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You are protected, in short, by your ability to love! The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort's! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror?" —Dumbledore's description of Harry's rare nature and the power that Harry has but not Lord Voldemort[src]

Harry James[58] Potter (b. 31 July 1980[1]) was an English half-blood[2] wizard, and one of the most famous wizards of modern times. He was the only child and son of James and Lily Potter (née Evans), both members of the original Order of the Phoenix. Harry's birth was overshadowed by a prophecy, naming either himself or Neville Longbottom as the one with the power to vanquish Lord Voldemort. After half of the prophecy was reported to Voldemort, courtesy of Severus Snape, Harry was chosen as the target due to his many similarities with the Dark Lord. In turn, this caused the Potter family to go into hiding. Voldemort made his first vain attempt to circumvent the prophecy when Harry was a year and three months old. During this attempt, he murdered Harry's parents as they tried to protect him, but this unsuccessful attempt to kill Harry led to Voldemort's first downfall. This downfall marked the end of the First Wizarding War, and to Harry henceforth being known as the "Boy Who Lived",[5] as he was the only known survivor of the Killing Curse.

One consequence of Lily's loving sacrifice was that her orphaned son had to be raised by her only remaining blood relative, his Muggle aunt, Petunia Dursley. While in her care he would be protected from Lord Voldemort, due to the Bond of Blood charm Albus Dumbledore placed upon him.[59] This powerful charm would protect him until he became of age, or no longer called his aunt's house home. Due to Petunia's resentment of her sister and her magic gifts, Harry grew up abused and neglected.

On his eleventh birthday, Harry learned that he was a wizard, from Rubeus Hagrid.[60] He began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991. The Sorting Hat was initially going to Sort Harry into Slytherin House, but Harry pleaded 'not Slytherin' and the Hat heeded this plea, instead sorting the young wizard into Gryffindor House.[61] At school, Harry became best friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He later became the youngest Quidditch Seeker in over a century and eventually the captain of the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team, winning two Quidditch Cups.[62] He became even better known in his early years for protecting the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, saving Ron's sister Ginny Weasley, solving the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, slaying Salazar Slytherin's basilisk, and learning how to conjure a corporeal stag Patronus at the age of thirteen. In his fourth year, Harry won the Triwizard Tournament, although the competition ended with the tragic death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Lord Voldemort. During the next school year, Harry reluctantly taught and led Dumbledore's Army. He also fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, during which he lost his godfather, Sirius Black.

Harry played a significant role in many other battles of the Second Wizarding War. He, Ron, and Hermione hunted down and destroyed Voldemort's Horcruxes. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry personally saw the deaths of Severus Snape and Fred Weasley while learning that Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, and many others had fallen in battle as well. He encountered Voldemort and sacrificed himself, knowing that his doing so was the only way to destroy the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside of him. In limbo, after Voldemort cursed him in the forest clearing, Albus Dumbledore gave Harry advice and background information on the Dark Lord. When told he could choose to live or to "move on", Harry chose to live. After he awoke, Harry confronted Voldemort and defeated him once and for all.

Harry was also noted for being the only known Master of Death, having united the three Deathly Hallows at the mere age of seventeen.

After the war, Harry became an Auror and helped reform and revolutionise the Ministry of Magic.[56] At some point, he married Ginny Weasley, with whom he had three children: James Sirius (named after his father and godfather), Albus Severus (named after Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape), and Lily Luna (named after his mother and Luna Lovegood). He was also named the godfather of Edward Remus Lupin. In 2007 Harry was promoted to Head of the Auror Office at the age of 26,[63][55] and would occasionally deliver Defence Against the Dark Arts lectures at Hogwarts.[56] He later went on to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement by the summer of 2020.[57]

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Biography

Early life (1980-1991)

Harry: "But what happened to Vol - Sorry, I mean, You-Know-Who?" Hagrid: "Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried to kill you. Makes yeh more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see ... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?" — Hagrid and Harry discussing Voldemort[src]

Harry James Potter was born on 31 July 1980, to James and Lily Potter (née Evans), two members of the original Order of the Phoenix at the height of the First Wizarding War, only hours after his classmate-to-be Neville Longbottom.[64]

Lily and James went into hiding in late 1979 when they discovered she was pregnant.[65] When Harry was born, Lily held a christening; it was quiet and quick, with only James, Lily, Harry, and Sirius Black in attendance.[66] Harry spent his infancy in hiding with his parents in the Potter cottage at Godric's Hollow in the West Country, England.[23]

For Harry's first birthday, Sirius bought him a toy broomstick. In Lily's letter to Sirius, it mentioned that this broomstick had been Harry's favourite present and that he had smashed a horrible vase that had been a gift from Petunia. In the letter, Lily also included a picture of Harry flying around on the broom and James chasing after him. Lily also stated in the letter that Harry looked pleased with himself while flying around on the toy broom. Lily and James also hosted a very quiet birthday tea. The only ones in attendance were them, Harry, and Bathilda Bagshot. Bathilda also used to dote on infant Harry. The Potters owned a cat, but it is unknown what happened to it after Voldemort's attack.[66]

To keep them safe from Lord Voldemort, who had marked them for death after hearing of a prophecy regarding his downfall at the hands of a male child born at the end of July in 1980, Albus Dumbledore suggested they use the Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore even offered to be the Potter's Secret Keeper, but the Potters had planned to make Harry's godfather Sirius Black their Secret Keeper instead. On Sirius' advice, they changed this designation to Peter Pettigrew, who they thought would be less suspicious.[67] In a terrible turn of fate, Pettigrew was a spy and Death Eater for Voldemort and barely a week later betrayed the Potter's and gave their whereabouts.[68]

This boy will be famous, a legend. I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in future. There will be books written about Harry, every child in our world will know his name!" —Minerva McGonagall regarding Harry's future in the wizarding world[src]

On the evening of Hallowe'en in 1981, Lord Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow and murdered James and Lily. He murdered James first, who tried to distract the Dark Lord; unfortunately, he did not have his wand with him and was killed immediately. Voldemort then advanced on Lily, who died trying to protect Harry.[69] Her sacrifice prevented the Killing Curse from working on Harry, resulting in her love for Harry becoming a barrier to protecting him. When Voldemort attempted the curse on Harry it backfired on the caster and instead of murdering Harry, Voldemort lost all his powers and his physical form was obliterated.

Voldemort was saved from death by the five Horcruxes he had made up to that point, including his diary, Gaunt's ring, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and Ravenclaw's diadem.[70] Later this also included Harry himself, because a piece of Voldemort's unstable soul latched onto the only living being present. This gave him some of Voldemort's abilities such as the ability to speak Parseltongue. This event made Harry the only person to have survived the Killing Curse, thus giving him the title the "Boy Who Lived". The failed curse left a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead marking him as Voldemort's equal. The scar would be a bane and also a blessing to Harry in the years to come, as it opened a telepathic link between Lord Voldemort and himself, giving each some awareness of each other's thoughts.

Rubeus Hagrid rescued Harry from the house, partially destroyed by Voldemort's faulty killing curse, and was given specific orders from Albus Dumbledore to take him to his aunt and uncle. As Hagrid left, he was intercepted by Sirius Black, a close friend of the Potters, who pleaded for Hagrid to give the baby to him, as he was the chosen guardian in the event of James and Lily's death. Hagrid refused, saying that he was under orders from Dumbledore to take Harry to his relatives. Sirius, though reluctant, relented and gave Hagrid his flying motorcycle to take Harry to Privet Drive, and left to find Peter Pettigrew, who subsequently faked his death and framed Sirius for his death and the death of twelve Muggles.[71] Later this encounter with Hagrid was used to support the idea that Sirius Black betrayed the Potters to Voldemort.

Hagrid delivered Harry to Dumbledore late on the evening of 1 November 1981.[5] Dumbledore left a letter of explanation to the Dursleys, but they never relayed it to Harry. Instead, Harry spent the next decade of his life in their strict and miserable home without knowing that he was a wizard.

Life at Privet Drive

I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?" —Vernon Dursley refusing that Harry was a wizard[src]

As Harry's aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, were Muggles, and they had no understanding of magic, and even though his aunt and uncle knew about his lineage, they wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. The Dursleys proudly considered themselves a "normal" family and despised anything out of the ordinary. They lied to Harry about his parents' death, claiming they had died in a car crash. They also claimed that the lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead (which he had received from Voldemort's failed Killing Curse, and could vaguely recall as if he 'strained his memory' a green flash of light and a high, cold, laugh.) was from the same car crash his parents died in.[72] He tried to understand what it was, or if it was from the car crash, but he simply could not. Petunia and Vernon forbade Harry from asking questions, particularly those regarding his parents. In addition, the Dursleys refused to have pictures of Lily and James, and did their best to avoid the subject of Harry's parents altogether.[73]

They resented Harry for his magic, which was sporadic, but evident and strongly discouraged any sort of imagination. They neglected Harry, verbally and emotionally abused him, and inflicted cruel punishments like depriving him of meals and locking him into the cupboard under the stairs on him whenever something "unusual" occurred. Their behaviour was left unreported to authorities. In his youth, Harry could make strange things happen without understanding why he could, as no one had told him that he was a wizard. For instance, after Petunia had sheared off all of his messy hair using a pair of kitchen scissors in her fury that it would not lay flat, leaving him almost completely bald with only the fringe at the front, it had grown all the way back, and to its previous messy state at that, by the next morning. Harry was punished, even though he had not done anything on purpose. Another time, Dedalus Diggle bowed to him in a shop, and Petunia furiously interrogated Harry as to know how he knew the man before leaving the shop hastily.[72]

The Dursleys spoiled and pampered their son Dudley and paid almost no attention to Harry; indeed, what little attention they did pay to him was negative in its entirety. All his clothes were hand-me-downs from Dudley and were far too large for Harry. He was made to sleep in the Cupboard Under the Stairs, while his cousin got two bedrooms to himself (one for sleeping in and one for storing all his toys). They also made Harry do household chores for them, such as making food and getting the post. In time, Dudley started bullying Harry. The Dursleys took Dudley and Piers Polkiss to someplace spectacular every year for his birthday, but the only thing Harry ever got for his birthday was one of Vernon's old socks or a coat hanger.

