The skirmish in the Chamber of Secrets was a conflict that took place on 29 May, 1993 in the Chamber of Secrets where Harry Potter slayed Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk and destroyed Tom Riddle's Diary. It was precipitated when Tom Riddle's Diary, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Gilderoy Lockhart came to the rescue, but as Ron and Lockhart were stuck behind an avalanche of stone, the battle was fought mostly by Harry. He managed to defeat both the Basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle, thus saving Ginny's life and unknowingly eliminating one Horcrux.