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Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Information, Rumors, and Fear
Prejudice vs. Respect
Friendship, Loyalty, and Bravery
Fate, Choice, and Identity
Rules, Rebellion, and Doing the Right Thing
Summary
Analysis
Harry wakes up the next day and his arm has returned to normal. He leaves to go look for Ron and Hermione, a little hurt that they didn’t come to check on him in the morning. Harry heads to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, where he finds Hermione and Ron starting to brew Polyjuice Potion. He starts to tell them about Colin, but they already know what has happened and figured they should get started.
Even in little thoughts like this one, Harry reveals how much he values friendship and how, without Ron and Hermione’s presence, he feels vulnerable and alone. Particularly coming out of seeing Colin attacked, it makes sense that Harry would want the support of his friends around him.
Themes
Harry also tells Ron and Hermione about the information that Dobby revealed about the Chamber of Secrets. Ron theorizes that Lucius opened the Chamber when he was at school and now Draco has opened it. Ron also wonders why no one has seen the monster sneaking around the school.
In a chapter full of rumors about Harry, the kids also begin to create their own rumors. Not only do they try to use the little information they have in order to make sense of the attacks, but they also pin it on someone whom they already dislike.
Themes
News about Colin spreads through the school by Monday. The air is thick with “rumor and suspicion.” First-years travel the halls in groups, and Ginny, who sat next to Colin in Charms, is especially upset. Many students start buying protective devices and talismans to defend themselves.
In this description, Rowling illustrates the scale of the rumor and suspicion that spreads through the castle. Now that the monster has attacked a student and not just a cat, the fact that no one has been able to guess what the monster might be or how it might be getting around creates a deep fear in the students.
Themes
In December, Harry, Ron, and Hermione still need a few ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. Hermione suggests that she do the actual stealing from Snape’s store so that the boys won’t get into any more trouble. During Potions, Harry creates a diversion in class while Hermione successfully slips in and out of Snape’s office unnoticed and steals the ingredients.
Hermione again recognizes the value of breaking the rules, particularly as it appears that the teachers aren’t able to stop the monster or even figure out what it might be. Together, Harry, Hermione and Ron bravely take it upon themselves to try and find out information about the Chamber and what is going on.
Themes
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A week later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that the school is starting a Dueling Club. At the Club’s first meeting, Lockhart (poorly) demonstrates with Snape the best way to disarm an opponent. Snape then partners Draco and Harry to duel. Draco hits Harry with a spell that makes him feel like he’s been hit with a saucepan. Harry returns a spell that hits Draco in the stomach. They continue trading spells until Snape stops them. The other students’ duels have resulted in similar chaos.
Harry’s inherent rivalry with Draco is understandable, considering that they have nearly opposite ways of treating people. Harry is inherently kind and respectful, while Draco is a bully who denigrates others he feels to be inferior to himself. This scene also reinforces how false Lockhart’s identity is; he’s famous for winning battles, but he shows here that he can’t even do basic spells.
Themes
Lockhart and Snape then try and demonstrate how to block spells, pulling Harry and Draco up in front of everyone. When the duel begins, Draco casts a spell that sends a snake flying from his wand. The snake starts to slither towards Justin Finch-Fletchley, but then Harry shouts “Leave him alone!” Miraculously, the snake slumps to the floor. Harry looks back at Justin, who is angry and terrified. Snape makes the snake vanish, and also looks at Harry oddly. Murmurs sweep through the hall.
It is revealed very shortly that when Harry speaks to the snake, he is speaking in snake language, which the others aren’t able to understand. Their inability to know what Harry is saying—their lack of knowledge about what is happening—inspires their fear and confusion, because it is unclear whether Harry was trying to help or hurt Justin.
Themes
Ron and Hermione pull Harry out of the room and ask him why he didn’t tell him he can speak Parseltongue, meaning he can talk to snakes. Harry explains that he thought a lot of people could do this, but Ron says it’s not common. Harry says that he told the snake to leave Justin alone, but Ron says that it seemed like Harry was “egging the snake on.” Harry is stunned that he spoke a different language without realizing it.
Harry’s ability to talk to snakes is also what prompts many of the rumors about him—namely, that he is Salazar Slytherin’s heir. Thus, Rowling demonstrates how fear of the unknown can lead people to spread dangerous and hurtful rumors in order to try and make sense of what they do not understand.
