Can someone give me a HP & C.ofSecrets recap?

Cafe Society
1

OK, I’ll admit to having been thoroughly bored by the first movie and its (I’m assuming) slavish fidelity to its source material (unread by me). Given that I heard little about the second to recomment it, I skipped it.

However, now that Part 3 has a real director at the helm, I’m probably going to give it a shot. However, I have no real interest in renting the 2nd film to catch up.

Can anyone give me a general recap of what happened in the second film, particularly specific plot points & characters that will be relevant to the third (assuming that it stays loyal to the book) without actually giving anything from Prisoner away?

This mulligan (muffin? merkin? I’m not sure) thanks you.

2

That’s “muggle,” you . . . muggle. :smiley:

Basically, there’s a non-pureblood (pureblood = both parents are wizards)-eating monster from the Chamber of Secrets loose in the school and Harry destroys it to everyone’s relief.

Some important characters/plot points:

Dobby - Dobby is a house elf (a family servant) who greatly admires and cares for Harry. He spends much of this movie playing horrible tricks on Harry so that he will leave Hogwarts, which has been made unsafe by the Chamber of Secrets monster (a basilisk, or a big snake with a lethal gaze, if you care). At the movie’s end, Harry frees Dobby from his commitment, which was to the Malfoy family (remember Draco?).

Ginny Weasley - Ron’s sister, who is younger than Ron and Harry by a year. During this book at least, she has a crush on Harry. She is possessed by Voldemort during portions of the story.

Tom Riddle - Tom Riddle is the given name of the person who would become Voldemort.

Fawkes - Dumbledore’s pet phoenix who aides Harry in defeating the basilisk. We learn that phoenix tears have incredible healing powers.

Gilderoy Lockhart - Quirrel’s replacement as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Basically a handsome, blonde, narcissistic con artist who used memory charms to more or less steal the accomplishments of other wizards in order to make himself appear like a great wizard. He ends up frying his own memories with a broken wand. He’s not too important, I suppose, and he doesn’t reappear until the fifth book, but I figured you could use a heads-up. :slight_smile:

-Harry learns that he is a Parselmouth, which means that he can speak to snakes. One of the only other wizards with this ability is Voldemort. This tells of the connection that was made on “the night when Harry got his scar.” Unfortunately, Harry discovers this while in front of the entire school, and the other children become fearful and untrusting of him.

-We learn that Hagrid was kicked out of Hogwarts for possessing a large pet spider that was blamed for a murder in the school (which was actually committed by the basilisk, of course).

That’s about all I can recall that’s important . . . If I missed/screwed up anything, I’m sure someone will hop in and help.

3

The Chamber Of Secrets was a secret hidden chamber that was opened once in the distant past, releasing a basilisk (a giant snake who can turn you to stone at one glance directly into its eyes). The person responsible was Tom Riddle, who was Voldemort as a boy. But instead Hagrid was blamed for it, because Hagrid had actually been looking after a giant spider that had gotten loose, and Tom Riddle used that event to suggest the ‘creature’ in the Chamber of Secrets was actually that spider.

Somehow Tom Riddle had a magic diary where he could be in the past and communicate with anyone reading the diary at any period in time, and in this case Ginny Weasley found it in her possession when Draco Malfoy’s father Lucius gave it to her secretly.

Her communication with Tom Riddle had allowed him to come forward in time to now, where he hypnotised her into opening the Chamber of Secrets, and also was used as a sacrifice for the final step in allowing Tom Riddle/Voldemort back to life. Somehow. I think.

Harry and the gang figure all this out with the help of Lucius Malfoy’s servant, Dobby the House Elf, they find the entrance to the Chamber (in the haunted bathrooms) and Harry manages to defeat the basilisk by using Hogwarts founder Godric Gryffindor’s sword (provided by Fawkes the Phoenix) and by defeating Tom Riddle’s attempts to return by destroying the diary with a basilisk tooth.

Now that I come to write this all down, it sounds pretty stupid.

4

Yeah, all that too.

Sure, CoS wasn’t the best book or movie, but don’t let that keep you from going to this new movie. If it’s half as good as the book it’s going to be a good show.