Chamber of Secrets Chapters 12 - 13

He's been looking dreadful for days

Fawkes, the Phoenix is Dumbledore's pet bird, although the books never say where he got him. Fawkes is an interesting pet for Dumbledore because Fawkes possesses traits that Dumbledore most highly values. It mentions in the books that Phoenixes make highly faithful pets. Loyalty is a character trait very highly valued by Dumbledore and we'll see that come out at the end of this book. If I could pick three character traits that describe this series as a whole, they would be friendship, love, and loyalty. We've seen a lot of friendship in Sorcerer's Stone, but those bonds will be tested further as the series goes on. Another ability Fawkes possesses is the ability to be reborn from its own ashes. This is another ability highly prized by Dumbledore, but we won't find out just how much and why he values this attribute until the last book.



Speaking of loyalty... how about those Weasleys, eh? They are not only extremely loyal to Dumbledore, but to Harry as well. We see that in some of the small acts of kindness toward Harry. For instance, in this chapter, Fred and George unquestionably believe Harry is not the Heir of Slytherin and go so far as to make light of it so as to convince others that the idea of Harry being the Heir is ludicrous.


Ghosts

I'm surprised I haven't talked about them yet. One thing has concerned me throughout the series: I could nail down the properties of ghosts about as well as I could grab a hold of one myself. They can walk through solid objects with ease, yet are sometimes subject to physical forces. Nearly-headless Nick, for example, is able to be wafted away by a fan. This must mean that he can have physical contact with air. Myrtle was upset by a book being flushed down her toilet. Maybe it was just an emotional thing, but she shouldn't have even felt the book go through her. Another thing Myrtle can do is flood the bathroom. How can she affect water like that if she goes right through stuff. Do ghosts have a limited ability to physically affect their surroundings? I don't know.


I'm Sorry Won Won

I ragged on Ron in my last post, so I feel I need to make up for it. Even though Ron incorrectly jumps to conclusions a lot, he does have one advantage over Harry: he know a lot more about the wizarding world. This proves useful in a lot of cases. In this chapter, Ron warns a naive Harry about Riddle's diary, citing many instances when books have proven harmful to their readers.

Extremely Important Connection

So, Harry keeps Tom Riddle's diary. It mentions in this chapter that Harry feel drawn to it and can't throw it away. We don't find out how important this is or why Harry can't throw it away until the 6th book. We also find out in the 7th book why Harry is drawn to this particular magical object. We find out in this book that Harry and Tom Riddle are very similar people. Their similarities, and differences, we play a larger role later in the series. One noteworthy piece of information in this chapter is that the diary was from a muggle shop. I think the diary is a symbol for Riddle himself. Riddle resents growing up in the muggle world and seeks to prove how special he is. He therefore, took a mundane muggle object and made it extremely special. It's interesting if you note that similarity and even more interesting if you've read the 6th book and know just how significant the diary is.



You Dork!

When Harry is inside Riddle's memory, he finds himself in Headmaster Dippet's office. Harry tries to get Dippets attention, but Dippet shows no reaction. So, fearing Dippet might be deaf, Harry speaks louder. How dense are you, oh "chosen one?" Deaf is deaf unless in England, deaf means "old fart who is hard of hearing."

Half-Blood

Riddle mentions to Dippet that he is half-blood: muggle father and witch mother. It's interesting that in Half-blood Prince, the 6th book, that the real Half-blood Prince also had a muggle father and witch mother. Unless I'm mistaken, this is the only use of the words "half-blood" in the series until the 6th book.

How good are you?

Alright you Gryffindorks, lets see how good you are at solving plot elements. As we've already mentioned, several clues in this book lead us to the conclusion that the monster in the chamber of secrets is some kind of serpent. Harry, being a thick 12-year-old believes Riddles version that it was Hagrid's spider that killed the girl. Don't fall for the smoke and mirrors, readers, stick to the facts!