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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998) is the second book of the Harry Potter series, written by British author J.K. Rowling. The other books in the series include: (1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (aka Sorcerer's) Stone (1997), (3) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), (4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), (5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), (6) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and (7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was adapted for the screen by American screenwriter Steve Kloves.

At the end of the previous film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry was 11. At the start of Chamber of Secrets, When Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and his brothers Fred (James Phelps) and George (Oliver Phelps) "rescue" Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) for their return to Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, Ron wishes him "Happy Birthday," so Harry has just turned 12.

The Chamber of Secrets is a secret chamber created by Salazar Slytherin (one of Hogwarts' four founders). The chamber is home to an ancient basilisk, intended to be used by his heir to purge the school of muggle-born students.

In Greek legends, the basilisk (meaning "little king") is a small, foot-long, venomous, serpentine reptile whose gaze is said to have the power of death. It is hatched from a snake's or toad's egg under a cock (rooster). To see an artist's drawing of the legendary basilisk, look here. In the Harry Potter stories, the basilisk is, of course, much larger. In reality, there is a real basilisk, a small South American lizard belonging to the genus Basiliscus. For a photo of the South American basilisk, look here. Other legendary properties of the basilisk, not mentioned in the Harry Potter stories, is that is leaves a trail of venom behind itself and can destroy plants with its breath; the odour of a weasel is fatal to it.

Of the seven Weasley children, Ron, Fred, George, Percy (Chris Rankin), and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) are all there when Harry visits their house, The Burrow, for breakfast on his way back to Hogwarts. Mum Molly (Julie Walters) is also there, and we are introduced to Dad Arthur (Mark Williams), a pure-blooded wizard who works at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. This year will be Ginny's first year at Hogwarts. No mention is made of Bill or Charlie Weasley, but it can be assumed that Charlie is still studying dragons in Romania.

That was Dobby, the House Elf, trying to prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts. Dobby thinks Harry is in grave danger.

Once again, that was Dobby, the House Elf, trying to warn Harry that he is in grave danger at Hogwarts.

Returning are Professor Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris), headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith), deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, head of Gryffindor House, and teacher of Transfigurations, and Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), head of Slytherin House and Potions Master. In addition, we are introduced to Professor Pomona Sprout (Miriam Margolyes), head of Hufflepuff house and teacher of Herbology, Professor Filius Flitwick (Warwick Davis), head of Ravenclaw House and teacher of Charms, and Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh), temporarily-assigned as teacher of a class in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) is back as Hogwarts groundskeeper, and we also meet Argus Filch (David Bradley), Hogwarts caretaker. In a flashback, we see Professor Armando Dippet (Alfred Burke), former headmaster of Hogwarts, prior to Dumbledore's appointment.

Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) was using a derogatory term that implied Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) was of inferior, dirty blood because she was born of muggle parents.

At first, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine think it might be Draco Malfoy, based on his disdain of muggles and the fact that his father Lucius (Jason Isaacs) was a student at Hogwarts 50 years ago, the last time that the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Then, suspicion shifts to Harry himself when Draco conjures up a cobra, and Harry is able to talk to it using Parseltongue (the language of snakes), a rare talent that few wizards possess. Even Harry begins to doubt himself when he remembers how the Sorting Hat first wanted to place him in Slytherin House, whose symbol is a serpent, when he arrived at Hogwarts. Then Ginny finds a diary which contains a "preservation" of Slytherin's heir, Tom Marvolo Riddle, at the age of 16. Toward the end of the movie, it is revealed that Riddle is none other than the evil Lord Voldemort.

Lucius Malfoy slipped the diary into Ginny's cauldron.

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened twice. (1) When Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson)'s "preservation" shows the events as they happened 50 years ago to Harry, it was Hagrid who was accused and subsequently expelled from Hogwarts. When Ron and Harry follow the spiders to Aragog, who was accused of being the monster who killed the Hogwarts student now known as Moaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson), Aragog confirms Hagrid's innocence. (2) The second time the Chamber is opened, suspicion again falls on Hagrid, and he is sent away to Azkaban Prison. When Harry finally finds his way into the Chamber, he learns that it was Ginny Weasley, entranced by Tom Riddle, who opened the Chamber.

It's in the abandoned girls' bathroom, underneath a circle of sinks.

