimental Firebolt, which Neville had passed on to Harry.
• Harry, Ron, and Oliver secretly tested the Firebolt, and Oliver decided to keep its exceptional speed a secret from the rest of the team.
• Harry outflew Draco Malfoy and caught the Snitch less than two minutes into the match, giving Gryffindor a 160–0 victory.
• A Bludger continued flying after the match and struck Harry’s arm as he held the Snitch.
• Harry hooked his foot around his broomstick to avoid falling outright, but his injured arm left him dangling in the air.

After Lockhart accidentally removed all the bones from Harry’s broken arm, Harry spent the night in the Hospital Wing drinking Skele-Gro and enduring the pain as his bones regrew. He realized that the Bludger had been tampered with, but Professor McGonagall had destroyed it before anyone could investigate.

• Lockhart ignored Harry’s protests and cast a spell that removed every bone from Harry’s right arm.
• Harry was taken to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey gave him Skele-Gro to regrow his bones.
• Harry repeatedly blamed Oliver, Angelina, and his other teammates for failing to stop Lockhart.
• Unable to sleep through the pain, Harry recalled that the Bludger had pursued him throughout the match and concluded that someone had tampered with it.
• Harry remembered that Professor McGonagall had blasted the Bludger apart, leaving no way to examine it.

Harry confronted Dobby in the Hogwarts hospital wing and learned that Dobby had tried to keep him away from the school because of a danger linked to the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby begged Harry to leave, but Harry refused because his friends were in danger too.

• Harry discovered Dobby beside his hospital bed and questioned him about sealing the platform barrier.
• Dobby admitted he had blocked Harry from reaching Hogwarts and said he had come to save Harry from danger at the school.
• Harry asked whether the danger involved the Chamber of Secrets, and Dobby refused to explain further while urging him to go home.
• Harry gave Dobby a healing potion for the burns he had inflicted on his hands as punishment for visiting without his master's permission.
• Dobby admitted he had caused the Bludger to injure Harry so that he would leave Hogwarts, but Harry refused to abandon his friends.

After Colin was petrified in an attack, Harry told Gryffindor about the danger and realized the attacker might have been targeting him. As suspicion shifted toward Draco, Hermione pressed ahead with the Polyjuice Potion plan to investigate him.

• Harry left the Hospital Wing after learning Colin had been petrified and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room.
• Harry told Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the Twins what he had learned, and the news spread through the school.
• Ron, Hermione, and Neville considered whether the attacker had targeted Colin or Harry, while Harry described Dobby’s warning and the others discussed the house-elf’s unusual defiance.
• Hermione urged the group to finish the Polyjuice Potion so they could investigate whether Draco had opened the Chamber of Secrets.
• After Colin’s attack, more students suspected Draco and fewer suspected Shafiq or Harry, though some still considered Harry a likely attacker.

Hermione brewed the Polyjuice Potion while Harry, Ron, and Neville studied, and Gryffindor defeated Ravenclaw after Ron made an exceptional series of saves. Harry later gained an initial grasp of Lightning Storm, but discovered he lacked the magical power to sustain it.

• Hermione began brewing the Polyjuice Potion after practicing with substitute ingredients, while Harry, Ron, and Neville focused on their studies.
• Harry and Ron used the Marauders' notebook to improve their Transfiguration and earn Gryffindor points.
• Oliver Wood was injured during Potions class, so Ron started as Keeper in Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw.
• Ron made fifteen saves as Gryffindor built a commanding lead, and Harry caught the Snitch to secure a 260–50 victory.
• Ron gained fans, Hermione remained busy with the potion, and Harry continued studying with Miss Padma's help and the Marauders' notebook.
• Harry began to understand Lightning Storm and sensed thunderclouds gathering when he cast it, but he lacked enough magical power to sustain the spell.

Harry studied the Patronus Charm and other magic from the Marauders' notes, but his practice produced only a faint beam of light. A school notice announced that Hogwarts would reopen the Duelling Club, which had been closed after students were injured while practising offensive spells.

• Harry learned from the Marauders' notes that white magic relied on positive emotions, while dark magic relied on negative ones, and that protective magic was only one branch of white magic.
• Harry began practising the Patronus Charm, but his attempts produced only a weak light that he doubted could block a curse.
• Harry found the Sword Beam Charm easier to learn and used it to help Hagrid cut pumpkins.
• Hogwarts announced that it would reopen the Duelling Club to help students respond to danger.
• The chapter explained that the club had closed during Armando Dippet's tenure after students injured one another while practising powerful offensive spells.