Themes
Ron and Hermione both look somber, but Harry doesn’t understand what’s wrong. Hermione explains that being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for, and now the school will think that he’s the Heir of Slytherin. Harry tries to protest, but Hermione says that for all he knows, he actually could be the heir.
Harry lies awake for hours that night, wondering if he could be a descendent of Slytherin. He knows very little about his father’s family. He continues to worry through the night, particularly when he remembers that the Sorting Hat tried to put him in Slytherin. Harry resolves to talk to Justin the next day in Herbology and explain what happened with the snake.
Harry’s ability to talk to snakes, coupled with his having no information about his father’s family, impacts his sense of identity, as he worries that he is inheriting abilities and histories over which he has no control whatsoever. Ultimately, this leads him to fear that he might have no control over his trajectory and could ultimately become a dark wizard himself.
Themes
The next day, Herbology is canceled due to a blizzard, and so Harry goes to try to find Justin. He decides to check the library, where several second-year Hufflepuffs are talking. When Harry approaches, he hears them talking about him and hides behind a shelf to listen. A boy named Ernie explains that he thinks Harry is the Heir of Slytherin and is trying to target Justin because Justin told him he was Muggle-born.
In this incident, all of Harry’s fears are intertwining. The uncertainty about Harry’s identity has led people to spread rumors about him and assume that he is prejudiced against Muggle-borns, , when all of Harry’s qualities show that he is anything but.
Themes
When a Hufflepuff girl tries to argue that Harry always seemed so nice and that he made Voldemort disappear, Ernie says that only a powerful Dark wizard could have survived Voldemort’s curse, and that’s probably why Voldemort wanted to kill Harry in the first place. Harry can’t take any more and walks up to the table, asking where Justin is. Harry says he wants to explain that he told the snake to back off.
Ernie’s reasoning demonstrates perhaps the most dangerous aspect of rumors. They lead people to search for evidence to confirm the beliefs that they already hold, because they are the only information available. Even Harry’s celebrity, which had been largely positive up to this point, is used against him here as Ernie assumes that must be a dark wizard if Voldemort tried to kill him.
Themes
Ernie and the other Hufflepuffs don’t believe Harry. Harry tries to explain that he doesn’t want to attack Muggle-borns. Ernie says that he heard Harry hates the Muggles he lives with. Harry counters by saying that anyone who lived with the Dursleys would hate them, and then walks out of the library.
Harry’s dislike of the Dursleys actually serves as more evidence that he is not prejudiced. He doesn’t like the Dursleys, but that doesn’t mean he dislikes all Muggles, because he recognizes that the Dursleys are not representative of Muggles as an entire group. Harry refuses to play into the kinds of generalizations that form the basis of prejudice.
Themes
In the hall, Harry runs into Hagrid, who is carrying a dead rooster. He explains that it’s the second one killed this term, though he doesn’t know why it’s happening. Hagrid then sees how angry Harry is and tries to ask what’s wrong, but Harry says he has to run off to get his books for Transfiguration.
Harry is extremely frustrated with being the subject of these rumors and feeling like people are making assumptions about who he is. This is particularly evident when he is so upset and insecure about what is happening that he even pushes away Hagrid, who is very loyal to Harry and always makes him feel better.
Themes
Harry starts to head back to his dorm, but he trips over something in a dark passageway. When he looks down, he sees that it is Justin Finch-Fletchley, petrified on the floor. Next to him is Nearly Headless Nick, who is floating immobile and horizontal six inches off of the floor. Harry doesn’t know what to do. He knows that people will suspect him, but he also wants to help.
Again, Harry’s thoughts reveal how different he is from Slytherin and Tom Riddle (which later becomes a major anxiety of Harry’s). Harry knows that he will certainly get in trouble if he is found with more petrified students, but his impulse is nonetheless to help them in any way he can. He chooses to stay, and this choice distinguishes him from Slytherin and Riddle, who would likely have put themselves first.
Themes
Peeves spots Harry, Justin, and Nick, and starts to scream that another attack has occurred. Doors fly open and Professor McGonagall comes out into the hall. Ernie, the Hufflepuff student, comes out and accuses Harry of the crime. Teachers start to move Justin and Nick up to the hospital wing, and then McGonagall takes Harry to Dumbledore’s office.
Harry is a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he is also a victim of rumors and fear. These rumors are not only false, but they are also distracting from any attempts to find the true Heir of Slytherin. It is easier for Ernie and others to believe that it is Harry than to try and discover who might actually be committing the crimes.
Themes
