Chapter Summaries

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville told Professor McGonagall that they had identified the Chamber of Secrets monster as a basilisk. She took them to Dumbledore’s office to inform him and summon the other professors.

• Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville rushed to Professor McGonagall’s office and announced that they knew what the Chamber of Secrets monster was.
• Professor McGonagall believed their certainty, summoned Borl, and asked him to notify Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Snape.
• Professor McGonagall led the four students to Dumbledore’s office, where Harry noticed that the password was a dessert.
• Professor McGonagall served tea while Harry and the others looked around Dumbledore’s office and noticed the Sorting Hat and an ugly red bird on a perch.

Harry and the other three young wizards reported their discoveries about the basilisk to Dumbledore and the Heads of House, who planned to deal with it. The discussion paused when Fawkes burst into flames and began his rebirth.

• Harry and the other three young wizards recounted their discoveries to Dumbledore and the Heads of House.
• Dumbledore praised their deductions and asked Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick to handle the basilisk.
• Professor Flitwick suggested preserving the thousand-year-old basilisk as a specimen, while Snape said it was not worth Dumbledore's intervention.
• Fawkes burst into flames as everyone in the Headmaster's Office watched.
• Fawkes became a heap of ashes in the golden tray.

Professor Flitwick revealed the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets and protected Harry and the others from its deadly gaze with the Holy Spirit Barrier. As the other professors arrived, the basilisk suddenly lunged at Flitwick, leaving Harry unable to react.

• Professor Flitwick cast the Holy Spirit Barrier on himself and Harry, explaining that it could block a basilisk’s deadly gaze.
• Professor Flitwick tore open the wall and pipe, revealing a huge male basilisk.
• Harry met the basilisk’s yellow eyes, but the barrier held and he remained unharmed.
• Professor Sprout, the other Heads of House, Hermione, and two other youngsters arrived under the protection of the same barrier.
• Professor Flitwick declined Professor Sprout’s offer of help and turned toward the group, giving the basilisk an opening to lunge at him.

A preserved basilisk was displayed at Hogwarts with a plaque crediting Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom for identifying it and Professor Filius Flitwick for killing it. The four students received Special Contribution Medals and praise from their families, while Ron got an unexpectedly affectionate Howler from Mrs. Weasley.

• Students at Hogwarts gathered to marvel at the giant basilisk preserved in amber and read the account of how the culprit had been exposed and killed.
• Lockhart claimed he had identified the basilisk and intended to capture it, but most students dismissed his boast.
• Dumbledore awarded Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom Hogwarts Special Contribution Medals and wrote to their guardians.
• Neville received treats from his grandmother, and Hermione received a proud but concerned letter from her parents.
• Ron received a Howler in which Mrs. Weasley praised him warmly.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville visited Hagrid after he invited them with an unusually fancy note, and learned how Hagrid had been blamed for the Chamber of Secrets attacks fifty years earlier. Ron recognized the name Tom Riddle from a trophy in Hogwarts, leaving Hagrid horrified and the others wondering why the name mattered.

• Hedwig delivered Harry an elegant note from Hagrid inviting him and his friends to visit.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville went to Hagrid's Hut, where Hagrid tearfully thanked them for solving the basilisk attacks.
• Hagrid explained that fifty years earlier he had been blamed for opening the Chamber of Secrets, expelled, and spared Azkaban through Dumbledore's support.
• Hagrid recalled that Tom Riddle had accused him of opening the Chamber, and Ron said the name sounded familiar.
• Ron remembered seeing Tom Riddle's name in the Trophy Room while cleaning trophies as punishment, and Hagrid reacted with horror.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville learned that Hagrid had kept Aragog, an Acromantula, in the Forbidden Forest and found him a mate. Hermione warned Hagrid that the spider colony could threaten people and told him to control its population.

