When a few fifth-graders attended a Harry Potter reading group with me, we used clues to figure out who really proposed the Dueling Club in Chamber of Secrets.
I had the kids bring their paperback Scholastic copies of Chamber of Secrets. They drew slips of parchment from a goblet with instructions for finding and reading aloud passages that would serve as clues. I could have just printed out the quotes on the slips of parchment, but I had them look up the quotes to read them instead, so they could have the experience of realizing that seeing the quotes in context was more helpful for literary analysis.
The clues included quotes about Lockhart showing Professor Sprout “the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow,” giving Hagrid “advice on gettin’ kelpies out of a well,” claiming he could brew Mandrake Restorative Draught in his sleep, claiming other people’s accomplishments for his own in his books, running away when the other teachers asked him to tackle the monster in the Chamber of Secrets… all of his greatest hits.
After they read the clues, I asked the kids: So, who proposed the Dueling Club?
One kid said immediately that it was Snape. Another said, wait, didn’t Lockhart…? I asked when Lockhart gets his ideas. They all said it’s after someone else says them.
I asked if the people around Lockhart were aware of this tendency, and got a unanimous “yes.”
So what would a teacher do if they wanted something to happen but they didn’t want people to know it was their idea?
“Say it in front of Lockhart,” they said.
How much of a guarantee would you have that he would steal the idea?
“One hundred percent,” they said fervently.
Since we had just read aloud all the slips of parchment with Lockhart taking credit for other people’s ideas or telling Sprout or Hagrid how to do their jobs, they could see how Rowling had seeded this idea without stating it outright.
These are the instructions I printed onto slips of parchment for the kids to find and read in their Scholastic editions of Chamber of Secrets.
P267 From the top of the page, “Snape swept past Harry,” to “his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.”
P300 From the top of the page, “It looked like an ordinary sink,” to “glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin.”
pp297-298 From the bottom of the page, “So you’ve just been taking credit,” to bottom of the next page, “Harry was still pointing his wand at him.”
p90 Top of the page, “Just been showing Professor Sprout” to “her usual cheerful self.”
P103 End of chapter, “Rubbish” to “Ron muttered.”
P114 Bottom of page, “What did Lockhart want with you,” to middle of next page, “No one’s lasted long fer a while now.”
P144 Middle of page, “We will be able to” to “very awkward pause.”
P163 Middle of page, “I was a Seeker” to “less able players.”
P235 Middle of page, “Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think” to “before I came down hard on him.”
P239 Top part of page, the paragraph from “Percy said” to “caught it.”
Pp 293-294 Bottom of page, “He didn’t seem to notice,” to next page, “A free rein at last.”
P305 Remainder of the chapter, from “Harry approached.”
P340 Paragraph starting “Too soon, it was time.”
P188 Top of page, “If I ever find out” to “come in handy one of these days.”
P172 Middle of page, from “Aha” to “used countless times.”