Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 9 Summary.
The Writing on the Wall
Chapter 9 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, titled “The Writing on the Wall” deals with the aftermath of discovering the petrified Mrs. Norris and the mysterious message on the wall, sparking fear and suspicion throughout Hogwarts.
Mrs Norris Petrified
Attracted by Malfoy’s shout, Argus Filch arrives and sees Mrs. Norris hanging from a torch bracket. He is horrified and immediately accuses Harry of murdering his cat.
At that moment, Dumbledore arrives with other teachers and quickly detaches Mrs. Norris. He instructs Filch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione to follow him.
Lockhart steps forward and offers his office, which Dumbledore accepts and thanks him for.
Lockhart’s office is filled with portraits of himself, which dodge out of sight as the group enters. Dumbledore examines Mrs. Norris closely, while Filch sobs nearby. Professors McGonagall and Snape observe the scene, with Snape looking unusually pleased.
Lockhart offers unhelpful suggestions about the curse used, and goes on telling about an experience of his where he saw something similar. However, Dumbledore interrupts him and concludes that Mrs. Norris is petrified, not dead. Again, Filch accuses Harry of having committed the crime, to which Dumbledore says that no second year student could have possibly done this; for it is extremely advanced dark magic.
Filch disagrees, and points to the writing they saw on the wall, revealing that Harry very well knows that Filch is a squib. Harry responds by saying he does not even know what a Squib is.
At this point, Snape decides to chime in. He offers that perhaps Harry was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but also says that he has a few questions. He asks why the trio was in the corridor, prompting them to explain about the Deathday Party. He then asks why did they not return to the feast after attending the party. Not wanting to reveal the fact that he keeps hearing a strange voice, Harry lies, saying they were tired and wanted to go to bed.
Dumbledore decides that the trio is innocent until proven guilty. He informs Filch that there are Mandrakes growing the greenhouses, and once mature, they will be able to prepare a Mandrake Restoration Draught potion, which would revive Mrs Norris. With this, he asks the trio to leave.
Research and concern
After leaving Lockhart’s office, the trio discusses the voice Harry heard. Ron explains what a Squib is and why Filch is bitter.
A Squib is someone who is born into a wizarding family but hasn’t got any magic powers. They are the opposite of Muggle Borns, and are quite rare.
For the next few days, the school buzzes with rumors about the attack, and Filch’s behavior becomes more erratic. He guards the corridor where the attack happened, and paces about; almost as if trying to catch the perpetrator by surprise.
Ginny, being a cat lover, is particularly disturbed. Ron tries to comfort her, but it does not make much difference.
After their potions class, where Snape made Harry stay back and scrape Tubeworms off his desk, he and Ron meet Hermione in the library. She is frustrated at not finding “Hogwarts: A History” in the library, since all the copies are checked out. She also mentions that she had to leave her own copy at home, since her trunk was chalk-full of Lockhart textbooks. She reveals that she had read a section about the Chamber of Secrets in the book, but is unable to recall anything.
The bell rings, and the trio makes its way to their next class, which is History of Magic.
History of Magic Class
Professor Binns’ History of Magic class is as dull as usual, with perhaps not a single student paying attention. The most exciting thing that has ever happened in this class, is when Professor Binns entered the room through the blackboard.
As he goes on with his lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, Hermione raises her hand to ask a question. Seeing as no student has ever showed interest in his class before, Professor Binns is amazed.
She bravely Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Binns, who usually sticks to factual history, is reluctant to talk about the matter, but seeing the interest of the class, eventually agrees.
He tells of the four founders of Hogwarts and how they worked together in the beginning, until a rift began growing between Slytherin and the others. Salazar Slytherin, believing that Hogwarts needs to be more selective about the students it admits, had an intense disagreement with Gordic Gryffindor, and decided to leave the school. According to legend, Slytherin built a hidden chamber that none of the other founders knew about, and sealed it so that only his heir can open it; to unleash a monster that would purge the school of Muggle-borns.
He explains that naturally, the school has been searched multiple times by many highly learned witches and wizards, but nothing has ever been found. The other students throw more questions at him, but Binns snaps, saying that the Chamber of Secrets is only a legend, and they should focus on actual history.
Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom
With this new information, the trio leaves the classroom. Harry reflects on how the sorting hat contemplated putting him into Slytherin, and how he never told Ron and Hermione about it.
Harry runs into Colin, who informs of the floating rumor about Harry being the Heir of Slytherin.
Wanting to investigate the Chamber of Secrets, the trio returns to the scene of the attack. They find scorch marks and see a bunch of spiders nearby fighting to get through a small crack on the window glass, trying to escape. The sight disturbs Ron. He reveals his fear of spiders, which stems from a childhood prank by Fred.
Suddenly, Harry remembers that when the attack happened, there was a lot of water on the floor. Ron adds that it was level with a door nearby, which turns out to be that of a girls bathroom.
Hermione tells the others to enter it, but Ron does not want to, since it is a girls bathroom. She explains that it is always empty, so it would be okay for him to enter.
With this, they enter the out-of-order bathroom, which is home to the ghost Moaning Myrtle. She is a highly emotional ghost who is always sulking. The trio asks her if she has seen anything funny lately, referring to the attack. She replies in the negative, saying that she did not pay attention to any of that.
Seeing that talking to her is pretty pointless, they decide to leave.
In the Common Room
Just as they exit, they are greeted by a loud voice. It is Percy who is furious to see Ron emerge from a girls’ bathroom. Ron reasons that they are just looking for clues, and Percy tells him to leave the site of attack alone. When Ron argues, Percy tells him off and deducts five points from Gryffindor.
That night in the Gryffindor common room, the trio discusses potential suspects. Ron is convinced Draco Malfoy is involved, citing his disdain for Muggle-borns. Hermione suggests using Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves and gather information from the Slytherins.
The chapter ends with Hermione remembering that the recipe for the potion can be found in the book Moste Potente Potions, which is bound to be there in the restricted section of the library. The potion is highly complex, and the whole ordeal would require them to break a lot of school rules. However, they disregard the consequences and agree on the plan.
