Recaps

William, Cho, and the other students attended their first Divination class with Professor Trelawney, who filled the lesson with dramatic claims about prophecy and the rare gift of Sight. She ended by predicting that Judy Crouch’s uncle would be in great trouble.

• William, Cho, and Marietta climbed into the Divination classroom through a trapdoor in the North Tower.
• Professor Trelawney welcomed the students and claimed that a millennium Prophecy required wizards to sign a confidentiality agreement in 1999.
• Trelawney told the class that Divination was harder than Transfiguration and that only those with the Sight could truly see the future.
• Trelawney singled out Judy Crouch and predicted that her uncle would soon be in great trouble.

Professor Trelawney taught tea-leaf reading and made several predictions, but the lesson went awry when she mistook Eloise’s cup for William’s and foretold doom for him. The class ended with Trelawney falling silent after Eloise corrected her.

• Professor Trelawney outlined the year’s Divination lessons, predicted that someone would leave forever, and warned William that an unwanted event would happen before Christmas.
• William noticed that the tea leaves Trelawney had provided were moldy, so she replaced them with fresh tea leaves.
• William and Cho exchanged cups and invented playful readings of each other’s tea leaves, and William gave similarly made-up fortunes to other students.
• Professor Trelawney woke from a nap, took William’s cup, and predicted that he would be kidnapped, imprisoned, and abused.
• Eloise pointed out that William had been holding her cup, and Professor Trelawney fell silent.

After Divination, William encountered Griselda Marchbanks, who came to Hogwarts to register his Animagus form and verify that he was not afflicted by a Blood Curse. William transformed into a great sea eagle for her examination, impressing the watching students.

• Cho, Marietta, and William discussed Professor Trelawney's predictions as they left Divination.
• Harry and Neville's roommates carried Neville toward Madam Pomfrey after Neville was knocked unconscious by a Mandrake's cry in Herbology.
• Hermione explained what had happened to Neville, and William wiped the mud from her face.
• William recognized Griselda Marchbanks in the Transfiguration classroom and learned she had come partly to register his Animagus form.
• Marchbanks praised William's achievement, asked him to demonstrate his transformation, and William changed into a great sea eagle as the students applauded.

William received the Most Promising Newcomer Award for becoming a registered Animagus, and Lockhart embarrassed himself by revealing his ignorance of Transfiguration Today. The magazine became popular at Hogwarts, where Ron’s criticism of William’s article angered Professor McGonagall and earned Harry and Ron a Saturday punishment.

• Professor Marchbanks presented William with the Most Promising Newcomer Award, which could help him apply for an International Young Wizards Scholarship.
• Lockhart interrupted the award presentation, falsely claimed he had used Animagus magic, and dismissed Transfiguration Today as an insignificant magazine before hurriedly leaving under the crowd’s scrutiny.
• Transfiguration Today became popular among Hogwarts students, and Hermione praised William’s article to Harry and Ron.
• Ron accused Professor McGonagall of praising William’s article because he had thanked her, and McGonagall overheard him.
• Professor McGonagall ordered Harry and Ron to report to Mr. Filch on Saturday as punishment for flying a car into school.

Harry and Ron discussed Hermione, William’s Animagus scholarship, and what animals they would turn into. William’s first Care of Magical Creatures lesson ended with Professor Kettleburn urging the students to let Billywigs sting them, and everyone recoiling.

• Hermione left the Gryffindor table after Ron offended her, while Anne grew suspicious of Hermione’s interest in William.
• Harry admitted he was reading Transfiguration Today partly to have more to talk about with Cho, and Ron wondered whether learning to become an Animagus could earn him a scholarship.
• Harry said he would want to become a Golden Snidget, while Ron imagined turning Malfoy into a rat.
• William and Cho attended their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Professor Kettleburn and the Hufflepuffs.
• William identified the Billywigs that kept Kettleburn floating and earned ten points for Ravenclaw.
• Kettleburn covered himself with Billywigs and invited the students to be stung, but they backed away in alarm.

Professor Kettleburn's lesson on Clabberts went disastrously when the creatures ate his Billywigs, leaving him devastated. William and Cho then headed to Defence Against Dark Magic, where the students prepared to face the disgraced Lockhart, whom William had business with.

