Ponderables...

[Susan Miller]

No: HPFGUIDX 85648

> deedeee88 pondered:
> 
>2. If only the heir of Slytherin could open the chamber of secrets
>how was Harry able to open the Chamber of Secrets??!?
> 
> sevenhundredandthirteen replied:
> 
> The book never actually says that only the heir of Slytherin could 
> *open* the Chamber of Secrets, only that they are the only ones who 
> could *unseal* the Chamber of Secrets.
> 
> From CoS Chapter 9 `The Writing On The Wall.'
> Spoken by Professor Binns:
> 
> "Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets 
so 
> that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived 
at 
> the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of 
> Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school 
of 
> all who were unworthy to study magic."
> 
> Note that we have the use of the words `seal' and `unseal.' The way 
I 
> see it, Slytherin sealed the Chamber 1000 years ago. Tom Riddle, 
his 
> true heir, unsealed it 50 years ago. But no-one has resealed it in 
> any way. That is, *anyone* can now walk on down into the Chamber of 
> Secrets (provided they speak Parseltongue or are with someone who 
> does). So, Harry didn't unseal the Chamber of Secrets (which is the 
> only task restricted to Slytherin's heir) it was already unsealed 
for 
> him. He just opened the door to it.
> 
> 
> Then DeeDee again:
> 
> After OOP, what with DD saying that Mr. Riddle/Voldemort would mark 
> his nemisis as his equal....how can anyone say that Harry 
> just "reopened" the chamber??!????

Constance Vigilance (me)

Actually, I say that. The way I read it, Tom unsealed the chamber 
each time. 713 is correct in pointing out that there is no discussion 
about resealing the chamber, but we don't really know what all Tom 
Riddle did in his last year at Hogwarts. However, Tom did come back 
to Hogwarts as Tom!Diary and therefore would be able to fulfill the 
requirement that only Slytherin's heir would be able to unseal the 
chamber. He used Ginny's body to do it, but the true heir (Tom) did 
the actual unsealing. The purpose of the unsealing, as stated in the 
legend, was to purge the school of those who were unworthy**. Diary!
Tom was well underway to do that until he got distracted with the 
alternate goal of defeating Harry.

But, like 713 says, I think that any parselmouth could have entered 
the bathroom and opened the Chamber, after it had been unsealed.

Marking Harry as V's nemesis doesn't mean Harry is an heir of 
Slytherin, just that he is a powerful and dangerous wizard, from V's 
point of view.


** If the goal of unsealing the chamber is to purge the school of 
those unworthy, then that would provide a motivation for Lucius to 
ensure that the heir of Slytherin (Diary!Tom) was back in Hogwarts. 
Which would explain why he sent the diary to Hogwarts. Sending it 
with Ginny was an unexpected opportunity to discredit Arthur. 
Thoughts on that?

Constance Vigilance