The second installment of the Harry Potter series is action packed and filled with amazing visuals for its time. So let’s take a ride down memory lane and look at some of our favorite scenes. From house elves, to killer trees, to giant serpents and spiders, this movie expands upon the wizarding world in an unforgettable way. 

10. Harry Meets Dobby

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Dobby at the Dursley's (HD)

For many, Harry included, finding a house elf in your bedroom would be pretty shocking, especially if it comes with an ominous warning. 

 At the very beginning of the film, Harry finds Dobby the House Elf jumping on his bed in his muggle family’s home. The elf gives him a warning not to return to Hogwarts, because he is in danger. Harry, however, would rather face whatever dangers lay ahead, because Hogwarts is his home.

Dobby isn’t going to let his warning go unheard. In order to force Harry to stay home, he uses magic to drop a cake on the Dursleys’ guest’s head, angering them.

This scene is a fan favorite, because we get to meet a beloved character, Dobby, for the first time, and watch a cake fall on someone, which is always satisfying. The interaction between Harry and Dobby while trying not to get caught by Uncle Vernon makes for an entertaining start to the second movie in the series. 

Dobby using magic to make the cake fall on a guest of the Dursleys.

9. Uncle Vernon Falls from Window

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Clip) Harry escapes the Dursley's

 Well, if the Dursleys’ house didn’t feel like a prison before, it definitely does now. 

After the cake incident, Uncle Vernon does what he can to ensure that Harry will never go back to Hogwarts. He attaches bars to Harry’s window, drilling them into the frame, in hopes that this will stop a wizard, but in comes the Weasleys to save the day.

Uncle Vernon grabs Harry’s leg while he is trying to escape from the window and into a flying car. This doesn’t end well for him, since when they take off, he falls out of the second story window and right into a bush.

This scene is both intense and hilarious. Seeing the Dursleys fail, or get a taste of their own medicine, is common at the start of most of the Harry Potter movies, but it never gets old. Watching Uncle Vernon fall, and knowing the only thing wounded is his pride, is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie. 

Uncle Vernon attaching bars to Harry’s window.

8. Meeting the Weasleys

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Harry's first time at the Weasley's home (HD)

The Burrow, the Weasley family’s residence, is the definition of a magical home. 

Throughout this scene, we are in awe right alongside Harry. The cramped, but cozy, home filled with enchanted items shows us how magic can be used for simple, everyday tasks. Then we get to meet the rest of Ron’s family.

So far, we’d caught a glimpse of them on platform 9 3/4 in the first film, but this time we get to see them as a whole. Their closeness, their concern, their fascinations. Molly and Arthur Weasley, Ron’s parents, happily welcome Harry into their home as if he is one of their own. 

This scene is touching, because Harry finally gets to see what a loving family is like and they don’t hesitate to include him. All his life, he has dealt with looks of disdain and has felt outcasted. Staying with the Weasleys, he gets to experience what it is like to have a doting mother, an eccentric father, and mischievous brothers. 

Harry, Ron, and the twins the moment Molly Weasly confronts them.

7. Ron Saves Harry

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets | Ron saves Harry from falling out of car

Ron always comes in clutch in the most unexpected ways.

While trying to make it to Hogwarts after being blocked on the platform (I wonder who could have done that?) Ron and Harry are nearly hit by the train while in their flying car. The car door flies open and Harry goes tumbling out, barely catching the door in time. Ron reaches out to save him while still steering the vehicle. 

This scene is one of the best, because it is suspenseful. We are left wondering if Harry will fall to his doom or if he can find a way back inside the flying vehicle. Ron pulls him back in, saving Harry, who would have been fine if he had just worn his seatbelt.

Harry and Ron the moment they realize the train is behind them.

6. The Whomping Willow

The Chamber of Secrets-Whomping Willow

Rarely is it a smart idea to drive into a tree, and in this instance, it's even worse. At least in reality, the trees don’t fight back.

The Whomping Willow is a giant, magical tree that loves to smash anything that gets close to it. When trying to land the car, Harry and Ron end up crashing into the tree, and the tree isn’t very happy about this. Swinging its giant limbs, it does a great deal of damage to the car, but Harry and Ron manage to escape.

Magic can be whatever you make of it, and in this world, the author runs rampant with that idea. We’ve already glimpsed the dangers of the wizarding world, but who would have expected a tree? This scene is one of the best because, not only is it scary, it adds depth to the world and what lies within it. 

The Whomping Willow after Harry and Ron manage to flee from it.

