The First Attack

The first attack of Chamber of Secrets is about to happen, and we are catapulted into the intrigue of life with a malicious beastie roaming the castle. Read on, fair Harry Potter fans!

Amazing fan art of Filch and Mrs Norris by Levon Hackensaw (source)

The Deathday Party

We suddenly get to October in the castle, and all is damp and chilly. It’s interesting that even in something as short at the length of time a Harry Potter series takes to write, we can see an effect on climate change. I can’t remember a damp and chilly October, really, and I’ve lived in England for 16 years. We are in mid-November (nearly) and the weather still isn’t chilly, even though it’s damp.

That said, I am based in London and the case may be very different in Scotland…

I absolutely love the concept of Pepper-Up Potion – especially the image of Ginny Weasley with her head on fire because her ears are steaming! This seems like such an amazing potion, what better way to get rid of a cold than to literally burn it away?! I wonder how quickly it works, too – wouldn’t it be a great thing to sense a cold coming on and just get rid of it like that.

Percy forces Ginny to take Pepper-Up Potion (source)

This description of autumn is fairly enchanting. As much as the storyline is important, I also love JKRs use of language in this chapter. Raindrops are the size of bullets, flowerbeds become muddy streams and Hagrid’s pumpkins swell to the size of a small shed! (If I were there, I would totally carve myself a studio out of a pumpkin and put some magic on it to preserve it forever more. What could be more bewitching than a PUMPKIN OFFICE?? I love autumn.)

My passion for Oliver Wood continues as his zeal for practice sees the Gryffindor Quidditch Team out in all the weather, which leads to Harry meeting Nearly Headless Nick in the castle, getting on the wrong side of Filch, and the destruction of a certain Vanishing Cabinet above Filches office. Thus, the Deathday Party comes about.

I wanted to know what a musical saw sounded like (something that seems to have been missing from my education until now). Turn the music up and enjoy this. I think I have found my favourite new sound.

Not only does the character of Nearly Headless Nick develop further in this chapter, but we meet Moaning Myrtle – a pivotal moment. If Peeves didn’t make Myrtle go off in tears, she may not have flooded the bathroom. There wouldn’t have been water in the corridor, and Mrs Norris might have been killed rather than just Petrified.

The mystery of the creature in the walls deepens with this little episode. I can remember feeling a sense of intrigue about the bodiless voice that was going around threatening to murder someone, and I think it was an ingenious way to tie the whole thing together. Do you think when Voldemort was at school, he discovered he was the heir and where the Chamber of Secrets was because the Basilisk was going around calling for him in the pipes? I can’t figure out how he figured it out otherwise!

We are introduced to Squibs, a fairly abstract concept at the moment, but something that will become important in Harry’s emotional turmoil when he starts finding out more about Dumbledore later on in life.

Overall, this is the chapter that really gets things going in the book. A few important pieces of overall background for the whole series are set, the action really starts, and the descriptions of life in and around Hogwarts the picture we have painted in our minds gets richer and more detailed. Even though every time I read it I start craving pumpkin pie, I mostly enjoy Chapter Eight.

Poor Mrs Norris (source)

Things I don’t like about it includes the whole scene with Nick and the muddy robes, the Kwikspell Course and specifically the disgusting description of Filch's cold (which let’s face it, is down to good writing). I feel like it drags on a bit in this respect, and then everything suddenly happens all at once. I guess that’s the way of storytelling…build up the tension and then break it, right?

Here are a few of my favourite lines:

“…the spectacular display of tangerine stars showering from the Salamander’s mouth…” 

“‘Careful not to walk through anyone,’ said Ron nervously…”

My boyfriend and I decided we needed to try pumpkin pie one year. The recipe we chose was not a savoury dish, at all. If you fancy giving it a go, here’s what we did! This was delicious, and the only reason we haven't made it again is because I would be as fat as Aunt Marge if we did. SO. TASTY.

That's all from me for tonight!

Much love,

Corrie xx