i can't, hedwig. i'm not allowed to use magic outside of school. besides, if uncle vernon -- at the sound of the name, hedwig squawks again, louder.
now you've done it.
she's bored. if i could just let her out for an hour or two --
but i haven't gotten any messages. from any of my friends. not one. all summer.
i'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending i don't exist.
what.  who are you?
i see. not to be rude or anything, but this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom.
why don't you sit down?
shhhh! i'm sorry. i didn't mean to offend you or anything --
you can't have met many decent wizards then. dobby shakes his head, then without warning, leaps off the bed and starts to bang his head furiously on the floor.
are you.  all right?
your.  family?
not go back? but.  i have to.
what terrible things? who's plotting them?
okay! i understand. you can't say -- too late. dobby grabs the bedside lamp and starts beating himself about the head and yelping loudly.
stop! stop! footsteps thunder on the landing. quickly, harry grabs dobby by the pillowcase and pitches him into the wardrobe.  just as the door flings open.
see why i've got to go back? i don't belong here. i belong in your world -- at hogwarts. it's the only place i've got.  friends.
well, i expect they've been -- hang on, how do you know my friends haven't been writing me? guiltily, dobby takes out a stack of letters.
give me those. now. dobby frowns sadly, then dashes out the door. panicking.
dobby.  please.  no.
i can't. hogwarts is my home.
'dear mr. potter. we have received intelligence that a hover charm was used at your place of residence at twelve minutes past seven this evening. as you know, underage wizards'
well done, dudley. finally learned the days of the week, have you.
it's no good turning your beak up. it's all we've got. harry feeds a piece of bread to hedwig.  as we.
ron?
fred? george? what're you doing here?
hedwig! harry clambers back, grabs hedwig's cage, swings it onto the ledge, when.  bam! the bedroom door crashes open.
i think it's.  brilliant! ron looks up. sees harry's mesmerized face. slowly.
raids?
the misuse of muggle artefacts?
floo powder? just then, ron's older brother percy enters.
d-dia-gon alley!
i'm fine, thanks. i'm just --
hagrid! hagrid knocks the tray from the cursing witch's hands, then seizes harry by the scruff of the neck and steers him away.
i was lost, i -- hang on. what were you doing down there?
i need to remember that one.
who?
thank you. slipping free, harry drifts back into the crowd and, red with embarrassment, drops the books into ginny's cauldron.
you have these. i'll buy my own --
he was a murderer.
his name is voldemort. those within earshot gasp as harry utters the word.
sorry. lost control of the trolley. why can't we get through?
the train leaves at exactly eleven o'clock. we've missed it.
maybe we should go wait by the car.
this is mad. we can't drive to hogwarts.
you don't mean -- ron, no.
something tells me we're going to regret this.
no offense, ron, but are you sure you know how to fly this.
uh, ron. i should tell you. most muggles aren't accustomed to seeing a flying car.
there! up ahead! look.  along a steep bridge, a single line of train tracks appear.
do you hear that? then, at precisely the same moment, harry and ron register the direction of the sound. they glance at each other, turn as one and see the train growing huge in the rear window.
i'm trying! your hand's all sweaty! straining, ron yanks him inside, levels off the car. as harry falls heavily into his seat, he buckles his safety belt.
i think we found the train.
just out of interest, ron. have you ever landed a car before?
be thankful it's not your neck. thwunmp! something heavy hits harry's door, sends a shudder through the car.
reverse! reverse! ron shifts, the car shoots backwards, and the willow pummels the tread-marked ground they just vacated. safely clear, the doors fly open, the seats tip sideways, and ron and harry are ejected. as they hit the ground, their trunks fly from the boot, hedwig's cage rockets out the back window, and hedwig herself flaps into the night. taillights blazing angrily, the battered car speeds off, fishtailing into the dark forest.
a house elf shows up in my bedroom, we can't get through the barrier to platform nine and three quarters, we almost get killed by a tree.  clearly someone doesn't want me here this year.
professor dumbledore. professor mcgonagall.
mr. filch. you dropped this.  filch turns, eyes the envelope with embarrassment, then snatches it from harry's hand and stuffs it into his pocket.
you're doomed. flash! -- a light blinds harry. he blinks, finds a small boy standing before him with a camera.
hello, colin. nice to meet --
look at it this way. how much worse can things get?
'what is gilderoy lockhart's favorite color?'
