Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I haven't posted a spoiler alert for these posts because I've just assumed that anyone who reads them have either read the books for themselves or has seen all of the movies. Just be warned, I will be discussing connections between ALL SEVEN BOOKS. This means that I will assume things have already been revealed to you.

I finally finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! When I was young, this was one of my least favorite HP books. The plot just never appealed to me, and the Deathday Party terrified me and gave me nightmares.

There were many details in this book that are carried through the rest of the series. For example, this is where Harry learns Expelliarmus!, which will later become one of his signature spells and helps his characterization. Also, we see Polyjuice Potion, which for such a dangerous potion, is used quite frequently through the rest of the series (GoF and DH come to mind instantly).

The most important item from this book that will be relevant later is, of course, Riddle's diary. This is our first look into Riddle's past and the dark magic that created Lord Voldemort. What struck me the most was that JKR even told us that Harry is a Horcrux.

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry said, thunderstruck.
"It certainly seems so." (Dumbledore)

At this point, we didn't know that this "bit" was a part of Voldemort's soul, but Dumbledore had knowledge of Harry's destiny. But he gives him a warning that should sum up the difference between Harry and Voldemort: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities".

Pages read: 650/4195
Time read: 4 hr 47 min 03 sec

Second Half of Sorcerer's Stone

I finished SS! It took me a lot longer than I had hoped, but isn't that the way that life seems to happen? Anyways, this section had some of my favorite parts in the entire series.

1. Through the Trapdoor

This is chapter 16 of SS, and by far one of my favorites in the entire series. When I was younger, I loved the obstacles that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to overcome to reach the Stone. My favorite, though, was Snape's. The logic puzzle with the potions was brilliant in my eyes, and I always wanted to have the bottles in front of me so I could prove my aptitude at logic, just like Hermione. Thinking back, I think that I always appreciated that Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all vital in the quest for the Stone. None of them could have reached the Stone without the other two. This foreshadows the quest they go on for the Horcruxes in DH, and is a motif pulled throughout the entire series.

2. The Man with Two Faces

This is the final chapter of SS, and has some of my favorite quotes from Dumbledore. Here are a few:
"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
"As much money and life as you could want! The two things human beings would choose above all- the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
"The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."


SS has always been one of my favorite HP books. Now to move onto CoS!

Pages read: 309/4195
Time read: 2 hrs, 31 mins, 16 secs

Harry Potter

Well, it's been ages since I've done a post or had time to work on this project. But I'm back, and rereading my favorite series- Harry Potter. With the final movie coming out in less than two weeks, it's about time that I started my reread. I'm looking forward to and dreading this movie. I realized that this is the last time I'll be rereading the series in preparation for a book or movie premiere. (With Pottermore, it looks like the next time I read the series will be in a different medium.)


I'm also going to time myself. I did this last summer when I reread them, and I think it would be cool to see how accurate that time was and/or if I could beat it. So, just for the record, it was approximately 44 hours last time.


Here is a key for the abbreviations that I'll be using. I've used these for years, and they've just become habit.
JKR: J.K. Rowling
SS/PS: Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone
CoS: Chamber of Secrets
PoA: Prisioner of Azkaban
GoF: Goblet of Fire
OotP: Order of the Phoenix
HBP: Half-Blood Prince
DH: Deathly Hallows


I'm also going to post every night with an update. It might just be how much I read that day or it could be some new connection I found. What I'm marveling today is the connections that JKR pulled through the entire series. Sirius Black, a character that we don't meet until PoA, is mentioned on page 14 of SS. Hagrid mentions three magical families- "the McKinnons, the Bones, [and] the Prewetts" on page 56. The McKinnons' deaths were again mentioned in DH in Lily's letter to Sirius. Susan Bones is sorted only a few chapters later in SS. And the Prewetts were Molly Weasley's brothers. JKR has connections and threads through the entire series that can caught with many rereads of the series.


Pages read: 179/4195
Time read: 1 hr, 28 min, 56 sec