DISCUSSION GUIDE

and the Chamber of Secrets

DISCUSSION GUIDE

ABOUT THE HARRY POTTER

BOOKS AND THIS GUIDE
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books are among the most popular and acclaimed of all time.
Published in the UK between 1997 and 2007 and beginning with Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone, the seven books are epic stories of Harry Potter and his friends as they
attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Crossing genres including fantasy,
thriller and mystery, and at turns exhilarating, humorous and sad, the stories explore
universal human values, longings and choices.
The Harry Potter books are compelling reading for children and adults alike; they have
met phenomenal success around the world and have been translated into 77 languages.
A whole generation of children grew up awaiting the publication of each book in the
series with eager anticipation, and they still remain enormously popular.
The Harry Potter books make excellent starting points for discussion. These guides outline
a host of ideas for discussions and other activities that can be used in the classroom, in
a reading group or at home. They cover some of the main themes of the series, many of
which, while set in an imaginary world, deal with universal issues of growing up that are
familiar to all children. You will also find references to key moments on pottermore.com,
where you can discover more about the world of Harry Potter. These guides are aimed at
stimulating lively discussion and encouraging close engagement with books and reading.
We hope you will use the ideas in this guide as a basis for educational and enjoyable work –
and we think your group will be glad you did!

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

INTRODUCTION TO
HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS
Harry escapes from a dismal summer with his relatives when
Ron Weasley and his twin brothers, George and Fred, fly their
father’s bewitched Ford Anglia to the Dursleys’ and take Harry
back to their home, The Burrow. When Harry and Ron are
unable to get through the barrier at platform nine and three-
quarters, they use the magic car to fly them to school. Crashing
into the Whomping Willow in the school grounds, they start
the term in trouble for breaking school rules.

Soon Harry, Ron and Hermione become involved in larger

problems. Harry hears a sinister voice in the corridors while
students, especially those with Muggle blood, are being attacked. Writing on a wall
declares that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened and the heir of Slytherin is
responsible for the attacks. Hermione is rendered Petrified, but not before she is able to
leave clues to help Harry and Ron find the hidden chamber.

A mysterious diary, tales about past troubles at Hogwarts involving Hagrid

and another student named Tom Riddle, a giant spider in the
Forbidden Forest, and the disappearance of Ron’s younger
sister Ginny all lead to a stunning climax. Harry and
Ron discover the entrance to the Chamber of
Secrets, but Harry alone must rescue Ginny
and confront the evil force that lurks
there.

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

DISCUSSION POINTS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. Dobby the house-elf appears in Harry’s bedroom in Privet Drive in Chapter 2,
‘Dobby’s Warning’, and tries to stop him returning to Hogwarts. Why? What is
Dobby’s role in this story? Discuss the humorous aspects of his nature too.
Pottermore Tie-In: Moment 1, Chapter 2. Go to www.pottermore.com

2. Should Ron and Harry have taken the car to Hogwarts in Chapter 5, ‘The
Whomping Willow’? Was there no other way they could have got back to school?

3. Why is it important for students to know the legends, as well as the history, of
Hogwarts? Discuss Hermione’s question to Professor Binns: ‘Please, sir, don’t
legends always have a basis in fact?’ (Chapter 9, ‘The Writing on the Wall’, p. 158)
How does knowing the history of the founding of Hogwarts help the students
understand the present?
Pottermore Tie-In: Moment 1, Chapter 9. Go to www.pottermore.com

4. What does Hermione do in this book that seems out of character

for her? Why is she willing to risk getting caught breaking
the rules? What strengths does she contribute
to solving the mystery of the Chamber of
Secrets?

5. When Draco conjures a snake

in Chapter 11, ‘The Duelling

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

DISCUSSION POINTS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS
Club’, Harry is revealed as a Parselmouth. Why do you think Harry is able to
understand and speak Parseltongue? Why doesn’t he know when he is speaking
this language?
Pottermore Tie-In: Moment 2, Chapter 11. Go to www.pottermore.com

6. When they are in Dumbledore’s office in Chapter 12, ‘The Polyjuice Potion’, and
Dumbledore asks Harry if he wants to tell him anything, Harry says no, even
though many things are bothering him. Would you have told the Headmaster
your concerns and asked for his advice? Why is Harry reluctant to ask for help?

7. Who is Tom Riddle? Why did he keep a diary? How is he able to make Ginny
Weasley do what he wants her to do?

8. When Lucius Malfoy announces Dumbledore’s suspension as Headmaster in

Chapter 14, ‘Cornelius Fudge’, Dumbledore replies: ‘You will find that I will only
truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also
find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for
it.’ (p. 279) What does he mean by these two sentences?

9. Aragog is a fearsome spider but Harry and Ron

discover in Chapter 15 that Hagrid has
made a friend of this monster. What
did Hagrid do to make Aragog so
faithful to him?

