50 Fun Facts About Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Which house-elf visits Harry at the Dursleys to warn him not to return to Hogwarts?

Dobby later admits he jinxed the Bludger and sealed the barrier at King's Cross, all to keep Harry away from school.

What does Dobby magically destroy at Privet Drive to get Harry into trouble?

Uncle Vernon blames Harry and locks him in his room; the Ministry adds an underage-magic warning for good measure.

Which celebrity author becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?

Harry first meets him in Diagon Alley, where the self-promoting author turns a book signing into a photo opportunity.

Why do Harry and Ron fly to Hogwarts in the enchanted car?

Dobby had sealed the portal; the boys end up crashing the car into the Whomping Willow on arrival.

Whose cat is found immobilised next to the first warning scrawled on the wall?

The message reads "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware".

What rare ability does Harry reveal during the duelling class?

Speaking to snakes was a talent of Salazar Slytherin, so the school immediately suspects Harry of being the heir.

Which ghost shows the trio a diary left in her bathroom stall?

The diary belonged to Tom Riddle, a student at Hogwarts when the Chamber was last opened fifty years earlier.

What kind of creature is the monster in the Chamber?

Its direct gaze kills and its indirect gaze petrifies, which is why every victim had looked at it through a reflection or a camera.

Who brings the Sorting Hat to Harry in the Chamber?

The phoenix then blinds the serpent and later heals Harry's wound with its tears.

What does Harry pull from the Sorting Hat to fight the serpent?

He finishes the job by stabbing the diary with a fang, destroying the manifestation of Riddle.

Who is revealed to be Dobby's master?

Harry tricks him into handing Dobby a sock, the clothing that frees a house-elf from service.

What must a master give a house-elf to set it free?

Dobby explains the rule himself while visiting Harry in the hospital wing after the Bludger incident.

In which year was the novel first published in the UK?

It came out on 2 July 1998 and went straight to the top of the UK bestseller lists, displacing John Grisham and Tom Clancy.

Which company published the US edition in June 1999?

It went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including the one in The New York Times.

Which ghost's self-composed song about his death was cut from early drafts?

The editor did not care for the poem; Rowling later published it as an extra on her official website.

Whose family background was cut from the book as an "unnecessary digression"?

Rowling said Neville Longbottom's own journey of discovery was more important to the central plot.

Lockhart was based on whom, according to Rowling?

She described the real person as "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart".

First editions mistakenly called Voldemort the last remaining what of Salazar Slytherin?

Dumbledore should have said descendant; the slip was fixed in later reprints along with other errors.

First editions gave Lockhart's book about which creatures two different titles?

It appears as Weekends with Werewolves at one point and Wanderings with Werewolves later in the book.

Rowling became the first author to win which award two years running?

It was also shortlisted for the 1998 Guardian Children's Award and the 1998 Carnegie Award.

In which age division did the book win the 1998 Nestlé Smarties Gold Medal?

Rowling also won Smarties prizes for Philosopher's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban before withdrawing later books from consideration.

Where did the novel rank in the BBC's 2003 survey The Big Read?

The Scottish Arts Council had also given the novel its first ever Children's Book Award in 1999.

What was the working title of Chamber of Secrets?

Rowling decided some "crucial pieces of information" belonged in book six instead, and the title moved with them.

Which item on sale at Borgin and Burkes in this book returns in the sixth novel?

The Hand of Glory, a Vanishing Cabinet and Riddle's diary are the other book-two objects that pay off later.

Who damages the Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts in this book?

That broken cabinet becomes the Death Eaters' way into the castle four books later.

Nick's deathday cake dates his death to 31 October of which year?

The 500th deathday party implies the novel opens in 1992, the only firm calendar anchor in the series.

Who estimates that Harry and Ron have broken over 100 school rules?

Dumbledore drops his promised punishment anyway and rewards the pair for ending the threat from the Chamber.

Critic Graeme Davis called the phoenix's perfectly timed arrival what?

Writing after all seven books were out, Davis rated this the weakest of the series and noted the plot mirrors book one.

Reviewer Mary Stuart compared the Chamber showdown to the work of which author?

She thought it perhaps too strong for young or timid children but full of enough surprises to fill five lesser books.

Who directed the 2002 film adaptation?

He used handheld cameras for a looser feel and handed the series to Alfonso Cuarón after this instalment.

Who wrote the film's screenplay?

Kloves adapted every film in the series except Order of the Phoenix.

Who plays Lockhart in the film?

Hugh Grant was rumoured as first choice, Alan Cumming backed out over salary and Jason Isaacs auditioned before being offered Lucius.

For which actor was this the final live-action film?

He died shortly before release, and Michael Gambon took over as Dumbledore from Prisoner of Azkaban onwards.

Jason Isaacs based Lucius's whiny voice on which character?

The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang villain had scared Isaacs as a child; he also provided the voice of the serpent.

Who voices Dobby in the film?

The performance earned a nomination for Best Digital Acting Performance from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

Which actor voices Aragog?

The animatronic spider stood 9 feet tall, weighed three quarters of a ton and needed more than 15 people to operate.

How old was Shirley Henderson when she auditioned to play 14-year-old Myrtle?

The casting director urged her to come in anyway and keep her age a secret.

Who plays Tom Riddle in the film?

Both McAvoy and Redmayne auditioned for the part; Redmayne later became Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts.

The Weasleys' flying car was built from which real vehicle?

Stuart Craig built the Burrow around the same Muggle-obsessed logic, stacking it vertically out of architectural salvage.

Which cathedral stood in for Hogwarts corridors in the film?

Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle, Lacock Abbey and Oxford's Bodleian Library supplied other parts of the school.

A linguistics professor at which university created the snake language for the film?

Francis Nolan built the hissing tongue; Roger Pratt's photography was meant to give the film a darker, edgier feel.

How many days after the first film's wide release did principal photography begin?

Second-unit work on the flying car scene had already started three weeks earlier; shooting wrapped in July 2002.

What did sound designer Randy Thom use for the Whomping Willow's growl?

For the mandrakes he combined baby cries with female screams, and the serpent mixed his voice with tigers, horses and elephants.

Roughly how long was the Chamber set, the biggest built for the whole film series?

It was also 36.5 metres wide; Dumbledore's office with the Sorting Hat and sword was built for this film too.

Who arranged and conducted the score while John Williams juggled other films?

Williams had just finished Attack of the Clones and Minority Report and was due to start Catch Me If You Can.

Which film beat it to become the highest-grossing film of 2002 worldwide?

Chamber of Secrets still won outside America, taking $617.2 million to The Two Towers' $584.5 million.

What rare CinemaScore grade did audiences give the film?

It is the only Harry Potter film to receive that grade; Roger Ebert also gave it four stars out of four.

Where did the film hold its world premiere on 3 November 2002?

Its $88.4 million US opening was the third-largest at the time, behind Spider-Man and the first Potter film.

Which Minister for Magic takes Hagrid to Azkaban in the film?

Robert Hardy plays him; Lucius simultaneously forces the governors to remove Dumbledore from office.

Who do Harry and Ron impersonate using Polyjuice Potion?

The potion is brewed in Myrtle's bathroom and proves Malfoy is not the heir, though he knows a girl died fifty years earlier.