• Professor Kettleburn showed the class Clabberts, and Cho identified the creatures correctly.
• The students fed the Clabberts, and one sprayed Summerby with foul-smelling liquid after he put his hand in its mouth.
• Professor Kettleburn sent Billywigs to sting the Clabbert, but the Clabberts devoured the insects and spat out their stingers.
• William told the students that Billywig stingers were valuable, and they rushed to collect them while Professor Kettleburn lay dejected.
• Cho worried about Professor Kettleburn's health, and William predicted he would retire within two years.
• William and the other students entered Lockhart's classroom, where they sat near the front to make a quick escape; William attended because he had business with Lockhart.

Lockhart entertained his students with an exaggerated story about his adventures, then struck a deal with William to promote his expensive shampoo. William left with thirty bottles of shampoo containing Occamy Eggs, which he planned to use to make Felix Felicis.

• Lockhart blamed Quirrell and Tywin for the students’ poor education, then performed a comic story about subduing werewolves, reconciling Jacob and Edward, and defeating Bellatrix.
• The students laughed and applauded, treating Lockhart’s class as entertainment.
• William asked Lockhart for shampoo, and Lockhart took him to his office and offered a bottle.
• William proposed selling the shampoo through his shop and named Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and Umbridge as possible promoters.
• Lockhart gave William thirty bottles after William repeatedly tried to pay, and William left with the Occamy Eggs he needed for Felix Felicis.

William, Hermione, Anne, Cedric, and Cho headed to visit Hagrid, but Anne and Hermione stopped to watch Gryffindor practice. The practice was interrupted when Draco Malfoy joined Slytherin as its new Seeker and insulted Hermione, prompting Anne to attack him.

• Anne took Hermione to watch Gryffindor practice while William, Cedric, and Cho discussed the Nimbus 2001 and the Quidditch Cup.
• Wood led the exhausted Gryffindor team onto the pitch for practice as Anne and Hermione joined Ron and Colin in the stands.
• Flint interrupted Gryffindor's practice with a note from Snape and revealed that Draco Malfoy was Slytherin's new Seeker.
• Malfoy showed off Slytherin's Nimbus 2001s and called Hermione a Mudblood after she criticized him.
• Anne slapped Malfoy, threatened him with her wand, and kicked him, warning him not to insult Hermione again.

Hermione defeated Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and the other Slytherin students after they attacked Anne. At Hagrid’s Hut, William learned Professor Kettleburn might retire and connected the news to Professor Trelawney’s prophecy.

• Crabbe and Goyle charged at Anne, and Hermione stopped them with spells before disarming Malfoy.
• Hermione used Levicorpus and binding cords to knock down the Slytherin students who drew their wands against her.
• William, Cedric, and Cho visited Hagrid and discovered he was reading On the Self-Cultivation of a Professor.
• Hagrid said Professor Kettleburn had asked whether he wanted to take over as professor because Kettleburn planned to retire.
• William recalled Professor Trelawney’s prophecy and wondered whether she had known that Lockhart and Professor Kettleburn would leave.

Hagrid told William, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Anne, Cho, and Cedric about Professor Kettleburn’s long probation and his own hopes of becoming the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. After Anne slapped Malfoy for insulting Hermione, William took the girls to Professor McGonagall’s office and turned Snape’s accusation back on the Slytherins.

• Hagrid told William and his companions that Professor Kettleburn had spent sixty-two years on probation and admitted he feared his own record might keep him from becoming a professor.
• Harry and Ron told Hagrid that Slytherin had taken the Quidditch pitch with Snape’s permission and that Malfoy had joined the team after his father donated seven Nimbus 2001 brooms.
• Anne said she had slapped Malfoy for calling Hermione a Mudblood, and Hermione explained that she had disarmed the Slytherins after the insult.
• William took Hermione and Anne to Professor McGonagall’s office, where Snape and Malfoy accused the girls of attacking Slytherin students.
• William pointed out that Malfoy’s claim meant a second-year witch had defeated ten Slytherins, prompting McGonagall to doubt him and Snape to fall silent.