• Hagrid admitted he had been expelled from Hogwarts for keeping dangerous creatures, though Dumbledore had believed he was not the murderer.
• Hermione asked what had happened to the Acromantula, and Hagrid revealed that Aragog had escaped and lived in the Forbidden Forest.
• Harry and the others realized that Aragog might explain the many spiderwebs and spiders near Hogwarts.
• Hagrid said Aragog was male and revealed that he had found him a mate, leaving the others alarmed.
• Hermione warned Hagrid that Acromantulas reproduced rapidly and might have harmed people beyond the forest, then urged him to control their numbers.

Harry suspected that his Parseltongue came from a fragment of Voldemort’s soul inside his mind, while Ginny confronted Tom in a mirror about the attacks. The mirror image denied responsibility, but Ginny pointed out that she had lost time whenever the attacks occurred.

• Harry reasoned that the fragment of Voldemort’s soul in his mental world likely explained his ability to speak Parseltongue.
• Harry compared Voldemort’s fragment with Neil’s stronger soul fragment, which had given him knowledge including the Meditation Method, Occlumency, and the Aegean language.
• Ginny Weasley angrily asked Tom in a mirror whether he had caused the earlier attacks.
• Tom’s mirror image denied responsibility and claimed that a memory could not act on its own.
• Ginny told Tom that she had lost her memory around the attacks on Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey, and had been in the corridor late on the night of the latest incident.

Tom Riddle, inhabiting Ginny Weasley, inspected the petrified Basilisk and recognized Harry Potter and Severus Snape as threats. After Snape passed him, Tom returned toward the Common Room, while Snape resolved to watch Ginny in class.

• Tom Riddle left the Gryffindor Common Room carrying the black notebook and went to see the Basilisk encased in amber.
• Tom reflected that Harry Potter had defeated his future self and resolved to be cautious at Hogwarts.
• Severus Snape confronted Tom, who pretended to be Ginny and said he was returning to the Common Room.
• Tom suspected Snape had powerful Occlumency and Legilimency, while Snape sensed gloom in Ginny and decided to pay attention in class.
• Ron stood on a table in the Gryffindor Common Room and retold how Professor Flitwick had defeated the Basilisk.

Harry, Ron, and Neville planned to leave Hogwarts for Christmas, while Fred and George prepared to put their inventions into practice with Harry’s help. Hermione learned that Draco would be staying at school because his parents had to leave the United Kingdom.

• Mr. and Mrs. Weasley planned to give Ron an owl for Christmas, so Ron decided to go home and choose one.
• Fred and George solved the problems with their inventions after months of research and help from Bill, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick.
• Fred and George invited Harry to join them at Christmas to help put their plans into practice.
• Harry, Ron, and Neville planned to leave Hogwarts for the holidays, with Neville looking forward to seeing the Wimbourne Wasps play.
• Hermione learned that Lucius Malfoy and his wife would leave the United Kingdom over Christmas, leaving Draco at Hogwarts.

With the Chamber of Secrets threat apparently settled, Hogwarts relaxed as Christmas approached, and Harry followed the final Quidditch match of the term. Ravenclaw lost to Hufflepuff despite dominating the goal count, leaving the House Cup standings heavily in Gryffindor’s favor.

• The students felt safer after Professor Flitwick dealt with the basilisk, and Ravenclaw students increasingly wore robes decorated with blue goshawks.
• Hogwarts professors reduced homework, giving Harry more time to focus on Quidditch and other activities.
• Ravenclaw scored eleven goals against Hufflepuff’s three, but Cedric Diggory caught the Golden Snitch and won the match for Hufflepuff.
• Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet praised Cedric’s flying, while Wood said Harry’s Firebolt would make him difficult to beat.
• After six matches, Gryffindor led the standings, Hufflepuff and Slytherin were tied on wins, and Ravenclaw sat last with two defeats.

Harry Potter examined the Ministry of Magic’s Fountain of Magical Brethren and the enormous basilisk specimen in amber that had drawn visitors’ attention. A young witch questioned Professor Fontana about how anyone could defeat such a powerful creature.