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

DISCUSSION POINTS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS

10. In the first book we learned that both Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands each
contain a phoenix feather from the same bird. What further connections
between Harry and Voldemort do we learn about in Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets? What are the important differences between Harry and Riddle?

IN DEPTH
1. NEW CHARACTERS
Rowling introduces new characters in this second book and Gilderoy Lockhart is
one of them. Why do most of the teachers dislike him? Why is losing his memory
a fitting punishment for Lockhart? His character is the source of many comic
moments in this book. How does he add humour to the book? Discuss some of the
scenes which seem particularly funny to you.
Which of the other new characters introduced are the most interesting and the
most entertaining? How are they introduced and how quickly do readers
get a sense of their characteristics? Does the name fit the character?

2. DECISION-MAKING
Dumbledore tells Harry, ‘It is our choices, Harry,
that show what we truly are, far more than
our abilities.’ (Chapter 18, ‘Dobby’s
Reward’, p. 352) Do you agree?
Discuss some of the choices that
Harry and his friends have faced in

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

DISCUSSION POINTS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS
this book. What do these things show about them as characters? Can you think of
any examples where you have had to make important decisions in your life? What
do you think those decisions reveal about your character?

3. LEGENDARY CREATURES
The Basilisk and the phoenix are two legendary creatures that appear in this story.
What do we learn about each of them? What is the significance of each of them in
the plot of this second book? For example, why is Fawkes the phoenix so important
to Dumbledore; what does the name ‘Fawkes’ refer to?

4. SECRETS
Secrets are a recurring theme in this book and in the entire series. Ginny uses Tom
Riddle’s diary to write down her secrets and he gains power over her and makes
her open the Chamber of Secrets. What other secrets are revealed in this novel?
Are all secrets as dangerous as Ginny’s prove to be? Have you ever kept a secret?
Did it have a positive or negative effect on your situation?

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

ACTIVITY AND PROJECT IDEAS

WORD PLAY
OBJECTIVE
To understand the power of wordplay and invented language in reading and writing

UK CURRICULUM AREAS
English

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Practise spelling and defining words and develop better awareness of the creative power
of language in storytelling

START POINT
Discuss the incredibly inventive use of language in the Harry Potter books. All seven
stories feature dozens of evocative newly created words, and there are several examples
of invented languages – like Parseltongue in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. What
do you think is the role of these words and languages? How do they reinforce the sense
of other-worldliness in the stories? Are they fun to read?

MAIN ACTIVITY
Divide the lesson into these two short strands, all revolving around the
creative use of language.

REAL WORD SPELLINGS AND MEANINGS

Choose five real but uncommon words from
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and
ask children to spell and write a short
real-world definition for each. Choose

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

ACTIVITY AND PROJECT IDEAS

whichever words you like, or ask the children to suggest their own, but you could try
the following: petrified, mandrake, phoenix, basilisk and heir. After spelling the words,
and if they are finding definitions tricky, dictionaries can be used.

INVENTED WORDS
Discuss some of the made-up words in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and how
J.K. Rowling might have invented them. Many are recognisably close to real words, or
amalgamations of two words, which therefore partly convey their meanings. Where
might ‘Muggles’ have come from, and what does the word suggest to children in
their imaginations? What about ‘Mudbloods’, ‘Bludger’, ‘Quidditch’, ‘Polyjuice’ and
‘Whomping Willow’? Next challenge children to invent three words each of their own,
for an imaginary object or character that might fit into their own story.

WRAP-UP
Widen the discussion to other books that feature made-up language. Can children
name other examples of authors who invent words? Mention Roald Dahl and
J.R.R. Tolkien if they need hints. Should this kind of made-up language appear in
dictionaries? Are there any words from the Harry Potter series that your group
would add to the Oxford English Dictionary?

FOUR MORE ACTIVITIES

1. GUESS THE CHARACTER
Divide children into small groups and
ask them each to choose a character
from Harry Potter and the Chamber

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 and the Chamber of Secrets
DISCUSSION GUIDE

ACTIVITY AND PROJECT IDEAS

of Secrets. The idea of the game is for the group to guess the character each child
is thinking of in turn by asking up to ten ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions. The child who is
asked the most questions before the group works out the character wins.

2. ENCHANTED OBJECTS
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, readers learn that Ron Weasley’s dad
secretly owns an enchanted Muggle car that can fly! Ask your group if they could
enchant an everyday object to give it a special ability or feature, what would they
choose? Ask them to write a short essay identifying the object they would like
to enchant, what magical properties they would bestow upon it, and what might
happen as a result!

3. DRAW A BASILISK
Based on the descriptions in the book, get children to draw their vision of the
Basilisk creature. Be as imaginative as possible about its features. Compare and
contrast the drawings that children produce.

4. TRANSFORM YOURSELF
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry, Ron and Hermione
drink Polyjuice Potion to transform into somebody else. In the real
world if you could become anyone else for a few hours, who
would you become? What would you do? Where
would you go? Write a short essay about the
experience.

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