After Snape took Malfoy away for calling Hermione a Mudblood, McGonagall punished Hermione and Anne but also awarded Gryffindor points for their actions. William and Hermione left together, agreeing to continue their nightly training.

• William admitted that Anne and Hermione had hit Malfoy, explaining that they had acted after he insulted Hermione and attacked Anne.
• Snape learned that Malfoy had used the word “Mudblood,” then dragged him away while rebuking him.
• McGonagall deducted sixty points from Gryffindor and assigned Hermione and Anne detention, but awarded Gryffindor thirty points for each girl’s defense of her classmates.
• Anne apologized to William and left to apologize to Dumbledore; William warned her to avoid getting caught when breaking school rules.
• Hermione told William that the Slytherins had seemed weak, and they agreed to continue their nightly training before walking hand in hand.

William, Hermione, and Anne served detention by cleaning the Hogwarts Kitchen after Harry and Ron received easier punishments. They found the kitchen and examined a painting of the Four Founders’ last meal, which ended with seven eggs on a plate.

• William took Hermione and Anne to clean the kitchen, while Harry went with Lockhart and Ron polished silver in the Trophy Room.
• William led Hermione and Anne past the Hufflepuff common room entrance, where Hermione triggered a torrent of aged vinegar by tapping a barrel incorrectly.
• William cleared the vinegar and opened the way to the Hufflepuff common room, but the three continued toward the kitchen.
• William tickled the pear on a painting to reveal the kitchen entrance, then led Hermione and Anne inside.
• The three saw a painting of the Founders’ last meal, including Slytherin with a young Basilisk and a plate holding seven eggs.

William, Hermione, and Anne served their punishment by clearing rotten food the ghosts had left in the Hogwarts kitchen for Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party. Hermione suggested dumping it in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, but Myrtle appeared after hearing her name and confronted them.

• William and Hermione watched House-elves feed Bobocha and Mrs. Norris, and William wondered whether Mrs. Norris was pregnant.
• The House-elves welcomed William, Hermione, and Anne with tea and pastries, then Winnie showed them the rotten food left for the ghosts’ Halloween Deathday Party.
• William cast the Bubble-Head Charm on the three of them, and they began removing the decaying food.
• Anne asked where they could put the food, and Hermione suggested Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom.
• Moaning Myrtle emerged from the wall, upset that she had heard the students say her name.

William, Hermione, and Anne arranged to hide rotting food in Moaning Myrtle’s abandoned bathroom, where Myrtle tried to recruit William as her Deathday Party date. The chapter ended with William learning that Dobby belonged to the Malfoy family and Hermione questioning him about Phoebe.

• Hermione suggested putting the rotting food in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, and Myrtle demanded William accompany her to the Deathday Party after mentioning that Charlie I and Louis XVI would attend.
• William persuaded Myrtle to ask Cedric to be her date, and she left to find him.
• Winnie and Duoduo told William that Dobby was the Malfoy family’s House-elf.
• William, Hermione, and Anne dumped the rotting food into the sinks in Moaning Myrtle’s abandoned bathroom.
• William wondered whether Malfoy had sent Dobby to stop Harry, while Hermione asked whether Phoebe was pretty; William said Hermione was prettier.

An October cold front sickened Hogwarts, while William attended Professor Vector’s Arithmancy class and received an ominous reading of 777. As Halloween approached, William feared the reading foretold danger and considered preparing Felix Felicis.

• A cold front spread illness through Hogwarts, and Madam Pomfrey had Professor Snape and William brew Pepperup Potion while William sold his warming badges.
• Professor Snape’s potion cured Lockhart’s cold but caused severe stomach symptoms, and Professor Trelawney’s voice returned before she drank a similar dose.
• Heavy rain flooded the grounds and swelled Hagrid’s pumpkins, which he carved into lanterns for Halloween decorations in the Great Hall.
• William skipped Professor Trelawney’s class to attend Professor Vector’s Arithmancy lesson and calculated his number as 777.
• Professor Vector interpreted William’s 777 as approaching danger, a quantity of seven, and failure, leaving William worried about what might happen before Christmas.

