Гарри Поттер и тайная комната

           "ThatLockhart’ssomething,isn’the?"saidJustinhappilyastheybeganfillingtheirplantpotswithdragondungcompost. "Awfullybravechap. Haveyoureadhisbooks? I’dhavediedoffearifIdbeencorneredinatelephoneboothbyawerewolf,buthestayedcooland-zap-justfantastic. 

           "MynamewasdownforEton,youknow.Ican’ttellyouhowgladIamIcamehereinstead. Ofcourse,Motherwasslightlydisappointed,butsinceImadeherreadLockhart’sbooksIthinkshe’sbeguntoseehowusefulit’llbetohaveafullytrainedwizardinthefamily..." 

           Afterthattheydidn’thavemuchchancetotalk. TheirearmuffswerebackonandtheyneededtoconcentrateontheMandrakes. ProfessorSprouthadmadeitlookextremelyeasy,butitwasn’t. TheMandrakesdidn’tlikecomingoutoftheearth,butdidn’tseemtowanttogobackintoiteither. Theysquirmed,kicked,flailedtheirsharplittlefists,andgnashedtheirteeth; Harryspenttenwholeminutestryingtosquashaparticularlyfatoneintoapot. 

           Bytheendoftheclass,Harry,likeeveryoneelse,wassweaty,aching,andcoveredinearth. EveryonetraipsedbacktothecastleforaquickwashandthentheGryffindorshurriedofftoTransfiguration. 

           ProfessorMcGonagall’sclasseswerealwayshardwork,buttodaywasespeciallydifficult. EverythingHarryhadlearnedlastyearseemedtohaveleakedoutofhisheadduringthesummer. Hewassupposedtobeturningabeetleintoabutton,butallhemanagedtodowasgivehisbeetlealotofexerciseasitscuttledoverthedesktopavoidinghiswand. 

           Ronwashavingfarworseproblems. HehadpatcheduphiswandwithsomeborrowedSpellotape,butitseemedtobedamagedbeyondrepair. Itkeptcracklingandsparkingatoddmoments,andeverytimeRontriedtotransfigurehisbeetleitengulfedhiminthickgraysmokethatsmelledofrotteneggs.