The Draco Malfoy Reveal in Half-Blood Prince from The Harry Potter Books Flip Chamber of Secrets
In "The Very Secret Diary," Chapter 13 of Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets*, Harry discovers Tom Riddle's diary, gets drawn into a juvenile Voldemort's memories, and discovers Hagrid was dismissed from school for allegedly opening the Chamber of Secrets. Harry had been sure up to this point that he had assumed control of his father's duties and that Draco Malfoy was Slytherin's Heir. But Riddle's diary exposed this couldn't be true as the chronologies didn't line up. Although Malfoy was a biassed jerk, he was not the intended killer.
Chapter 13 of *Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince* is similarly titled "The Secret Riddle," and the events see Harry once more see a memory involving a young Tom Riddle (via Dumbledore's Pensieve). Harry also insists that Draco Malfoy is behind yet another attempted murder, this one including Katie Bell as the target. He tells Dumbledore about his misgivings, but the headmaster brushes them aside right away. Though in the case of *Half-Blood Prince*, Harry is accurate about Draco Malfoy; the actions and themes of these two chapters are shockingly similar.
Early Draco Suspicions Perfectly Designed for The Later Books Harry Potter
The parallels between chapter 13 in *Chamber of Secrets* and *Half-blood Prince* highlight Harry's prior suspicions about Draco's attempted murder. Katie Bell's attack was not the first one. Draco made it plain on the first go around that he backed whoever was targeting Muggle-borns and gave the impression that, should he be able, he would cheerfully slaughter anybody without pure blood. Although this was somewhat damning, it turned out that Harry was mistaken despite his great instincts and Draco was innocent of the murder.
Harry's misgivings about Draco in *Chamber of Secrets* called some questions about his suspicions in *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*. During their second year at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione had been on Harry's side; but, when Harry accused Draco once more in the sixth, his companions were no more readily convinced. Warning Harry not to repeat the same error twice, they even reminded him that they had followed this road once before. Dumbledore also dismissed Harry's charge, which seemed to clear things.
Chapters 13 of Chamber of Secrets & Half-Blood Prince Mirror Each Other in Many Ways
Fascinatingly, the chapter 13s of *Chamber of Secrets* and *Half-Blood Prince* highlight not only Draco's development from a prospective criminal to a genuine attempted killer. These chapters, as well noted, see Harry explore Voldemort's past, therefore encountering two of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. Harry clearly interacts with Riddle's notebook in *Chamber of Secrets* and notes Merope, Riddle's mother, selling Slytherin's locket in *Half-Blood Prince*.
Chapters 13 of Chamber of Secrets also hinted to Harry's relationship to the Horcrux as Harry questioned why Tom Riddle felt like a friend he had known his whole life.
Using their repeated formula, the Harry Potter Books turned an important chamber of secrets reveal in half-blood Prince flip-around.
Using their formula, the Harry Potter books turned an important *Chamber of Secrets* reveal in *Half-Blood Prince* upside-down. Although Harry and the gang in *Half-Blood Prince* was much older than in these two tales, there are some parallels between the riddles each explored. Both works deftly used Chapter 13 to draw comparisons between these two disparate times in the Harry Potter series, therefore enhancing the enjoyment of the rivalry arc between Harry and Draco Malfoy.
As Mugglenet notes, every Harry Potter book's chapter 13 runs a similar pattern. Though subtle, under a microscope it is evident that this was always a turning point in the works. Observing all seven 13th chapters The core mystery of that school year would be resolved: a new magical object or mechanic would be introduced, a perpetrator would be accused while the actual villain was covertly revealed. Though these chapters usually stood alone inside their individual Harry Potter volumes, *Chamber of Secrets* and *Half-Blood Prince* were exceptions.
Actually, Draco had a hand in the attack on Katie Bell.
Actually, Draco started the attack on Katie Bell. The fact that the lad no longer wanted to harm anyone surprised me, though, given everything. Unlike in *Chamber of Secrets*, Draco's *Half-Blood Prince* counterpart understood he had gotten in much over his head and he didn't want to kill. These two chapter 13s highlight this important component of Draco's character growth, showing that rather than the Slytherin lad himself, pure-blood brainwashing was the real culprit.
This is very important since Harry technically is one of the Horcroxes, so the ending of *Harry Potter* revolves on them. Furthermore not coincidental is the revelation of Horcruxes, which shapes Draco's narrative. The boy's story shows that, like Harry, his soul was rescued by his mother's love and the shard of virtue she instilled, so he could have readily become like the Dark Lord. The ingenious mix of the several chapter 13s drives this truth home; Voldemort, Harry, and Draco all work as reminders in *Harry Potter* that a person chooses their own road.
