Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Harry would have wagered that this was the gloomiest place in the castle.

Damp air filled the room. Dust veiled cracked mirrors, and stained stone basins had flaked away to reveal black beneath. Candle stubs cast weak light across the wet floor. Cubicle doors were scratched and peeling, one hanging crookedly from its hinges.

Someone sobbed in the distance.

Even Snape’s dungeon classroom was more inviting.

“This appears to be…” Ron looked uncomfortable. “A girls’ bathroom.”

“We should leave.”

“Filch is outside,” Harry stopped him.

“Better Filch than being caught coming out of a girls’ bathroom.”

“Nobody comes here,” Hermione said after looking around. “Moaning Myrtle is always crying in it.”

Myrtle.

Suer’s heart stirred. Was this the entrance to the Chamber?

But he remembered the entrance differently. And why was it on the third floor?

“I didn’t realise this was Myrtle’s bathroom,” Hermione said as she walked deeper inside. “Since we’re here, we can ask whether she saw whoever attacked the cat. She left the Deathday Party early.”

Harry and Ron nodded eagerly. Suer followed, studying the damaged basins.

“What are you looking for?” Harry whispered.

“Nothing. I’m curious.”

Ron gave him a suspicious look. Curious about a girls’ bathroom? And after asking about Ginny?

He would have to warn his sister away from Suer.

At the last cubicle, Hermione raised a finger for silence.

“Myrtle? Are you all right?”

The hinges squealed. Moaning Myrtle floated above the toilet cistern, clutching her chin. Her first glance went to the three boys.

“This is a girls’ bathroom. They don’t look like girls.”

“They aren’t,” Hermione said. “I brought them to see you.”

“Why? Everyone laughs at me. I had nothing but misery when I lived, and now I’m dead you still won’t leave me alone!”

“No, Myrtle. We aren’t here to mock you.”

“That’s a joke! Then what are they whispering about?”

Harry silently mouthed, Ask whether she saw anything.

“They weren’t talking about you,” Hermione said. “We wanted to ask whether you’ve seen anything unusual–perhaps when a cat was attacked outside.”

“Did you see anyone that night?” Harry asked.

“I wasn’t looking!” Myrtle wailed. “Peeves tormented me, threw things, and shouted insults. I came here to kill myself.”

“I put my head in the cistern to drown, then remembered I was already–already–”

“Dead,” Ron supplied.

Oh, dear. Did the boy possess no tact at all?

Suer pulled Hermione behind Harry and Ron.

Myrtle gave a heartbroken sob, spiralled into the air, and dived headfirst into the toilet. Water exploded out, drenching the two boys.

She vanished into the U-bend, though muffled sobs still echoed from somewhere inside the plumbing.

Harry and Ron stared resentfully at the perfectly dry Suer and Hermione.

“Your fault, Ron,” Suer said before anyone else could. “You shouldn’t remind ghosts they’re dead. They’re sensitive about it.”

Ron gaped. “But they are dead.”

“Let’s go.” Harry wrung out his robes. “Myrtle can’t tell us anything.”

They avoided the puddles and closed the door quietly. Suer still had not discovered the mechanism that opened the Chamber.

He would return another time.

“What are you doing here?”

The quiet voice startled all four.

“Ron!”

It was Percy Weasley, Gryffindor’s new prefect and Ron’s older brother. His badge gleamed perfectly straight upon his chest.

“That’s a girls’ bathroom. Why were you–”

“Looking for clues,” Ron said with a shrug.

“Leave at once!” Percy spread his arms and ushered them away. “Have you no concern for appearances? Boys emerging from a girls’ lavatory–it is disgraceful!”

“Why can’t we come here?” Ron demanded. “There’s an OUT OF ORDER sign. Nobody visits without a reason.”

The brothers quarrelled before the other three fascinated spectators. It ended with five points taken from Gryffindor.

“If you embarrass yourself like this again, I’ll write to Mum. She’ll send another Howler, and I hope you remember the last one!”

Percy marched away, the back of his neck scarlet.

Ron’s face matched it.

“Prefects are marvellous, aren’t they?” he complained. “Everyone gets to lecture me. Percy is obsessed with authority. Just look at him.”

“He’s only worried I’ll ruin his chances of becoming Head Boy.”