C H A P T E R S I X T E E N
THE CHAMBER
OF SECRETS
A
ll those times we were in that bathroom, and she was just
three toilets away,” said Ron bitterly at breakfast next day,
“and we could’ve asked her, and now . . .”
It had been hard enough trying to look for spiders. Escaping
their teachers long enough to sneak into a girls’ bathroom, the girls’
bathroom, moreover, right next to the scene of the first attack, was
going to be almost impossible.
But something happened in their first lesson, Transfiguration,
that drove the Chamber of Secrets out of their minds for the first
time in weeks. Ten minutes into the class, Professor McGonagall
told them that their exams would start on the first of June, one
week from today.
“Exams?” howled Seamus Finnigan. “We’re still getting exams?”
There was a loud bang behind Harry as Neville Longbottom’s
wand slipped, vanishing one of the legs on his desk. Professor
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