As the Gryffindor vs.

Hufflepuff Quidditch match drew nearer, tensions mounted in the school;

Gryffindor had failed to overtake Slytherin in the Inter-House Quidditch Cup for seven years, and Harry
was worried that it would be impossible with Snape as a referee. Unknown to Harry, Ron and Hermione
had been practising the Leg-Locker Curse to use on Snape, should he show any signs of wanting to harm
Harry. Before the match began, Wood took Harry aside and reminded him that he needed to catch the
Snitch as soon as he could, before Snape could favour Hufflepuff too much. Harry performed his role as
Seeker phenomenally, catching the Snitch within five minutes of the game starting, putting Gryffindor in
first place for the Quidditch Cup.

Detention

Firenze: "It will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain
something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the
moment the blood touches your lips."

Harry: "But — who would choose such a life?"

— Firenze explaining the properties of unicorn blood[src]

Egg hatching ps

The trio watch a dragon egg hatch while in Hagrid's hut

Having realised how much Harry, Ron, and Hermione had worked out about the Stone after running into
them in the library, Rubeus Hagrid told them to meet him in his hut later. When the trio arrived later,
they noticed that the fire was lit, despite the heat of the day. Although he was reluctant to answer their
questions, Hermione managed to manipulate him into talking about the various protections used to
guard it: Fluffy, the three headed dog, was Hagrid's, along with enchantments from Professors Sprout,
Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape. Harry, growing uncomfortable in the heat, asked Hagrid to
open a window, something Hagrid refused to do as he had a dragon egg in the fire. Unfortunately Draco
Malfoy discovered the dragon, and decided to use the knowledge to get revenge by getting them into
trouble for possessing an illegal dragon. So Malfoy in turn, tried to tell McGonagall of the trio's activities.

B1C14M3 Astronomy Tower farewell Norbert

Harry and Hermione wait on top of the Astronomy tower with baby Norbert

To save everyone involved, Harry, Ron, and Hermione convinced Hagrid to send Norbert off to Ron's
brother Charlie Weasley, who would take Norbert to a Romanian dragon preserve. While helping Hagrid
to prepare Norbert for the journey, the dragon bit Ron's hand, causing it to swell up and forcing Ron to
see Madam Pomfrey. On the pre-arranged night, Harry and Hermione managed to smuggle Norbert in a
crate up to the Astronomy Tower under Harry's Invisibility cloak. On the way up they witnessed
Professor McGonagall hauling Malfoy away for being out of bed at night, who protested that Harry was
in possession of a dragon. Harry and Hermione passed the crate off to Charlie's friends and headed back
down the stairs, where they were confronted by a gleeful Argus Filch; they had left the Cloak behind.

WB F1 Fang HarryMalfoyFangInForest 11428

Harry in the Dark Forest with Draco Malfoy during their detention

Filch took them to McGonagall's office, where they found Neville, who had attempted to warn them
about Malfoy. Minerva McGonagall, who was very disappointed in them, took fifty points each from
Harry, Hermione, and Neville and gave the three detention, which they were to serve along with Malfoy.
Harry's popularity, riding high on his Quidditch wins plummeted: no one wanted to talk to the "stupid
first year" who, along with two others, had lost Gryffindor their chance of defeating Slytherin, and
winning the House Cup. A week or so before exams, Harry's new determination to not meddle in other's
business was tested when he heard Professor Quirrell, whimpering as if he was being threatened.
Believing that Snape was the one threatening Quirrell, and that he was going after the Stone, Hermione
suggested that they go talk to Professor Dumbledore, but Harry dismissed the idea, as they had no
proof.

The next morning, Harry, Hermione, and Neville received notes from Professor McGonagall informing
them their detention would begin at eleven that night. Argus Filch took them out to the Forbidden
Forest, where Hagrid was waiting for them. Hagrid led them into the Forbidden Forest and showed them
a pool of unicorn blood on the ground. They split up, Hagrid taking Harry and Hermione, while Neville
and Malfoy went off with Fang. After Malfoy scared Neville into sending up red sparks, Hagrid sent Harry
off with Malfoy, deciding that Malfoy would be less likely to scare Harry.

Firenze harry ps

Harry with Firenze in the forest discussing the properties of unicorn blood

As they continued, Harry noticed the pools of unicorn blood they were following seemed to be growing
larger and larger, as if the animal had been thrashing around. Eventually, they came to a clearing and
found the laying on the ground, and very dead. As they watched, a hooded figure emerged from the
bushes and began to drink the unicorn's blood. Malfoy screamed and bolted away with Fang, leaving
Harry, half blinded by the pain in his scar to stumble away from the advancing figure. Harry was saved
by Firenze, a palamino centaur, who allowed Harry to ride on his back out of the forest. Firenze told
Harry the properties of unicorn blood. Harry realised that there would only be one person who would be
so desperate as to kill a unicorn: Lord Voldemort.

The Philosopher's Stone

Harry: ""Professor, I think — I know — that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to
Professor Dumbledore."

McGonagall: "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the
Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

— The trio warn McGonagall of the plot to steal the stone[src]

While talking to Ron and Hermione after finishing their exams Harry realised the strange coincidence
that had occurred: Hagrid wanted a dragon more than anything else, only to meet a stranger who had
one to give him. They ran down to ask Hagrid more about the man who gave him Norbert, only to find
out that the stranger never lowered his hood, something of a fashion in the Hogs head. Hagrid explained
that he couldn't remember much, as the man kept buying him drinks, but said that he thought they
talked about Hogwarts and the kinds of creatures Hagrid looks after there.

Transfiguration homework

The trio attempting to tell McGonagall about the plot to steal the Philosopher's Stone

Focused on remembering what had happened that night, Hagrid accidentally let slip that Fluffy fell
asleep when played music. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, now convinced that Snape had all the information
he needed to get past Fluffy, decided to go see Professor Dumbledore and tell him their suspicions.
While walking across the Entrance Hall, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, and decided to tell
her what they'd found out. She insisted that no one could steal the Stone, and told them that
Dumbledore was in London for the day.

Main article: Attack in the Underground Chambers

As the trio set off that night to stop Snape, they were stopped themselves by Neville, who believed they
were sneaking out without reason again, and was worried that they would loose Gryffindor even more
points. Desperate as they were for time, Hermione paralysed Neville. When they arrived the third-floor
corridor, it was to find Fluffy awake, but a harp by his feet. Remembering what Hagrid told them, Harry
began to blow into the wooden flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas. From the first notes, Fluffy's eyes
began to droop, and he quickly fell asleep. Jumping through the trapdoor, they found themselves in
Professor Sprout's room, filled with Devil's Snare, which almost smothered them.

Harry-Potter and the winged-keys PS

Harry retrieves the right key from the swarm

The next room, Professor Flitwick's, held a bunch of flying keys and some broomsticks. Harry found the
correct key, caught it, and unlocked the next door with it. The next room was Professor McGonagall's,
and had a large chessboard, for a game of Wizard's Chess which Ron won at the cost of sacrificing
himself. Harry and Hermione continued to the next room (leaving an unconscious Ron where they could
return for him), to find an unconscious troll; Professor Quirrell's room. Lastly, they entered Professor
Snape's room, and found seven potions in bottles along with a roll of paper giving clues on which one to
drink to continue: a logic puzzle. Hermione solved the puzzle, and at Harry's urging, drank the potion
that allowed her to head back so that she could get Ron out, while Harry drank the potion to go forward
to the final room.