'when is gilderoy lockhart's birthday and what would his ideal gift be?'
hands on? hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing.
draco?
get out of the way, colin! let's take him to hagrid. he'll know what to do.
malfoy. he called hermione, well, i don't know exactly what it means.
that's horrible.
what?
no.  not you, that.  voice.
that.  voice. didn't you hear it?
spooky.
did you hear it?
that.  voice.
i heard it first in lockhart's office and then again, just --
it's moving. i think it's going to.  kill. harry runs off. hermione and ron exchange a glance, follow.
that's filch's cat. mrs. norris. the cat hangs stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, eyes open and blank. harry's eyes shift to the adjacent window: near the topmost pane, spiders scuttle up a silvery thread, fight to get through a crack in the glass.
it's not true, sir! i swear! i never touched mrs. norris -- and i don't even know what a squib is.
when i said i wasn't hungry. we were heading back to the common room and.  found mrs. norris. snape eyes harry coldly, knowing he's lying. harry looks away.  and finds dumbledore studying him as well.
yes.
he said he didn't.
you do believe me, don't you?
i can't explain it -- it was.  scary. d'you think i should've told them -- dumbledore and the others, i mean.
but if there really is a chamber of secrets, and it's really been opened, that means.
maybe ron's right, hermione. i mean, look at his family. the whole lot of them have been in slytherin for centuries.
how long will it take to make?
a month? but if malfoy is the heir of slytherin.  he could attack half the muggle-borns in the school by then.
no.  no.  not you.
dobby!
it was you! you stopped the barrier from letting ron and me through!
you nearly got ron and me expelled!
your bludger? you made that bludger chase after me?
you'd better clear off before my bones come back, dobby, or i might strangle you!
i don't suppose you could tell me why you're trying to kill me?
why do you wear that thing, dobby?
repeat itself? you mean, this has happened before?
tell me, dobby? when did this happen before? who's doing it now?
who is it? no, dobby! tell me! crack! dobby is gone. shadows flicker beyond the curtain encircling harry's bed. harry slumps down.  peers through a slit in the curtains. dumbledore, in a nightcap, and mcgonagall, in a tartan robe, heave a small statue onto an empty bed. seconds later, madam pomfrey bustles in.
nice to meet you. i'm --
i wouldn't bet on that.
you wish. they turn, walk ten paces, then whirl, wands poised.
rictusempra! a jet of silver light hits malfoy dead in the stomach. he doubles up, wheezing.
leave him! the snake looks into harry's eyes, then turns for justin.
i'm a what?
i know. i mean, i accidentally set a python on my cousin dudley at the zoo once. but so what? i bet loads of people here can do it.
what's bad? if i hadn't told that snake not to attack justin --
you were there! you heard me!
i spoke a different language? but i didn't realize -- how can i speak a language without knowing i can?
but i'm not. i.  can't be.
who am i, hedwig? what am i?
hagrid.  what're you doing here?
it's nothing. i'd better get going. i've got a lot of studying.
professor, i swear i didn't -- professor mcgonagall this is out of my hands, potter. mr. filch, will you take care of this, please? harry's eyes shift. filch lurks in the shadows beyond mcgonagall. he steps forward, hisses quietly.
well, you see, i was wondering.
you're wrong! the hat sits motionless. silent. hearing a gagging sound, harry wheels, finds an old, decrepit bird sitting on a golden perch. it wobbles, then.  bursts into flames. as dumbledore enters, harry looks horror- struck.
professor, your bird.  i couldn't do anything.  he just caught fire.
you don't think it was me, professor?
no, professor. nothing.
he's the only one.
maybe they're right.
i didn't know i could speak parseltongue. what else don't i know about myself? maybe you can do something.  even something horrible.  and not know you did it.
crabbe and goyle.
ron?
we still sound like ourselves. you need to sound more like crabbe.
lower.
less intelligent.
excellent.
hermione, are you okay?
you're wrong!
harry potter.
then you must have some idea who's behind it all?
hermione, come out. we've got loads to tell you!
nothing.
neville asked to borrow a tubeworm in potions yesterday. i suppose that's something. ron takes a get-well card from under hermione's pillow.
looks like myrtle's flooded the bathroom. as harry sploshes off toward the bathroom, ron steps lightly.
why would i throw something at you?
who threw it at you anyway?
this is a diary. and it's old.
i'll take my chances.  ahhh! my eyes! my eyes! ron freezes, terrified, when.  harry grins, ending the ruse. at the end of corridor, ginny stands, looking from the diary to harry -- utter terror on her face -- then dashes off.
ginny! i was only joking -- brilliant. even your sister thinks i'm the monster now.
that's odd. he never wrote in it.
special services to the school or something --
yes. why?
fifty years ago! that means --
that's a brilliant theory, hermione. with just one tiny little flaw. there's nothing written in this diary.
you don't think i'm dangerous, do you, hermione? i mean, you're not scared. of me.
do.  you.  know.  anything.  about.  the.  chamber.  of.  secrets? yes.
can.  you.  tell.  me? no.