• Harry doubted the fountain’s depiction of magical creatures revering wizards.
• Harry saw the basilisk specimen in amber, whose magical runes revealed its extraordinary age and power.
• A group of two adult wizards and several young wizards gathered around the specimen in amazement.
• A young witch pointed out the runes on the basilisk’s scales and asked Professor Fontana how it had been defeated.

Headmistress Stuart explained how Professor Flitwick may have removed the basilisk’s eyes and brain with precise enlarging and shrinking charms, and Professor Fontana praised her observations. Harry, who had come to the Ministry to handle inheritance paperwork, reflected on the Potter Family’s long lineage and accomplished members.

• Professor Fontana asked Headmistress Stuart how Professor Flitwick had killed the thousand-year-old basilisk.
• Headmistress Stuart theorized that Flitwick had enlarged the basilisk’s skull and outer skin, removed its eyes, and taken out its brain through the eye sockets.
• Headmistress Stuart pointed out subtle distortions in the scales that revealed the precise magic, though her students could not see them.
• Professor Fontana praised Headmistress Stuart’s runic knowledge and suggested arranging an exchange with Hogwarts, which she agreed to pursue.
• Harry watched the conversation and revealed that he had come to the Ministry to handle paperwork for inheriting and transferring assets as the Potter Family’s sole remaining member.

Harry, using the alias Dudley Dursley, met Ilvermorny student Rhiannon Morning Meng and agreed to a magic exchange, where he quickly disarmed her before leaving. Professor Fontana recognized Harry’s skill, while Meng insisted she had only lost because she was careless.

• Rhiannon Morning Meng introduced herself to Harry and asked how the basilisk had been captured.
• Harry, pretending to be Dudley Dursley, said only Weasley and Potter had seen Professor Flitwick handle the basilisk.
• Meng challenged Harry to an exchange of magic, and he dodged her spell and disarmed her in two exchanges.
• Harry thanked Meng for the lesson and left before the Ilvermorny group could question him further.
• Professor Fontana told Meng she had lost because she was careless and noted that Harry had controlled his magical power.
• Meng gave Fontana Harry’s alias, and Fontana wondered whether any British wizarding family had the name Dursley.

Harry met Fred and George after leaving the Ministry, then traveled with them by Floo Powder to Godric's Hollow. Meanwhile, Mrs. Weasley and Ron struggled to choose a pet in Diagon Alley, where Mr. Weasley revealed that Ginny had gone off alone.

• Harry met Fred and George at a café and showed them the paper he had obtained from the Ministry.
• Fred, Harry, and George traveled by Floo Powder to Godric's Hollow.
• Mrs. Weasley and Ron debated whether to buy an owl or a raven for the family.
• Mr. Weasley told Mrs. Weasley that Ginny had left to find her, and Mrs. Weasley complained that he had failed to keep an eye on her.

Tom Riddle, possessing Ginny Weasley, traveled to Godric's Hollow and found Harry and the Weasley twins at the Potter family ruins. Before he could approach them, he was pulled into a grayscale version of the town, where a mysterious Black Man appeared.

• Tom Riddle emerged from the fireplace in the church and used a Disillusionment Charm to hide himself from the Muggles.
• Tom Riddle searched Godric's Hollow and found Harry and the Weasley twins among the ruins of a dilapidated building.
• Tom Riddle planned to gain the three wizards' trust, then use the Imperius Curse to absorb their power.
• Tom Riddle's surroundings blurred and changed into a grayscale version of the town.
• A mysterious Black Man appeared and commented on Tom Riddle's soul fragment, and Tom demanded to know who he was.

Ginny learned that Tom Riddle had used her body while she slept and planned to attack Harry, and that he had opened the Chamber of Secrets and attacked Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey. The Black Man, amused by the one-sided deception, hinted that he planned to make things more interesting for Tom.