QuirinusQuirrell WB F1 QuirrellAndHarry Still 080615 Land

Harry Potter Confrontion with Professer Quirrel in the Dungeon

Once inside the room, Harry's attention was drawn to two things: the Mirror of Erised, and Quirrell.
Quirrell bound Harry before explaining that the Mirror was the key to finding the Stone. Desperate to
distract him from the Mirror, Harry questioned Quirrell, who revealed that was serving Lord Voldemort,
and although Snape hated Harry (because Snape allegedly loathed his father in their time at school), he
never wanted him dead. Unable to locate the stone, Quirrell asked Voldemort for help; much to Harry's
surprise, a voice which seemed to issue from Quirrell himself said "to use the boy".

Looking in the Mirror, Harry saw his reflection pull the Stone out of his pocket and replace it, at which
point he felt the real Stone drop his real pocket. He told Quirrell that he saw himself winning the House
Cup, but Voldemort, an accomplished Legilimens, informed Quirrell that Harry was lying, and ordered
Quirrell to allow him to speak "to the boy". Quirrell unwrapped his turban, and turned away from Harry.
Voldemort, who was sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head, demanded that Harry give him the
Stone. Harry refused, and Quirrell seized him, causing Harry's scar to sear with pain; but contact with
Harry's skin burned Quirrell's hands, forcing him to release Harry. Harry, realising that contact caused
Quirrell pain, grabbed Quirrell's arm and held on until he blacked out.

B1C17M2 Harry's first Hospital Wing stay

Harry in the Hospital Wing after the attack in the underground chamber

He woke in the Hospital Wing, where Albus Dumbledore reassured him that Quirrell did not succeed at
getting the Stone, and that the Stone had in fact, been destroyed. Dumbledore then explained the
reason why Quirrell could not touch him was that because Harry's mother had died to save him,
granting him protection against Voldemort.

At the End-of-Term Feast, after seemingly congratulating Slytherin on winning the House Cup,
Dumbledore awarded Ron and Hermione fifty points, Harry sixty points, and Neville ten, which allowed
them to win the cup.
Second year

Ron Weasley: "You're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?... Now the whole school is gonna think
you're his great-great-great-grandson or something."

Harry: "But I'm not! I can't be."

Hermione Granger: "He lived a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be."

— Harry finding out that he is a Parselmouth[src]

Harry's second year in 1992 started out badly, and gradually got worse. Throughout the preceding
summer, the Dursleys became so fearful of his newly discovered magical abilities that they locked away
all of his school supplies immediately after his return home to them. They even went as far as to ban
him from saying words pertaining or related to magic in general, as evident to Harry getting
reprimanded by Uncle Vernon for saying the word "magic" at the breakfast table one day. This,
however, did not stop Harry from exploiting their paranoia in order to have quiet time alone, such as
taunting Dudley with made up magical incantations (like Jiggery Pokery, Hocus Pocus, and Squiggly
wiggly) whenever the latter teased him. Furthermore, he had no contact with any of his friends nor any
news from the wizarding world, and Hedwig took to making noise out of boredom from being padlocked
in her cage.

B2C1M2 Dursley's garden

Harry in the garden at 4 Privet Drive

On 31 July (Harry's twelfth birthday), Harry felt very lonely from receiving no letters from his friends.
Dudley taunted him stating "Who would want to be friends with you?" The Dursleys seemed to have
forgotten his birthday too, for they were too busy preparing for a dinner party with a client of Vernon's
at work. The sight of the hedge supposedly staring back startled Harry, but Dudley Dursley came over to
bother him as the eyes vanished. Harry tried to scare his cousin away by pretending the use of
incantations would set the hedge on fire. Petunia then threatened him with a soapy pan and tasked him
with a list of chores to keep him out of her way until Vernon and Dudley returned home from buying
dinner jackets.

Dobby 1992

Dobby introduces himself to Harry

When he was sent up to his bedroom later that evening for the dinner party, a house-elf named Dobby
waiting on his bed to warn him against returning to Hogwarts. As it meant putting himself in great
danger. He tried to tell Dobby that Hogwarts was his home and where he belonged. The elf then
revealed that he prevented the direct deliverance of the mail from Harry's friends and promised to give
the letters back when Harry complied to the warning.

This bargain failed as well, so Dobby crashed the dinner party downstairs via a Hover Charm on Petunia's
homemade masterpiece of pudding, which splattered everywhere when the spell was lifted, and
disappeared. The mess left behind was thus blamed on Harry, who received an official warning from the
Ministry of Magic about using magic outside school. The Dursleys taking advantage of this incident and
using it as a means to suppress the magical blood in their nephew, locked him in his room with bars on
his window to prevent him from returning to Hogwarts as punishment.

Harry escaping privet drive

Fred, George, and Ron rescue Harry from the Dursleys with the use of a Flying Ford Anglia

Three nights later, Harry was rescued from his imprisonment by Ron, who was worried about not
hearing from him all summer and flew with his older brothers Fred and George Weasley in a flying Ford
Anglia belonging to their father Arthur Weasley, the Head of the Ministry's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts
Office, to break off the bars on Harry's window and help him retrieve his school things. Hedwig's
screeches soon alerted the Dursleys of the getaway, but they were unable to do anything as the car flew
off with Harry in tow. During the flight to the Weasley family's home the Burrow, Harry told Ron and the
twins about Dobby's warning, which Fred and George concluded must have been part of a joke from
Draco Malfoy, whose family was of great wealth.

They arrived at their destination early the next morning to find a worried-sick Molly Weasley waiting in
the kitchen to punish her three sons for taking the vehicle without permission by having them and Harry
(who volunteered) de-gnome the garden. Mr Weasley came home to discuss the results of his proposed
Muggle Protection Act to the Ministry with his family, and was glad to meet Harry once introduced to
him despite his wife berating him for bewitching their car. As a generous measure, the Weasleys
welcomed the young wizard into the family fold for the rest of the summer, though this made Ron's
younger sister Ginny Weasley spend the entire day hiding in Harry's presence.

Welcoming at Flourish and Blotts

Ron Weasley: "Where did you come out?"

Harry: "Knockturn Alley."

Weasley twins: "Excellent!"

— Harry's Floo mishap lands him in Borgin and Burkes[src]

Harry-potter2-borgin & burkes

Harry in Knockturn Alley inside Borgin and Burkes

When a Hogwarts acceptance letter for Ginny arrived a week later, the Weasleys set out for Diagon Alley
using the Floo Network eight days afterwards to buy some school supplies. Harry ended up at Borgin
and Burkes in the adjacent Knockturn Alley. While inside the shop he was forced to hide in a Crushing
Cabinet, as Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius Malfoy entered. Draco made many sulky remarks
regarding Harry's talent in Quidditch.

