Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Harry Potter

A twelve-year-old wizard who can speak to snakes and hears a monster no one else can hear. Suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin, he instead descends alone into the Chamber and kills the basilisk — learning that his choices, not his abilities, define him.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Elf Who Ruined Dinner; Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Prejudice and blood status; Choice over ability; The danger of trusting appearances; Loyalty as a lifeline; Framed stories and false histories

Ron Weasley

Harry's loyal best friend, who rescues him from the Dursleys in a flying car and follows spiders he's terrified of. His broken wand backfires on him all year — until Lockhart's memory-wipe backfires on Lockhart with it.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword
Themes:: Prejudice and blood status; The danger of trusting appearances; Loyalty as a lifeline

Hermione Granger

The brains of the trio, who plans the Polyjuice Potion and researches the basilisk. A cat hair transforms her into a half-cat, and she spends the climax petrified, a page about the monster clutched in her hand.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Prejudice and blood status

Dobby

A house-elf who intercepts Harry's letters, seals the platform barrier, and enchants a Bludger — all to keep Harry safe from danger he won't name. Harry tricks his master Lucius Malfoy into freeing him with a sock.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Elf Who Ruined Dinner; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Loyalty as a lifeline

Ginny Weasley

Ron's younger sister, who pours her heart into Riddle's diary and is used to open the Chamber. She is taken into it as bait and lies near death until Harry destroys the diary.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Loyalty as a lifeline; Framed stories and false histories

Gilderoy Lockhart

The vain, famous Defence teacher who photographs himself with Harry and takes credit for other wizards' deeds. Ordered into the Chamber, he tries to flee and wipe memories — and his own spell erases him.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword
Themes:: The danger of trusting appearances; Framed stories and false histories

Lucius Malfoy

Draco's father, who slips the diary into Ginny's cauldron and forces Dumbledore's suspension. He ends the year exposed, his own house-elf freed by a sock hidden in the diary he holds.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Car, the Willow, the Wall of Blood; Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Prejudice and blood status

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Tom Riddle

The memory of Voldemort's younger self, preserved in a diary that writes back. He used Ginny to reopen the Chamber and grows strong enough to nearly kill Harry — until a fang through the diary destroys him.

Appears in:: Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: Choice over ability; The danger of trusting appearances; Framed stories and false histories

Rubeus Hagrid

The gamekeeper, expelled fifty years ago when Riddle framed him for opening the Chamber. He is taken to Azkaban as a precaution — but his parting advice, to follow the spiders, leads Harry to the truth.

Appears in:: Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword; Part 5: The Heir and the Choice
Themes:: The danger of trusting appearances; Loyalty as a lifeline; Framed stories and false histories

Moaning Myrtle

The ghost haunting an out-of-order bathroom, where the trio brews Polyjuice Potion. Harry deduces she was the Muggle-born girl the basilisk killed fifty years ago — and her sink is the Chamber's entrance.

Appears in:: Part 3: The Boy Who Talks to Snakes; Part 4: The Diary, the Spider, the Sword

How they are connected

Key relationships

Ron Weasley Harry Potter
Harry's loyal best friend, who rescues him from the Dursleys in a flying car and follows spiders he's terrified of.
Ron Weasley Gilderoy Lockhart
His broken wand backfires on him all year — until Lockhart's memory-wipe backfires on Lockhart with it.
Dobby Harry Potter
A house-elf who intercepts Harry's letters, seals the platform barrier, and enchants a Bludger — all to keep Harry safe from danger he won't name.
Dobby Lucius Malfoy
Harry tricks his master Lucius Malfoy into freeing him with a sock.
Tom Riddle Harry Potter
He used Ginny to reopen the Chamber and grows strong enough to nearly kill Harry — until a fang through the diary destroys him.
Tom Riddle Ginny Weasley
He used Ginny to reopen the Chamber and grows strong enough to nearly kill Harry — until a fang through the diary destroys him.
Ginny Weasley Ron Weasley
Ron's younger sister, who pours her heart into Riddle's diary and is used to open the Chamber.
Ginny Weasley Harry Potter
She is taken into it as bait and lies near death until Harry destroys the diary.
Gilderoy Lockhart Harry Potter
The vain, famous Defence teacher who photographs himself with Harry and takes credit for other wizards' deeds.
Rubeus Hagrid Tom Riddle
The gamekeeper, expelled fifty years ago when Riddle framed him for opening the Chamber.
Rubeus Hagrid Harry Potter
He is taken to Azkaban as a precaution — but his parting advice, to follow the spiders, leads Harry to the truth.
Lucius Malfoy Ginny Weasley
Draco's father, who slips the diary into Ginny's cauldron and forces Dumbledore's suspension.

Go deeper

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets themes & symbols

Prejudice and blood status · Choice over ability · The danger of trusting appearances · Loyalty as a lifeline

Themes explained

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