Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 7–9

by J.K. Rowling
Harry can't wait to return for his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, until a house elf named Dobby warns him of terrible danger ahead. When students start turning to stone — and Harry is a prime suspect — the boy wizard must figure out what's really going on at Hogwarts.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–18

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bemused
    deeply absorbed in thought
    Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.
  2. devise
    come up with after a mental effort
    Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference.
  3. tactics
    a plan for attaining a particular goal
    As Wood launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred Weasley's head drooped right onto Alicia Spinnet’s shoulder and he began to snore.
  4. stupor
    a state of being half-awake
    Harry sank into a stupor as Wood droned on and on.
  5. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    “So,” said Wood, at long last, jerking Harry from a wistful fantasy about what he could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle.
  6. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    They had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium.
  7. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    “Aren’t you finished yet?” called Ron incredulously.
  8. testy
    easily irritated or annoyed
    “What makes you say that?” said Wood testily.
  9. perturbed
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Hagrid didn’t seem perturbed by Ron’s slug problem, which Harry hastily explained as he lowered Ron into a chair.
  10. kelpie
    a water spirit in the form of a horse
    “Givin’ me advice on gettin’ kelpies out of a well,” growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot.
  11. genial
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    “I’m on'y jokin’,” he said, patting Harry genially on the back and sending him face first into the table.
  12. scalawag
    one who is playfully mischievous
    “Ah, here’s the scalawag!” he said. “Come in, Harry, come in—”
  13. fickle
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    Now and then he caught a phrase like, “Fame’s a fickle friend, Harry,” or “Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that.”
  14. prattle
    idle or foolish and irrelevant talk
    And then he heard something—something quite apart from the spitting of the dying candles and Lockhart’s prattle about his fans.
  15. spate
    a large number or amount or extent
    Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students.
  16. squelch
    make a sucking sound
    As Harry squelched along the deserted corridor he came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as he was.
  17. morosely
    in a sullen, moody manner
    Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, “...don’t fulfill their requirements...half an inch, if that...”
  18. torrential
    relating to or resulting from the action of a downpour
    He was pale as smoke, and Harry could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.
  19. decapitate
    cut the head off of
    “Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on, Harry! Most people would think that’s good and beheaded, but oh, no, it’s not enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore.”
  20. manacle
    shackle that can be locked around the wrist
    A highly polished collection of chains and manacles hung on the wall behind Filch’s desk.
  21. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    Fred had “rescued” the brilliant orange, fire-dwelling lizard from a Care of Magical Creatures class and it was now smoldering gently on a table surrounded by a knot of curious people.
  22. taper
    stick of wax with a wick in the middle
    The passageway leading to Nearly Headless Nick’s party had been lined with candles, too, though the effect was far from cheerful: These were long, thin, jet-black tapers, all burning bright blue, casting a dim, ghostly light even over their own living faces.
  23. salver
    a tray for serving food or drinks
    Large, rotten fish were laid on handsome silver platters; cakes, burned charcoal-black, were heaped on salvers; there was a great maggoty haggis, a slab of cheese covered in furry green mold and, in pride of place, an enormous gray cake in the shape of a tombstone, with tar-like icing forming the words,
    SIR NICHOLAS DE MIMSY-PORPINGTON
    DIED 31ST OCTOBER, 1492
  24. portly
    fairly large
    Harry watched, amazed, as a portly ghost approached the table, crouched low, and walked through it, his mouth held wide so that it passed through one of the stinking salmon.
  25. lamented
    mourned or grieved for
    “My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow...”
  26. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood alone, in the middle of the corridor, as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight.
  27. amulet
    a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil
    “...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou,” said Lockhart, “a series of attacks, the full story’s in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once....”
  28. foreboding
    a feeling of evil to come
    “If I might speak, Headmaster,” said Snape from the shadows, and Harry’s sense of foreboding increased; he was sure nothing Snape had to say was going to do him any good.
  29. procure
    get by special effort
    Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes.
  30. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    “They’ll catch the maniac who did it and have him out of here in no time. I just hope he’s got time to Petrify Filch before he’s expelled. I’m only joking—” Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.
  31. persecution
    causing someone to suffer
    They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.
  32. rift
    a personal or social separation
    But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others.
  33. obscure
    make undecipherable or imperceptible by concealing
    But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.
  34. arrant
    complete and without qualification
    “The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course,” he said.
  35. gullible
    naive and easily deceived or tricked
    It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible.
  36. torpor
    inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of energy
    And within five minutes, the class had sunk back into its usual torpor.
  37. teeming
    abundantly filled with especially living things
    “I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony,” Ron told Harry and Hermione as they fought their way through the teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off their bags before dinner.
  38. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    Hermione nodded fervently, but Harry didn’t say anything.
  39. terse
    brief and to the point
    “Five points from Gryffindor!” Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge.
  40. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    “Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?” said Hermione skeptically.
Created on Thu Sep 10 19:09:09 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Jul 28 12:59:54 EDT 2022)

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