The shopkeeper, Mr Borgin was surprised that Mr Malfoy was only selling dark and illegally enchanted
artefacts and not buying. Mr Malfoy was sealing the items before they could be confiscated by the raids
on wizarding households Mr Weasley was conducting as part of the Muggle Protection Act, Borgin
expressed pity to the current decline of blood purity. Draco, on the other hand, interest in a few of the
items already on sale, including the Hand of Glory and a cursed opal necklace, and was stopped from
approaching Harry's hiding place by his father.

Harry-potter2-lockhart

Gilderoy Lockhart embarrasses Harry while in Flourish and Blotts

Soon as the Malfoys left, Harry was found leaving the shop himself by Rubeus Hagrid, who brought him
out of Knockturn and into Diagon Ally's Flourish and Blotts, where the Weasleys were in line with
Hermione and her parents for a book signing for the arrival of flamboyant but incompetent celebrity
author Gilderoy Lockhart, who was recently appointed Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts
professor. When Lockhart saw Harry for the first time, he got excited and beckoned him up to the front,
allowing the audience to take pictures of them together before giving Harry a set of his books.

Harry was too embarrassed by this publicity stunt, and gave the books to Ginny since he could afford a
set of his own. Draco went over to congratulate him for being unable to avoid making the front page
when walking into a bookstore, but then his father moved him aside to have a one-on-one argument
with Mr Weasley over the latter's obsession with Muggles (finding an example of which in Hermione's
parents, both Muggle dentists), provoking Weasley into lunging at him. Hagrid broke up the fight just in
time, but not before the senior Malfoy slipped a diary into Ginny's cauldron of school books.

Car flight alongside the Hogwarts Express

"Brilliant! Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking
about that one for years —"
—The impressed inhabitants of Gryffindor Tower[src]

Tumblr n2nhei5qmj1qew2ypo2 250

Harry and Ron Weasley crossing the magical barrier to Platform 9¾ only to find it blocked

When Harry and Ron tried to get onto Platform 9¾ to join Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys, the
barrier mysteriously sealed and they hit the wall. They missed the Hogwarts Express as a result, and
decided to fly the car to Hogwarts, reasoning that they would not be seen due to the Invisibility Booster
that Mr Weasley installed. However, the booster failed shortly after takeoff, and the car was spotted by
several Muggles as they flew northward alongside the train.

Their day-long flight ended with them crashing into the Whomping Willow, instead of with the graceful
landing they imagined. Ron's wand was inadvertently broken by the resulting impact as the gigantic tree
started pounding the in anger of being hit, but luckily for them, the battered Angila broke free from the
branches to eject Harry and Ron out of the front seat with their belongings before driving off into the
Forbidden Forest. Both boys were found by Professor Snape watching the Sorting ceremony from the
window. They were taken to his office, where they were given separate detentions by Albus
Dumbledore and professor Minerva McGonagall. Ginny, meanwhile, was sorted into Gryffindor.

B2C7M2 Harry replying to Lockhart's fan mail

Harry helping Lockhart answer fan-mail as detention, before he hears the voice inside the walls

The next day at breakfast, Ron received a Howler from his mother, who told him that he would be
brought home if he broke another rule. The day only got worse when the Gryffindors attended their first
Defence against the Dark Arts class. Lockhart's teaching was a disaster, since the first thing he did was
give them a pop quiz on himself and claimed the answers could be found in his books. He then let a cage
of "freshly caught" Cornish Pixies loose and struggled to round them up, but ran to hide from them
leaving his young pupils to save the day.

As the DADA lessons continued, Harry found himself having to act out scenes from Lockhart's books as
he read them in class. Lockhart was in love with fame and kept bothering Harry, who had to help him
answer his fan-mail while Ron had to polish the school's prizes and trophies. But he was not the only
one who paid him extra attention: Many first years Gryffindors like Colin Creevey were star-struck by
Harry, and Ginny had a huge crush on him that developed over the summer since she first saw the
famous Potter on Platform 9¾ at the start and end of his first year. After hours of tedious work, Harry
heard a disembodied, sinister voice, which Lockhart was unable to hear.
Death-day Party

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware."

—A grim message from the Heir of Slytherin[src]

Writting on the wall

The writing on the wall and the petrified form of Mrs Norris

In return for distracting Argus Filch just when he was about to give Harry severe punishment for
something he did not do, Harry promised he would attend Nearly Headless Nick's Death-day Party on
Hallowe'en. He did this as a favour in order to help boost Nick's reputation, so that he might achieve his
desire of joining the Headless Hunt. He brought Ron and Hermione along, as well. Hermione was excited
at the prospect of attending the event, as most living beings have not been to a Death-day Party. Ron on
the other hand was not excited at attending the event.

Deathday Party Pottermore

The trio attended Sir Nicolas's Death-day Party

The event was dismal and dreary. The party entailed a candlelit dinner of rancid, mouldy food, the smell
of which caused all three to gag. Harry knew the reason for this was the claim that a ghost can "almost
taste" seriously spoiled food. Sir Nicolas was deeply touched that the three students put in an
appearance, in part because it gave him a certain status in the eyes of his fellow deceased. But the three
of them quickly grew tired of the ghostly party and returned to the Great Hall. Before they got to the
Hallowe'en feast, Harry heard the voice (which Ron and Hermione also could not hear). He followed it to
the second floor where he found the bathroom flooded and Mrs Norris, Filch's cat, petrified — coupled
with a message on the wall.

Filch became distraught and threatened Harry, as he mistakenly believed Harry to be the culprit. Filch
and Snape then tried to get Harry in trouble for this, but Dumbledore said that it was powerful dark
magic that no second year student could perform. They decided that Sprout's mandrakes would be
used, once they were mature enough, to create a draught capable of reviving Mrs Norris. This occurance
left the students and staff with a sense of dread and worry, as many believed that the writing on the
wall was just the beginning

History of Magic

Hermione Granger: "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"
Cuthbert Binns: "The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the
other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that
none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able
to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who
were unworthy to study magic."

— The legend of the Chamber of Secrets[src]

B2C9M1 Cuthbert Binns on the Chamber of Secrets

Professor Binns tells his students the legend of the Chamber of Secrets

Hermione wanted to research the Chamber of Secrets, so she talked History of Magic Professor Cuthbert
Binns into telling the class about its origin. To begin the story, Binns explained that it all started with the
founding of Hogwarts itself around 990 A.D., at the hands of two of the greatest wizards and two of the
greatest witches of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar
Slytherin. But Slytherin got into an argument with the other founders about whether Muggle-borns
should be admitted and, when the rift grew too large between him and Gryffindor, he left the school.
According to legend, he built a going-away present to the school in the form of a secret chamber that
could only be opened by his true heir. This "Chamber of Secrets" allegedly contained a monster that,
once released, would purge the school of all Muggle-borns. Professor Binns unsuccessfully tried to
assure the class that the Chamber did not actually exist and that the school had been searched many
times in vain.

Harry, Ron and Hermione decided that the heir was probably Draco Malfoy. To try to prove it, Hermione
proposed to use the Polyjuice Potion, which can change one's appearance into somebody else's for an
hour. Hermione warned that the potion would take a month to brew, supposing they gathered all the
necessary ingredients (one of which could only be found in Professor Snape's private inventory) and
managed to keep it a secret.

Quidditch

Harry: "So there is a Chamber of Secrets? And did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby!"