The Dursleys always hid evidence of Harry's existence by not having pictures of him in the house. Among the few people who did know about Harry were Petunia's friend Yvonne and Vernon's sister Marge, the latter of whom the boy was forced to consider an aunt to him despite not being a relative of his. Aunt Marge showed the most dislike for the frail boy while visiting Privet Drive during Dudley Dursley's fifth birthday, when she whacked Harry around the shins to stop him from beating Dudley at musical statues, and on holidays like Christmas, when she brought a computerised robot for Dudley and a box of dog biscuits for Harry.[72] She eventually made a fool out of the young Potter during Dudley's tenth birthday, when Harry accidentally stepped on the paw of her favourite pet bulldog Ripper, causing the enraged dog to chase him out into the garden and up a tree. Dudley laughed himself silly at the sight of his cousin then, and to the Dursleys' delight, Marge refused to call Ripper off until past midnight.[72]

Harry's hardship, however, was highly necessary as by returning to live with his mother's only living blood relative, the protection that Lily gave Harry would continue. While Harry could call that place home he could not be harmed. However, the Bond of Blood charm would be broken when Harry turned seventeen years old, or when he no longer called 4 Privet Drive his home.

Unknown to Harry, one of his neighbours, Arabella Figg, was a Squib. Unfortunately for Harry, to maintain favour with the Dursleys, she was forced by Albus Dumbledore to give him a lousy time whenever she had to look after him, as the Dursleys would never have let him go if they knew Harry was enjoying himself, a possibility that infuriated them. Harry discovered her connection to the wizarding world when it was revealed during the summer before his fifth year that she worked undercover for the Order of the Phoenix to keep tabs on Harry's suffering.

On 23 June 1991, Dudley's eleventh birthday, the Dursleys went to the zoo with Dudley's best friend Piers Polkiss. Unfortunately for the Dursleys, they had to take Harry with them, as Mrs Figg had broken her leg and there was no one to take Harry, and they refused to leave him alone in their house. At the zoo, Harry spoke with a boa constrictor and unintentionally made the glass of its enclosure disappear. This allowed the snake to slither out of his cage which scared Dudley into thinking it was after him. Harry was able to communicate in Parseltongue with the freed boa, which thanked Harry briefly, then slithered out of the reptile house calmly.[72] After this incident, the enraged Dursleys sentenced Harry to his cupboard until the beginning of the summer holidays.[74]

St. Grogory's Primary School

"At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang." —The reason Harry had no friends at school[src]

Harry attended St. Grogory's Primary School,[75] a Muggle primary school, with Dudley. He had no friends there, since all the students were afraid of Dudley's gang, all of whose members hated Harry because Dudley did. In particular, Dudley's friends liked to play a unique game — 'Harry Hunting' — which involved chasing Harry. Although he was good at sports, he was always the last picked for a team because no one wanted to admit to Dudley that they liked him, rather than because he was no good.

Harry got decent, if not good grades at school. On one occasion, Harry accidentally turned his teacher's wig blue; on another, he accidentally apparated onto the school kitchen roof when escaping from Dudley's gang; and on a third, he made Dudley's old jumper shrink as Aunt Petunia tried to shove it over his head. These incidents always enraged the Dursleys, and after each, they would punish Harry by throwing him into the cupboard — except for after the jumper incident because Aunt Petunia thought that the jumper had shrunk in the wash.

If Harry had not gone to Hogwarts, then he would have attended Stonewall High, a Muggle secondary school that Harry dreaded attending.[76]

Discovery of being a wizard

Hagrid: "Harry - yer a wizard." Harry: "I'm a what?" Hagrid: "A wizard, o' course, an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's about time yeh read yer letter." — Hagrid informing Harry of his heritage[src]

Harry had no birthday celebrations until the day he turned 11, which was the same day that he discovered the exceptional reality about his identity. On the week of Harry's birthday, hundreds of letters began arriving at the Dursleys's home, addressed to him from a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When the Dursleys saw the first letter was addressed as "cupboard under the stairs", they panicked at the thought of Harry's ill treatment being observed and transferred him to Dudley's second bedroom out of fear of being arrested for child abuse, which soon appeared on letters as the smallest bedroom.

When Uncle Vernon first read the letter, he turned a pale porridge grey out of fear that wizards were trying to contact Harry. Because of this, Vernon tried to destroy the letters in a futile attempt to keep Harry from his destiny. But the letters kept coming in increasingly larger quantities, to the point where they started flying out of the fireplace by the dozens, and as they did, the Dursleys saw no alternative, but to flee from them. This was not enough to let the Dursleys avoid the letters, as the owls carrying these letters followed them wherever they went. On 30 July 1991, In a final desperate move on, the Dursleys moved to a shack on a rocky island at the edge of the sea.[74]

At midnight on Harry's birthday, Rubeus Hagrid appeared in person to find out why Harry had not received his letter. He was infuriated by the Dursleys and explained to Harry, in spite of Vernon's obstinate protests, that he was a wizard, how his parents died, that Dumbledore demanded him to take Harry from the ruined house to his hated relatives, and that he was to be sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[60]

This would be Harry's first birthday celebration and Hagrid gave him a small homemade birthday cake and later, a snowy owl. Harry named her Hedwig, a name he had found from his textbook (History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot). This was the first birthday present Harry ever received. Hagrid took Harry to the Leaky Cauldron, where he learned that he was famous. He met Quirinus Quirrell, his soon-to-be Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, the Inn-keeper Tom, a witch named Doris Crockford, and Dedalus Diggle — the man who had bowed to Harry several years earlier. Hagrid then took Harry to Diagon Alley, where he learned more about his fame in the wizarding world and that his parents had left him a small fortune in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Harry bought his first wand from Ollivander's that very day. The wand that chose Harry was made of holly wood and had a phoenix feather core; it was 11", nice and supple. The phoenix feather at its core came from Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes. It was crafted by Garrick Ollivander, who had also created a twin wand. This wand had been made from yew, and contained the only other feather supplied by Fawkes. This twin wand had long ago chosen Tom Riddle as its master. But Riddle, after he turned to evil and assumed the alias of Lord Voldemort, ended up using this wand to attack Harry and his parents. The two wands, sharing the same phoenix origin, had a unique connection which would prevent them from successfully duelling against each other in the years to come.

Hogwarts years (1991-1997)

First year

Albus Dumbledore: "Harry, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have you touch him? It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you. And that kind of act leaves a mark... This kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin." Harry: "What is it?" Albus Dumbledore: "Love, Harry. Love." — Professor Dumbledore regarding the power of love[src]

Harry was guided further to his destiny on 1 September 1991 , when he was dropped off by the Dursleys at King's Cross Station. Vernon helped Harry wheel his things to the platforms and left laughing about how Platform Nine and Three-Quarters hadn't been built yet. The family then drove off leaving Harry at the busy station all alone. With only ten minutes left until the train's departure at eleven a.m., Harry was panicking when he overheard a red-headed family complaining about the station being packed with Muggles and he noticed they had an owl with their belongings.

Harry watched as the older boys magically passed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Harry nervously interrupted them and was introduced to the youngest son Ron, who was starting his first year as well. Molly (Ron's mother) kindly gave him instructions on how to board the platform. Harry quickly ran through the barrier, followed by Ron, and arrived on the Platform, catching his first sight of the Hogwarts Express. As most of the compartments were full, Harry pushed his things to near the end of the train, and with some help from twins from the red-headed family, was able to get his things aboard.[77]

While helping, the twins noticed his scar and recognised that he must be Harry Potter. While Harry sat near the window in his compartment watching the family, the twins Fred Weasley and George reported this discovery to the amazement of their little sister Ginny and their older brother Percy who was a Prefect and had already changed into his robes. After boarding, the train soon departed and Ron asked if he could sit with Harry, who agreed. Ron asked Harry about his scar, and Harry asked if Ron's whole family were wizards, which they are except for his mother’s second cousin, who was an accountant. When the Trolley witch came by around half-past twelve, Harry bought some of all the treats from the cart and shared them with Ron.

Neville Longbottom soon came by searching for his lost toad, Trevor. While Ron was attempting a magic spell to change his rat Scabbers, Hermione Granger interrupted trying to help find Trevor. After Ron's spell failed, Hermione introduced herself and upon learning Harry's name, informed him that he was in several books on magical history. While speculating which house they might be in, Harry and Ron were interrupted by Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Although Draco attempted to ingratiate himself, Harry refused to shake his hand after he insulted Ron and his family. When Goyle attempted to take some of their Chocolate Frog Cards, Scabbers bit his finger and helped drive them off. Ron afterwards explained that the Malfoy family were on Voldemort's side, but came back saying they had been bewitched, although his father didn't believe it.[77]

Upon arriving, Hagrid gathered all the first years together and they followed a path down to the edge of a Great Lake. In groups of no more than four, they climbed aboard a little fleet of small boats, and sailed across the lake to an underground harbour. Helping to remind Neville to take his toad, Hagrid took them up a passageway to the gates of the castle.[77]

The Sorting ceremony

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." —Harry's choice to be Sorted into Gryffindor[src]

The new students were greeted at the castle door by Professor Minerva McGonagall , who explained the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor Ravenclaw , and Slytherin , as well as the rules of the House Cup . McGonagall led the first years into a small room off the Entrance Hall and told them to wait until she returned. When she did, they were led into the Great Hall , where they were greeted by the rest of the students, and more importantly, a shabby wizard's hat on a small stool

Harry was particularly anxious, as he did not feel that any of the Houses as they were described in the Hat's song were right for him. Harry noted that Draco Malfoy, whom Harry had met in Diagon Alley, was instantly placed in Slytherin, and remembered what Hagrid and Ron had told him about Slytherin's reputation for turning out Dark Wizards, and that Voldemort had been in Slytherin. When Harry put on the Hat, it slipped down past his eyes, and the hat told him that he "would do well in Slytherin". Thinking of Voldemort, Harry desperately repeated the phrase "not Slytherin". The Hat heeded Harry's request and placed Harry in Gryffindor along with Ron and Hermione Granger. In his second year during a visit to Dumbledore's office, the Sorting Hat re-emphasised the idea that Harry "would do well in Slytherin".

