chapter seventeen of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry meets Tom Riddle – and discovers that he, a memory of the boy who would grow up to be Lord Voldemort, has been enchanting Ginny and opening the Chamber. Then, as Riddle attacks, Fawkes comes to Harry’s rescue and helps him kill the Basilisk and then Riddle, and Harry and Ginny find Ron and Lockhart and retreat to safety.
 

And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.

(by MartinTenbones)

 

A smile curled the corners of Riddle’s mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.

(by Tealin Raintree)

 

“I’ve waited a long time for this, Harry Potter,” said Riddle. “For the chance to see you. To speak to you.”

(by glockgal)

 

Something was stirring inside the statue’s mouth.

(by Laurence Peguy)

 

Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers -

(by odella)

 

A gleaming silver sword had appeared inside the hat, its handle glittering with rubies the size of eggs.

(by James J. Dunn aka JamusDu)

 

“It’s all right,” said Harry…. “Riddle’s finished.”

(by Mudblood428)

 

An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through his whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe.

(by glockgal)

 

about the chapter

Something You May Not Have Noticed

I’ve always wondered what’s going through Ron’s head during this chapter. He thinks his sister is dead, his best friend just went off alone to face a basilisk (a basilisk which might turn up for Ron as well), and I can’t imagine he doesn’t feel the shuddering when the basilisk enters the Chamber and falls dead. Harry gets a lot of attention for his bravery in defeating Riddle and the basilisk, and rightly so – but Ron deserves credit for his own bravery, too, staying put with terrible scenarios invading his mind, dealing with Lockhart, and working hard at clearing a path for Harry to come through if he ever returns. Given a choice, personally I’d almost rather be in Harry’s shoes than Ron’s.
 

Life at Hogwarts

There are plenty of arguments in defense of Salazar Slytherin, many of them valid. And perhaps he didn’t hate Muggles with the sort of racism that Voldemort’s followers display today, or intend for his basilisk to kill Muggle-born students. But when you consider the fact that he built the Chamber of Secrets… with a towering statue of his own head inside it… and put a basilisk inside a school…. well, let’s just say he had to be at least a little bit of an extremist.
 

The Boy Who Lived

For the rest of his childhood Harry will tell anyone who asks that he was able to kill the basilisk and Riddle because he was lucky, and because he had help. And to a certain extent, of course this is true – he’s facing quite possibly the most dangerous creature in the world and quite possibly the most dangerous wizard in the world all at once, at age twelve, without his wand (which he stupidly threw to the side). But a close reading shows that luck and help aren’t quite the full story. Fawkes only comes to help Harry when he shows his loyalty to Dumbledore; he’s smart enough to keep his eyes screwed shut when the basilisk arrives, though he certainly would be tempted to peek from time to time; he uses the sword at exactly the right moment; and he steps up to confront Riddle even when he’s entirely overmatched. There’s luck involved for sure, but there’s also a whole lot of loyalty, quick-thinking, and above all bravery to lead him in the right direction.
 

It’s also interesting to contrast Ginny’s reaction to all that has happened with Harry’s own response. Ginny’s concerned about many of the same things that worried Harry when he started at Hogwarts – worrying about being expelled, and what others will think of her, and so forth. Harry has come a long way in a year and a half though, where now he has twice willingly risked expulsion, once to save the wizarding world from Voldemort, and once to save Ginny. He’s only a year older, but his priorities have already shifted radically. And as Ginny grows, we’ll one day see the same sort of transformation take place in her.
 

Something to Remember

Tom Riddle’s diary is unlike any other magical object we’ve ever seen, or ever will see. Harry’s not old enough yet, or experienced enough in the wizarding world, to realize its uniqueness or its unbelievable power. However, Dumbledore will realize exactly what it was, and years down the road – when he’s ready to hear it – Harry will come to terms with its full meaning as well.
 

The Final Word

“What would have happened if Ginny had died and Tom Riddle had escaped the diary? …It would have strengthened the present-day Voldemort considerably.”–J.K. Rowling, www.jkrowling.com