Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets opens with Harry once again back ‘home’ with the Dursleys, and his summer holidays are not going to plan. The Dursleys have forbidden his broom, wand and all of his school books. Harry has not yet received any letters from his friends, Ron and Hermione. On Harry’s 12th birthday, Dobby the house elf arrives to warn Harry that he will be in mortal danger if he returns to Hogwarts. Harry is determined to return, as it’s the only true home he has ever known, so Dobby destroys the cake for an important dinner party attended by Uncle Vernon’s potential client and the client’s wife. The Ministry Of Magic sends a letter explaining Harry cannot use magic outside of school as he will be expelled. No longer afraid of this, Uncle Vernon tells Harry he cannot return to Hogwarts and puts bars on Harry’s window.
Ron, along with his twin brothers, Fred and George rescue Harry and take him to their home in their flying car. Ginny, Ron’s younger sister is just starting Hogwarts in her first year and is overwhelmed when she meets Harry. After a pleasent month living with them everyone heads to Platform 9-1/2 to take the Hogwarts Express back to school. To their shock, Harry and Ron are unable to enter the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. In desperation, they steal the flying car and fly to Hogwarts. They crash into the Whomping Willow which is not happy so it damages the car and Ron’s wand. The wrecked car disappears into the forbidden forest.
The new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher is the world-famous Gilderoy Lockhart, who has published several books about his self-claimed adventures against various dark creatures and wizards. As Lockhart steals the hearts of most of the school girls, Harry and his friends become more and more disgusted with the self-aggrandizing fop. Nonetheless, it is while Harry is serving detention with Lockhart when he hears the first trace of ParselTongue, the language of snakes. It is also Lockhart who bungles a healing spell when Harry is mysteriously attacked by a rogue bludger in a Quidditch match. Harry learns later that Dobby was trying to frighten Harry into leaving Hogwarts.
Events at school take a turn for the worse when the legendary Chamber Of Secrets is opened and a monster stalks the castle, petrifying anyone who meets its gaze. According to legend, the Chamber was built by one of the Hogwarts Founders, Salazar Slytherin, and can be opened only by his heir in order to purge Hogwarts of ‘all those who were unworthy to study magic’ or ‘Muggle-borns’. Many suspect Harry is the heir of Slytherin because, while trying to save another student during a duel against Malfoy, he inadvertently speaks in ParselTongue.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione set about trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. Attacks on Mrs. Norris (Mr. Filch’s cat), Colin Creavey, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nic, and finally Hermione Granger finally lead Harry and Ron to seek out Hagrid. Harry has learned from a strange magical diary that Hagrid was accused, 50 years earlier, of opening the Chamber of Secrets. As luck would have it, however, Hagrid is arrested and taken away before he can explain anything. Immediately upon Hagrid’s departure, Professor Dumbledore is sacked by the board of governors.
Harry and Ron enter the Dark Forest based on a clue Hagrid has given them. They follow spiders to a secret den where they meet the monstrous Aragog, a giant spider Hagrid has raised and befriended. Aragog tells Harry and Ron that Hagrid is innocent and that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is an enemy of spiders. Barely escaping the jaws of Aragog’s hungry children, Harry and Ron return to Hogwarts.
While visiting Hermione in the hospital, Harry notices a piece of paper in her hand. Taking the paper, Harry realizes that Hermione has discovered the nature of the monster: it is a basilisk, a magical snake-like creature. Using Hermione’s clues, Harry deduces that the basilisk has been entering Hogwarts through the abandoned girls bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle, who died when she surprised the basilisk 50 years earlier.
Before Harry and Ron can investigate further, students are sent to their dormitories and teachers are summoned to the scene of yet another attack. Now Ginny Weasley has been taken and a bloody message scrawled across a wall promises she will die in the Chamber of Secrets. When the teachers pressure Lockhart to take action, he speedily retreats to his office and starts packing. Harry and Ron find him there and discover the truth: that Lockhart is a fraud.
Nonetheless determined to save Ginny, Harry and Ron force Lockhart to accompany them to the girls bathroom. There Harry uses ParselTongue to open the doorway to the Chamber of Secrets. But when Lockhart attempts to escape once again he accidentally uses Ron’s damaged wand and causes a cave-in. Harry goes on alone, where he confronts the memory of Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort when he was a student at Hogwarts) and the basilisk.
With magical help sent by Dumbledore, Harry manages to slay the basilisk, but the basilisk in turn poisons Harry. As Harry lays dying Voldemort gloats until Harry realizes that he need only destroy the diary. Stabbing it with a basilisk tooth, Harry breaks the spell that has almost succeeded in bringing Voldemort back to life. At the last moment, Dumbledore’s familiar, the phoenix named Fawkes, arrives to cure Harry’s wound with its tears.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Lockhart escape from the underground passages and return to Hogwarts where Dumbledore is restored to his position as Headmaster. Lockhart is sent away because he has lost his memory. When Lucius Malfoy arrives to confront Dumbledore with Dobby in tow, Harry realizes who set all the deadly events into motion by slipping the diary into Ginny Weasley’s cauldron in Diagon Alley. Malfoy demands that Harry prove his suspicion and turns to leave, but he hands the diary (which Harry has returned to Malfory) to Dobby in anger. Harry tells Dobby to open the diary, in which Dobby finds a sock.
Under the laws governing house-elves, who are enslaved to wizarding families, whenever a master presents his slave with clothes the house-elf is free. Dobby declares his freedom and immediately defends Harry against Malfoy’s angry response. Harry asks Dobby never to save his life again. Later, during the year-end feast, Hagrid returns to Hogwarts to thank Harry, Ron, and Hermione for clearing his name after 50 years.
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