The Sorting Ceremony was followed by the Welcoming Feast. Harry, who had never been allowed to eat as much as he wanted, was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of foods in front of him. Dessert arrived, and talk turned to the first years' families. Neville Longbottom told the others how his family thought he was a Squib until his Great-Uncle accidentally dropped him out of a window, and he bounced.

It was during the Feast that Harry's scar hurt for the first time: Harry was looking up at the staff table at Professor Quirrell when the hook-nosed teacher Quirrell was talking to looked past Quirrell at Harry, who immediately felt a sharp pain in his scar. This is because Lord Voldemort was inhabiting Quirrell's body as anytime Voldemort is near Harry's scar hurt. After the last morsels melted from the golden plates and goblets, Dumbledore gave a speech welcoming the new students to the school and the old students back. He added a few warnings about staying away from the Forbidden Forest, and avoiding the third-floor corridor before leading the school in singing the School Song and sending everyone off to their dormitories.

First years lessons/classes

Severus Snape: "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Harry: "I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" Severus Snape: "...And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter" — From this first interaction Harry deduces Snape's hatred of him[src]

In his first ever Potions class, Harry discovered that Professor Snape hated him, mocking him as the school's "new celebrity" before teaching the class how to brew a Boil-Cure Potion . Harry and Ron went down to Hagrid’s hut for tea, where they met Hagrid's huge and fierce-looking dog, Fang . Hagrid told Harry that he was overreacting to Snape’s treatment, asserting that he would have no reason to hate him. Hagrid and Ron began to talk about Ron's brother older Charlie Weasley . While they were talking, Harry picked up a cutting from thethat was lying on the table. The article detailed a break-in that occurred on Harry's birthday at Gringotts. The vault that was broken into was number 713, the same vault Hagrid visited with Harry on their trip to Diagon Alley.

One of the things Harry had been looking forward to was learning to fly until he found out that the Gryffindors would be taking flying lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy had been bragging about his skill to anyone who would listen. Madam Rolanda Hooch taught the class by starting with basic broom control. After learning the theory, the students were told to hover gently off the ground on Madam Hooch's go-ahead. Neville, terrified of being left behind, panicked and kicked off before anyone else, rising fifty feet in the air before falling off and breaking his wrist. Madam Hooch took Neville to the Hospital Wing after warning the other students to stay on the ground until she got back.

Draco Malfoy nicked Neville's Remembrall from off the ground and was told to give it to Harry, jeering that he'd leave it "up a tree" unless Harry stopped him and took off on his broom. Harry mounted his broom and kicked off after him. As much to his surprise as everyone else's, he discovered that he could not only fly, but that it was something he didn't need to be taught. Bending low on the broom handle, he shot toward Draco, who realised that Harry was a better flyer and threw the Remembrall into the air, daring the famous boy to catch it. Harry raced the ball towards the ground, catching it and coming out of his dive a foot from the ground. He toppled lightly onto the grass amidst the cheers of the Gryffindors, grinning wildly.

His euphoria did not last long however, as Professor McGonagall quickly arrived on the scene. Having seen the dive, she ordered Harry to follow her. Harry, expecting punishment, was instead introduced to Oliver Wood, whom she pulled out of a Charms class. Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Wood's confusion at being introduced to a first year quickly turned to excitement and ecstasy upon hearing McGonagall recount the dive. He told her that Harry would need a decent broom if they were to compete, and explained to Harry that he would make an excellent Seeker, perhaps rivalling the legendary Charlie Weasley.

The Midnight Duel

Harry: "You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you." Draco Malfoy: "I'd take you on anytime on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?" — Malfoy challenging Harry to a one-on-one duel[src]

Harry told Ron about everything that happened after he left with McGonagall over dinner that night, but warned him that Wood wanted to keep it a secret. Much calmer on the ground, and with his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle flanking him, Draco came over to taunt Harry about getting in trouble earlier. Enraged that Harry not only escaped trouble, but was instead rewarded, he challenged Harry to a wizard’s duel. In spite of Hermione’s attempt to dissuade them from breaking the school rules, (or perhaps because of it), Harry accepted the challenge.

As they left the tower, the trio found Neville (whose wrist had been fixed by Madam Pomfrey) waiting outside, having forgotten the password. Neville decided to go with them and the four arrived at the Trophy Room (the site of the duel), but Malfoy was nowhere to be found. They speculated that he may have chickened out and were deciding what to do next when they heard the school caretaker Argus Filch and his cat, Mrs Norris, enter the room. Realising that Draco tricked them and told Filch their location, they attempted to quietly exit the room. A nearby doorknob rattled and Peeves, Hogwarts' resident poltergeist, burst into the hallway, threatening to expose them.[78]

Growing desperate, Ron took a swipe at Peeves, who began to bellow their whereabouts as loud as he could, attracting Filch. The four kids ran right to the end of the corridor, where they found themselves stopped by a locked door, which Hermione opened with the Unlocking Charm using Harry's wand. They hurried inside, thinking themselves out of danger until turning around and coming face-to-face with a monstrous sight: a giant three-headed dog. Choosing Filch over death, the children ran for it, somehow managing to get back to their dormitory without running into anyone along the way. Though shaken by the night’s events, Harry’s interest in exploring was piqued by Hermione’s pointing out that the dog was standing on a trapdoor.

The Nimbus 2000

"Wood — I've found you a Seeker. The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?" —Harry becomes Gryffindor's new Seeker[src]

Over breakfast the next morning, Harry and Ron were discussing what Fluffy could be guarding when the mail arrived. Harry, who had received no mail apart from Hagrid’s letter, was intrigued as everyone else by the long, oddly-shaped package in the mail that morning, and was even more surprised than the others when he discovered what was inside: a Nimbus 2000, and with a note from Professor McGonagall warning him not to open the package at the table and that he was to meet Wood that night for Quidditch practice. Taking the broom up to their dormitory, Harry and Ron were stopped by Malfoy, who seized the package and told Harry that first-year students are not allowed their own brooms. When Professor Flitwick walked up to them, he tried to report Harry, but Flitwick, who had been told of Harry’s special permission, just expressed admiration for Harry’s talent.

Hallowe'en

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." —Harry and Ron form a friendship with Hermione[src]

On Hallowe'en, Professor Flitwick began teaching his students how to perform the Levitation Charm. Only Hermione succeeded; Ron, offended by her air of superiority, later made a nasty comment that she overheard. The comment was about her lack of friends, causing her to run off to lock herself in the girl's bathroom in tears and making him and Harry feel slightly guilty. When the two went down to the Hallowe'en feast later, their guilt was forgotten amidst the splendour of the decorations.

Partway into the feast, Quirrell arrived to announce that there was a twelve-foot Mountain Troll in the dungeons before fainting where he stood. The prefects led the students back to their dorms, but Harry realised that Hermione did not know about the troll and convinced Ron to help save her, since they were responsible. They sneaked off to the girl’s bathroom to warn Hermione, locking the troll inside. However, they didn't realise their mistake until they heard Hermione's terrified scream emanate from the bathroom. A horrified Harry and Ron ran back into the bathroom to rescue her. After a brief skirmish, during which Harry stuck his wand up the trolls nose. Ron finally knocked the troll out, by levitating the troll's own club to smash into it' head.

The teachers arrived, attracted by the troll’s yells, to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione covered in dust, and the bathroom in disarray. Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor, began scolding the boys for not going straight to their dormitories with the rest of their house, but instead putting themselves in grave danger. Much to Harry and Ron’s surprise, Hermione lied to McGonagall and told her that she had gone looking for the troll, as she thought she could handle them. She claimed that Harry and Ron were looking for her, (which was true), and she would most likely be dead if the boys had failed to rescue her (also true). The three bonded over the shared experience, and were friends thereafter.

Quidditch

Harry: "I've got the Snitch!" Marcus Flint: "He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it!" — Harry catches the Golden Snitch with his mouth[src]

As the Quidditch season began Harry became increasingly nervous. The first match of the season was against Slytherin . Harry was under increasing pressure to show that he was not just a famous name. In an attempt to calm his nerves, Harry borrowed a book entitled. A book that was comprehensive history of the sport, that Hermione most have checked put from the library. During break the day before the match, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were huddled together around a jar of flames , which had been conjured by Hermione, to keep warm.

Snape noticed their guilty faces, and looking for a reason to punish them, confiscated Harry’s book on the feeble pretext that library books were not be taken outside. Harry noticed that Snape was limping, as though his leg was injured, strengthening his suspicions that the Potions Master was after whatever it was that Fluffy was guarding. Nervous about the next day's match, Harry decided to ask Snape for the book back; realising that he would most likely be in the staffroom and that it would be harder for Snape to bully him if there were other teachers around, Harry decided to confront him. Approaching the door, Harry overheard Snape complaining to Filch about Fluffy. After opening the door Harry saw Filch helping Snape to bandage his leg. He returned to the Common Room and then told his two friends everything he had seen.

Harry had little time to dwell on Snape’s injury as the first Quidditch match began the very next morning. Harry's job as being the Gryffindor Seeker was to catch the Golden Snitch. The snitch is a walnut-sized gold ball, that is extremely fast and difficult to see. The entire match rested upon the retrival of the Snitch. Harry’s first attempt to catch the Snitch was foiled when the Slytherin Seeker blatched him. Though the Seeker was penalised, the move succeeded in stopping Harry from getting to the Snitch.

