Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

The next morning at breakfast, Hermione is still disapproving of Ron and Harry’s arrival method. When the mail arrives, Ron receives a letter from Mrs. Weasley called a Howler. When he opens it, it screams in Mrs. Weasley’s amplified voice. It scolds him for stealing the car, particularly because Mr. Weasley is now facing an inquiry at work, and also says that Ron and Harry could have died. The entire Great Hall looks at Ron, who has turned a bright red. Harry feels incredibly guilty for what they’d done.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione then go to their first class: Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. On their way to the Greenhouses, Harry notices that Gilderoy Lockhart and Professor Sprout have just been patching up the Whomping Willow, and Lockhart brags about showing Professor Sprout the proper way to do so. He then spots Harry and pulls him aside for a moment. He notes that Harry has gotten “a taste for publicity” and wanted to fly the car to school to get himself noticed. Harry tries to protest, but Lockhart simply counsels him to take it easy and not try to garner so much attention yet.

Harry returns to Herbology class, where Professor Sprout announces that they’ll be repotting Mandrakes. When she asks who can name the properties of the Mandrake, Hermione’s hand immediately shoots up and she explains that Mandrakes can be used to restore someone who has been transfigured or cursed to their original state, but she adds that their cries are fatal. Professor Sprout gives Hermione twenty points.

The students put on earmuffs to prevent them from hearing the cries—though these Mandrakes are only seedlings, and thus their cries will only knock the students out for several hours if heard. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione work, they are joined by a Hufflepuff student who introduces himself as Justin Finch-Fletchley. Justin knows who they all are, and he tells them that he’s glad to be at Hogwarts—though his mother had always wanted him to go to Eton. They don’t have much more chance to talk, as they spend the rest of the class with their earmuffs on.

The Gryffindors’ next class is Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Harry feels like he’s forgotten everything he learned the previous year, and he has a very difficult time turning a beetle into a button. Ron has even worse problems, because his wand appears to be damaged beyond repair. Hermione transfigures several beetles perfectly.

After class, Harry, Ron, and Hermione eat lunch and then sit out in the courtyard for a bit. An eager first-year student named Colin Creevey comes over and introduces himself to Harry, saying that he knows all about Harry, and asks him for a picture to prove that he’s met Harry. Colin marvels at Hogwarts, explaining that he never knew the odd stuff he was doing was magic until he got the letter from Hogwarts, and now he’s taking lots of photos to send back to his dad. He asks Harry if he could perhaps sign the photo.

Just then, Draco Malfoy comes over, sarcastically asking if Harry is giving out signed photos and then insulting Ron by saying that one would be worth more than his family’s house. Gilderoy Lockhart then comes over, wondering who’s giving out signed photos until he sees Harry. He poses for a picture with Harry, then pulls him aside again and says that handing out signed pictures looks “a tad bigheaded.” Harry can’t get a word in to explain that he wasn’t giving out signed photos.

The students then go to Lockhart’s classroom for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart begins the class by giving a quiz, with questions entirely about himself (“What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?”; “What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s secret ambition?”). Lockhart collects the quizzes and grades them, disappointed that so few remembered the answers. But he commends Hermione for getting every question right.

Lockhart then lifts a covered cage from behind his desk, warning that the students are about to face their worst fears. When he uncovers the cage, he reveals what is inside: Cornish pixies, eight inches high and bright blue. Lockhart then opens the cage, and the pixies start to cause pandemonium in the classroom: lifting Neville by the ears into the air, breaking through the glass window, dumping ink bottles onto the class.

Lockhart tells the students to round up the pixies, then tries to cast a spell to stop them. But the spell has no effect, and the pixies seize his wand and throw it out the window. Lockhart dives under the desk. The bell rings and the students dash toward the door. Lockhart then tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione to take care of the rest of the pixies before leaving the classroom. Ron and Harry are flabbergasted. Hermione immobilizes the pixies and then defends Lockhart, saying that he’s trying to give them hands-on experience; he obviously knows what he’s doing, she says, because of all the things he’s done in his books. Ron clarifies: all the things “he says he’s done.”