Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
film adaptation

Changes from the Book

Deletrius!
major characters and events from the book not included in the film:

• The Ministry letter to warn Harry about the underage use of magic.

• The Burrow's garden gnomes

• Harry seeing Draco and Lucius Malfoy at Knockturn Alley only appears in the deleted scenes, but not in the main version of the film.

• Arthur and Lucius' fight at Flourish and Blotts.

• Peeves the Poltergeist -- still no film appearance.

• Lockhart's scene with Professor Sprout before the first Herbology lesson of the year, in which he implied that he knew more about caring for Whomping Willows than she did.

• The scenes in which Lockhart lectures Harry for giving out autographs (due to Colin's actual request in the book) and makes him late for Herbology.

• Mention of Ron's detention and the fact that he recognized Tom Riddle's name from an award he received for special services to the school.

• The Deathday Party of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as Nearly Headless Nick.

• The need for Hermione to get permission from Lockhart to get into the restricted section; in the film, Hermione finds Moste Potente Potions on the regular shelves.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione's diversion and rule-breaking in Potions class in order to get ingredients for the Polyjuice.

• The Polyjuice Potion's effects on Harry's vision and on both Harry and Ron's voices are removed in the film, and they have to fake Crabbe and Goyle's voices.

• The Valentine's Day shenanigans, including Lockhart's cherubs and the infamous Singing Valentine for Harry

• Percy's mysterious behavior and the character of Penelope Clearwater (except for one brief mention of her name in passing by Nearly-Headless Nick).

• The Weasley twins' efforts to protect Harry from the rogue Bludger.

• Almost all foreshadowing hints about Ginny acting strangely or emotionally.

Serpensortia!
plotlines that were twisted in the transition to the screen:

• During the first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Lockhart refers to the Bandon Banshee as male rather than female.

• The first Gryffindor Quidditch practice of the season has been cut back drastically; Oliver isn't shown wasting practice time lecturing the team before heading to the pitch.

• Instead of asking questions about the Chamber in History of Magic, Hermione does so in Transfiguration.

• Snape's line about sending someone home in a matchbox from the Duelling Club is no longer in reference to Justin Finch-Fletchley if paired with Neville, but about Harry if paired with Ron (given Ron's malfunctioning wand).

• Malfoy's first spell at the Duelling Club has been changed to "Everte Statum".

Switching Spells

• Arthur Weasley asks Harry about escalators in the book, but rubber ducks in the film.

• Hermione gets Dumbledore's line, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," (PS17) in the film.

• Second-year Gryffindors have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs in the book, but with the Slytherins in the film.

• Hermione also gets the bulk of Ron's lines in Hagrid's hut, describing the significance of the word "Mudblood."

• Again, Hermione gets a line of Ron's when she says that "even in the wizarding world," hearing voices isn't good.

• McGonagall tells the students about the Chamber in the film, instead of Professor Binns, who has yet to make a real appearance in the films.

• In the book, the statue of Slytherin represents him standing, while in the film only his head and shoulders are represented.

• In the book, after Fawkes injures the basilisk's eyes, Tom Riddle tells the serpent he can still "smell him". In the film, Tom instructs the serpent that he can still "hear him," resulting in the invention of a scene in the film involving Harry throwing a rock to mislead the basilisk.

  In fact, snakes do not have external ears and are pretty much unaware of airborne sound as a result. However, they are sensitive to vibration, so perhaps the basilisk is intended to have felt the vibration in the tunnel floor when the rock hit it.

• In the book, Fawkes saves Harry from the basilisk venom before Harry destroys the diary. In the film, Harry is not healed by Fawkes' tears until after the destruction of the diary and Ginny's awakening.

• In the book, Harry's conversation with Dumbledore after the defeat of the basilisk takes place in McGonagall's office, and Arthur, Molly, and McGonagall are present at the start of the scene. In the film, the scene is set in Dumbledore's office instead, and McGonagall and Ginny's parents do not appear.

Conjuring spells
additions to the film without direct canon backing:

• Defence Against the Dark Arts shows both Hufflepuffs (Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones, for example) and Slytherins (Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle) in the same class as the Gryffindors.

• Transfiguration shows Slytherins (Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle) in the same class as the Gryffindors.

• Transfiguration lesson on changing animals into water goblets.

• Ron taking Scabbers to Transfiguration with him. (Neville sometimes takes Trevor to class, but Ron was not shown taking Scabbers to class in the books.)

• Tom Riddle's statement that the basilisk that lived in the Chamber of Secrets would only obey him as the true Heir of Slytherin rather than just any Parselmouth.