Movies Like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Frequently asked about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Common questions people search for, with answers written by us at MoviesPack.

• Who was almost cast as Hermione?▾

  Hermione was almost played by Hayley Mills' niece and other young actresses who auditioned, but the role most notably came down to Emma Watson after an extensive open casting call. Liv Tyler is sometimes cited in trivia as having been considered, though she was deemed too old for the part.

• Is Harry Potter 2 scarier than 1?▾

  Chamber of Secrets is generally considered darker and scarier than Philosopher's Stone, featuring the basilisk, giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest, and petrified victims. It carries a more menacing tone while still keeping the same PG rating as the first film.

• What is the Chamber of Secrets and who originally built it?▾

  The Chamber of Secrets is a hidden underground chamber beneath Hogwarts, built by Salazar Slytherin — one of the school's four founders — before he left in a dispute over admitting Muggle-born students. Slytherin designed it to house the Basilisk, a giant serpent that only his true heir could control, with the intent that the heir would one day purge the school of those he considered unworthy of learning magic.

• How was Tom Riddle's diary able to possess Ginny Weasley?▾

  Tom Riddle's diary is a Horcrux — it contains a fragment of Voldemort's sixteen-year-old self, preserved through dark magic. When Ginny wrote in the diary, Riddle's memory slowly drained her emotions and life force to sustain himself, growing stronger while she grew weaker. This gave Riddle enough power to possess her and use her as his instrument to reopen the Chamber.

• Why could Harry speak Parseltongue, the language of serpents?▾

  Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue is an unintended consequence of his survived encounter with Voldemort as an infant. When Voldemort's curse rebounded, a fragment of his soul inadvertently transferred into Harry, and with it certain abilities Voldemort possessed — including Parseltongue, which is an inherited trait in the Slytherin bloodline. Harry himself is unaware he is speaking a different language; to him it sounds like ordinary speech.

• How did Harry destroy Tom Riddle's diary and defeat the Basilisk?▾

  Harry used a fang from the Basilisk itself to stab the diary, which destroyed the memory of Tom Riddle preserved within it. The Basilisk's venom is one of the few substances capable of destroying a Horcrux because it causes irreparable magical damage. Harry was dying from the Basilisk's fang wound in his arm until Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes arrived and wept healing tears on the injury, saving his life.

• Why did Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes and the Sorting Hat appear in the Chamber to help Harry?▾

  Fawkes and the Sword of Gryffindor (delivered by the Sorting Hat) arrived because Harry showed genuine loyalty to Dumbledore in the face of overwhelming danger, which Dumbledore had told him was the quality he valued above all others. In the wizarding world, true loyalty to Dumbledore was enough to summon his aid; Fawkes acted autonomously, guided by that bond. The Sorting Hat provided the sword because Harry demonstrated the courage and loyalty that define a true Gryffindor.