Draco Malfoy and the Chamber of Secrets (BOOK 2 of 7)

Chapter 12-The Rooster

Professor Snape had just announced the new school rules, and Draco had received word that his father was here to have Dumbledore step down from his post as Headmaster. Snape had also told him that Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was taking Hagrid to Azkaban.

Draco didn't know what he could possibly do. All he knew is that he wasn't getting a rooster anytime soon.

But what if he transfigured one? That would certainly save him some time. Unfortunately, he could not exit the common room as it was past "curfew" now so he took a nap...

...which led to him waking up the next morning. There were classes today, but during study hall, the students were led to the library so Draco took this as an opportunity to sneak off to the Necessity Room. He only had forty-five minutes to figure out how to turn something into a rooster, and then keep it quiet until it was time to go down into the chamber.

Damn. That was another problem: he had no idea how to get the chamber to open, so knowing where it was wouldn't do him any good. He'd have to think that out later.

First, he found a book on transfiguring objects into animals. This was supposedly too difficult for a second-year, but apparently even more so because unless one was exceptionally old and skilled, something that looked like the animal was needed.

What looked like a rooster? Those things on people's houses, what were they? These things spun in the wind. Weather vanes!

Draco closed his eyes and thought, I need a rooster weather vane. He thought this three times while pacing and when he opened his eyes, there was what he had asked for.

Looking back at the book, he learned that the incantation for turning the inanimate animal into a real animal was Ita esse. This needed to be said with great force and concentration, and Draco would have to picture the rooster in his head while jabbing his wand at the object just once.

"Okay," he said to himself, "here goes nothing...but my hope."

Draco took a deep breath, imagined a real rooster, and struck his wand at the weather vane, saying, "Ita esse!"

It took five whole seconds for the object to morph into the real creature, but once it did, Draco had to cover his ears.

"I thought roosters only cried out in the mornings!" He exclaimed as he tried to remember the silencing charm. He pointed at the rooster to say it, but the animal jumped out of reach.

"Stupid thing!" Draco said as he tried to chase the rooster and capture it.

Back to the books. Draco tried looking for some way to summon the rooster to him, then capture it.

"Charms, I need charms..." he looked through the charms section to find Simple Charms for your Daily Use. Thankfully, the book was in alphabetical order (that seemed to be a thing), and he didn't have to search much before finding "Accio", the Summoning charm. Draco said the spell with a strong willingness for the object, then "rooster". Almost at once, the rooster came flying at him.

"Bloody chicken!" he yelled, but it was off again somewhere. Draco turned his attention to looking for capturing spells, but there was none in the charms book. He thought about using Incarcerous to tie up the bird, but that would only end up killing it. So similar spells must've been in the Transfiguration section.

After what seemed like ten minutes, he found a spell literally meant for capturing and summoned the bird to him. When the rooster came flying with a screech, Draco thrust his wand forward and said, "Incarcifors!"

The bird was now in a cage similar to Draco's owl cage, but it was still noisy, so Draco silenced it with "Silencio".

Draco sat down on the hard floor on let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but wonder why such hard magic was so easy for him. He had to see Dumbledore about that, but first he had to sort out the rooster problem. He looked back at the rooster whose beak kept opening and closing, but no sound was coming. He undid the charm for just a second, and had to cover his ears again. Finally, he exited the Necessity Room with a silent and caged rooster. What a normal sight.

Draco crept down to the dungeons and hid the rooster behind his bed in his room before heading back to the library. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped that he wasn't late.

Whoops. As he entered the library, he came face to face with the Head of Gryffindor House.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Draco nonchalantly greeted, as though he hadn't just battled a monstrous bird.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," the professor replied. "May I ask why you just entered the library by yourself twenty minutes after the end of study hall?"

"I...was...somewhere...else..." Draco said, trailing off.

"I see. Detention tonight, at six o'clock. I expect you'll be there accompanied by a professor."

"Yes, ma'am," Draco said.

However, when it was time for Draco to leave, there was an announcement:

"All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All staff to the second floor corridor, immediately."

Second floor? Draco immediately left the common room unnoticed to go to the second floor. When he got there, he noticed Potter and Weasley hiding behind a wall. He could see them and the staff clearly, but neither party could see Draco.

"As you can see," Professor McGonagall was saying, "the Heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realized. A student has been taken by the monster into the Chamber itself. The students must be sent home. I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts."

In strolled Lockhart, saying, "So sorry- dozed off- what have I missed?"

"A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart," Snape said. "Your moment has come, at last."

"My moment?"

"Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"Well, that's settled," McGonagall said. "We'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend."

After spending a moment being flustered, Lockhart answered, "Very well- ah- I'll just be in my office getting, um- getting ready."

Like hell he was. He was probably going to escape. He left, and then Draco heard Madam Pomfrey ask who'd been taken.

"Ginny Weasley," said McGonagall.

Draco saw Potter and Weasley's eyes grow wide. When the staff had all gone, Weasley read out what Draco couldn't see: "Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."

"We have to go see Lockhart," Potter told his friend, and the two of them rushed off.

Draco knew that the two Gryffindors would go with Lockhart, and since Potter could speak Parseltongue, he could open the chamber. Potter and Weasley probably knew where the chamber was, so that left rooster retrieving to Draco.

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