Soon after, Harry’s broom began bucking uncontrollably as if trying to unseat him. The bucking became even more violent with each passing second, until Harry was hanging from the broom with just one hand. The crowd looked on with horror, some of the professors had their wands at the ready should he fall. Ron and Hermione began to wonder if the other was at fault. That is until Hagrid, who had arrived to watch the game, noted that it would take powerful dark magic to make a broomstick so hard to manage. Magic that powerful is well above the level of a second year and therefore had to be cases by a qualified wizard. This announcement did nothing to help the worried friends.

Hermione, who had turned her gaze away from Harry, and was scanning the stands, noticed that Snape was staring unblinkingly at Harry and muttering nonstop under his breath. Thinking quickly, Hermione took advantage of the fact that everyone’s attention was now focused on Harry (and the Weasley twins’ attempts to rescue him) to run around the entire stadium, knocking over Professor Quirrell, and ending up behind Snape. Muttering a few "well-chosen words" Hermione lit Snape’s robes on fire with Bluebell Flames; a yell of shock told her she had done her job and she scooped the fire into a jar. Suddenly, up in the air, the spell on Harry’s broomstick was broken and he was once again able to control his broom. The spectators watched in confusion as Harry dove towards the ground, only to clasp his hand to his mouth as if he was being violently sick the instant he landed. In actuality Harry had caught the Snitch in his mouth. His capture of the Snitch ended the match, thus Gryffindor won.

After the match, Hagrid took the three back to his hut. Ron and Hermione told Harry and Hagrid about what was happening on the other side of the stands, and how Snape was cursing his broomstick. Hagrid, however, did not believe them, asking why Snape would try to kill Harry; Harry told Hagrid about Snape being bitten by the dog in the third-floor corridor. Hagrid, surprised by their knowledge, involuntarily revealed that the dog belonged to him, and that what the dog was guarding did not concern them, as it was a secret known only to Albus Dumbledore and a man named Nicolas Flamel.

Christmas season

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." —Albus Dumbledore warning Harry about the Mirror[src]

Impressed as they were with the fact that Harry had managed to hold onto a bucking broomstick, Malfoy soon found that the rest of the school no longer found his taunts that Harry was to be replaced amusing, and so reverted to teasing Harry about having to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. Harry, however, was looking forward to spending Christmas away from the Dursleys , especially in light of the fact that Ron was also staying at Hogwarts, but also because it would give them some time to look up Nicolas Flamel ; they were certain that the librarian would be able to find a book on Flamel in an instant, but were worried that it might be suspicious, and were thus forced to search for themselves.

On Christmas day, Harry and Ron awoke to a pile of presents each at the foot of their beds. At the bottom of the pile, he found a package containing an Invisibility Cloak and an anonymous note telling him only that the cloak once belonged to his father, and to "use it well". That night Harry, thoughts on the Cloak and decided to try it out. Realising he could go anywhere, he snuck back to the library and headed straight for the Restricted Section. Knowing he had to start somewhere, Harry pulled down one of the heavier books, and let it fall open on his knee. To his shock and horror, the silence was rent by a blood-curdling scream that issued from the book in front of him. He stuffed the book back in its place and ran for the door, knocking over the lantern he brought with him in his haste. Ducking under Filch’s outstretched arms, Harry ran down the dark corridors, away from the library, and away from Filch.

Thinking he had escaped, Harry was scared to hear Filch’s voice approaching, and horrified when he realised whom Filch was talking to: Snape. As Snape and Filch rounded the corner, Harry realised that although his father’s cloak made him invisible, it did not stop him from being solid, and that he had no chance of sneaking past them, as the corridor was particularly narrow. Thinking quickly, (and panicking slightly), Harry noticed a door to his left; slipping inside, he found himself in an abandoned classroom. After Filch and Snape passed his hiding place, Harry relaxed and took in more details about the room he was in.

In doing so, he noticed something he had missed the first time: an old, gilded mirror bearing the inscription “Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi”. Stepping in front of the mirror, Harry very nearly cried out in shock: inside the mirror he saw a large crowd of people standing behind him. Shocked, Harry turned around to look at the room, but saw no one there. Turning back to the mirror and looking more closely, Harry realised that the man and woman in the front looked oddly like him. The man looked just like him, from his untidy hair to his glasses, and the woman, Harry saw, had the same eyes he had. Understanding, Harry focused on other members of the crowd, and saw others who had his untidy hair, his eyes, and even an old man who had Harry’s knees; Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.

The next night, Harry brought Ron with him to the mirror room. Ron did not see Harry’s family in the mirror, but instead saw himself standing alone, tall, holding the House Cup, wearing badges indicating he was Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. The two began arguing over who would be allowed to look in the mirror; Mrs Norris, Filch’s prowling cat, entered the room, attracted by the sounds of their argument. The next day, Ron, worried about being caught and about his friend’s obsession with the mirror, warned Harry not to return; Harry, however, was not to be dissuaded.

Going to the room that evening, Harry was ready to stay there all night, staring at the family he lost. However, in his haste, he failed to notice Professor Dumbledore standing by the door until after he removed his cloak. Dumbledore, who had been waiting for Harry, explained that the mirror, which was known as the “Mirror of Erised”, displayed the deepest, most desperate desire of whomever looked into it. Harry, who had never known his family, saw them standing around him; Ron, ever overshadowed by his older brothers, saw himself standing alone, the best of them all.

Before sending Harry back to bed, however, Dumbledore warned him that the mirror was and a dangerous object; men had been driven mad by what they saw in the mirror, not knowing if what they saw was real, or even possible. He told Harry that the mirror was to be moved to a new location, and warned Harry to not go looking for it. Before he left, Harry asked the headmaster what he saw in the mirror. Much to his surprise, Dumbledore told Harry that he saw himself with a pair of woollen socks. Despite his promise to Dumbledore, Harry found it difficult to forget the image of his parents, until Wood told the team that Snape would be refereeing the next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff.

Shortly before the match, Malfoy, ever eager to pick on Neville, used the Leg-Locker Curse on Neville, forcing him to bunny hop his way back to the Common Room. Harry told Neville he was "worth twelve of Malfoy" and gave him a Chocolate Frog. Thanking Harry, Neville handed the card back to Harry for his collection. Looking down, Harry noted it was Dumbledore's card, the first he ever got. He turned the card over and suddenly remembered where he read the name Nicolas Flamel before: on the train on the way to school.

As the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match drew nearer, tensions mounted in the school; Gryffindor had failed to overtake Slytherin in the Inter-House Quidditch Cup for seven years, and Harry was worried that it would be impossible with Snape as a referee. Unknown to Harry, Ron and Hermione had been practising the Leg-Locker Curse to use on Snape, should he show any signs of wanting to harm Harry. Before the match began, Wood took Harry aside and reminded him that he needed to catch the Snitch as soon as he could, before Snape could favour Hufflepuff too much. Harry performed his role as Seeker phenomenally, catching the Snitch within five minutes of the game starting, putting Gryffindor in first place for the Quidditch Cup.

Detention

Firenze: "It will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." Harry: "But — who would choose such a life?" — Firenze explaining the properties of unicorn blood[src]

Having realised how much Harry, Ron, and Hermione had worked out about the Stone after running into them in the library, Rubeus Hagrid told them to meet him in his hut later. When the trio arrived later, they noticed that the fire was lit, despite the heat of the day. Although he was reluctant to answer their questions, Hermione managed to manipulate him into talking about the various protections used to guard it: Fluffy, the three headed dog, was Hagrid's, along with enchantments from Professors Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape. Harry, growing uncomfortable in the heat, asked Hagrid to open a window, something Hagrid refused to do as he had a dragon egg in the fire. Unfortunately Draco Malfoy discovered the dragon, and decided to use the knowledge to get revenge by getting them into trouble for possessing an illegal dragon. So Malfoy in turn, tried to tell McGonagall of the trio's activities.

To save everyone involved, Harry, Ron, and Hermione convinced Hagrid to send Norbert off to Ron's brother Charlie Weasley, who would take Norbert to a Romanian dragon preserve. While helping Hagrid to prepare Norbert for the journey, the dragon bit Ron's hand, causing it to swell up and forcing Ron to see Madam Pomfrey. On the pre-arranged night, Harry and Hermione managed to smuggle Norbert in a crate up to the Astronomy Tower under Harry's Invisibility cloak. On the way up they witnessed Professor McGonagall hauling Malfoy away for being out of bed at night, who protested that Harry was in possession of a dragon. Harry and Hermione passed the crate off to Charlie's friends and headed back down the stairs, where they were confronted by a gleeful Argus Filch; they had left the Cloak behind.

Filch took them to McGonagall's office, where they found Neville, who had attempted to warn them about Malfoy. Minerva McGonagall, who was very disappointed in them, took fifty points each from Harry, Hermione, and Neville and gave the three detention, which they were to serve along with Malfoy. Harry's popularity, riding high on his Quidditch wins plummeted: no one wanted to talk to the "stupid first year" who, along with two others, had lost Gryffindor their chance of defeating Slytherin, and winning the House Cup. A week or so before exams, Harry's new determination to not meddle in other's business was tested when he heard Professor Quirrell, whimpering as if he was being threatened. Believing that Snape was the one threatening Quirrell, and that he was going after the Stone, Hermione suggested that they go talk to Professor Dumbledore, but Harry dismissed the idea, as they had no proof.

The next morning, Harry, Hermione, and Neville received notes from Professor McGonagall informing them their detention would begin at eleven that night. Argus Filch took them out to the Forbidden Forest, where Hagrid was waiting for them. Hagrid led them into the Forbidden Forest and showed them a pool of unicorn blood on the ground. They split up, Hagrid taking Harry and Hermione, while Neville and Malfoy went off with Fang. After Malfoy scared Neville into sending up red sparks, Hagrid sent Harry off with Malfoy, deciding that Malfoy would be less likely to scare Harry.

