Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 1–3

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. simper
    smile in an insincere, unnatural, or coy way
    “I’ll be waiting to open the door.” Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile.
  2. rapturous
    feeling great delight
    “They’ll love him!” cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.
  3. cunning
    marked by skill in deception
    Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power.
  4. livid
    pale or ashen, as from illness or emotion
    Harry had slipped through Voldemort’s clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes—
  5. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.
  6. loll
    be lazy or idle
    While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flower beds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench.
  7. earnestly
    in a sincere and serious manner
    “Oh, yes, sir,” said Dobby earnestly.
  8. falter
    speak haltingly
    Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.
  9. grievous
    shockingly brutal or cruel
    Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this.
  10. distinct
    recognizable; marked
    Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, “Whatever you’ve heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I’m not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that’s Hermione, she—”
  11. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    “Harry Potter is humble and modest,” said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow.
  12. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already!
  13. peril
    a state of danger involving risk
    Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!
  14. nimble
    moving quickly and lightly
    Stepping nimbly out of Harry’s reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing.
  15. scrawl
    poor handwriting
    Harry could make out Hermione’s neat writing, Ron’s untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.
  16. lurch
    move abruptly
    Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound.
  17. flay
    strip the skin off
    He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, and handed him a mop.
  18. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics.
  19. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    “Read it!” he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered.
  20. decree
    a legally binding command or decision
    As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).
  21. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
    We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks’ Statute of Secrecy.
  22. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn’t see any way out of his situation.
  23. grim
    filled with melancholy and despondency
    “It’s no good turning your beak up at it—that’s all we’ve got,” said Harry grimly.
  24. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
    Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he’d given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding.
  25. dodgy
    marked by skill in deception
    “Very fishy,” said Fred finally.
    “Definitely dodgy,” agreed George.
  26. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house.
  27. prefect
    an older student who monitors or supervises other students
    I mean, there’s only so many times you can polish a prefect badge.
  28. ministry
    a government department
    “What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?”
    “He works in the most boring department,” said Ron.
  29. jaunty
    having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
    "Morning, Mum,” said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.
  30. prod
    poke or thrust abruptly
    “YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY’S BOOK!” yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred’s chest.
  31. haphazardly
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan.
  32. cheeky
    offensively bold
    As always in the Wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all.
  33. fancy
    have a particular liking or desire for
    “Oh, he is marvelous,” she said. “He knows his household pests, all right, it’s a wonderful book....”
    “Mum fancies him,” said Fred, in a very audible whisper.
  34. betide
    become of; happen to
    “All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there’s a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it.”
  35. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    The Dursleys wouldn’t have liked it—there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting—but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.
  36. scuffle
    fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters
    There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up.
  37. straggling
    spreading out in different directions
    Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.
  38. plaque
    a tablet that commemorates a person or achievement
    They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.
  39. shabby
    showing signs of wear and tear
    Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.
  40. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    "The Chudley Cannons,” said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C’s and a speeding cannonball.
Created on Thu Sep 10 18:58:32 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Jul 28 12:59:36 EDT 2022)

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