Dobby: "Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby. Dark deeds are planned in this place, but
Harry Potter must not be here when they happen — go home, Harry Potter, go home. Harry Potter must
not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous —"

— A midnight visitor and a serious conversation about the Chamber of Secrets[src]

QuiddithAnimation

Harry playing against Draco Malfoy in the opening match of the season
During the month that it took the Polyjuice Potion to brew, a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and
Slytherin took place. Draco Malfoy had been made Slytherin's new Seeker, on the merit of his father's
generous contribution to the team: a set of Nimbus 2001 brooms. During the match one of the Bludgers
took after Harry and focused completely on him. Malfoy lost no time in making fun of the manoeuvres
Harry had to preform in order to avoid the Bludger. Since Bludgers were supposed to attack each and
every player, the crowd soon realised that this Bludger had been tampered with. Harry still managed to
catch the Snitch and Gryffindor won. He caught it right out from under Malfoy's nose, who was more
focused on taunting Harry then looking for the Snitch. However, the Bludger broke his arm and Lockhart
in his attempt to fix it removed all of the bones instead. Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a potion called
Skele-Gro, to counter this and he was forced to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight.

Harry-potter-and-dobby-gallery

Dobby and Harry in the hospital wing, after Harry injured his right arm during a Quidditch match

During that night, Dobby visited Harry and revealed that it was he who made the Bludger chase after
Harry, and was also responsible for the barrier of platform 9¾ not letting him in. Dobby did this in hopes
of Harry leaving or never arriving at Hogwarts. This was a misguided attempt to protect Harry from the
monter inside the chamber. Dobby proceeded to ask Harry to leave the school, something he refused to
do. He also revealed that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before and immediately punished
himself, as he was not supposed to reveal anything. After Dobby disappeared, Dumbledore, McGonagall,
and Madam Pomfrey entered with Colin Creevey, who had apparently been petrified. He was found with
a camera containing film that had been burnt to the melting point.

Duelling Club

Draco Malfoy: "Scared Potter?"

Harry: "You wish!"

— Harry prepares to enter a practise duel with Malfoy[src]

Duel harry draco

Meeting of the Duelling club, where Harry and Draco participate in a practise duel

Harry signed up for a Duelling Club, which was (to Harry's great displeasure) taught by his two least
favourite teachers: Lockhart and Snape. The event was scheduled to take place in the Great Hall. During
the club's first meeting Lockhart demonstrated an ineptitude. He was successfully disarmed by Snape
and floundered throughout the entire practise duel. Also during a practise battle in the first meeting,
Draco Malfoy conjured a snake to attack Harry. Malfoy conjured this snake via instructions from Snape.
Lockhart tried to banish it, but all he managed was to set it loose on the students.
Harry saw that the snake was rapidly advancing on a Muggle-born student and Hufflepuff named Justin
Finch-Fletchley (who had introduced himself to Harry before this incident) and instinctively told it to
stop, which — to Harry's great surprise — it did. The others students were less than ecstatic about this
development, however. All they saw was Harry speaking Parseltongue, the language of snakes and
became afraid. Since they could not understand it, it seemed to them that he was egging the snake on. It
turned out that Parseltongue was a very rare gift that was closely associated with Salazar Slytherin. This
was something Slytherin was famous for, hence why the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent. Due to
this, Harry became the number one suspect among students for being the heir of Slytherin. Hermione
even told him that since Salazar Slytherin lived so long ago, he might actually be.

Chamber-of-secrets-fawkes

Harry meets Fawkes for the first time after finding a petrified Justin

Seconds after leaving a conversation with Hagrid, Harry ran into a petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and a
black, smoking Nearly-Headless Nick. Peeves alerted the whole school, and a Hufflepuff called Ernie
Macmillan claimed that Harry had been caught red-handed. For the first time, Harry was taken to
Dumbledore's office, and there he witnessed Fawkes — Dumbledore's phoenix — bursting into ashes
and being reborn. Dumbledore says that he did not believe Harry to be behind the attacks, a belief
reinforced by Hagrid backing Harry's alibi, but a large portion of the school was sure that Harry was
Slytherin's heir.

Disguised as Slytherins

Hermione Granger: "There might be a way. Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very
dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect… What we’d need to do is to get inside
the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realising it’s us."

Harry Potter: "But that’s impossible."

Hermione Granger: "No, it’s not. All we’d need would be some Polyjuice Potion..."

— Trio planning to expose the Heir of Slytherin[src]

HarryRonHermione PolyjuicePotionMyrtlesBathroom

Trio brewing Polyjuice Potion in an attempt to gain information from Draco Malfoy, disguised as
Slytherins

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all signed up to remain at the school during Christmas, since Malfoy, Crabbe,
and Goyle had done so as well. This gave them the perfect opportunity to use their Polyjuice potion.
When Christmas arrived they drugged Crabbe and Goyle via chocolate cakes, took their hairs and
assumed their forms. Hermione tried to use a hair she thought belonged to Millicent Bulstrode, but it
was actually her cat's and Hermione was transformed into a hybrid. Hermione was forced to spend a
few weeks in the Hospital Wing. As Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Ron interrogated an unsuspecting
Malfoy and discovered that Draco was not the Heir of Slytherin. They also heard that the last time the
chamber was opened, a Muggle-born girl died and whoever was responsible was expelled. Malfoy also
mentioned his father's secret stash of illegal artefacts.

Harry-Potter-and-the-Chamber-of-Secrets-2002-books-male-characters-29996396-500-375

The trio discuss possible theories behind Tom Riddle's mysterious diary

Weeks later, Ron and Harry overheard Argus Filch complaining about his workload and leaving. They
arrive at Myrtle Warren's bathroom to find it flooded. Myrtle, a sulking ghost, explained that she had
flooded it because somebody threw a diary at her. Harry picked it up; it turned out to have belonged to
a T.M. Riddle and appeared to be completely blank. Ron remembered from his detention that Riddle
had won an award for special service to the school fifty years before. Hermione deduced that since this
coincided with the last time the Chamber was opened, Tom Riddle might have received his prize for
catching whoever was responsible for the attacks back then. Even though all attempts to extract
information from the diary failed, Harry felt a strange compulsion to keep it.

On Valentine's Day, Ron and Harry were dismayed to find out Lockhart had spread dwarves dressed as
cupids throughout the school to receive and deliver Valentines. One cupid-dwarf managed to deliver
one to Harry. While struggling to avoid him, the embarrassed Harry tripped and fell, spilling ink all over
the contents of his bag. Ginny noticed the diary and assumed a horrified expression.

The Secret Diary

"Harry saw at once that it was a diary, and the faded year on the cover told him it was fifty years old. He
opened it eagerly. On the first page he could just make out the name "T M. Riddle" in smudged ink."

—Harry comes across the diary of Tom Riddle[src]

Harry-potter2-movie-screencaps.com-12239

Diary Riddle showing Harry a selected memory of his

Later, Harry realised that even though ink was spilled all over the diary, it was not stained at all. He tried
writing to the diary and, to his surprise, the diary — or rather T.M. Riddle — began to write back. Riddle
explained that he was the one who caught the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets the last time,
and he could show Harry what happened. Harry agreed and got sucked into a "recording" of Riddle's
memory.