As they continued, Harry noticed the pools of unicorn blood they were following seemed to be growing larger and larger, as if the animal had been thrashing around. Eventually, they came to a clearing and found the laying on the ground, and very dead. As they watched, a hooded figure emerged from the bushes and began to drink the unicorn's blood. Malfoy screamed and bolted away with Fang, leaving Harry, half blinded by the pain in his scar to stumble away from the advancing figure. Harry was saved by Firenze, a palamino centaur, who allowed Harry to ride on his back out of the forest. Firenze told Harry the properties of unicorn blood. Harry realised that there would only be one person who would be so desperate as to kill a unicorn: Lord Voldemort.

The Philosopher's Stone

Harry: ""Professor, I think — I know — that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall: "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected." — The trio warn McGonagall of the plot to steal the stone[src]

While talking to Ron and Hermione after finishing their exams Harry realised the strange coincidence that had occurred: Hagrid wanted a dragon more than anything else, only to meet a stranger who had one to give him. They ran down to ask Hagrid more about the man who gave him Norbert, only to find out that the stranger never lowered his hood, something of a fashion in the Hogs head . Hagrid explained that he couldn't remember much, as the man kept buying him drinks, but said that he thought they talked about Hogwarts and the kinds of creatures Hagrid looks after there.

Focused on remembering what had happened that night, Hagrid accidentally let slip that Fluffy fell asleep when played music. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, now convinced that Snape had all the information he needed to get past Fluffy, decided to go see Professor Dumbledore and tell him their suspicions. While walking across the Entrance Hall, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall, and decided to tell her what they'd found out. She insisted that no one could steal the Stone, and told them that Dumbledore was in London for the day.

Main article: Attack in the Underground Chambers

As the trio set off that night to stop Snape, they were stopped themselves by Neville, who believed they were sneaking out without reason again, and was worried that they would loose Gryffindor even more points. Desperate as they were for time, Hermione paralysed Neville. When they arrived the third-floor corridor, it was to find Fluffy awake, but a harp by his feet. Remembering what Hagrid told them, Harry began to blow into the wooden flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas. From the first notes, Fluffy's eyes began to droop, and he quickly fell asleep. Jumping through the trapdoor, they found themselves in Professor Sprout's room, filled with Devil's Snare, which almost smothered them.

The next room, Professor Flitwick's, held a bunch of flying keys and some broomsticks. Harry found the correct key, caught it, and unlocked the next door with it. The next room was Professor McGonagall's, and had a large chessboard, for a game of Wizard's Chess which Ron won at the cost of sacrificing himself. Harry and Hermione continued to the next room (leaving an unconscious Ron where they could return for him), to find an unconscious troll; Professor Quirrell's room. Lastly, they entered Professor Snape's room, and found seven potions in bottles along with a roll of paper giving clues on which one to drink to continue: a logic puzzle. Hermione solved the puzzle, and at Harry's urging, drank the potion that allowed her to head back so that she could get Ron out, while Harry drank the potion to go forward to the final room.

Once inside the room, Harry's attention was drawn to two things: the Mirror of Erised, and Quirrell. Quirrell bound Harry before explaining that the Mirror was the key to finding the Stone. Desperate to distract him from the Mirror, Harry questioned Quirrell, who revealed that was serving Lord Voldemort, and although Snape hated Harry (because Snape allegedly loathed his father in their time at school), he never wanted him dead. Unable to locate the stone, Quirrell asked Voldemort for help; much to Harry's surprise, a voice which seemed to issue from Quirrell himself said "to use the boy".

Looking in the Mirror, Harry saw his reflection pull the Stone out of his pocket and replace it, at which point he felt the real Stone drop his real pocket. He told Quirrell that he saw himself winning the House Cup, but Voldemort, an accomplished Legilimens, informed Quirrell that Harry was lying, and ordered Quirrell to allow him to speak "to the boy". Quirrell unwrapped his turban, and turned away from Harry. Voldemort, who was sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head, demanded that Harry give him the Stone. Harry refused, and Quirrell seized him, causing Harry's scar to sear with pain; but contact with Harry's skin burned Quirrell's hands, forcing him to release Harry. Harry, realising that contact caused Quirrell pain, grabbed Quirrell's arm and held on until he blacked out.

He woke in the Hospital Wing, where Albus Dumbledore reassured him that Quirrell did not succeed at getting the Stone, and that the Stone had in fact, been destroyed. Dumbledore then explained the reason why Quirrell could not touch him was that because Harry's mother had died to save him, granting him protection against Voldemort.

At the End-of-Term Feast, after seemingly congratulating Slytherin on winning the House Cup, Dumbledore awarded Ron and Hermione fifty points, Harry sixty points, and Neville ten, which allowed them to win the cup.

Second year

Ron Weasley: "You're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?... Now the whole school is gonna think you're his great-great-great-grandson or something." : " Harry: "But I'm not! I can't be." Hermione Granger: "He lived a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be." — Harry finding out that he is a Parselmouth[src]

Harry's second year in 1992 started out badly and gradually got worse. Throughout the preceding summer, the Dursleys became so fearful of his newly discovered magical abilities that they locked away all of his school supplies immediately after his return home to them. They even went as far as to ban him from saying words pertaining or related to magic in general, as evident to Harry getting reprimanded by Uncle Vernon for saying the word "magic" at the breakfast table one day. This, however, did not stop Harry from exploiting their paranoia in order to have quiet time alone, such as taunting Dudley with made-up magical incantations (like Jiggery Pokery Hocus Pocus , and Squiggly wiggly ) whenever the latter teased him. Furthermore, he had no contact with any of his friends nor any news from the wizarding world, and Hedwig took to making noise out of boredom from being padlocked in her cage.

On 31 July (Harry's twelfth birthday), Harry felt very lonely from receiving no letters from his friends. Dudley taunted him stating "Who would want to be friends with you?" The Dursleys seemed to have forgotten his birthday too, for they were too busy preparing for a dinner party with a client of Vernon's at work. The sight of the hedge supposedly staring back startled Harry, but Dudley Dursley came over to bother him as the eyes vanished. Harry tried to scare his cousin away by pretending the use of incantations would set the hedge on fire. Petunia then threatened him with a soapy pan and tasked him with a list of chores to keep him out of her way until Vernon and Dudley returned home from buying dinner jackets.

When he was sent up to his bedroom later that evening for the dinner party, a house-elf named Dobby waiting on his bed to warn him against returning to Hogwarts. As it meant putting himself in great danger. He tried to tell Dobby that Hogwarts was his home and where he belonged. The elf then revealed that he prevented the direct deliverance of the mail from Harry's friends and promised to give the letters back when Harry complied with the warning.

This bargain failed as well, so Dobby crashed the dinner party downstairs via a Hover Charm on Petunia's homemade masterpiece of pudding, which splattered everywhere when the spell was lifted, and disappeared. The mess left behind was thus blamed on Harry, who received an official warning from the Ministry of Magic about using magic outside school. The Dursleys taking advantage of this incident and using it as a means to suppress the magical blood in their nephew, locked him in his room with bars on his window to prevent him from returning to Hogwarts as punishment.

Three nights later, Harry was rescued from his imprisonment by Ron, who was worried about not hearing from him all summer and flew with his older brothers Fred and George Weasley in a flying Ford Anglia belonging to their father Arthur Weasley, the Head of the Ministry's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, to break off the bars on Harry's window and help him retrieve his school things. Hedwig's screeches soon alerted the Dursleys of the getaway, but they were unable to do anything as the car flew off with Harry in tow. During the flight to the Weasley family's home the Burrow, Harry told Ron and the twins about Dobby's warning, which Fred and George concluded must have been part of a joke from Draco Malfoy, whose family was of great wealth.

They arrived at their destination early the next morning to find a worried-sick Molly Weasley waiting in the kitchen to punish her three sons for taking the vehicle without permission by having them and Harry (who volunteered) de-gnome the garden. Mr Weasley came home to discuss the results of his proposed Muggle Protection Act to the Ministry with his family, and was glad to meet Harry once introduced to him despite his wife berating him for bewitching their car. As a generous measure, the Weasleys welcomed the young wizard into the family fold for the rest of the summer, though this made Ron's younger sister Ginny Weasley spend the entire day hiding in Harry's presence.

Welcoming at Flourish and Blotts

Ron Weasley: "Where did you come out?" Harry: "Knockturn Alley." Weasley twins: "Excellent!" — Harry's Floo mishap lands him in Borgin and Burkes[src]

When a Hogwarts acceptance letter for Ginny arrived a week later, the Weasleys set out for Diagon Alley using the Floo Network eight days afterwards to buy some school supplies. Harry ended up at Borgin and Burkes in the adjacent Knockturn Alley. While inside the shop he was forced to hide in a Crushing Cabinet, as Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius Malfoy entered. Draco made many sulky remarks regarding Harry's talent in Quidditch.

The shopkeeper, Mr Borgin was surprised that Mr Malfoy was only selling dark and illegally enchanted artefacts and not buying. Mr Malfoy was sealing the items before they could be confiscated by the raids on wizarding households Mr Weasley was conducting as part of the Muggle Protection Act, Borgin expressed pity to the current decline of blood purity. Draco, on the other hand, interest in a few of the items already on sale, including the Hand of Glory and a cursed opal necklace, and was stopped from approaching Harry's hiding place by his father.

Soon as the Malfoys left, Harry was found leaving the shop himself by Rubeus Hagrid, who brought him out of Knockturn and into Diagon Ally's Flourish and Blotts, where the Weasleys were in line with Hermione and her parents for a book signing for the arrival of flamboyant but incompetent celebrity author Gilderoy Lockhart, who was recently appointed Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. When Lockhart saw Harry for the first time, he got excited and beckoned him up to the front, allowing the audience to take pictures of them together before giving Harry a set of his books.

