Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 17 Summary
The Heir of Slytherin
Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, titled “The Heir of Slytherin,” deals with Harry’s confrontation with Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets.
Entering the Chamber of Secrets
Harry finds himself inside the Chamber of Secrets. It is a vast, eerie hall supported by towering stone pillars that are entwined with serpents. The atmosphere is thick with an ominous greenish light, casting long shadows across the chamber. The air is heavy with an unsettling silence, broken only by the sound of Harry’s footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
Harry moves cautiously, his wand at the ready, eyes scanning the dark corners for any sign of the basilisk. As he reaches the end of the chamber, Harry sees a massive statue of Salazar Slytherin. At the base of the statue he finds Ginny, lying face down and unresponsive.
He rushes over to her, and tries to wake her up. Her body feels cold and unresponsive. Harry desperately begs Ginny to wake up, and a voice answers him, saying that she won’t get up.
Tom Marvolo Riddle
The voice is revealed to be Tom Riddle’s. Riddle, who was a student at Hogwarts more than fifty years ago, now stood in front of Harry, not a day older than sixteen, with a weird misty light about him.
Seeing Harry’s curious expression, Riddle explains that he is neither alive nor a memory presently; but simply a memory.
Harry tells Riddle that he needs his help to wake Ginny up. Riddle explains that while she is not dead, she cannot wake up right now. He is revealed to be in possession of Harry’s wand, and refuses to give it back, saying Harry wouldn’t be needing it. When Harry insists that they must leave, Riddle reveals some disturbing secrets.
Riddle explains his presence and the diary’s power, revealing that Ginny has been writing in it for months, unknowingly giving him strength by pouring her soul into it. He shares how boring it was to have her ramble on about her troubles, but he was patient and eventually started to feed on her despair.
He takes pleasure in explaining how he manipulated Ginny, preying on her insecurities and loneliness. He details how he used her to open the Chamber of Secrets and set the basilisk loose, causing the petrification of all those students. Riddle’s manipulation extended to convincing Ginny to kill the school roosters, which are deadly to basilisks, and to paint the threatening messages on the walls. The diary had such a strong hold on her that she often experienced memory lapses, and was rendered unable to remember her actions. She used to wake up with feathers on her robes, and could not remember her whereabouts whenever there was an attack.
Eventually, Ginny grew suspicious of the diary and threw it away; in Myrtle’s bathroom, where it was found by Harry. Riddle reveals how he showed Harry his celebrated capture of Hagrid in order to gain his trust and get close to him.
He had managed to successfully frame Hagrid, but he never could convince Dumbledore, who was the Transfiguration professor of the time. Under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, Riddle knew he couldn’t open the Chamber of Secrets again; which is why he preserved a memory of his sixteen year old self in his diary to return to the job one day and finish Salazar Slytherin’s noble mission.
Restraining his anger, Harry replies that Riddle was unsuccessful, and that nobody died due to the Basilisk this time, but Riddle replies that killing Muggle Borns did not interest him anymore. He had a new target now: Harry.
Riddle asks how Harry managed to defeat Voldemort as a baby. Harry disregards the question saying Voldemort was after Riddle’s time, to which Riddle replies by saying that Voldemort was his past, present and future.
He uses Harry’s wand to write his name “Tom Marvolo Riddle”, and rearranges it as “I am Lord Voldemort”. He tells Harry that he disregarded his original name because it belonged to his Muggle Born father. Riddle’s father left his mother, a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, upon finding out that she was a witch.
Battling the Basilisk
An unearthly music begins to play in the Chamber. It continuously grows louder, and is revealed to be coming from Fawkes the Phoenix. Fawkes appears atop the nearest pillar, and flies straight to Harry. It drops a ragged bundle near him, which Riddle recognizes as the Sorting Hat. He mocks Dumbledore, since all he could send his defender was an old hat and a useless bird.
Still smiling, Riddle asks Harry once again how he survived Voldemort. His heart racing, Harry explains that his mother sacrificed his life for him. Riddle smiles again. He contrasts the similarities between the two of them, going on how they are both orphaned Parselmouth Half bloods raised by Muggles. He mocks Harry once again due to his lack of strength, and challenges him to a duel. The powers of the Heir of Salazar Slytherin against the famous Harry Potter, aided by Dumbledore’s strongest weapons.
Riddle turns to the statue and starts speaking in Parseltongue to summon the Basilisk. Riddle asks the Basilisk to kill Harry. Harry shuts his eyes tightly and runs with all he has got, but trips and falls down. He can hear the snake coming close to him, but there is a sudden explosion and something hits him hard.
He opens his eyes to see Fawkes battling the Basilisk from the air, and the gigantic snake was snapping furiously at it, its head raised high. Before the Basilisk can get to Fawkes, the phoenix manages to blind the snake by puncturing both of its eyes.
Riddle screams at the Basilisk to forget the bird and go after Harry. Confused, the Basilisk swayed on the spot, its tail narrowly missing Harry. However, something soft does hit him in the face. It is the Sorting Hat.
Destroying the Diary
Putting it on, Harry begs for the Sorting Hat to help him. The hat begins to contract, and a heavy, gleaming silver sword appears from inside it, hitting Harry hard on the head.
Once again, Riddle orders the Basilisk to kill Harry. Harry dodges its attacks, and manages to ram the sword into the roof of the Basilisk’s mouth; but a single fang from the Basilisk stabs Harry on his shoulder, spreading poison through his body.
The Chamber starts to appear blurry for Harry. Feeling drowsy, he falls to his feet, with Fawkes crying over him. Fawkes lays its head over Harry’s injured shoulder as he thanks it for its help. Riddle watches the whole scene, and declares that Harry is as good as dead.
However, instead of dying, Harry somehow recovers. He wakes up to Riddle shooing the phoenix away; but it is too late.
Phoenix tears have healing properties, and they managed to nullify the poison seeping through Harry’s arm.
Riddle raises his wand to finish Harry off, but Fawkes sweeps in and throws the Diary at Harry. In a desperate move, he stabs the diary with the basilisk fang, releasing a torrent of ink.
Riddle’s figure starts to writhe and scream with pain. In a few seconds, he disappears, leaving Harry alone in the silence. He retrieves the sword from the Basilisk’s mouth, and goes to check on Ginny, who seems to be stirring.
Ginny awakens, disoriented and frightened. She is overwhelmed with guilt, believing she will be expelled from Hogwarts for her actions, even though they were not truly her own. Harry reassures her, emphasizing that Riddle was the one responsible and that she was merely a pawn in his plan.
As they exit the Chamber of Secrets, they encounter Ron, who is overjoyed to see Ginny alive. Lockhart is revealed to have lost all his memories from the memory charm that backfired.
The chapter ends with the group flying out of the Chamber of Secrets with the help of Fawkes, who leads them out and towards Professor McGonagall’s office.