William and his friends prepared for Hogwarts’ Halloween Feast while Nearly Headless Nick investigated missing food in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom and tried to recruit guests for his Deathday Party. The feast ended with a lively celebration in giant pumpkins, and William enjoyed a quiet, happy moment with Hermione.

• Nearly Headless Nick told William that rotten food and maggots had vanished from Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, then decided to ask Hagrid for caterpillars to replace them.
• Nick invited William, Cedric, and Cho to his Deathday Party, but William said he would attend the Halloween party, and Cedric denied being Moaning Myrtle’s date.
• Harry told William and Hermione that Ron had been missing for nearly an hour, and Fred reported that Filch had taken the soaking-wet Ron away.
• Anne, Luna, and Ginny welcomed William into a giant pumpkin, and the students gathered in pumpkins for the Halloween Eve Feast.
• Dumbledore began the feast, Professor Kettleburn released a Fire Salamander, and Hermione shared an orange segment with William.

After the Red Skull Dance Troupe performed an altered Hamlet at Hogwarts, Dumbledore sensed something was wrong, and Mrs. Norris led William to a message announcing that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Filch lay wounded nearby with a blood-drawn design on his hand, while Harry stood terrified by the warning.

• The Red Skull Dance Troupe performed a comic version of Hamlet, and Dumbledore explained that Laertes's pain had moved him.
• Dumbledore listened intently, and the feast ended before Mrs. Norris and Bobocha rushed to William in alarm.
• Mrs. Norris led William and Hermione to a corridor where a message warned that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
• Harry denied responsibility, while Malfoy taunted Hermione until William magically silenced him and warned him not to use the slur again.
• William found Filch sprawled unconscious beside a broom and rotten tripe, with a small wound and a blood-drawn design on his palm.

Dumbledore examined Filch after an apparent attack and confirmed that he was unconscious rather than dead. Harry became the prime suspect, and Dumbledore’s questions about Ron left the group wondering what had happened to him.

• Dumbledore took Filch to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey and several professors examined him.
• Dumbledore found that Filch’s wound had healed and announced that Filch was only unconscious.
• Lockhart accused Harry of attacking Filch, and Harry explained that Filch had confronted him after the Vanishing Cabinet was smashed.
• Snape questioned why Harry had been in the upstairs corridor and suggested using Veritaserum, but Dumbledore rejected the idea.
• Dumbledore asked Harry where Ron was, and Harry realized Ron had been taken away by Filch.

After Filch identified Harry as his attacker, Dumbledore and William considered the suspicious events and the threat from the Chamber of Secrets. William questioned why the attacker had left Filch alive, and Dumbledore said he needed to investigate.

• Dumbledore had McGonagall bring Ron from Filch's office and asked Pomfrey to prepare a potion for Filch.
• Ron explained that he had fallen into the Black Lake while trying to catch a merperson as a Halloween present for Harry, then Filch had sent him to his office.
• Filch woke up and identified Harry as the person who attacked him, leaving Harry stunned.
• Dumbledore told William that the danger came from people rather than the Basilisk or the Chamber itself.
• William asked why the attacker had spared Filch if the goal was to spread fear, and Dumbledore said he had seen something similar before and would investigate.

William and Dumbledore deduced that the attacker had struck Filch as the second of a planned series, using the attacks to frame Harry rather than kill his victims. They suspected Harry was the ultimate target and that the seventh attack could leave the students ready to turn against him.

• William questioned why the attacker had spared Filch, and Dumbledore concluded the attacker had a reason tied to a larger goal.
• Dumbledore and William interpreted the Graphorn drawn in blood on Filch's hand as the number two, suggesting Filch was the second victim.
• Dumbledore reasoned that the attacker had already chosen a fixed number of attacks, and William linked that number to Professor Vector's prediction of seven dangers.
• William and Dumbledore concluded that Harry had been the attacker's target from the start and that the victims would identify Harry after each attack.
• William realized the attacker could use the seventh attack to turn the students against Harry after destroying his reputation.

After Dumbledore warned William that the attacks would continue, William escorted Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower and comforted her about the danger facing Muggle-born students. The chapter ended with Hermione feeling safe in William’s arms.

