Want to learn the ideas in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by J.K. Rowling.
1-Page Summary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Overall Summary
Harry Potter is upset that his friends haven’t written to him over the summer. On Harry’s twelfth birthday, a house elf named Dobby visits and warns of danger at Hogwarts. He also reveals that he has been stopping Harry’s friends’ letters from reaching him. When Harry refuses to promise that he won’t return to Hogwarts, Dobby destroys Petunia’s pudding and ruins her dinner party for business associates of Uncle Vernon’s boss. The Dursleys lock Harry in his room for three days as punishment. His friend Ron Weasley rescues him using his father’s flying car; they take the luggage back to their home, The Burrow, where Harry spends the rest of the summer in bliss with all his friends
Harry and his friends go to a bookstore with Hermione Granger. They meet Gilderoy Lockhart, who is famous for being a wizard. Lucius Malfoy says that Harry’s family disgraces wizards because they associate with Muggles (non-wizards).
At the end of summer, the Weasleys drive Harry to King’s Cross Station on their way to Hogwarts. However, they can’t get through Platform 9 ¾ because it is blocked by a brick wall. They decide to fly the car and land in front of everyone at school. The car engine fails and they are forced to walk into school with Ron carrying Harry’s trunk, but when they arrive there are no students around because classes have already started. They run into trouble for flying the car and receive a warning from Dumbledore that if they break any more rules while attending Hogwarts then they will be expelled.
After Harry’s first week of class, the Quidditch team begins practice. However, they are interrupted by Draco Malfoy and his new broomstick. He is a Seeker on the Slytherin team because he bought it with money from his father. Hermione points out that Draco would not have been chosen for this position if he had not paid for it. She also explains that “Mudblood” is a derogatory term used to describe someone who was born in a Muggle family but has magical abilities due to being related to wizards or witches through bloodlines; however, most people know that having magic does not depend on blood status alone.
Harry and Ron get in trouble for flying their car to Hogwarts. They have detention with Lockhart, who tells them he’s a great wizard. He has Harry answer his fan mail while he goes off to polish trophies, but Harry hears a voice saying “Let me rip you…” The voice seems like it’s coming from the trophy room. When he goes to investigate, there is no one else around and nothing that could be making the sound except for Mrs. Norris (Filch’s cat). On Halloween night, Harry hears the same voice again and follows it down a corridor where he sees graffiti on the wall next to Mrs. Norris: “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened…Enemies of the heir beware.” Filch blames Harry for killing Mrs. Norris since only someone very powerful would be able do something like that—but Dumbledore says there’s no way a second-year student could’ve done it because they don’t have enough magic yet—it must’ve been someone older who did this terrible thing! Furthermore, Professor Sprout will soon grow Mandrakes so that they can revive poor Mrs. Norris when she is petrified by whoever wrote those awful words on her back!
Hermione wants to find out about the Chamber of Secrets, so she asks Professor Binns about it. He explains that when Hogwarts was first built, one of the founders did not want Muggle-borns at school. However, the other three disagreed with him and created a secret chamber that could only be opened by his heir. It’s rumored that Harry is this person’s heir because he shares a name with him—though Ron and Hermione think Draco Malfoy is Slytherin’s heir instead. They decide to use Polyjuice Potion (which can transform someone into another person) to ask Draco about it; however, they’ll need ingredients from Snape’s supply cupboard for this potion.