Harry was too embarrassed by this publicity stunt, and gave the books to Ginny since he could afford a set of his own. Draco went over to congratulate him for being unable to avoid making the front page when walking into a bookstore, but then his father moved him aside to have a one-on-one argument with Mr Weasley over the latter's obsession with Muggles (finding an example of which in Hermione's parents, both Muggle dentists), provoking Weasley into lunging at him. Hagrid broke up the fight just in time, but not before the senior Malfoy slipped a diary into Ginny's cauldron of school books.

Car flight alongside the Hogwarts Express

"Brilliant! Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years —" —The impressed inhabitants of Gryffindor Tower[src]

When Harry and Ron tried to get onto Platform 9¾ to join Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys, the barrier mysteriously sealed and they hit the wall. They missed the Hogwarts Express as a result, and decided to fly the car to Hogwarts, reasoning that they would not be seen due to the Invisibility Booster that Mr Weasley installed. However, the booster failed shortly after takeoff, and the car was spotted by several Muggles as they flew northward alongside the train.

Their day-long flight ended with them crashing into the Whomping Willow, instead of with the graceful landing they imagined. Ron's wand was inadvertently broken by the resulting impact as the gigantic tree started pounding the car in anger of being hit, but luckily for them, the battered Angila broke free from the branches to eject Harry and Ron out of the front seat with their belongings before driving off into the Forbidden Forest. Both boys were found by Professor Snape watching the Sorting ceremony from the window. They were taken to his office, where they were given separate detentions by Albus Dumbledore and professor Minerva McGonagall. Ginny Weasley, meanwhile, was sorted into Gryffindor.

The next day at breakfast, Ron received a Howler from his mother, who told him that he would be brought home if he broke another rule. The day only got worse when the Gryffindors attended their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Lockhart's teaching was a disaster, since the first thing he did was give them a pop quiz on himself and claimed the answers could be found in his books. He then let a cage of "freshly caught" Cornish Pixies loose and struggled to round them up, but ran to hide from them leaving his young pupils to save the day.

As the DADA lessons continued, Harry found himself having to act out scenes from Lockhart's books as he read them in class. Lockhart was in love with fame and kept bothering Harry, who had to help him answer his fan-mail while Ron had to polish the school's prizes and trophies. But he was not the only one who paid him extra attention: Many first years Gryffindors like Colin Creevey were star-struck by Harry, and Ginny had a huge crush on him that developed over the summer since she first saw the famous Potter on Platform 9¾ at the start and end of his first year. After hours of tedious work, Harry heard a disembodied, sinister voice, which Lockhart was unable to hear.

Death-day Party

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware." —A grim message from the Heir of Slytherin[src]

In return for distracting Argus Filch just when he was about to give Harry severe punishment for something he did not do, Harry promised he would attend Nearly Headless Nick's Death-day Party on Hallowe'en. He did this as a favour in order to help boost Nick's reputation, so that he might achieve his desire of joining the Headless Hunt. He brought Ron and Hermione along, as well. Hermione was excited at the prospect of attending the event, as most living beings have not been to a Death-day Party. Ron on the other hand was not excited at attending the event.

The event was dismal and dreary. The party entailed a candlelit dinner of rancid, mouldy food, the smell of which caused all three to gag. Harry knew the reason for this was the claim that a ghost can "almost taste" seriously spoiled food. Sir Nicolas was deeply touched that the three students put in an appearance, in part because it gave him a certain status in the eyes of his fellow deceased. But the three of them quickly grew tired of the ghostly party and returned to the Great Hall. Before they got to the Hallowe'en feast, Harry heard the voice (which Ron and Hermione also could not hear). He followed it to the second floor where he found the bathroom flooded and Mrs Norris, Filch's cat, petrified — coupled with a message on the wall.

Filch became distraught and threatened Harry, as he mistakenly believed Harry to be the culprit. Filch and Snape then tried to get Harry in trouble for this, but Dumbledore said that it was powerful dark magic that no second year student could perform. They decided that Sprout's mandrakes would be used, once they were mature enough, to create a draught capable of reviving Mrs Norris. This occurrence left the students and staff with a sense of dread and worry, as many believed that the writing on the wall was just the beginning

History of Magic

Hermione Granger: "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets?" Cuthbert Binns: "The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic." — The legend of the Chamber of Secrets[src]

Hermione wanted to research the Chamber of Secrets, so she talked History of Magic Professor Cuthbert Binns into telling the class about its origin. To begin the story, Binns explained that it all started with the founding of Hogwarts itself around 990 A.D., at the hands of two of the greatest wizards and two of the greatest witches of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. But Slytherin got into an argument with the other founders about whether Muggle-borns should be admitted and, when the rift grew too large between him and Gryffindor, he left the school. According to legend, he built a going-away present to the school in the form of a secret chamber that could only be opened by his true heir. This "Chamber of Secrets" allegedly contained a monster that, once released, would purge the school of all Muggle-borns. Professor Binns unsuccessfully tried to assure the class that the Chamber did not actually exist and that the school had been searched many times in vain.

Harry, Ron and Hermione decided that the heir was probably Draco Malfoy. To try to prove it, Hermione proposed to use the Polyjuice Potion, which can change one's appearance into somebody else's for an hour. Hermione warned that the potion would take a month to brew, supposing they gathered all the necessary ingredients (one of which could only be found in Professor Snape's private inventory) and managed to keep it a secret.

Quidditch

Harry: "So there is a Chamber of Secrets? And did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby!" Dobby: "Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby. Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not be here when they happen — go home, Harry Potter, go home. Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous —" — A midnight visitor and a serious conversation about the Chamber of Secrets[src]

During the month that it took the Polyjuice Potion to brew, a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin took place. Draco Malfoy had been made Slytherin's new Seeker, on the merit of his father's generous contribution to the team: a set of Nimbus 2001 brooms. During the match one of the Bludgers took after Harry and focused completely on him. Malfoy lost no time in making fun of the manoeuvres Harry had to perform in order to avoid the Bludger. Since Bludgers were supposed to attack each and every player, the crowd soon realised that this Bludger had been tampered with. Harry still managed to catch the Snitch and Gryffindor won. He caught it right out from under Malfoy's nose, who was more focused on taunting Harry then looking for the Snitch. However, the Bludger broke his arm and Lockhart in his attempt to fix it removed all of the bones instead. Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a potion called Skele-Gro, to counter this and he was forced to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight.

During that night, Dobby visited Harry and revealed that it was he who made the Bludger chase after Harry and was also responsible for the barrier of platform 9¾ not letting him in. Dobby did this in hopes of Harry leaving or never arriving at Hogwarts. This was a misguided attempt to protect Harry from the monter inside the chamber. Dobby proceeded to ask Harry to leave the school, something he refused to do. He also revealed that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before and immediately punished himself, as he was not supposed to reveal anything. After Dobby disappeared, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey entered with Colin Creevey, who had apparently been petrified. He was found with a camera containing fa ilm that had been burnt to the melting point.

Duelling Club

Draco Malfoy: "Scared Potter?" Harry: "You wish!" — Harry prepares to enter a practice duel with Malfoy[src]

Harry signed up for a Duelling Club, which was (to Harry's great displeasure) taught by his two least favourite teachers: Lockhart and Snape. The event was scheduled to take place in the Great Hall. During the club's first meeting Lockhart demonstrated an ineptitude. He was successfully disarmed by Snape and floundered throughout the entire practice duel. Also during a practice battle in the first meeting, Draco Malfoy conjured a snake to attack Harry. Malfoy conjured this snake via instructions from Snape. Lockhart tried to banish it, but all he managed was to set it loose on the students.

Harry saw that the snake was rapidly advancing on a Muggle-born student and Hufflepuff named Justin Finch-Fletchley (who had introduced himself to Harry before this incident) and instinctively told it to stop, which — to Harry's great surprise — it did. The others students were less than ecstatic about this development, however. All they saw was Harry speaking Parseltongue, the language of snakes and became afraid. Since they could not understand it, it seemed to them that he was egging the snake on. It turned out that Parseltongue was a very rare gift that was closely associated with Salazar Slytherin. This was something Slytherin was famous for, hence why the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent. Due to this, Harry became the number one suspect among students for being the heir of Slytherin. Hermione even told him that since Salazar Slytherin lived so long ago, he might actually be.

Seconds after leaving a conversation with Hagrid, Harry ran into a petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and a black, smoking Nearly-Headless Nick. Peeves alerted the whole school, and a Hufflepuff called Ernie Macmillan claimed that Harry had been caught red-handed. For the first time, Harry was taken to Dumbledore's office, and there he witnessed Fawkes — Dumbledore's phoenix — bursting into ashes and being reborn. Dumbledore says that he did not believe Harry to be behind the attacks, a belief reinforced by Hagrid backing Harry's alibi, but a large portion of the school was sure that Harry was Slytherin's heir.

Disguised as Slytherins

Hermione Granger: "There might be a way. Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect… What we’d need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realising it’s us." : " Harry Potter: "But that’s impossible." Hermione Granger: "No, it’s not. All we’d need would be some Polyjuice Potion..." — Trio planning to expose the Heir of Slytherin[src]

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all signed up to remain at the school during Christmas, since Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had done so as well. This gave them the perfect opportunity to use their Polyjuice potion. When Christmas arrived they drugged Crabbe and Goyle via chocolate cakes, took their hairs and assumed their forms. Hermione tried to use a hair she thought belonged to Millicent Bulstrode, but it was actually her cat's and Hermione was transformed into a hybrid. Hermione was forced to spend a few weeks in the Hospital Wing. As Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Ron interrogated an unsuspecting Malfoy and discovered that Draco was not the Heir of Slytherin. They also heard that the last time the chamber was opened, a Muggle-born girl died and whoever was responsible was expelled. Malfoy also mentioned his father's secret stash of illegal artefacts.

