Harry Potter: 10 Most Underrated Chapters

Chapter Synopsis: Harry makes a daring escape from Privet Drive via a flying Ford Anglia and arrives at the Weasleys’ home.

Uncle Vernon outdoes himself at the start of The Chamber of Secrets. Following Dobby’s antics with Aunt Petunia’s pudding, he puts bars on his nephew’s window and tells him he’s never going back to Hogwarts. Luckily, Ron and the twins arrive in the dead of night to rescue Harry.

The Ford Anglia’s flight through the night sky is pleasant enough, but this chapter really excels when we arrive at the Burrow. Mrs Weasley’s rage – in any context – is always fun to read about. And it’s also great to see Mr Weasley for the first time as well. His child-like charm and his fascination with Muggles leads to plenty of humour.

More generally, ‘The Burrow’ is an interesting chapter as it’s the first time we see a magical household. The Weasleys’ home is nothing like the unnaturally clean interiors of Privet Drive. There’s talking mirrors, a ghoul in the attic, magical pots and pans, and the garden is bursting with plants, weeds, and gnomes. Harry even helps to de-gnome the garden by throwing the gnomes over the fence.

The following chapter, ‘At Flourish and Blotts’, gives us more information about the Weasleys’ house, but there’s nothing quite like Harry’s first introduction to the Burrow.