TEN

                                    

                                          
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
chapter ten
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F I G U R E   I T   A L L
O U T
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"I don't want to have a photo of this, Colin."
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Since the disastrous episode of the pixies, Cockalorum has not brought live creatures to class. Instead, he reads passages from his books to them, and sometimes re-enacts some of the more dramatic bits. He usually picks Harry to help him with these reconstructions; so far, Harry has been forced to play a simple Transylvanian villager whom Cockalorum cured of a Babbling Curse, a yeti with a head-cold, and a vampire who was unable to eat anything except lettuce since Cockalorum had dealt with him.
Harry is hauled to the front of the class during their very next Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, this time acting a werewolf. If he didn't have a very good reason for keeping Cockalorum in a good mood, he would have refused to do it. Lily would find this all amusing if she didn't hate the teacher.
"Nice loud howl, Harry - exactly - and then, if you'll believe it, I pounced - like this - slammed him to the floor - thus - with one hand, I managed to hold him down - with my other, I put my wand to his throat - I then screwed up my remaining strength and performed the immensely complex Homorphus Charm - he let out a piteous moan - go on, Harry - higher than that - good - the fur vanished - the fangs shrank - and he turned back into a man. Simple, yet effective - and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks."
The bell rings, saving the Potter twins' sanity, and Cockalorum gets to his feet. Lily raises her head from the desk and wipes her face before getting up. She casts a wary glance at Draco, not wanting to go through with what she'll have to do.
"Homework: compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!"
The class begins to leave. Harry returns to the back of the room, where his sister, Ron, and Hermione are waiting.
"Ready?" Harry mutters.
"Wait till everyone's gone," Hermione replies nervously.
Just in case Plan A (Lily questioning Draco) fails, they have conjured up Plan B, which is a potion Professor Snape once mentioned in class.
Polyjuice Potion.
It will allow the drinker to attain the appearance of someone else for a little while. If Lily can't get anything out of Draco, Crabbe, or Goyle, Harry and his friends will turn into some Slytherins Draco's friendly with, and attempt to get what they need that way.
The only problem is that the book with the potion's recipe is in the Restricted Section of the library, and you need a professor's signed permission to enter it. 
"All right..." Hermione sighs.
She approaches Cockalorum's desk, a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand, Harry, Lily, and Ron right behind her. It's quite obvious why they chose Hermione and this particular teacher for this part of Plan B.
"Er - Professor Lockhart?" Hermione stammers.
"I wanted to, to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading." She holds out the piece of paper, her hand shaking slightly.
"But the thing is, it's in the Restricted Section of the library, so I need a teacher to sign for it - I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in Gadding with Ghouls about slow-acting venoms..."