Harry witnessed the school's previous headmaster, Armando Dippet, informing Riddle that the school
would be closed and Riddle, apprehensive of this, catching Rubeus Hagrid fiddling with a large spider in
a box. Riddle reported Hagrid to Dippet. During the memory, Harry also learned that Riddle was an
orphan that did not want to go back to the orphanage, and his full name was Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Having seen this, Harry wondered whether Hagrid was the one who opened the Chamber fifty years
before and whether he was responsible this time. This was exactly what Riddle wanted.

Harry-potter2-movie-dorm

Harry possessions are ransacked by a fellow Gryffindor in search of Tom Riddle's diary

Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided not to ask Hagrid about it, hoping that the attacks had stopped —
and indeed, almost four months after the attack on Justin and Nearly-Headless Nick, the disembodied
voice kept quiet and the attacks seemed to have ceased. However, odd things keep happening: Harry
returned to his dormitory one day to find it a mess. Ron deduced that somebody had been looking for
something, and Harry eventually noticed that Tom Riddle's diary was gone. This greatly befuddled them,
seeing as only a Gryffindor could know the password to enter the dormitory.

Cornelius Fudge

Hagrid: "If anybody was looking for some stuff, then all they'd have to do would be to follow the spiders.
Yep. That would leave them right. That's all I have to say."

Harry: "You heard what Hagrid said. Follow the spiders."

Ron Weasley: "They're heading to the Dark Forest?"

— Hagrid's clue before he is taken to Azkaban[src]

The next day, the scheduled Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was cancelled due to
yet another attack and Harry heard the voice again. This time, Minerva McGonagall called for Harry and
Ron personally, and led them to the Hospital Wing, where they saw Hermione petrified. She was found
near the library with a Ravenclaw prefect, inexplicably holding a small, circular mirror. This removed
Harry as a suspect in the eyes of many of the students, as they knew he would never harm Hermione.
Some students even offered him an apology, such as Ernie Macmillan.

Cloak of Invisibility 1992

Harry and Ron visit Hagrid right before he is taken to Azkaban

Harry and Ron decided they now must talk to Hagrid. With the now constant supervision on students,
this was not easy, but they managed to do it by using Harry's Invisibility cloak. When they reach Hagrid's
cabin, Harry and Ron managed to hide just before Dumbledore and Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge
arrived at the scene. Fudge announced that Hagrid, who to the best of his knowledge opened the
Chamber of Secrets the last time, would be sent to wizard prison Azkaban as a precaution. They were
shortly joined by Lucius Malfoy, who declared that he and the other Hogwarts governors unanimously
voted to suspend Dumbledore, despite the obvious logic that this would only worsen the situation. Both
Hagrid and Dumbledore gave last words, but Hagrid covertly suggested to Harry and Ron that if they
want the truth, they should "follow the spiders", and Dumbledore said that he would only truly have left
the school when none there remained loyal to him. He also stressed that if anybody at Hogwarts needed
help, it would always be available.

Visit to Aragog's lair

Aragog: "The thing that lives in the castle is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others."

Harry: "What is it?"

Aragog: "We do not speak of it! We do not name it!"

— Discussion of the monster within the chamber[src]

Harry-potter2-movie-spider aragog

Harry and Ron follow the spiders, which lead them to Aragog

Harry and Ron decided to follow the spiders as per Hagrid's advice. Walking along the trails of the
spiders, which were strangely all fleeing Hogwarts, take them into the Forbidden Forest. Even though
Ron was deeply arachnophobic, the fact that Hermione had been petrified and that they may be able to
help through this investigation gave him the willpower to go along anyway. There, they encountered the
Ford Anglia, which had apparently taken to driving through the forest like some sort of wild animal. They
eventually meet Aragog, a giant spider which had been the monster Hagrid had been "caught" setting
on other students fifty years ago. Aragog explained that Hagrid was innocent, but rather than letting
Harry and Ron go, he decided to leave them as dinner for his children. Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia came
blasting through the layers of spiders, however, and assisted the boys' escape.

After this, Harry and Ron felt that they had reached dead ends everywhere, until one possible last hope
occurred to them. Aragog said the monster's last victim died in a bathroom, and it occurred to Harry
that Myrtle Warren might have been that victim. Of course, with the school under such security, it
would be almost impossible to sneak in the girls' bathroom near where the first attack occurred.

The last attack

"HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER"

—The final message on the wall[src]

Petrification

Hermione Granger and the other petrified students being visited by Harry and Ron

Later that same day, Harry and Ron managed to trick Lockhart — who was leading them to their next
class — into letting them go by stroking his ego. Just as they patted themselves on the back, they were
caught by Professor McGonagall, and Harry had to make up an excuse — they were going to see
Hermione in the Hospital Wing, where visitors were now barred. They now had to go along to make
their story appear convincing, but rather than simply hanging around Hermione's petrified form, this
time Harry noticed a piece of paper tightly clutched in her hand.

This piece of paper revealed what Hermione had found out before she was attacked. She discovered,
based on strong circumstantial evidence, that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a Basilisk (a
giant slithering serpent capable of feeding on human and animal aura to cause petrifaction and death to
anyone near it via direct eye contact), which explained why only Harry could hear it. But none of its
victims died because they didn't look at its gaze directly: Colin Creevey saw it through his camera, Justin
Finch-Fletchley saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick (who was already dead), Mrs Norris saw its
reflection in the waters from the flooded bathroom, and Hermione used a mirror to look around corners
after figuring things out. There was also a note about how spiders feared the Basilisk (which explained
them fleeing Hogwarts) and the rooster's call being potentially fatal to it (which explains Hagrid's
roosters having been mysteriously killed during the year). This summed up the years events.

BzGnO

The message written on the wall after Ginevra Weasley is taken into the Chamber of Secrets

On the note was also scribbled a single word, "pipes", which meant that the serpent moved around
through the plumbing. Having solved the mystery, Harry and Ron decided to go to the staff room and
report to the teachers. When they got there, they overheard the teachers talking about another attack
having occurred. Harry and Ron decided to hide to hear more details, and learning that Ginny had been
kidnapped and the heir of Slytherin had left another message under the previous one: Harry and Ron
also heard that Hogwarts would be closed the following day. The teachers then forced Lockhart to deal
with the monster, as he had been claiming he could handle whatever was responsible for the attacks,
irritating the rest of the staff to no end. Looking very crestfallen, he left for his room.

Discovery in the bathroom

Moaning Myrtle: "I died in this very stall. I remember it so well... The door was locked, and I was crying,
and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must
have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell
him to go and use his own toilet, and then — I died."

Harry: "How?"

Moaning Myrtle: "No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes."

— Myrtle's death after she meet the deadly gaze of Slytherin's basilisk[src]

That night, Harry and Ron felt utterly useless and helpless, until it occurred to Harry that if the serpent
used the plumbing to get around and the last time the chamber was opened a girl died, then the
chamber entrance must be in the bathroom Myrtle Warren haunted. Harry and Ron decided that if
Lockhart was going to deal with the monster they might as well tell him what they knew. They went to
his room, only to find him frantically packing, having decided to run away. When questioned on why
such a talented wizard as himself was leaving, Lockhart admitted that he was a fraud and that he put
Memory Charms on the people who really did the things that he claimed to have done in his books.

