Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 4–6

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. prone
    having a tendency
    Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room.
  2. molt
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
    He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, gray feather duster—at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.
  3. extract
    remove, usually with some force or effort
    “Errol!” said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing.
  4. outstrip
    go far ahead of
    They took turns riding Harry’s Nimbus Two Thousand, which was easily the best broom; Ron’s old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.
  5. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    “He’s not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all.”
  6. quell
    suppress or crush completely
    “You have told me this at least a dozen times already,” said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.
  7. prudent
    marked by sound judgment
    “And I would remind you that it is not—prudent—to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear—ah, Mr. Borgin.”
  8. pince-nez
    spectacles clipped to the nose by a spring
    Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.
  9. presume
    take liberties or act with too much confidence
    “The Ministry wouldn’t presume to trouble you, sir, surely?”
  10. plunder
    steal goods; take as spoils
    “I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin,” said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, “No
    offense, sir, no offense meant—"
  11. abashed
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
    “I would have thought you’d be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam,” snapped Mr. Malfoy.
    “Ha!” said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry.
  12. haggle
    wrangle, as over a price or terms of an agreement
    “I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today—”
    They started to haggle.
  13. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    “So you don’t think I’m a match for Lucius Malfoy?” said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione’s parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.
  14. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry’s pocket was clamoring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows.
  15. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in.
  16. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
  17. malice
    the quality of threatening evil
    He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.
  18. brawl
    quarrel or fight noisily, angrily or disruptively
    “A fine example to set for your children...brawling in public...what Gilderoy Lockhart must’ve thought—”
  19. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be traveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder.
  20. sumptuous
    rich and superior in quality
    On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry’s favorite things, ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding.
  21. trundle
    move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Harry turning back for a last look at the house.
  22. vain
    unproductive of success
    “But your mum and dad...” said Harry, pushing against the barrier again in the vain hope that it would give way.
  23. cavernous
    being or suggesting a large dark enclosed space
    Ron unlocked the cavernous trunk with a series of taps from his wand.
  24. moor
    open land with peaty soil covered with heather and moss
    London was soon far behind them, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alive with cars like multicolored ants, villages with tiny toy churches.
  25. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    “Come on,” Ron said cajolingly, giving the steering wheel a little shake, “nearly there, come on—”
  26. wallop
    hit hard
    Harry felt as though he’d just been walloped in the stomach by one of the mad tree’s larger branches.
  27. flout
    treat with contemptuous disregard
    He cleared his throat and said, “Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree—surely acts of this nature—”
  28. tureen
    a large deep serving dish with a cover
    The four long House tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon, beneath the enchanted ceiling (today, a dull, cloudy gray).
  29. bedraggled
    limp, untidy, and soiled
    “Errol!" said Ron, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.
  30. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    Gilderoy Lockhart, however, was immaculate in sweeping robes of turquoise, his golden hair shining under a perfectly positioned turquoise hat with gold trimming.
  31. nonplussed
    filled with bewilderment
    Completely nonplussed, Harry said nothing.
  32. antidote
    a remedy that stops or controls the effects of a poison
    “The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?”
  33. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    He had pale green, mottled skin, and was clearly bawling at the top of his lungs.
  34. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Gryffindors hurried off to Transfiguration.
  35. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    “All right, Harry? I’m—I’m Colin Creevey,” he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward.
  36. imploringly
    in a pleading manner
    "...My dad’s a milkman, he couldn’t believe it either. So I’m taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it’d be really good if I had one of you”—he looked imploringly at Harry—“maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?”
  37. jovial
    full of or showing high-spirited merriment
    Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially, “Shouldn’t have asked! We meet again, Harry!”
  38. paternal
    characteristic of a father
    “A word to the wise, Harry,” said Lockhart paternally as they entered the building through a side door.
  39. frank
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    Let me just say that handing out signed pictures at this stage of your career isn’t sensible—looks a tad bigheaded, Harry, to be frank.
  40. rampage
    act violently, recklessly, or destructively
    The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino.
Created on Wed Jul 27 12:03:43 EDT 2022 (updated Thu Jul 28 12:59:46 EDT 2022)

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