Thoughts on Chamber of Secrets:
• Bah...to have to go back to the Durselys. I forgot how much it pained me to read about Harry in Muggle Hell. And then it’s the Weasleys to the rescue in an enchanted Ford Anglia. Perfect.
• Talking about Voldemort's "failed curse" and "deeper magic" reminds me of the "deep magic" Aslan talks about in the Chronicles of Narnia.
• I had forgotten how early in the story Dobby appears. In previous readings, I thought Dobby was annoying, but now it's poignant to read about him and his devotion to Harry.
• The Vanishing Cabinet(s): after reading book 6, they become much more obvious. Harry appears in one in Borgin and Burkes when he first uses Floo Powder to travel to Diagon Alley. He doesn’t close the door all the way—if he had, he’d have appeared in the Hogwarts vanishing cabinet. It later appears in chapter 8, when Peeves knocks it over to distract Filch from getting Harry in trouble (thanks to Erin on this observance). This is what damages it and why it has to be repaired….setting it up for book 6. Draco also mentions in passing a secret chamber under his living room, which becomes vital in book 7.
• Gilderoy Lockhart: J. K. Rowling has said that this is the only character that is based on a real person and that she “barely exaggerated” the character. Problem is: she’s never said who. Some say Phillip Pullman….who knows? All I know is that he’s annoying as hell, and I would love to see who he’s really based on.
• I love the description of Harry in Dumbledore’s office. It just sets the scene for all the conversations they have later. We see that Harry is still a little bit nervous or scared to be truthful with Dumbledore. Also, the conversation Harry has with the sorting hat is important later in the story.
• I find all the professions of “the end of Hogwarts!” and “we’ll have to close the school!” amusing only because of the relative triviality of what happens now versus what happens later. I mean…in every book it’s like they’re going to have to close the school…..drama! It’s a little nitpicky, but it amuses me now…when things are still so innocent.
• Fawkes….probably my favorite part of the story upon re-reading. We first learn about Fawkes and the abilities of a phoenix. We learn they are loyal, and I think that loyalty is a major theme of this book. Loyalty calls Fawkes to Harry in the Chamber, and the issue of Harry’s loyalty to Dumbledore first emerges. We first hear Fawkes's cry as a sign of loyalty to his master Dumbledore. This foreshadows a beautiful moment in book 6.
• Holographic Tom Riddle dismisses the sorting hat and Fawkes as Harry’s weapons in the Chamber, and it foreshadows what Dumbledore says in book 7 about Voldemort not caring for house elves, children’s tales, and the like.
• When Harry returns the diary to Dumbledore, this is where he first realizes that Voldemort created Horcruxes. He says later that he realized it was no ordinary dark magic. (Thanks to Erin for this one)
• When Harry and Dumbledore discuss Voldemort “put a bit of himself in [Harry], they didn’t realize how right they were….
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