Harry-potter2-chamber entrance

Harry, Ron, and Lockhart discover the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets

He then attempted to put a memory charm on Harry and Ron as well. They managed to disarm him and
under wand threats took him to Myrtle Warren's bathroom. Harry then asked Moaning Myrtle about her
death, which she happily explained. She stated that the last thing she saw was a pair of enormous eyes
by one of the sinks. This sink incidentally had a tap that had never worked. Harry came to the conclusion
that the tap can only be opened by the use of Parseltongue. He found a snake carved on the tap and
then opened the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

B2C16M3 Snake entrance to the Chamber of Secrets

The entrance into the main section of the chamber

Harry, Ron, and Lockhart slid down a large pipe and found themselves in maze-like tunnels far under the
school. Down there, they encountered a snake skin left by the basilisk. Just then, Lockhart feigned
fainting and stole Ron's wand. Victoriously proclaiming that he would erase Harry and Ron's memories
and tell everybody they lost their sanity at the sight of Ginny's mangled body, Lockhart attempted a
spell. Ron's broken wand caused the charm to backfire, erasing Lockhart's memory and causing a
portion of the ceiling to cave in. This trapped Harry in the direction of the chamber and Ron in the
direction of the castle. Ron had no choice but to stay behind and clear a path through the rocks while
Harry continued in search of Ginny. Harry then encountered a wall with stone snakes on it, opened it by
speaking Parseltongue, and enters the Chamber itself.
The Chamber of Secrets

Main article: Skirmish in the Chamber of Secrets

Harry: "Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time..."

Tom Riddle: "Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..."

— Tom Riddle reveals that he is in fact Lord Voldemort[src]

B2C16M3 Chamber of Secrets revealed

Harry in the entrance chamber of the Chamber of Secrets

Inside, he found Ginny lying on the ground, pale and cold. He dropped his wand and ran to her, trying to
get a response from her, but to no avail. He then saw Tom Riddle smiling at him and holding Harry's
wand. Riddle explained his presence in the present by revealing he was a memory, which had been
preserved in his diary for fifty years.

He then explained what had happened. Riddle had opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago and
planned to purge the school of Muggle-borns and half-bloods; however, when he learned that the
school was going to close down due to the attacks and that Dumbledore (then the Transfiguration
teacher) was keeping a closer and closer watch on him, he had no choice but to cease the attacks and
frame Hagrid for doing it. Not wanting to waste all the years he spent on figuring out where the
chamber was and how to get to it, he left behind a diary containing the memory of his sixteen-year-old
self in hopes that it would, one day, fall into the hands of an unsuspecting victim who would help him
finish his work.

B2C17M1 Harry Ginny Tom Chamber of Secrets

Harry and an unconscious Ginny in the main chamber, with Riddle watching

Ginny had been writing in the diary all year. Riddle had written back sympathetically and Ginny grew to
confess her fears, hopes and feelings to him. She essentially poured some of her soul into him, which
was exactly what he wanted. He gradually grew more powerful and eventually managed to pour some
of his soul back into her, possessing her and using her body to open the chamber and launch the new
series of attacks. However, eventually Ginny became suspicious of the diary and decided to get rid of it
by flushing it down the toilet in Myrtle Warren's bathroom. This is when Harry found it. When Ginny saw
Harry with the diary on Valentine's Day, she panicked and worried that Riddle had told all of her secrets
to Harry, so she stole it back from Harry's dormitory. It began taking control of her again, but this time
with the intention of killing Harry, so he had Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down to
wait, luring Harry to the rescue and, consequently, his doom.
I am Lord Voldemort

I am Lord Voldemort

Riddle then asked how Harry managed to defeat the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort as a mere baby. Harry
asks Riddle why he cares, as Voldemort existed after his time. Riddle replies that Voldemort was his
"past, present and future." He then wrote his name in the air with Harry's wand: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
Riddle then waved the wand and the letters rearrange themselves into I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
Needless to say, this meant Riddle grew up to become Lord Voldemort. Riddle then revealed he was, in
fact, a half-blood, and his mother had named him Tom after his Muggle father and Marvolo after his
wizard grandfather, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He scrambled his "filthy Muggle father's name" to
create a new one, which he knew people would fear when he became the most powerful wizard in the
world.

Battling the Basilisk

"Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter."

—Tom Riddle unleashes the basilisk[src]

Harry retorted that he must be mistaken, because the greatest wizard in the world, as everybody knew,
was not Voldemort but Dumbledore. Even when Voldemort was at the peak of his power, he was afraid
of Dumbledore, and now he was barely alive. Riddle angrily answered that Dumbledore had been driven
out the castle by the mere memory of him. Harry yelled that Dumbledore was not as gone as Riddle
seemed to believe. In this display of loyalty, he summoned Fawkes the phoenix to him, who also brought
with him the Sorting Hat, both assets that Riddle deems extremely useless.

COS piercing through Serpent of Slytherin

Harry slays Slytherin's basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor

Riddle then summoned the basilisk and commanded it to kill Harry. However, Fawkes was not as
defenceless as one might initially think, and pecked out the basilisk's eyes, thus preventing its gaze from
killing. The basilisk could still smell Harry, however, and remained very dangerous; Harry, in desperation,
put on the Sorting Hat, wishing against hope for help. Instead of an answer, Harry had a heavy sword
with a hilt embedded with rubies fall on his head from inside the hat. After several missed strikes from
the blinded basilisk, Harry plunged the sword into the roof of its mouth, killing it. However, one of its
poisonous fangs sank into his arm, injecting a deadly poison. While Riddle gloated over his "win",
Fawkes proceeded to cry on the wound and Harry was instantly cured.

HarryPotter PM B2C17M3 HarryStabbingDiaryWithBasiliskFang Moment

Harry stabbing Tom Riddle's diary with a Basilisk fang (unknowingly destroying one of Voldemort's
Horcruxes)

Harry then stabbed the diary three times with the Basilisk fang to rid himself of Riddle, unknowingly
destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes in the process. Riddle's manifestation exploded, therefore
foiling his attempt to come back to life. Ink began pouring out of the book and the memory of Riddle
faded out of existence; Ginny immediately stirred and woke up, quite distraught. Harry and Ginny
travelled back through the Chamber to find Ron and Lockhart, who had no idea of who or where he was.

Escaping the chamber

Ron Weasley: "He looks like he wants you to grab hold... But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up
there —"

Harry: "Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird."

— Harry and others escape the chamber with the aid of Fawkes[src]

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart grabbed onto Fawkes and flew out of the Chamber (another phoenix
specialty). They returned to the castle to find Dumbledore, McGonagall, Arthur and Molly Weasley, who
were delighted to see them alive. Harry worried that Ginny would get blamed for being the person
behind the attacks, but to his great relief Dumbledore rightly deduced that Voldemort was the culprit.
After Ginny left to get a much-needed rest, Harry and Ron both received 200 house points each for
Gryffindor and both got an Award for Special Services to the school. Dumbledore then gave Ron Hagrid's
release paper for him to mail and then spoke with Harry alone.

