Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Elizabeth from Book YAbber and I are discussing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets today! Make sure to check Elizabeth's post after you read this one. J.K. Rowling always writes with reason. Every detail, no matter how small, is important to the plot and the characterization of the Harry Potter series. Every character and every event is critical. During this re-read, I am definitely noticing a lot of things that foreshadow events that happen in the later books. It is fascinating how much outlining Rowling does in order for the books to work seamlessly together.

WARNING 
For those who haven't read the Harry Potter series, all book discussions WILL HAVE spoilers. If you do not want to read spoilers, please do not read ahead.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter series. As most Potterheads know, CoS is directly linked with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. So many important details in CoS foreshadows things that happen in HBP.

When Harry accidentally ends up in Borgin and Burkes, he finds a black vanishing cabinet. However, this is no ordinary cabinet. Although it is mentioned once in CoS, this cabinet is super important in HBP since Hogwarts houses a sister cabinet in the Room of Requirement.

Image from pre11.deviantart.net

Also, at Borgin and Burkes, a cursed necklace is displayed. This is the very same opal necklace Katie Bell ended up obtaining in Hogsmeade in HBP. Fortunately, Katie's skin didn't have full direct contact with the necklace but she spent most of the year trying to recover from the curse.

GIF from harrypotter.wikia.com

Of course, Borgin and Burkes houses the Hand of Glory. Draco was fascinated with this object when it was mentioned in CoS and later purchases it to plot against everyone at Hogwarts. This object gives light to the holder which comes in handy when Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder is thrown in the air. When everyone can't see, the Hand of Glory will light the way for the bearer. Draco uses this Hand of Glory in HBP.

Image from tumblr.com

The Chamber of Secrets and everything connected with the chamber connects with HBP. Tom Marvolo Riddle's diary is the first Horcrux the Trio encounters and is first that is destroyed. Because how the diary is destroyed, the Trio uses this knowledge to destroy the other Horcruxes in the last two books. Dumbledore and the Trio uses the information to hunt for Horcruxes and to destroy them in order to weaken Voldemort to his mortal state.

Although this foreshadows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore mentions how Voldemort transferred some of his powers into Harry unintentionally the night Voldemort tried to kill Harry. I believe Dumbledore uses this information about Harry being a Parseltongue to further investigate Horcruxes. Lily's death made Harry into a Horcrux. A part of Voldemort latches onto Harry's lifeline.

If you haven't noticed, the Harry Potter series is a series of mysteries. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the Trio are trying to find out what Fluffy is hiding and when they find out about the stone, they try to narrow down who is trying to steal the stone.

In the CoS, the Trio are trying to find the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets and what monster resides in the chamber itself. I mean what normal 12-year-olds will brew Polyjuice Potion for one month just to try to see if Malfoy is up to no good?

In later book discussions, I will chat about the other mysteries for each book.

One of my favorites quotes from CoS include:

Don't forget to stop by the blog on Tuesday, December 8th to find out how I found Harry Potter. I will discuss more in detail about how my love for the Harry Potter series started. You can join me on my magical journey.  If you are new to Pottermas 2015, make sure to check out this post. Also, you can follow Pottermas 2015 on social media with the hashtag #Pottermas15.