Yes. The root of the mandrake [genus Mandragora] has a long history in both the magical and the healing arts. The lore surrounding the mandrake root in The Chamber of Secrets is quite accurate. Mandrake root has a tendency to bifurcate and some may even resemble the shape of a man. For this reason, mandrake roots were highly sought by medieval alchemists and magicians for use in their rituals. Some even used mandrake roots as familiars. As in the movie, it was believed that mandrakes shrieked when being dug out of the ground and that their shrieks could drive a person mad. Therefore, mandrake-pulling dogs were often used for this purpose. Medically, the mandrake belongs to the Solanaceae [Nightshade] family along with henbane, jimsonweed, and belladonna as well as some more common plants such as potatoes and tomatoes. Certain parts of the Solanaceaes contain alkaloids such as atropine and hyoscyamine which have hallucinogenic properties along with other properties that make them valuable in the medical field. In The Chamber of Secrets, mandrake was used to cure those who had been petrified (literally turned to stone) by the glance of the basilisk.

Harry's snowy owl: Hedwig

Ron's rat: Scabbers

Caretaker Filch's cat: Mrs Norris

Professor Dumbledore's phoenix: Fawkes

Hagrid's Acromantula spider: Aragog

Ron's mail carrying owl: Errol

It is briefly revealed that Lucius actually wanted to use the Avada Kedavra on Harry, which is the Killing Curse. Good thing Dobby intervened.

*The Herbology class where the second years repot the Mandrakes is shown.

*Lockhart's first Defence... class is shown where he releases the pixies and Harry, Ron and Hermione have to round them up.

*a Transfiguration class is the setting for Hermione asking about the Chamber of Secrets but before she does McGonnagall teaches them how to turn an animal into a water goblet.

*don't know if this counts but a Quidditch practice is shown briefly although they don't actually do any flying.

*the Duelling Club is shown in good detail.

After finding the underground entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, Harry, Ron, and Professor Gilderoy Lockhart jump into it. Scared out of his wits, Lockhart tries to bluff his way out and put a spell of memory loss on Harry and Ron, but the spell backfires and Lockhart loses his own memory. Harry enters into the inner chamber where he finds Ginny Weasley lying on the floor. Tom Riddle describes how he got Ginny to open the Chamber, write the words on the wall, and then plant the diary where Harry could find it. As Ginny grows weaker, he says, he is growing stronger and will soon be able to inhabit a corporeal body. Of course, Ginny will die. When Harry asks who he really is, Tom shows how his name Tom Marvolo Riddle can be anagrammed to read I am Lord Voldemort. Tom/Voldemort then releases the basilisk to kill Harry, but Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes suddenly flies through the Chamber. He pecks out the basilisk's eyes so that it cannot turn Harry to stone with its glance. He also gives Harry a sorcerer's hat in which a Gryffindor sword appears. Harry defeats the basilisk by driving the sword through the roof of its mouth. Unfortunately, the basilisk managed to bite Harry during their fight. As Voldemort gloats, Harry takes one of the basilisk's broken fangs and drives it through the diary. As Voldemort has still not fully manifested, the venom causes his "preservation" to explode. Ginny wakes up. Fawkes cries healing tears into Harry's wound.

Dumbledore returns to Hogwarts, signs release papers for Hagrid, and awards Ron and Harry for their special service to the school. He also explains to Harry that, when Voldemort put the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, he unintentionally transferred some of his powers into Harry, which explains why Harry can speak Parceltongue. Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy enters the room with his House Elf Dobby in tow. Figuring that Harry has finally been fingered as the culprit who opened the Chamber, he is surprised to hear Dumbledore blame it on Voldemort. Angrily, Lucius storms out of Dumbledore's office. Harry runs after him to give him back the diary, which Lucius had surreptitiously slipped into Ginny's cauldron. When Lucius tries to deny it, he gives the diary to Dobby, who opens it to find a black sock. "Master has given Dobby a sock!" Dobby cries. "Dobby is FREE!" Lucius, of course, is doubly angry at Harry for releasing his servant and tries to zap Harry with the Killing Curse, but Dobby steps between them and zaps Lucius across the room. Harry makes Dobby promise to never try to save his life again.

In the final scenes, Hermione, cured of petrification, joins Ron and Harry at the end of the year feast, and Hagrid returns just in time to thank them for getting him released from Azkaban.