B2C18M1 Sword of Gryffindor engraving

Harry and Dumbledore talk after Harry slayed the Basilisk in the chamber

Harry expressed his concern that he belonged in Slytherin. Dumbledore revealed that Voldemort
transferred some of his powers to Harry when he gave him his scar, explaining his ability to speak
Parseltongue. He asked Harry why he thought the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor if he had so many
Slytherin qualities, and Harry admitted that the only reason it did was because he had asked it to.
Dumbledore confirmed this and told Harry that "it is our choices, rather than our abilities, that reveal
who we truly are". He also commends Harry for showing him real loyalty in the Chamber, for only that
could've called Fawkes to his aid. He pointed out to the sword Harry had drawn out of the hat - Harry
now noticed it had Godric Gryffindor's name on it. Dumbledore said that only a true Gryffindor would be
able to draw it out.

Dobby's reward

Lucius Malfoy: "You lost me my servant!"

Dobby: "You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

— Dobby defends Harry after the latter frees him from servitude[src]

Lucius Malfoy barged into Dumbledore's office, outraged that Dumbledore had returned to the school
after being dismissed. Dumbledore calmly responded that the governors had asked him to return once
they heard that Arthur Weasley's daughter was attacked. Apparently they had been blackmailed by
Lucius to vote for Dumbledore's dismissal in the first place on pain of Lucius cursing their families. Dobby
followed Lucius into the room, thus showing that his masters were the Malfoys.

Chamber-of-secrets-lucius harry

Dumbledore and Malfoy had a calm and venomous interchange (respectively), during which
Dumbledore and Harry (with the help of Dobby's unspoken hints) essentially exposed Lucius sneaking
Riddle's diary (one of his illegal artefacts) into Ginny's school things during the fight with Arthur at
Flourish and Blotts. This was supposed to frame Ginny for the attacks, with heavy implications on the
Muggle Protection Act Arthur Weasley had been suggesting. Malfoy dared Dumbledore to prove his
accusation, and while the Headmaster has insufficient evidence to do that, he cautioned Malfoy against
orchestrating further such plots.

Knowing that a master could release his house-elf by giving them some clothes, Harry tricked Malfoy
into freeing Dobby by giving Malfoy one of his own socks, which he promptly threw away, and was
caught by Dobby. Malfoy, after discovering Harry's trick, attempted to kill Harry, only to be stopped by
Dobby. Dobby thanked Harry dearly for freeing him and left. At the ending feast, Dumbledore
announced his school treat of cancelling all final exams (much to Hermione's dismay) and that Lockhart
would not return to Hogwarts.

Third year

"He was their friend... and he betrayed them. HE WAS THEIR FRIEND! I hope he finds me, because when
he does, I'm gonna be ready! When he does, I'm gonna kill him!"

—Harry believing Sirius Black to be the man who betrayed his parents[src]

The smallest bedroom

Harry in his bedroom reading a Daily Prophet article

Harry's third year in 1993 started out almost as bad as the year prior, and gradually got depressing.
Throughout the preceding summer, the Dursleys became fearful of his magical abilities getting exposed
that they banned him from talking to the neighbours immediately after his return home to them. They
even went as far as punishing him for giving their phone number to his friends, as evident to Harry
getting reprimanded by Uncle Vernon when the latter received a call from Ron. This, however, did not
stop Harry from studying magic every night by sneaking his school supplies and hiding them in his room
one night while Aunt Petunia and Dudley were out admiring Vernon's new company car. Furthermore,
he had little contact with his friends nor any news from the wizarding world since the phone incident,
but Hedwig was allowed out of her padlocked cage because the Dursleys could no longer take the noise
she made in boredom.

On 31 July (Harry's thirteenth birthday), which might have made the Dursleys forget about his birthday,
for they were too busy preparing for a visit from Aunt Marge. The sight of a copy of the Daily Prophet
among the mail from Errol interested Harry, as it said that Ron had returned from a trip to Egypt to visit
his oldest brother Bill Weasley (a Curse-Breaker of Gringotts) for which Arthur Weasley paid using seven
hundred galleons he won in the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. The article also showcased a
picture of the Weasleys standing in front of a pyramid. It was there that Ron bought Harry the most
fascinating present: a Sneakoscope, which was sold for tourists. He also revived birthday presents from
Hermione and Hagrid as well.

Marge starts to inflate

A enraged Harry inflates Marge Dursley

When his Hogsmeade permission form was delivered, Harry was worried of the trouble he'll probably go
through in order to persuade his aunt or uncle to sign it. They agreed to do so the next morning, but
only if he behaved during Marge's visit. However, Marge began insulting the memory of Harry's mother
at the dinner table three days later, describing her as a "bad egg" who ran off with a "scoundrel" and left
the Dursleys with Harry as the "result in front of them". Harry lost his temper to this, inadvertently
making Marge's wine glass explode. The insults transitioned to his father on the final day of her visit,
making him very upset to such extent that he ended up losing all control of his magic powers and
accidentally inflated her, possibly with an Engorgement Charm. Vernon ordered his nephew to put
Marge back the way she was, but Harry said no and instead packed up his school things and left the
house. He fled out of fear of being expelled from Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic, for using underage
magic outside school, something he had already been warned about.

Later that night, Harry was picked up off the curb of Magnolia Crescent by the triple-decker wizard
transport the Knight Bus, which was sent to drive him as two members of the Ministry's Accidental
Magic Reversal Squad were dispatched to deflate and Obliviate Marge. During the ride to the Leaky
Cauldron, the bus' conductor Stan Shunpike gave him a copy of the Daily Prophet with its front page
story being about the Ministry's continuing struggle to recapture Sirius Black, a convicted Voldemort
supporter who recently escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban (the first person ever to have done so)
after spending twelve years there for the mass-murder of thirteen people with a single Blasting Curse.

Harry-potter4-movie-screencaps.com-1579

Minister Cornelius Fudge personally sees that Harry is safe

They arrived at their destination to find a relieved-looking Cornelius Fudge waiting at the restaurant
door to welcome Harry in for a meeting. To Harry's relief though, the Minister for Magic took no action
against him since accidental uses of magic did not count as a violation to the Decree for the Reasonable
Restriction of Underage Sorcery, but described the choice of running away as very irresponsible despite
it putting the Ministry in a right flap. As a generous measure, Fudge booked the young wizard a room in
the Leaky Cauldron Inn for the rest of the summer, though this made something about Fudge's tone
spike Harry's suspicion.

Stay at the Leaky Cauldron

Molly Weasley: "But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry."

Arthur Weasley: "The guards told Fudge that Blacks been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the
same words: 'He's at Hogwarts... he's at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead."

— Harry finds out that Sirius Black supposedly wants him dead[src]

When finished with his exploration of Diagon Alley for school supplies three weeks later, Harry found
Ron and Hermione looking all over for him at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour four days afterwards
while the Weasleys were booking a room at the inn. They already heard of his inflation of Marge, and
while Ron thought it funny, Hermione was amazed to learn that Harry was not expelled and wondered
why Fudge really let him off the hook. Ron, however, was more concerned for his pet rat Scabbers, who
was looking very ill since he was brought back from Egypt (possibly due to the stress of the trip), so he
and Harry went over to the Magical Menagerie to buy a bottle of rat tonic for him.