• Ginny feared she was dead, but the Black Man told her she was alive and would die only decades later.
• The Black Man showed Ginny and Tom Harry, Fred, and George, explaining that they were in a separate space and could not be seen or heard.
• Ginny accused Tom of planning to hurt Harry, and Tom admitted he wanted to become more complete and powerful.
• Ginny pressed Tom about the Chamber of Secrets attacks, and he admitted opening the Chamber and attacking Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.
• The Black Man teased Tom about deceiving Ginny and hinted that he would make their situation more balanced, alarming Tom.

The Black Man transformed Tom Riddle’s soul into a female form called Black Ginny and bound her to Ginny. Ginny and Black Ginny returned to Ginny’s body with rules forcing them to share power and agree on actions, while the Black Man vanished.

• The Black Man changed Tom Riddle’s soul into a girl resembling Ginny, whom the narration called Black Ginny.
• Black Ginny recognized the Black Man as connected to a forbidden name, but speaking it twisted her soul and left her exhausted.
• The Black Man said Ginny and Black Ginny would share any strength gained and would need each other’s consent to act while controlling the body.
• The Black Man sent both souls back into Ginny’s body, leaving her with one light-brown eye and one eye flecked with black.
• The Black Man advised them to agree on who would control the body when going out, then disappeared as Ginny returned to the town street.

On Christmas, Harry and the Weasley family visited Neville’s home, where the young wizards read about Ilvermorny’s headmistress praising Hogwarts and a Hogwarts student defeating an American top student. The chapter ended with Harry asking Hermione whether Rhiannon Morning Meng was the top student in her house or across her whole year.

• The Weasley family, Harry, and the Grangers arrived at Neville’s home for Christmas lunch after Britney Longbottom invited them.
• Mr. Weasley eagerly began discussing Muggle wine with Mr. Granger while Mrs. Weasley and Britney Longbottom chatted with Mrs. Granger.
• Harry, Ron, and the others read a Daily Prophet article about Ilvermorny headmistress Ms. Stuart praising Hogwarts and Professor Flitwick’s skill.
• Professor Egbert Fontana said Dudley Dursley had easily disarmed Ilvermorny top student Rhiannon Morning Meng and could compete with older students.
• Harry asked Hermione whether Rhiannon was the top student in her house or in her whole year.

Harry spent the Christmas holidays helping the Weasley twins develop and produce Canary Creams, then returned to Hogwarts and gave protective necklaces to Padma, Parvati, and Turpin. The chapter ended with professors assigning students a mountain of homework after the holidays.

• The Weasley twins modified their production line in Godric's Hollow and began producing Canary Creams, hoping to help their family finances and reopen their ancestral home.
• Harry agreed to keep the twins' business secret and reminded them to research the Magic Quill.
• The twins brought more than a thousand Canary Creams to Hogwarts and consigned them to Zonko's Joke Shop, but refused Zonko's offer to buy their production method.
• Harry let the twins invest his share of the payment in research and gave Padma, Parvati, and Turpin gemstone necklaces enchanted with the Holy Spirit Barrier.
• The professors returned to work and assigned the students mountains of homework.

Ginny and Black Ginny traveled to the Chamber of Secrets, where Ginny used blood magic and Parseltongue to absorb the basilisk’s lingering soul and strengthen herself. The soul-sharing between them caused their soul projections to equalize, leaving Black Ginny surprised and subdued.

• Lockhart watched Ginny and Black Ginny enter the pipe, then left without alerting Dumbledore.
• Ginny and Black Ginny reached the Chamber of Secrets, where Black Ginny explained that she needed to strengthen her weakened soul.
• Ginny used blood magic and Parseltongue to summon the basilisk’s lingering soul from the palace around Salazar Slytherin’s statue.
• Ginny sucked the spectral basilisk into herself and felt her soul grow stronger.
• The soul-sharing caused both soul projections to become the same size, leaving Black Ginny bewildered.