Weeks later, Ron and Harry overheard Argus Filch complaining about his workload and leaving. They arrive at Myrtle Warren's bathroom to find it flooded. Myrtle, a sulking ghost, explained that she had flooded it because somebody threw a diary at her. Harry picked it up; it turned out to have belonged to a T.M. Riddle and appeared to be completely blank. Ron remembered from his detention that Riddle had won an award for special service to the school fifty years before. Hermione deduced that since this coincided with the last time the Chamber was opened, Tom Riddle might have received his prize for catching whoever was responsible for the attacks back then. Even though all attempts to extract information from the diary failed, Harry felt a strange compulsion to keep it.

On Valentine's Day, Ron and Harry were dismayed to find out Lockhart had spread dwarves dressed as cupids throughout the school to receive and deliver Valentines. One cupid-dwarf managed to deliver one to Harry. While struggling to avoid him, the embarrassed Harry tripped and fell, spilling ink all over the contents of his bag. Ginny noticed the diary and assumed a horrified expression.

The Secret Diary

"Harry saw at once that it was a diary, and the faded year on the cover told him it was fifty years old. He opened it eagerly. On the first page he could just make out the name "T M. Riddle" in smudged ink." —Harry comes across the diary of Tom Riddle[src]

Later, Harry realised that even though the ink was spilled all over the diary, it was not stained at all. He tried writing to the diary and, to his surprise, the diary — or rather T.M. Riddle — began to write back. Riddle explained that he was the one who caught the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets the last time, and he could show Harry what happened. Harry agreed and got sucked into a "recording" of Riddle's memory.

Harry witnessed the school's previous headmaster, Armando Dippet, informing Riddle that the school would be closed and Riddle, apprehensive of this, catching Rubeus Hagrid fiddling with a large spider in a box. Riddle reported Hagrid to Dippet. During the memory, Harry also learned that Riddle was an orphan that did not want to go back to the orphanage, and his full name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Having seen this, Harry wondered whether Hagrid was the one who opened the Chamber fifty years before and whether he was responsible this time. This was exactly what Riddle wanted.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided not to ask Hagrid about it, hoping that the attacks had stopped — and indeed, almost four months after the attack on Justin and Nearly-Headless Nick, the disembodied voice kept quiet and the attacks seemed to have ceased. However, odd things keep happening: Harry returned to his dormitory one day to find it a mess. Ron deduced that somebody had been looking for something, and Harry eventually noticed that Tom Riddle's diary was gone. This greatly befuddled them, seeing as only a Gryffindor could know the password to enter the dormitory.

Hagrid: "If anybody was looking for some stuff, then all they'd have to do would be to follow the spiders. Yep. That would leave them right. That's all I have to say." Harry: "You heard what Hagrid said. Follow the spiders." Ron Weasley: "They're heading to the Dark Forest?" — Hagrid's clue before he is taken to Azkaban[src]

The next day, the scheduled Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was cancelled due to yet another attack and Harry heard the voice again. This time, Minerva McGonagall called for Harry and Ron personally, and led them to the Hospital Wing , where they saw Hermione petrified. She was found near the library with a Ravenclaw prefect , inexplicably holding a small, circular mirror. This removed Harry as a suspect in the eyes of many of the students, as they knew he would never harm Hermione. Some students even offered him an apology, such as Ernie Macmillan

Harry and Ron decided they now must talk to Hagrid. With the now constant supervision on students, this was not easy, but they managed to do it by using Harry's Invisibility cloak. When they reach Hagrid's cabin, Harry and Ron managed to hide just before Dumbledore and Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge arrived at the scene. Fudge announced that Hagrid, who to the best of his knowledge opened the Chamber of Secrets the last time, would be sent to wizard prison Azkaban as a precaution. They were shortly joined by Lucius Malfoy, who declared that he and the other Hogwarts governors unanimously voted to suspend Dumbledore, despite the obvious logic that this would only worsen the situation. Both Hagrid and Dumbledore gave last words, but Hagrid covertly suggested to Harry and Ron that if they want the truth, they should "follow the spiders", and Dumbledore said that he would only truly have left the school when none there remained loyal to him. He also stressed that if anybody at Hogwarts needed help, it would always be available.

Visit to Aragog's lair

Aragog: "The thing that lives in the castle is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others." Harry: "What is it?" Aragog: "We do not speak of it! We do not name it!" — Discussion of the monster within the chamber[src]

Harry and Ron decided to follow the spiders as per Hagrid's advice. Walking along the trails of the spiders, which were strangely all fleeing Hogwarts, take them into the Forbidden Forest. Even though Ron was deeply arachnophobic, the fact that Hermione had been petrified and that they may be able to help through this investigation gave him the willpower to go along anyway. There, they encountered the Ford Anglia, which had apparently taken to driving through the forest like some sort of wild animal. They eventually meet Aragog, a giant spider which had been the monster Hagrid had been "caught" setting on other students fifty years ago. Aragog explained that Hagrid was innocent, but rather than letting Harry and Ron go, he decided to leave them as dinner for his children. Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia came blasting through the layers of spiders, however, and assisted the boys' escape.

After this, Harry and Ron felt that they had reached dead ends everywhere, until one possible last hope occurred to them. Aragog said the monster's last victim died in a bathroom, and it occurred to Harry that Myrtle Warren might have been that victim. Of course, with the school under such security, it would be almost impossible to sneak in the girls' bathroom near where the first attack occurred.

The last attack

"HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER" —The final message on the wall[src]

Later that same day, Harry and Ron managed to trick Lockhart — who was leading them to their next class — into letting them go by stroking his ego. Just as they patted themselves on the back, they were caught by Professor McGonagall, and Harry had to make up an excuse — they were going to see Hermione in the Hospital Wing, where visitors were now barred. They now had to go along to make their story appear convincing, but rather than simply hanging around Hermione's petrified form, this time Harry noticed a piece of paper tightly clutched in her hand.

This piece of paper revealed what Hermione had found out before she was attacked. She discovered, based on strong circumstantial evidence, that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a Basilisk (a giant slithering serpent capable of feeding on human and animal aura to cause petrifaction and death to anyone near it via direct eye contact), which explained why only Harry could hear it. But none of its victims died because they didn't look at its gaze directly: Colin Creevey saw it through his camera, Justin Finch-Fletchley saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick (who was already dead), Mrs Norris saw its reflection in the waters from the flooded bathroom, and Hermione used a mirror to look around corners after figuring things out. There was also a note about how spiders feared the Basilisk (which explained them fleeing Hogwarts) and the rooster's call being potentially fatal to it (which explains Hagrid's roosters having been mysteriously killed during the year). This summed up the years events.

On the note was also scribbled a single word, "pipes", which meant that the serpent moved around through the plumbing. Having solved the mystery, Harry and Ron decided to go to the staff room and report to the teachers. When they got there, they overheard the teachers talking about another attack has occurred. Harry and Ron decided to hide to hear more details, and learning that Ginny had been kidnapped and the heir of Slytherin had left another message under the previous one: Harry and Ron also heard that Hogwarts would be closed the following day. The teachers then forced Lockhart to deal with the monster, as he had been claiming he could handle whatever was responsible for the attacks, irritating the rest of the staff to no end. Looking very crestfallen, he left for his room.

Discovery in the bathroom

Moaning Myrtle: "I died in this very stall. I remember it so well... The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then — I died." : "died Harry: "How?" Moaning Myrtle: "No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes." — Myrtle's death after she meet the deadly gaze of Slytherin's basilisk[src]

That night, Harry and Ron felt utterly useless and helpless, until it occurred to Harry that if the serpent used the plumbing to get around and the last time the chamber was opened a girl died, then the chamber entrance must be in the bathroom Myrtle Warren haunted. Harry and Ron decided that if Lockhart was going to deal with the monster they might as well tell him what they knew. They went to his room, only to find him frantically packing, having decided to run away. When questioned on why such a talented wizard as himself was leaving, Lockhart admitted that he was a fraud and that he put Memory Charms on the people who really did the things that he claimed to have done in his books.

He then attempted to put a memory charm on Harry and Ron as well. They managed to disarm him and under wand threats took him to Myrtle Warren's bathroom. Harry then asked Moaning Myrtle about her death, which she happily explained. She stated that the last thing she saw was a pair of enormous eyes by one of the sinks. This sink incidentally had a tap that had never worked. Harry came to the conclusion that the tap can only be opened by the use of Parseltongue. He found a snake carved on the tap and then opened the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry, Ron, and Lockhart slid down a large pipe and found themselves in maze-like tunnels far under the school. Down there, they encountered a snake skin left by the basilisk. Just then, Lockhart feigned fainting and stole Ron's wand. Victoriously proclaiming that he would erase Harry and Ron's memories and tell everybody they lost their sanity at the sight of Ginny's mangled body, Lockhart attempted a spell. Ron's broken wand caused the charm to backfire, erasing Lockhart's memory and causing a portion of the ceiling to cave in. This trapped Harry in the direction of the chamber and Ron in the direction of the castle. Ron had no choice but to stay behind and clear a path through the rocks while Harry continued in search of Ginny. Harry then encountered a wall with stone snakes on it, opened it by speaking Parseltongue, and enters the Chamber itself.

The Chamber of Secrets

Main article: Skirmish in the Chamber of Secrets

Harry: "Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time..." Tom Riddle: "Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..." — Tom Riddle reveals that he is in fact Lord Voldemort[src]

Inside, he found Ginny lying on the ground, pale and cold. He dropped his wand and ran to her, trying to get a response from her, but to no avail. He then saw Tom Riddle smiling at him and holding Harry's wand. Riddle explained his presence in the present by revealing he was a memory, which had been preserved in his diary for fifty years.