B3C4M2 Magical Menagerie

Crookshanks in Magical Menagerie right before being purchased by Hermione

While in Diagon Alley, Harry found it very interesting to learn from the saleswoman behind the counter
that most rats have an expected life span of three years. He found this odd, since Scabbers originally
belonged to Ron's older brother Percy Weasley. Thus Scabbers lived much longer than Ron could
remember, at least 12 years. As Ron declined the Saleswoman's offer to buy a sleek black rat as a
replacement, a half-Kneazle cat named Crookshanks tried to attack Scabbers, who scurried away to hide
in a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies with his owner and Harry following. Hermione
spent the early birthday money from her parents to buy the tonic and Crookshanks, much to Ron's
displeasure.

Harry-potter4-warning

Arthur Weasley warns Harry of the danger that he is possibly in

When the rat tonic was misplaced somewhere around the Leaky Cauldron salon later that night, Harry
volunteered to search for it there while Ron was busy helping Percy search for his new Head Boy badge
in their room at the inn. But the conversation which a worried Molly Weasley was having with her
husband soon caught his attention, so Harry listened to what they were saying about Sirius Black's
escape, and what connection it had to Harry himself. According to Mr Weasley, when Voldemort met his
downfall, Black lost everything he hoped to gain, but to that day he remained a faithful servant to the
Dark Lord's cause.

The Ministry feared that the killer's motive was to use Harry to return his master to full strength, as
evident to the report from Fudge's inspection of Azkaban saying that Black was repeatedly muttering
"He's at Hogwarts" in his sleep. This shook Harry a little to the realisation that Fudge let him go because
he was relieved to see Harry all right after running away. Though he was convinced that Hogwarts was a
a safe haven because of the presence of Albus Dumbledore, the senior Weasleys agreed that Black could
break into the school if he could break out of his Azkaban.

Delay on the Hogwarts Express

"Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that
towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward,
and what he saw made his stomach contract... And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was,
drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its
surroundings. An intense cold swept over them all."

—Harry's first encounter with a guard of Azkaban[src]

Harry vs Dementor

When they got onto Platform 9¾, Mr Weasley moved Harry aside to tell him not to go looking for Black,
but Harry claimed that he would never look for someone who wanted him killed. He, Ron and Hermione
found only one empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express, but had to share with a friend of Harry's
parents, Remus Lupin, who was recently appointed Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts
professor. As Harry told his friends of what he heard about Black coming after him until, the train
stopped almost halfway to Hogwarts, letting one of the Dementors (a gliding wraith capable of feeding
on human happiness to cause depression and madness to anyone near it via mental energy draining)
used as the Azkaban guards aboard to determine if Black himself was hiding on it.

Only Harry and Ginny Weasley were the most affected by the creature (since he had the worst past
involving the night Voldemort killed his parents, and she had the worst experience of being under the
control of the sentient memory within Voldemort's old school diary the year before), and were about to
fall victim to its fatal kiss when Lupin cast a Patronus Charm which drove it away. Harry fainted to the
sound of his mother screaming, but recovered when Lupin gave him a piece of chocolate to feel better
and sent a letter ahead to Professor Minerva McGonagall saying he was ill.
B3C6M3

Harry's first Care of Magical Creatures lessons involving hippogriffs

For one, Hermione was taking nearly twice as many classes, including some taught at the same time.
Rubeus Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures. While Lupin's lessons were enjoyable, Hagrid's soon
become dreary. During the first lesson, Draco Malfoy deliberately provoked the hippogriff Buckbeak into
attacking him. This in turn forced Lucius Malfoy to file a complaint against Hagrid with the Department
for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Meanwhile, tensions grew between Hermione and
Ron over Crookshanks' continuing habit of trying to harm Scabbers.

B3C11M1 Confiscating Firebolt

Harry receives a Firebolt for Christmas that is shortly confiscated by McGonagall

After several Dementors approached Harry during a Quidditch match, causing him to faint and fall off his
broomstick. Albus Dumbledore stopped Harry's fall, but his Nimbus 2000 flew into the Whomping
Willow and was destroyed, much to Harry's dismay. At Christmas, Harry received a new, superb Firebolt
broomstick, although Hermione suspected Black was the anonymous donor. She reported it to Professor
Minerva McGonagall, who confiscated the broom for testing. Harry and Ron were furious with Hermione
and they stopped speaking to her. When the broom was returned some months later, the two boys tried
to make up with her, but it went wrong when Ron discovered Scabbers was missing; Ron blamed
Crookshanks because he found cat hairs and blood on his dormitory floor.

Mauraders Map

Harry: "So this map shows — everyone."

Weasley twins: "Everyone. Where they are — what they're doing — every minute — every day."

Harry: "Brilliant!"

— Fred and George give Harry the Marauder's Map[src]

B3C10M1 Harry next to the One-Eyed Witch

Harry using the map to sneak off to Hogsmeade

Shortly before Christmas, the Weasley twins gave Harry their Marauder's Map, a magical document that
showed every person's location within Hogwarts, what they were doing, and secret passageways in and
out of the castle. Harry used a tunnel to sneak into Hogsmeade village, where he overheard a disturbing
conversation that Sirius Black was his parents' best friend, as well as his godfather and legal guardian.
Black was the Potters' Secret Keeper and he allegedly divulged the Potters' secret whereabouts to Lord
Voldemort and murdered their friend Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve Muggle bystanders. Peter left a
finger to prove that he has been killed with the twelve Muggles.

B3C17M1 Ron dragged away Whomping Willow

Sirius Black captures Ron and drags him to the Whomping Willow

After Harry completed his Divination exam, Professor Trelawney entered a trance and predicted that the
Dark Lord's servant would return to him that night. Harry and Ron finally made peace with Hermione,
but the trio soon learned that Buckbeak would be executed. When they visited Hagrid to console him,
Scabbers appeared, and Ron picked him up. Cornelius Fudge, Albus Dumbledore and the executioner
were making their way to Hagrid's hut, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way out the back
door. As they were walking up the path, they thought they heard Buckbeak executed, when all of a
sudden, Scabbers bit Ron, and Ron chased him to the Whomping Willow. A large dog attacked Ron and
dragged him and Scabbers into a hole at the tree's base. Harry and Hermione followed, finding a tunnel
leading to the Shrieking Shack. Inside, Harry confronted Sirius Black, who, as an unregistered, and
therefore illegal, Animagus, could transform into an animal at will.

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Main article: Encounter at the Shrieking Shack

"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these
twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The
Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight...
before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master."

—Professor Trelawney's second prediction[src]

Shakesiriusharrylupinronhermionewormtail

The trio encounter Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack

Lupin, who spotted the group on the Marauder's Map, suddenly burst in and embraced his old friend
Black. Confronted by Hermione, Lupin admitted to being a werewolf, as well as the Map's creator along
with Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter. Also the latter two were illegal Animagi, a rat and stag
respectively. Lupin and Black explained that Scabbers was actually Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form.
He was Voldemort's servant, and he betrayed the Potters (as Black had switched his position as Secret-
Keeper with Pettigrew), framing Black for the crimes.
Harry was sceptical, until Black and Lupin forced