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50 free Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is J. K. Rowling's second novel, published by Bloomsbury in July 1998 and by Scholastic in the United States the following June. Harry's second year at Hogwarts opens with a house-elf wrecking a pudding and ends in a hidden chamber under the school, with a flying Ford Anglia, a fraud in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and a diary that writes back along the way. Chris Columbus's 2002 film adaptation grossed $878 million and was Richard Harris's last live-action role. This quiz covers both the book and the film. Expect questions on the plot, the first-edition misprints, the awards, the working title that became book six, the casting near-misses, the sound design of the Whomping Willow and the mandrakes, the 1962 car, the Gloucester Cathedral corridors and the box-office records. Fifty questions, four options each, with a short explanation after every answer. Play on your phone or print it for a quiz night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which house-elf visits Harry at the Dursleys to warn him not to return to Hogwarts?
Dobby
Dobby later admits he jinxed the Bludger and sealed the barrier at King's Cross, all to keep Harry away from school.
Q 02What does Dobby magically destroy at Privet Drive to get Harry into trouble?
A pudding
Uncle Vernon blames Harry and locks him in his room; the Ministry adds an underage-magic warning for good measure.
Q 03Which celebrity author becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?
Gilderoy Lockhart
Harry first meets him in Diagon Alley, where the self-promoting author turns a book signing into a photo opportunity.
Q 04Why do Harry and Ron fly to Hogwarts in the enchanted car?
Platform 9¾ is sealed
Dobby had sealed the portal; the boys end up crashing the car into the Whomping Willow on arrival.
Q 05Whose cat is found immobilised next to the first warning scrawled on the wall?
Argus Filch's
The message reads "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware".
Q 06What rare ability does Harry reveal during the duelling class?
Parseltongue
Speaking to snakes was a talent of Salazar Slytherin, so the school immediately suspects Harry of being the heir.
Q 07Which ghost shows the trio a diary left in her bathroom stall?
Moaning Myrtle
The diary belonged to Tom Riddle, a student at Hogwarts when the Chamber was last opened fifty years earlier.
Q 08What kind of creature is the monster in the Chamber?
A Basilisk
Its direct gaze kills and its indirect gaze petrifies, which is why every victim had looked at it through a reflection or a camera.
Q 09Who brings the Sorting Hat to Harry in the Chamber?
Fawkes
The phoenix then blinds the serpent and later heals Harry's wound with its tears.
Q 10What does Harry pull from the Sorting Hat to fight the serpent?
The Sword of Gryffindor
He finishes the job by stabbing the diary with a fang, destroying the manifestation of Riddle.
Q 11Who is revealed to be Dobby's master?
Lucius Malfoy
Harry tricks him into handing Dobby a sock, the clothing that frees a house-elf from service.
Q 12What must a master give a house-elf to set it free?
Clothing
Dobby explains the rule himself while visiting Harry in the hospital wing after the Bludger incident.
Q 13In which year was the novel first published in the UK?
1998
It came out on 2 July 1998 and went straight to the top of the UK bestseller lists, displacing John Grisham and Tom Clancy.
Q 14Which company published the US edition in June 1999?
Q 21In which age division did the book win the 1998 Nestlé Smarties Gold Medal?
9–11 years
Rowling also won Smarties prizes for Philosopher's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban before withdrawing later books from consideration.
Q 22Where did the novel rank in the BBC's 2003 survey The Big Read?
Number 23
The Scottish Arts Council had also given the novel its first ever Children's Book Award in 1999.
Q 23What was the working title of Chamber of Secrets?
Half-Blood Prince
Rowling decided some "crucial pieces of information" belonged in book six instead, and the title moved with them.
Scholastic
It went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including the one in The New York Times.
Q 15Which ghost's self-composed song about his death was cut from early drafts?
Nearly Headless Nick
The editor did not care for the poem; Rowling later published it as an extra on her official website.
Q 16Whose family background was cut from the book as an "unnecessary digression"?
Dean Thomas
Rowling said Neville Longbottom's own journey of discovery was more important to the central plot.
Q 17Lockhart was based on whom, according to Rowling?
An acquaintance of hers
She described the real person as "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart".
Q 18First editions mistakenly called Voldemort the last remaining what of Salazar Slytherin?
Ancestor
Dumbledore should have said descendant; the slip was fixed in later reprints along with other errors.
Q 19First editions gave Lockhart's book about which creatures two different titles?
Werewolves
It appears as Weekends with Werewolves at one point and Wanderings with Werewolves later in the book.
Q 20Rowling became the first author to win which award two years running?
British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year
It was also shortlisted for the 1998 Guardian Children's Award and the 1998 Carnegie Award.
Q 24Which item on sale at Borgin and Burkes in this book returns in the sixth novel?
An opal necklace
The Hand of Glory, a Vanishing Cabinet and Riddle's diary are the other book-two objects that pay off later.
Q 25Who damages the Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts in this book?
Peeves the Poltergeist
That broken cabinet becomes the Death Eaters' way into the castle four books later.
Q 26Nick's deathday cake dates his death to 31 October of which year?
1492
The 500th deathday party implies the novel opens in 1992, the only firm calendar anchor in the series.
Q 27Who estimates that Harry and Ron have broken over 100 school rules?
McGonagall
Dumbledore drops his promised punishment anyway and rewards the pair for ending the threat from the Chamber.
Q 28Critic Graeme Davis called the phoenix's perfectly timed arrival what?
A deus ex machina
Writing after all seven books were out, Davis rated this the weakest of the series and noted the plot mirrors book one.
Q 29Reviewer Mary Stuart compared the Chamber showdown to the work of which author?
Stephen King
She thought it perhaps too strong for young or timid children but full of enough surprises to fill five lesser books.
Q 30Who directed the 2002 film adaptation?
Chris Columbus
He used handheld cameras for a looser feel and handed the series to Alfonso Cuarón after this instalment.