excuse me. could you tell me where i am? hello? the boy doesn't respond, eyes staked to the activity in the adjoining room.  which harry sees now is the entrance hall. a group of elder witches and wizards -- hogwarts professors -- talk amongst themselves, then.  abruptly go silent. make way for two young wizards, bearing a stretcher.
ron! ron!
it was hagrid. hagrid opened the chamber of secrets fifty years ago.
the monster had killed someone, ron. what would any of us done?
what's that you've got, hagrid?
and they found it.  tom riddle's diary is gone.
what do you understand!
the library?
we've got to talk to hagrid, ron. i can't believe it's him. but if he did set the monster loose last time -- even by accident -- he'll know how to get inside the chamber of secrets. and that's a start.
i think it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again.
what's that for?
are you okay? hagrid? did you hear about hermione?
look.  we have to ask you something. do you know who's opened the chamber of secrets? hagrid takes a fruit cake, stops, about to answer, when.  there is a loud knock. the fruitcake smashes to the floor. panicked, harry and ron throw the cloak over themselves. sweating, hagrid grabs his crossbow, points it at the door.
look.  at the windowsill, a trail of spiders escapes through a crack in the glass. harry grabs hagrid's lantern.
c'mon.
you heard hagrid. follow the spiders.
there's something moving over there.  something big. just then a blaze of light splinters the trees, blinding them. they start to flee.  when ron stops.
it's been here all the time! look at it. the forest has turned it wild.
c'mon, we don't want to lose the trail.
don't panic. as harry steps to the mouth of the cavern, the air suddenly crackles with movement. twigs snap. a huge shadow emerges, slowly engulfs harry. he peers up.
yes. we're friends of hagrid's. and you.  you're.  .  aragog, aren't you?
he's in trouble. up at school, there've been attacks. they think it's hagrid. they think he's opened the chamber of secrets. like before. as harry talks, ron's eyes dart warily about, then.  ron's pov - a pair of long legs -- spider's legs -- curl slowly around the trunk of the tree to his left. terrified, ron nudges harry, but harry ignores him.
but if hagrid never.  that means.  you're not the monster.
shhh! but if you're not the monster, what did kill that girl fifty years ago?
but have you seen it?
what! ron points. harry looks. pales. turns slowly back to aragog.
well.  thank you. we'll just go.
let's go! harry, ron and fang leap inside. ron shifts frantically. a spider appears at harry's open window.
don't mention it. they stop. both hear it: a distant clicking. as the car flies over a ridge, they see them: a sea of spiders heading straight for them like a herd of raging wildebeest. ron puts his foot to the floor, spins the wheel and sends the car sliding away. the spiders stampede after.
that way! it's the only way out! hurry! they're catching up! ron jams the accelerator.  just as a giant tarantula drops in front of the escape route. harry and ron are as good as dead.
can you get us in the air?
we know one thing. hagrid never opened the chamber of secrets. he was innocent.
wish you were here, hermione. we need you. now more than ever.  just then, the mirror in ron's hand catches the late afternoon sunlight and casts a jagged flame across hermione's hand. harry watches the light dance over her fingers.  then looks closer. sees the paper clutched there.
'of the many fearsome beasts that roam our land, none is more deadly than the basilisk. capable of living for hundreds of years, instant death awaits any who meet this giant serpent's eye. spiders flee before it and only the crowing of the rooster can kill it.' ron! this is it! the monster in the chamber of secrets is a basilisk. that's why i can hear it speak. it's a snake.
because no one did look it in the eye. not directly at least.  colin saw it through his camera. justin -- justin must've seen the basilisk through nearly headless nick! nick got the full blast of it, but he's a ghost -- he couldn't die again.
 and hermione.  had the mirror! i bet you anything she was using it to look round corners, in case it came along.
the water.  there was water on the floor that night. she only saw the basilisk's reflection.  the crowing of the rooster is fatal to it! that's why hagrid's roosters were killed! spiders flee before it! it all fits!
hermione answered that too. harry points. scribbled, in hermione's hand, is: "pipes."
remember what aragog said? about that girl fifty years ago? she died in a bathroom. what if she never left.
c'mon. let's go see lockhart. he may be a brainless git, but he's going to try and get into the chamber. we can tell him what we know.
we'll find her, ron. ginny's going to be fine.
professor, we've got some information for you -- harry and ron stop dead. lockhart's office is stripped to the shelves. two large trunks stand open.
are you going somewhere?
you're running away? after all that stuff you did in your books?
you wrote them!
you're a fraud! you've just been taking credit for what a load of other wizards have done!
expelliarmus! lockhart blasts backwards, toppling into one of the open trunks, his wand flying across the floor.
looks like those dueling lessons came in handy after all, professor.
to ask you how you died.
