Page 235 - [2]Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ron was clenching Crabbe’s gigantic fists. Feeling that it would
be a bit of a giveaway if Ron punched Malfoy, Harry shot him a
warning look and said, “D’you know if the person who opened the

Chamber last time was caught?”
“Oh, yeah . . . whoever it was was expelled,” said Malfoy.
“They’re probably still in Azkaban.”
“Azkaban?” said Harry, puzzled.
“Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle,” said Malfoy, looking at
him in disbelief. “Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going
backward.”
He shifted restlessly in his chair and said, “Father says to keep
my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says
the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but not to get
mixed up in it. Of course, he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment.
You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?”
Harry tried to force Goyle’s dull face into a look of concern.

“Yeah . . .” said Malfoy. “Luckily, they didn’t find much. Father’s
got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we’ve got our
own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor —”
“Ho!” said Ron.
Malfoy looked at him. So did Harry. Ron blushed. Even his hair
was turning red. His nose was also slowly lengthening — their
hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and from the look
of horror he was suddenly giving Harry, he must be, too.
They both jumped to their feet.
“Medicine for my stomach,” Ron grunted, and without further
ado they sprinted the length of the Slytherin common room,
hurled themselves at the stone wall, and dashed up the passage,
hoping against hope that Malfoy hadn’t noticed anything. Harry

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