Harry Potter is spending his summerholidays with the Dursleys when he meets

Dobby, a house-elf, who warns him not togo to Hogwarts. When the young wizardrefuses, the house-elf drops a large pudding

in the Dursleys’ kitchen and Harry ispunished for it. The Dursleys lock him in hisroom, but soon afterwards he is freed byRon and his twin brothers and is taken toThe Burrow in an enchanted flying car.

It is time to return to school. Harry and Rontry to get through the portal at King’s CrossStation, but find it closed. So they steal Mr.Weasley’s car and fly it to Hogwarts, only tocrash into the Whomping Willow. Theyescape being expelled but are givendetention. School days pass quickly. Insidethe castle Harry is the only person whohears a mysterious voice threatening to kill.After a Halloween party, Mrs. Norris the catis found Petrified. The students are scared;everyone is talking about the Chamber ofSecrets and the monster within.

During a Quid ditch match, Gryffindor

against Slytherin, Harry is injured by a

rogue Bludger. He ends up in hospital

where he is visited by Dobby again. The

house-elf admits that he closed the

portal at the station and bewitched the

bludger. A student ends up Petrified and

Harry learns that the Chamber of Secretswas opened fifty years before.

Professor Lockheart starts a Dueling Club.

When Draco Malfoy sets a serpent

against Harry, the wizard stops its attack

by speaking in parse tongue. The

students are terrified and suspect Harry

of being the heir of Slytherin. The rum our

intensifies when the young wizard finds

another student and one of the ghostsPetrified.

Hermione brews a Polyjuice Potion so theycan transform into Malfoy’s friends and gettheir enemy to admit that he is the real heir.But the boys discover that Draco does notknow who is opening the Chamber. Ronand Harry find an empty diary. Harry iscurious and starts writing in it. The diary wasenchanted by a boy called Tom Riddle;through it Harry sees Hagrid, fifty yearsearlier, accused of setting a giant spideronto a girl and killing her.

When Hermione and another girl arePetrified, Ron and Harry use an invisiblecloak to get to Hagrid’s hut. Hidden behindthe cloak they hear the Minister of Magicarresting Hagrid and removing Dumbledoreas headmaster. Hagrid instructs them tofollow the spiders. These lead the boys intothe Forbidden Forest. Here Ron and Harryare captured by a colony of giant spiders.The leader, Aragog, admits that he isHagrid’s monster. The boys find out that themonster’s victim could be Moaning Myrtle,now a wraith in the toilets.

During a visit to Hermione, Ron and Harry

find a piece of paper in her hand

bearing the word ‘basilisk’. Their friend

had discovered the identity of the real

monster. The teachers panic when Ginny

Weasley is abducted, and they send thestudents home.

Ron and Harry decide it is time to act, sothey take Professor Lockheart toMoaning Myrtle’s toilet and there theyfind a secret passage through one of thesinks. The boys and their hapless teachergo down the passageway. Lockhearttries to bewitch them but the curse fallson himself. Ron and Harry are separated,and Harry decides to enter the chamberalone.

The young wizard finds Ginny Weasleyalive, but he also meets Tom Riddle. Thelatter admits that he is Lord Voldermort, thelast heir of Slytherin, and he sets the basiliskonto Harry. Dumbledore’s phoenix entersthe chamber and drops the Sorting Hat inHarry’s hands, whilst it punctures thebasilisk’s eyes. In the Sorting Hat, Harry findsGryffindor’s sword and with it kills the snake.The wizard destroys Tom Riddle by pushingthe basilisk’s poisonous fang into the diary.

Back in Dumbledore’s office, Harry tells

his story. Lucius Malfoy, furious that the

headmaster is back, is accused of giving

Ginny the bewitched diary. He is also

tricked by Potter into freeing Dobby. The

students celebrate with a midnight feast

and Gryffindor win the House Cup for thesecond time running.