He then explained what had happened. Riddle had opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago and planned to purge the school of Muggle-borns and half-bloods; however, when he learned that the school was going to close down due to the attacks and that Dumbledore (then the Transfiguration teacher) was keeping a closer and closer watch on him, he had no choice but to cease the attacks and frame Hagrid for doing it. Not wanting to waste all the years he spent on figuring out where the chamber was and how to get to it, he left behind a diary containing the memory of his sixteen-year-old self in hopes that it would, one day, fall into the hands of an unsuspecting victim who would help him finish his work.

Ginny had been writing in the diary all year. Riddle had written back sympathetically and Ginny grew to confess her fears, hopes and feelings to him. She essentially poured some of her soul into him, which was exactly what he wanted. He gradually grew more powerful and eventually managed to pour some of his soul back into her, possessing her and using her body to open the chamber and launch the new series of attacks. However, eventually Ginny became suspicious of the diary and decided to get rid of it by flushing it down the toilet in Myrtle Warren's bathroom. This is when Harry found it. When Ginny saw Harry with the diary on Valentine's Day, she panicked and worried that Riddle had told all of her secrets to Harry, so she stole it back from Harry's dormitory. It began taking control of her again, but this time with the intention of killing Harry, so he had Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down to wait, luring Harry to the rescue and, consequently, his doom.

Riddle then asked how Harry managed to defeat the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort as a mere baby. Harry asks Riddle why he cares, as Voldemort existed after his time. Riddle replies that Voldemort was his "past, present and future." He then wrote his name in the air with Harry's wand: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE Riddle then waved the wand and the letters rearrange themselves into I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. Needless to say, this meant Riddle grew up to become Lord Voldemort. Riddle then revealed he was, in fact, a half-blood, and his mother had named him Tom after his Muggle father and Marvolo after his wizard grandfather, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He scrambled his "filthy Muggle father's name" to create a new one, which he knew people would fear when he became the most powerful wizard in the world.

Battling the Basilisk

"Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter." —Tom Riddle unleashes the basilisk[src]

Harry retorted that he must be mistaken, because the greatest wizard in the world, as everybody knew, was not Voldemort but Dumbledore. Even when Voldemort was at the peak of his power, he was afraid of Dumbledore, and now he was barely alive. Riddle angrily answered that Dumbledore had been driven out the castle by the mere memory of him. Harry yelled that Dumbledore was not as gone as Riddle seemed to believe. In this display of loyalty, he summoned Fawkes the phoenix to him, who also brought with him the Sorting Hat , both assets that Riddle deems extremely useless.

Riddle then summoned the basilisk and commanded it to kill Harry. However, Fawkes was not as defenceless as one might initially think, and pecked out the basilisk's eyes, thus preventing its gaze from killing. The basilisk could still smell Harry, however, and remained very dangerous; Harry, in desperation, put on the Sorting Hat, wishing against hope for help. Instead of an answer, Harry had a heavy sword with a hilt embedded with rubies fall on his head from inside the hat. After several missed strikes from the blinded basilisk, Harry plunged the sword into the roof of its mouth, killing it. However, one of its poisonous fangs sank into his arm, injecting a deadly poison. While Riddle gloated over his "win", Fawkes proceeded to cry on the wound and Harry was instantly cured.

Harry then stabbed the diary three times with the Basilisk fang to rid himself of Riddle, unknowingly destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes in the process. Riddle's manifestation exploded, therefore foiling his attempt to come back to life. Ink began pouring out of the book and the memory of Riddle faded out of existence; Ginny immediately stirred and woke up, quite distraught. Harry and Ginny travelled back through the Chamber to find Ron and Lockhart, who had no idea of who or where he was.

Escaping the chamber

Ron Weasley: "He looks like he wants you to grab hold... But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there —" Harry: "Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird." — Harry and others escape the chamber with the aid of Fawkes[src]

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart grabbed onto Fawkes and flew out of the Chamber (another phoenix specialty). They returned to the castle to find Dumbledore, McGonagall Arthur and Molly Weasley , who were delighted to see them alive. Harry worried that Ginny would get blamed for being the person behind the attacks, but to his great relief Dumbledore rightly deduced that Voldemort was the culprit. After Ginny left to get a much-needed rest, Harry and Ron both received 200 house points each for Gryffindor and both got an Award for Special Services to the school. Dumbledore then gave Ron Hagrid's release paper for him to mail and then spoke with Harry alone.

Harry expressed his concern that he belonged in Slytherin. Dumbledore revealed that Voldemort transferred some of his powers to Harry when he gave him his scar, explaining his ability to speak Parseltongue. He asked Harry why he thought the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor if he had so many Slytherin qualities, and Harry admitted that the only reason it did was because he had asked it to. Dumbledore confirmed this and told Harry that "it is our choices, rather than our abilities, that reveal who we truly are". He also commends Harry for showing him real loyalty in the Chamber, for only that could've called Fawkes to his aid. He pointed out to the sword Harry had drawn out of the hat - Harry now noticed it had Godric Gryffindor's name on it. Dumbledore said that only a true Gryffindor would be able to draw it out.

Dobby's reward

Lucius Malfoy: "You lost me my servant!" Dobby: "You shall not harm Harry Potter!" — Dobby defends Harry after the latter frees him from servitude[src]

Lucius Malfoy barged into Dumbledore's office, outraged that Dumbledore had returned to the school after being dismissed. Dumbledore calmly responded that the governors had asked him to return once they heard that Arthur Weasley 's daughter was attacked. Apparently they had been blackmailed by Lucius to vote for Dumbledore's dismissal in the first place on pain of Lucius cursing their families. Dobby followed Lucius into the room, thus showing that his masters were the Malfoys

Dumbledore and Malfoy had a calm and venomous interchange (respectively), during which Dumbledore and Harry (with the help of Dobby's unspoken hints) essentially exposed Lucius sneaking Riddle's diary (one of his illegal artefacts) into Ginny's school things during the fight with Arthur at Flourish and Blotts. This was supposed to frame Ginny for the attacks, with heavy implications on the Muggle Protection Act Arthur Weasley had been suggesting. Malfoy dared Dumbledore to prove his accusation, and while the Headmaster has insufficient evidence to do that, he cautioned Malfoy against orchestrating further such plots.

Knowing that a master could release his house-elf by giving them some clothes, Harry tricked Malfoy into freeing Dobby by giving Malfoy one of his own socks, which he promptly threw away, and was caught by Dobby. Malfoy, after discovering Harry's trick, attempted to kill Harry, only to be stopped by Dobby. Dobby thanked Harry dearly for freeing him and left. At the ending feast, Dumbledore announced his school treat of cancelling all final exams (much to Hermione's dismay) and that Lockhart would not return to Hogwarts.

Third year

"He was their friend... and he betrayed them. HE WAS THEIR FRIEND! I hope he finds me, because when he does, I'm gonna be ready! When he does, I'm gonna kill him!" —Harry believing Sirius Black to be the man who betrayed his parents[src]

Harry's third year in 1993 started out almost as bad as the year prior, and gradually got depressing. Throughout the preceding summer, the Dursleys became fearful of his magical abilities getting exposed that they banned him from talking to the neighbours immediately after his return home to them. They even went as far as punishing him for giving their phone number to his friends, as evident to Harry getting reprimanded by Uncle Vernon when the latter received a call from Ron. This, however, did not stop Harry from studying magic every night by sneaking his school supplies and hiding them in his room one night while Aunt Petunia and Dudley were out admiring Vernon's new company car. Furthermore, he had little contact with his friends nor any news from the wizarding world since the phone incident, but Hedwig was allowed out of her padlocked cage because the Dursleys could no longer take the noise she made in boredom.

On 31 July (Harry's thirteenth birthday), which might have made the Dursleys forget about his birthday, for they were too busy preparing for a visit from Aunt Marge. The sight of a copy of the Daily Prophet among the mail from Errol interested Harry, as it said that Ron had returned from a trip to Egypt to visit his oldest brother Bill Weasley (a Curse-Breaker of Gringotts) for which Arthur Weasley paid using seven hundred galleons he won in the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. The article also showcased a picture of the Weasleys standing in front of a pyramid. It was there that Ron bought Harry the most fascinating present: a Sneakoscope, which was sold for tourists. He also revived birthday presents from Hermione and Hagrid as well.

When his Hogsmeade permission form was delivered, Harry was worried of the trouble he'll probably go through in order to persuade his aunt or uncle to sign it. They agreed to do so the next morning, but only if he behaved during Marge's visit. However, Marge began insulting the memory of Harry's mother at the dinner table three days later, describing her as a "bad egg" who ran off with a "scoundrel" and left the Dursleys with Harry as the "result in front of them". Harry lost his temper to this, inadvertently making Marge's wine glass explode. The insults transitioned to his father on the final day of her visit, making him very upset to such extent that he ended up losing all control of his magic powers and accidentally inflated her, possibly with an Engorgement Charm. Vernon ordered his nephew to put Marge back the way she was, but Harry said no and instead packed up his school things and left the house. He fled out of fear of being expelled from Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic, for using underage magic outside school, something he had already been warned about.

Later that night, Harry was picked up off the curb of Magnolia Crescent by the triple-decker wizard transport the Knight Bus, which was sent to drive him as two members of the Ministry's Accidental Magic Reversal Squad were dispatched to deflate and Obliviate Marge. During the ride to the Leaky Cauldron, the bus' conductor Stan Shunpike gave him a copy of the Daily Prophet with its front page story being about the Ministry's continuing struggle to recapture Sirius Black, a convicted Voldemort supporter who recently escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban (the first person ever to have done so) after spending twelve years there for the mass-murder of thirteen people with a single Blasting Curse.

They arrived at their destination to find a relieved-looking Cornelius Fudge waiting at the restaurant door to welcome Harry in for a meeting. To Harry's relief though, the Minister for Magic took no action against him since accidental uses of magic did not count as a violation to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, but describe