The Chamber of Secrets was created under the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle during Medieval times by Salazar Slytherin, who disagreed with the other Hogwarts founders on the merits of blood purity. The Chamber of Secrets was home to an ancient Basilisk, which, according to legend, was intended to be used to purge the school of Muggle-born students. The Chamber is flanked with towering pillars entwined with carved snakes (in the films, there are only statues of snakes), and a tall statue of Salazar Slytherin is at the far end.
Entrance
The hidden entrance in the bathroom.
Door to the Chamber of Secrets.
The entrance to the Chamber is at a snake-engraved sink tap in the second-floor girls' lavatory, where a ghost of a girl named Myrtle, more commonly known as Moaning Myrtle can often be found. A corridor may be entered by giving the command of "Open" or "Open up" to a snake engraved on the entrance in Parseltongue. The engraved snake is on a tap over one of the sinks. According to Myrtle, the tap has never worked. A passage will open from the sink that leads to a corridor, which Harry Potter and Ron Weasley opened in 1993 and 1998 respectively.
Corridor of Secrets
Gilderoy Lockhart's memory charm backfires.
This corridor is a passageway leading to the door of the Chamber. In the spring of 1993, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Gilderoy Lockhart found an old, shed Basilisk skin while traveling through the corridor. Lockhart accidentally caused a cave-in when he attempted to use Ron's broken wand to cast a Memory Charm, which exploded instead.
History
Creation
The statue of Salazar Slytherin and the hiding-place of Slytherin's Basilisk.
Salazar Slytherin disagreed with the other Hogwarts founders about the importance of blood purity and the acceptance of Muggle-borns at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As the other Founders were against him in this matter, he left the school. According to legend, before he left, he created a secret chamber deep underground in Hogwarts Castle - known as the Chamber of Secrets. This Chamber was home to a beast - a Basilisk - that was allegedly supposed to purge the school of all Muggle-born students. Only his heir could open his room. Over the centuries after Salazar Slytherin's death, many searches of the school were conducted to find the Chamber. None, however, were successful, and the Chamber was dismissed as a mere legend by many. When the Chamber was opened in 1942 and 1992, it was revealed to be real.
1942-1943 openings
The Basilisk of the Chamber.
The Chamber was opened during the 1942-1943 school year by a young Tom Marvolo Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort. Through his mother, he was the last remaining direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and he desired to see Muggle-borns driven from Hogwarts. In his Fifth year, Riddle located the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and was able to control the Basilisk as he was a Parselmouth. Riddle turned the beast loose on the school, injuring many. The last victim was a student named Myrtle, who was killed in the girls' bathroom. Hogwarts was slated to be closed, which upset Riddle, who did not want to return to the Muggle orphanage in which he was raised. He framed fellow student Rubeus Hagrid, who conveniently had concealed a pet Acromantula named Aragog. Riddle convinced the Headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, that Aragog was the monster that had terrorized the school. Hagrid was expelled, and Riddle received an engraved trophy for Special Services to the School.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again."
Albus Dumbledore, then the Transfiguration professor, distrusted Riddle and kept a close watch on him after that. As it was no longer safe to open the Chamber of Secrets, Riddle created a diary to preserve his sixteen year old self in it, hoping it would one day lead someone to finish Salazar Slytherin's "noble quest." The diary was also made a Horcrux with the murder of Moaning Myrtle.
1992-1993 openings
Harry and Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets.
- Dobby: "Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not stay here... now that history is to repeat itself."
- Harry Potter: "Repeat itself? You mean this has happened before?"
- Dobby: "Ha?! I shouldn't have said that. Huh!? ...Bad Dobby! Bad!"
- — Dobby warning Harry Potter about the Chamber of Secrets incident.[src]
The Chamber was re-opened in 1992 when the bewitched diary of Tom Riddle manipulated and controlled Ginny Weasley, a first-year student who had been slipped the diary by Lucius Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts and fell under its influence. Ginny was compelled to vandalise the school by painting terrifying messages on the corridor walls. She was made to open the Chamber, releasing the Basilisk. It petrified many students, including Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater, and Hermione Granger, as well as the ghost of Nearly Headless Nick and the Caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris. They were later restored to their proper states through the use of Mandrake Restorative Draught. Fortunately, this time, no one was killed.
- "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
- — Tom Riddle summoning the basilisk against Harry Potter.[src]
On 29 May, 1993, Ginny was taken down to the Chamber to die, while Riddle intended to feed off her life force to become fully alive again. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and then-Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart went to the Chamber to rescue Ginny, as a message had been left that she was being held prisoner there. With the timely arrival of Fawkes, the Sorting Hat and the use of Godric Gryffindor's Sword which gave itself to Harry from the Sorting Hat, Harry killed the Basilisk and destroyed the diary with one of its fangs. This action also effectively destroyed the Horcrux within it.
1998 opening
Hermione and Ron enter the Chamber of Secrets in 1998 to acquire Basilisk fangs.
On 2 May, 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger went back to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve more fangs, since they needed Basilisk venom to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ron was able to open the Chamber by mimicking the Parseltongue he heard previously Harry use to open Salazar Slytherin's Locket. Once inside, Hermione stabbed Helga Hufflepuff's Cup with a Basilisk fang, destroying the Horcrux.
Behind the scenes
The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets depicted on the book cover (Bloomsbury Adult Edition)
- It is unknown how the entrance to the Chamber came to be through relatively modern plumbing when it was supposedly built around one thousand years earlier. However, Hogwarts' magically self-altering architecture could include updating things such as lavatory systems on its own. If this is the case, what the original entrance to the Chamber was remains unknown. It was also this Minerva McGonagall explained in the second film, rather than Cuthbert Binns, that they've searched for years, but was never found.
- Ginny Weasley opened the chamber under Tom Riddle's control, however, she only could open it because of Tom Riddle's ability to speak Parseltongue. She was unable to speak Parseltongue afterwards.
- In the book, it says that Filch could not get the messages written by Ginny off of the wall. It is unknown if he ever did, and it has not been mentioned since.
- The Chamber is one of the few Hogwarts locations not to be on the Marauder's Map, as it was never found by the Marauders.
- Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets in June 1943, but it is unknown precisely which day, possibly the same day, he caught Hagrid from talking with Aragog (13th June) or the day before, as Myrtle recalled, they took "hours and hours" to find her body.
The kiss
- In the second film, the basilisk chases Harry through some side tunnels before Harry acquires the Sword of Gryffindor to kill it.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the Chamber of Secrets scene where Ron and Hermione enter and Hermione destroys the cup with a Basilisk fang is shown. Also, Voldemort caused the Chamber to flood and nearly kill them, and this is the scene when they kissed.
- The Chamber of Secrets happens to be the location of the destruction of two of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes: the Diary and the Cup.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Flashback in Disc 2)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Entrance only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Harry Potter LEGO Sets