"a nice mystery with an interesting twist at the end for young and old alike."
At the beginning of this book, Harry is spending the summer
with his Aunt and Uncle Dursley. They have custody of him
since his parents' death. The Dursleys aren't nearly as
mean to Harry as previously, because they fear his magical
powers. This all changes with the arrival of Dobby, a
house elf. Dobby does magic for which Harry is blamed.
Hogwarts School of Magic sends Harry a letter threatening
expulsion with the next use of magic. His uncle sees the
letter and knows that Harry won't risk expulsion by
practicing magic. His uncle locks Harry in a room with
bars on the windows. The Dursleys feed Harry very little
and Harry's outlook becomes bleak. However, the Weasley
brothers, Harry's friends, arrive in a flying car. They
break Harry out of his barred room and take him to stay
with them for the rest of the summer. When school begins, Harry and his friends learn of the
legend of the heir of Slytherin. Slytherin was one of the
founding members of the school. He believed that only
students with magical ancestors should attend Hogwarts. He
fell out with the other three founding members, because of
this belief. Before Slytherin left it was said that he
created a secret chamber that contained a monster. Only
Slytherin's heir could open the secret chamber and only his
heir could control the monster. It was said that the heir
to Slytherin would come and rid Hogwarts of the less than
pureblood magicians. Some students are found petrified.
Has the heir arrived? Who is the heir? Harry and his
friends must find out in order to save the students and the
school. This was a very enjoyable book. It had a nice mystery with
an interesting twist at the end. I highly recommend it for
young and old alike. Marlene Breakfield © Copyright January 2002
Reviewed by Marlene Breakfield
Posted April 13, 2002
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The Dursleys were so mean that hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike. And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny. But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself?
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