5. Polyjuice Potion

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets | polyjuce potion part 1

Polyjuice potion doesn’t look too appetizing. 

In order to get information out of Draco Malfoy about the heir of Slytherin, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to infiltrate the Slytherin common room and trick Malfoy by posing as his friends. Unfortunately, the hair Hermione added to her potion was cat hair, so she could not participate.

That leaves Harry and Ron transforming into Crabbe and Goyle. The potion is disgusting, but their transformation is pretty cool.

Watching the transformation can be a bit unsettling, but the effects at the time the movie was released, back in 2002, are still pretty impressive. Seeing Harry’s skin bubble as his face morphs from his own to Goyle’s might make your stomach churn, but the awkward interactions that follow with Malfoy is worth it.    

Harry and Ron drinking the Polyjuice Potion.

4. Harry is Shown the Past

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets-Tom Riddle Flashback Full Scene 1080P FULL HD

The extent of what magic is capable of in the wizarding world is pretty impressive. Of course, we don’t know why Tom Riddle’s diary is able to do what it does until later on, which makes this entire scene fascinating and eerie.

 Harry writes his name and a greeting in the diary he found in the bathroom Moaning Myrtle died in, not knowing that something would say hello back. At first, Tom Riddle seems like a random and unimportant character that we had never heard of, but we couldn’t be any more wrong.

Tom Riddle offers to show Harry the past, taking him back fifty years to when the chamber of secrets was opened last. Harry is shown the memory and learns why Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts. 

Getting to see the past, a younger Dumbledore, and learning the reason why Hagrid was expelled and isn’t allowed to use magic comes as a great shock. Who would have thought that the loveable, kind giant with a heart for monsters would open the chamber and allow people to die? Obviously, we trust Hagrid more than this “Tom Riddle”.

The writing that appears after Harry writes his name in the diary he found.

3. Following the Spiders

Follow The Spiders (Part 2) | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The lengths that Harry will go to protect his friends is admirable. Ron is just there to suffer along the way.

In order to prove Hagrid’s innocence, Harry and Ron “follow the spiders”, as per Hagrid’s instructions. They do so, and meet the acromantula that we see in the flashback Tom Riddle showed Harry. And boy, has it grown.

Aragog, Hagrid’s friend, was the one accused of harming the students the last time the chamber was opened and is the reason why Hagrid was expelled. We learn that Hagrid is innocent. Despite Harry and Ron being friends of Hagrid, Aragog’s children are hungry, and he won’t deny them a feast.

If you hate spiders, like Ron, this scene will leave your skin crawling for days. The muggle spiders are bad enough, but one the size of a bus? You won’t be forgetting that image any time soon, and that’s why this scene is so memorable, because it will haunt you.

Harry and Ron meeting Aragog, an acromantula. 

2. The Basilisk Fight

HARRY POTTER VS THE BASILISK (Tom Riddle's diary)

Turns out, Tom Riddle wasn’t to be trusted after all. Oh, and he’s also the memory of Voldemort before he adopted his catchy dark wizard name.

Harry may have survived the killing curse, but can he survive a giant serpent? Well, we already know the answer to that, but that doesn’t mean this scene didn’t leave us screaming. 

After fleeing the basilisk that is tracking Harry by sound, thanks to Fawkes blinding it, Harry has his final showdown with the monster standing on the head of Salazar Slytherin’s statue. He shoves the Sword of Gryffindor through the basilisk’s mouth, killing it.

This climactic scene far exceeds that of the previous movie, and Harry doesn’t even use magic. Instead, this twelve-year-old boy fights a giant serpent with a sword and prevails. Harry keeps defying the odds in order to save those he cares about. 

Harry stabbing the basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor.

1. Dobby is Given a Sock

Dobby is a Free Elf | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Of course, we can’t forget about one of the most iconic scenes in the series, quoted by thousands. 

Harry takes another risk and costs a powerful wizard, Lucius Malfoy, his house elf. Harry puts his sock in the diary and gives it to Lucius, accusing him of being the original owner. Annoyed, Lucius gives the diary to Dobby without really looking at it. 

Inside the diary is a sock. House elves are freed when their master gives them an article of clothing, which Lucius unintentionally does. In a fit of rage, Lucius is about to cast a spell at Harry when Dobby steps in and defends him.

What started off as bickering and fighting between these two characters becomes a wholesome friendship in the end. Harry’s cleverness and quick thinking is impressive, and seeing how proud Dobby is of himself for defending Harry and taking down Lucius a notch makes us love him even more.  

Dobby, a free elf, proudly defending Harry after Lucius Malfoy attacks him.

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