Lockhart opened the Duelling Club with Snape as his assistant, and Harry used Magic Perception to study them as they prepared to duel. Harry found that both professors had powerful magical flames, but he had not yet worked out what was odd about Lockhart.

• Lockhart announced that Dumbledore had approved his Duelling Club and said he had applied to reopen it.
• Lockhart introduced Snape as his assistant, while Ron, Harry, and Neville privately hoped both professors would get hurt.
• Lockhart explained duelling etiquette and the modern procedure before he and Snape took their stances.
• Harry activated Magic Perception and recalled that Lockhart had shown unusually powerful magic and Soul Projection during earlier lessons.
• Harry examined Lockhart and Snape and saw that their Magical Flames were about as large as McGonagall's and Flitwick's.

At the Duelling Club, Lockhart covered for his poor showing against Snape before setting the students to practice. Snape arranged new opponents for Harry and Hermione, leaving Harry facing Draco as Draco nervously reminded him to use magic.

• Snape sent Lockhart flying with a spell, but Lockhart got up and claimed he had let the spell hit him for the students’ benefit.
• Lockhart ended the demonstration and began pairing students for practice, while Harry switched off Magic Perception because it was giving him a headache.
• Snape argued that Harry and Ron should not spar together and suggested that Hermione face Millicent Bulstrode instead.
• Snape paired Harry with Draco, referring to their previous first-year encounter, and Harry raised his fists as Draco warned him that this was a wizard’s duel.

Harry dodged Draco’s spell and disarmed him in their practice duel, but Draco recovered and attacked with a bird-shaped stream of fire. Harry had to choose how to defend against the flames.

• Harry used his reflexes to dodge Draco’s spell on the stage.
• Harry cast Expelliarmus, knocking Draco’s wand away and sending him flying as the Gryffindors cheered.
• Draco stood up, retrieved his wand, and revealed a rubber cord attached to it.
• Draco cast the Fire-Making Spell and shaped its flames into a large bird that flew toward Harry.
• Harry considered using a shield, but knew he could not reliably use the Fire-Control Charm.

Draco conjured a giant black snake with Dark Magic, and Lockhart’s spell made it grow larger. Harry stopped the snake and heard it speak, prompting Snape to destroy it; the students reacted to Harry with horror, and Hermione rushed onto the stage.

• Draco summoned a huge black snake from his wand, and Harry sensed traces of black threads in Draco’s Magical Flame.
• Lockhart struck the snake with a spell, but it grew from nearly five meters to over eight.
• Harry told the enraged snake to stay still, and it obeyed before telling him that its body hurt.
• Snape destroyed the snake with a gray-black spell and stared at Harry in shock.
• Ron, Neville, and the other students looked at Harry with horror, and Hermione rushed onto the stage.

After Harry spoke Parseltongue at the Duelling Club, most students began to suspect he was Slytherin’s heir, and Harry started questioning whether it might be true. He left the library amid classmates’ awkward assurances of trust, then recalled that he could speak Parseltongue only to snakes.

• After the Duelling Club, students increasingly believed Harry was Slytherin’s heir, and Harry wondered whether the Sorting Hat had originally considered placing him in Slytherin.
• In the library, Justin Finch-Fletchley thanked Harry for stopping the snake but said he still thought Harry might be Slytherin’s heir.
• Seeing students watch him, Harry told Padma he was leaving; Padma and Sally Turpin assured him they trusted him.
• Back in his dormitory, Harry recalled testing his Parseltongue with Ron and the others and realizing he could not speak it to people.
• Harry remembered that he had successfully spoken Parseltongue to Hermione’s transfigured snake, though the language sounded like fierce hissing.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville deduced that the Chamber of Secrets monster traveled through the Castle’s pipes and identified it as a Basilisk. They learned how deadly and enormous the creature could be, but its whereabouts remained unknown.

• Hermione realized the monster was a giant snake that could move unseen through the Castle’s pipes.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville agreed with Hermione’s explanation and joined her in searching the Library for the snake’s identity.
• The four found a book on dangerous magical creatures and discovered that the monster was a Basilisk.
• They read that Basilisks could grow over fifty feet long, carried lethal venom, and could kill with their gaze.