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How does the second of the Harry Potter series look through the Story Grid lens? Let’s break it down by the Editor’s 6 Core Questions.
1. What is the genre?
Global — Action, Epic > Savior
Secondary — Worldview > Maturation
2. What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for the genre?
Conventions
The protagonist’s role as a hero must be clearly defined throughout the story:
Harry hears sinister voices; and even when he is accused of being the heir of Slytherin, he gets thrust into the role of a hero as he wants to discover who is behind the attacks. He chooses not to tell the teachers about the voices, instead tries to uncover the heir himself along with his friends. Note: his friends are critical to his status as Hero as they prepare him for his final showdown with Voldemort.
The victim’s role must be clearly defined throughout the story: At the school, the victims are the students (and a cat):
Mrs. Norris, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Colin Creevy, Penelope Clearwater, and finally, Ginny Weasley. Note: By destroying the diary (which has a piece of Voldemort’s soul in it), Harry is saving society although this isn’t clear until the final book in the series.
The antagonist’s role as the villain must be clearly defined throughout the story:
The villain is the unknown heir of Slytherin – and is thought to be behind the attacks at school. It isn’t clear that this is Voldemort until the end.
There is a speech in praise of the villain:
The unknown perpetrator seems unbeatable; the three friends, the teachers, and prefects are unable to stop the attacks; Hermoine’s frustration at failing to solve the attacks also shows us the power of the villain. While no one knows who the perpetrator is, they believe it is the monster, unleashed by the heir of Slytherin, and that this is history repeating itself. The myth of the chamber and the fear it causes can also be seen as praise of the villain.
The plot is fast-paced with action and excitement throughout the story:
Harry breaks out of the Dursley’s, ‘borrows’ Mr. Weasley’s card to fly illegally to get to school after failing to walk through the wall to platform 9 ¾. At school, he hears sinister voices inciting murder and an unknown enemy declares that the Chamber of Secrets is open. We see a series of attacks on Mrs. Norris, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Colin Creevey, Penelope Clearwater and Hermione. The final victim is Ginny who has to be rescued from the chamber by Harry and Ron. In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry’s life is in peril when Tom Riddle sets the Basilisk against him.
Obligatory Scenes
The Inciting Incident is a life-threatening attack by the antagonist or environment. This can be causal or coincidental:
The inciting incident is a warning from Dobby that Harry’s life is in danger, and that there is a plot against him at Hogwarts. Dobby hopes that the news will prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts. Dobby’s interference in Harry’s life can also be seen as an ‘attack’ on his life.
Following the inciting attack, the protagonist avoids responsibility to take action against the antagonist:
Harry decides to go to school, despite the veiled threat. When he hears voices at school, he doesn’t tell Dumbledore about it, even though it might have been the smartest thing to do, and might have helped Dumbledore solve the mystery.
Forced to take action (after avoiding responsibility to do so), the protagonist acts out:
Harry is angry at Hufflepuff students for accusing him of being the heir and gets into an argument with them, which is uncharacteristic. Rather than confide in Dumbledore about the heir he starts to talk to Tom Riddle through the diary, which pushes him closer to danger.
The protagonist gains an understanding of the antagonist’s nature or purpose:
The discovery of the antagonist’s nature is an important part of the children’s ‘quest’ and there are several dead ends. First, they believe it might be Malfoy or a Slytherin (which is false), then they believe it’s Hagrid and Aragog (also false). Finally, Harry sees the note in Hermoine’s hand and realizes that a Basilisk is behind the attacks. Voldemort’s role is only apparent in the final few chapters, and Tom Riddle’s true purpose (being a Horcrux) is revealed much later in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).
Having decided to act, the protagonist’s initial strategy to overcome or defeat the antagonist fails:
Having failed multiple times to understand who the antagonist is, the only real attempt to overcome the antagonist is when Harry faces Riddle face to face in the Chambers. All earlier attempts to uncover the true nature of the antagonist fail. First, they fail to get an answer using polyjuice, next they realize that Aragog isn’t the monster. When Harry finds Ginny in the Chamber, he tries to revive her but fails, as he doesn’t understand that Tom Riddle has taken his power from Ginny.
The protagonist reaches an all-is-lost moment and realizes they must change their approach to overcoming or defeating the antagonist in order to salvage some form of victory:
In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry faces the deadly Basilisk with no wand. For the first time in the book, he calls for help from Dumbledore. He can’t fight Riddle without some help.
Protagonist at the mercy of the antagonist, and the protagonist must express their gift in order to save the victim (and usually themselves as well):
Harry’s loyalty brings him the phoenix, who heals his injury and also bring him the sorting hat. Harry’s innate bravery means that he can pull out the Sword of Gryffindor from the hat (Dumbledore tells him later that only a true Gryffindor could pull out that sword).
Learn more about obligatory scenes and conventions.
3. What is the point of view?
Third person, past tense.
Learn more about point of view.
4. What are the objects of desire?
External/Conscious — To stop the attacks, to preserve life
Internal/Subconscious — to be accepted by his peers, to understand who he is (his scar, his connection to Voldemort)
Learn more about objects of desire.
5. What is the controlling idea / theme?
Life is preserved when we express our true gifts and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves.
Learn more about controlling ideas.
6. What is the beginning hook, middle build and ending payoff?
Beginning Hook
Harry gets in trouble at the Dursleys when Dobby the House Elf tries to convince Harry that his life is in danger and that he shouldn’t go to school. Harry is grounded when Dobby causes mayhem and has to be rescued by the Wesleys in their flying car. Later Harry and Ron use the same car to fly to school illegally when Dobby stops them from getting onto the train. At Hogwarts, Harry hears voices calling for murder. This comes to a head when Mrs. Norris the cat is attacked and a message declares that the Chamber of Secrets is open. Suspicions fall on Harry as he was in the vicinity.
Middle Build
In Lockhart’s dueling club, Harry tries to stop a snake from attacking Justin Fletchley – unwittingly revealing his ability to talk to snakes – an ability that Slytherin had. When Justin is attacked, suspicions fall on Harry again. Harry and Ron use Hermoine’s Polyjuice to sneak into the Slytherin’s common room to gets answers from Malfoy, but this yields no results. Harry starts to ‘talk’ to Tom Riddle in the diary and discovers that it was Hagrid who opened the Chamber fifty years ago.
Ending Payoff
Hermoine is on the brink of discovering the culprit when she is attacked. Harry and Ron go to Hagrid’s hut for answers but must hide when Fudge arrives to arrest Hagrid for the attacks. Ron and Harry hear Dumbledore being forced to leave the school by Lucius Malfoy. Dumbledore tells them that help will always be given to those who need it, and Hagrid tells them to seek the spiders. They go to the Forest and find Aragog, who tells them that both he and Hagrid are innocent but that the real monster killed a girl fifty years ago. Harry realizes it was Myrtle. Then Ginny is kidnapped and all students are being sent home. Harry and Ron go to Lockhart to give him their clues only to realize he’s on the run. They force him to join them as they find the entrance to the chambers in the girls’ bathroom with Myrtle’s help. After interference from Professor Gilderoy, Ron is left behind and Harry must face the monster alone. He discovers that Tom Riddle has kidnapped Ginny. Harry faces a fight with the Basilisk and calls for help from Dumbledore. The phoenix arrives and helps him defeat the snake and Tom Riddle.
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