• William left Dumbledore’s office and found Hermione waiting for him outside, so he helped her up and walked her back.
• William told Hermione that Dumbledore expected the attacks to continue, while keeping Harry’s role as the attacker’s intended target secret.
• William explained that Slytherin had not built the Chamber of Secrets to purge Hogwarts and that later generations had distorted its purpose.
• At the girls’ dormitory entrance, Hermione confessed her fear that Pure-blood families hated Muggle-born wizards, and William promised to protect her.
• William wiped Hermione’s tears and held her until she felt warm and calm.

William and Cedric, Fred, and George searched the underground passage for the Chamber of Secrets and found that the Basilisk traveled through Hogwarts’ plumbing. They entered the sewer system, where Fred brought out a Niffler to help them navigate.

• William prepared a bed and food for Mrs. Norris, who had been frightened away from Filch since the attack.
• William led Cedric, Fred, and George through the secret passage beneath Hogwarts, where William read protective Ancient Runes on the columns.
• The group found a lake with a granite pyramid on an island, then continued to the corridor where the Basilisk had left its shed skin and prey bones.
• George revealed that he had stolen a rooster from Hagrid and brought it as protection against a Basilisk; William explained how magic eggs could hatch Basilisks or Cockatrices.
• The four found a broken wall opening into Hogwarts’ sewer system and realized the Basilisk could use the pipes to move around the school.
• Cedric warned that the pipes were difficult to search, so Fred produced a Niffler to help them find their way.

The Ravenclaw team faced Slytherin in the first Quidditch match of the school year, with William and Cho preparing to exploit Slytherin’s new brooms and Malfoy’s inexperience. The match began with all fourteen players taking flight.

• As November arrived, Slytherin’s Nimbus 2001 brooms made the other house teams jealous, and Wood joked about burning them.
• Before the match, Hermione and Anne encouraged William, while Cedric fussed over Cho; Fred and George were searching the sewers with the Niffler for the Chamber of Secrets.
• Ravenclaw and Slytherin entered the pitch as Lee Jordan gave an eccentric commentary and fans cheered for William.
• William explained that Cho could fake losing control of her broom to lure Malfoy into a crash, then encouraged her to take down Slytherin.
• Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and the Ravenclaw and Slytherin players launched into the match.

William dominated Ravenclaw’s Quidditch match against Slytherin, while Cho outmaneuvered Malfoy in a dive for the Snitch. Malfoy crashed, leaving Slytherin without its Seeker as the match continued.

• William scored an early goal and widened Ravenclaw’s lead with daring shots and passes.
• Sterling sent Pucey toward William, while Slytherin’s Beaters Bole and Derrick tried to take him out; William dodged them and redirected a Bludger into Derrick’s broom, and both Beaters fell.
• Madam Hooch awarded Ravenclaw two penalty shots after Slytherin’s fouls, despite Snape’s protest.
• Cho faked a dive toward the Snitch, and Malfoy followed her too fast to pull out of his dive before crashing into the ground.
• Cho taunted Malfoy as he lay injured, and Slytherin was left without its Seeker.

During a Quidditch match, Lockhart tried to treat Malfoy's broken leg, but Madam Pomfrey announced another attack and the match was canceled. Colin Creevey was found unconscious with a Runespoor symbol on his hand, and the students suspected Harry of opening the Chamber of Secrets.

• Malfoy crashed to the ground with a broken leg, and Lockhart used a spell to mend the bone, though Malfoy fell again when he tried to stand.
• Cedric threw Dungbombs into the Slytherin stands after Pansy blamed Cho for Malfoy's injury.
• Madam Pomfrey reported another attack, and McGonagall canceled the match and sent everyone back to their common rooms.
• The students learned Colin Creevey had been found unconscious in a corridor, and his camera film contained numerous photographs of Harry, including one taken in a bathroom.
• Colin woke murmuring Harry's name, and Dumbledore confirmed that a Runespoor design had appeared on Colin's palm.
• Students began carrying Clabberts as warning creatures, filling the school with their hawthorn-scented fluid.