who was it, myrtle?
just like that? how?
this is it, ron. this is the entrance to the chamber of secrets.
open up. ron shakes his head. harry's spoken in his regular voice.
oh, yes there is. you first. harry points his wand at lockhart, then the opening.
all right. let's go.
thanks, myrtle. harry turns. jumps. seconds later, ron follows.
lumos! the torch blooms with a bright orange flame.
remember. any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away. harry leads the way down the tunnel. crunch! they look down: a rat's skull. all around them, the ground is littered with tiny skeletons. ron squints, sees something huge and curved lying ahead. when he speaks, his voice is hollow with dread.
maybe it's asleep. ron draws his wand as they approach, squinting. harry shines his light, revealing.  a gigantic coil of empty
ron? are you okay?
wait here. i'll go on. i'll go on and.  find ginny. if i'm not back in an hour.  he leaves it there.
see you in a bit. harry glances at the snake skin at his feet, moves off. he steps carefully through the shadows until he reaches a towering stone wall, carved with twin serpents.
open. the serpents part and the giant wall slides open. harry removes his wand and enters.
ginny! please don't be dead. wake up! wake up! ginny!
tom.  tom riddle? what d'you mean, she won't wake? she's not.
are you a ghost?
she's cold as ice. you've got to help me, tom. there's a basilisk --
give me my wand, tom.
listen, we've got to go! we've got to save her!
but she's dying!
no.  she couldn't -- she wouldn't.
but.  why?.
and why did you want to meet me?
hagrid's my friend. and you framed him, didn't you?
i'll bet dumbledore saw right through you.
well, you haven't finished it this time. in a few hours mandrake draught will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be all right again.
ginny stole the diary from my room? but why?
like what?
why do you care how i escaped? voldemort was after your time.
you. you're the heir of slytherin. you're voldemort?
albus dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world!
he'll never be gone! not as long as those who remain are loyal to him! suddenly, music.  eerie and unearthly.  echoes deep within the chamber and a small, swift shadow ribbons over the rock. flying from above is fawkes, the phoenix. the bird swoops into the chamber, clutching a ragged bundle in its golden talons.
fawkes. fawkes flies toward harry, drops the ragged bundle, which is the sorting hat, at his feet. riddle picks it up.
don't look. don't look into its eyes. harry races along the stone path, but the giant serpent is faster. harry trips. falls. the basilisk rises. harry looks to the wall, sees the serpent about to strike. suddenly fawkes screeches, soaring toward the basilisk and circling its blunt head, confusing it. the snake snaps furiously, when.  fawkes drops like a knife, driving its talons deep into the serpent's glittering eyes. as harry watches the angry play of shadows on the wall, the basilisk roars, hissing in pain. fawkes wings away, its talons dripping with blood and harry turns, looks: the basilisk's eyes are a blind, bloody mess.
ginny. you need to get yourself out.  follow the chamber.  you'll find ron.  there is a rush of wings and fawkes circles down, lays his head onto harry's arm.
you were brilliant, fawkes. i just.  wasn't quick enough. then harry blinks, looks down. thick pearly tears are trickling down fawkes' face and onto his arm. almost instantly, his wound.  begins to heal itself.
of course. dumbledore told me. phoenix tears have healing powers. it's all right, ginny. it's over. it's just a memory.
where's lockhart? harry eyes lockhart, sitting by himself, humming placidly.
i think.  i think he's telling me he can take us out of here.
it's just, you see, sir, i couldn't help noticing certain things. certain similarities. between tom riddle and me.
voldemort put a bit of himself in me?
so the sorting hat was right. i should be a slytherin.
only because i asked it to.
'godric gryffindor.'
dobby! this is your master? the family you serve is the malfoys! dobby nods, chagrined. lucius malfoy brushes past harry.
sir? i wonder if i could have that. dumbledore looks up, follows harry's eyes to the diary.
mr. malfoy! i have something of yours. harry comes up running, thrusts the diary into malfoy's hand.
i think you do, sir. i think you slipped it into ginny weasley's cauldron that day in diagon alley. malfoy shoves the diary into dobby's face, then leans close to harry and, with a nasty grin, whispers:
just promise me something.
never try to save my life again. dobby grins then and -- crack! -- is gone.
with loads of help from you. she turns to embrace ron. they pause, an awkward moment between them and.  shake hands instead.
there's no hogwarts without you, hagrid. just then.  dumbledore gets to his feet and.  slowly.  brings his hands together. the others join him. soon, everyone is on their feet and the hall roaring. as the students surround hagrid, he blinks, wipes at his eyes, and.  camera pulls back, through the window, leaving the celebration. we continue to crane back.  back.  to a wide shot of hogwarts.  glittering gloriously in the night.