The Thing About Bathrooms

AN:

Oni: Uh just gonna leave this here...

Tom: Oni does not own the Harry Potter franchise.

Oni: And...onwards?

We left the last chapter off on a bit of a cliffhanger, didn't we? Then again, almost all of you who are reading this know full well where Tom's going. Honestly hiding the Chamber of Secrets in a girl's bathroom is just plain wrong, no matter how coincidental. Not to mention that anyone discovering it later would just think Slytherin was a Class A Prevert. Disgusting.

Incidentally, the topic of this chapter is also rather disgusting. By that, I mean bathrooms. One tries their best to make sure everything in those places is sanitary but no matter how many lavender scented air fresheners you put in won't completely get rid of the smell of excrement, especially after a lunch of spicy bean burritos. Ugh.

Public bathrooms are even worse in that respect. No amount of deodorizing is going to fix that perpetual stink. But bathrooms are a necessary part of our society, far better than merely flinging our excrement our the window from a bucket. In comparison the invention of the toilet is then ingenious, though no less disgusting when faced with one.

They also are places where people gather to perform a task created by nature. It's the opposite of a watering hole, but is still used almost as a social gathering nonetheless. Friends can be made in public bathrooms too. Hell, even the Golden Trio found their friendship after defeating that troll in the girl's bathroom! A smelly beginning to a bond that lasted seven books and eight movies.

I'm probably putting you off your lunch though, aren't I? No, no, go ahead and eat that bean burrito. Such things were meant to be enjoyed despite the nasty consequences that only you. the toilet, and that little porcelain figurine that your grandmother gave will know about. The figurine might be scarred for life, but that's not something you can help.

In the meantime, we shall return to around the place we left off before - our darling Tom discovering his ancestor's legacy for the first time.

The area that Tom found himself in was dark and musty. Surprisingly though, it lacked the sewerage that he had been expecting. Sure there was mold and mildew and a suspicious amount of faintly glowing green mushrooms, but the lack of fecal matter allowed the small child to keep his dinner in his stomach. Hitting himself with a quick cleaning charm (which he became proficient at quickly due to the amount of goo and other various slime based concoctions that his tormenters liked to pour on him... who knew Gryffindor and Ravenclaws could be so ruddy gross) and then lighting his wand with a quick Lumos, the twelve year old Slytherin began to take in his surroundings.

His footsteps echoed in the darkness, telling Tom that what little he could see was in reality part of a vast space. After the sound of something hard being crushed under his shoe, the child directed his light downwards to see the sheer amount of animal skeletons littering the floor. Blinking rapidly for a couple of seconds before taking it in stride, Tom pressed on forward into the large tunnel, which wound and turned. He got the distinct impression that this was deliberate for aesthetic reasons and not just because whoever created this area wanted to make the floor plan complicated.

Eventually he came upon solid wall on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great glinting emeralds that told Tom that whatever this place was, a Slytherin had created it. If there was one thing that the boy had learned about Hogwarts inhabitants and alumni, it was that house pride was so huge it was legitimately ridiculous. Now that he thought about it, maybe the snake talking thing he and Salazar Slytherin could do was hereditary?

Nah, neither of his parents were magical as far as he knew, unless the connection was very, very far down the line.

The snakes seemed to glare at Tom for standing there and gaping up at them, and the dark haired child got the distinct feeling that he was being judged. Blinking slowly in an attempt to process the sentiency of stone guardians, Tom hissed out the word 'open' in snake. Lo and behold, the emerald eyed (literally) serpents parted, dramatically revealing the area within...

Okay, so Tom loved snakes, he really did. But this? This was ridiculous. Towering stone pillars that were entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in the darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd greenish gloom that filled the vast chamber. Fountains on either side poured in water that came from the pipes of Hogwarts plumbing, but by the smell the water at least appeared clean (in fact the water was rather crisp an cool, whoever did the filtering for this was brilliant). On the back end of the room was a gargantuan statue of an old man that was probably the creator of this place.

After a bit of wandering and exploring, the eleven year old Slytherin deduced that this was the legendary Chamber of Secrets that Hogwarts: A History talked about (though he used that term loosely, considering that the entire section about the fabled Chamber that Salazar Slytherin used to hide his 'monster' was less than a page). Tom began to vibrate in excitement. He bet none of the other students had a place like this to call their own, and if he could enter and exit the place, then why shouldn't he claim a safe haven, a sanctuary away from the students that teased and scorned him?

But first, he needed to find a different exit, preferably one that didn't lead to the girls' bathroom on the second floor. A couple of cleaning charms were applied as he searched the area (because if he was going to come back to his new and very own Chamber then he's going to make sure it was clean and sanitary), which aided in marking the places he had already been to. In his quest to find an exit Tom found no less than thirteen hidden chambers, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two libraries, a room that appeared to be used for dueling, a Potions room with gasp some kind of protection robes in the cabinets, and a garden with a multitude of plant in stasis. The last hidden area was behind the giant statue, located behind the stone codger's left foot. Hoping that this was a exit, Tom had slinked inside.

Only to stare up in horror and awe at the largest snake he'd ever seen, which was now waking up due to his arrival.

If Tom was a lesser lad, he would have lost control of his facilities.

So the snake was something called a 'Basilisk' (which made sense in hindsight, considering that basilisks were the 'king of serpents') and her name was Esmeralda. Tom thought that was a beautiful name, and told her as much, earning the snake equivalent of a happy coo. Apparently this was the same Esmeralda that Salazar Slytherin has as a familiar, and this was indeed the Chamber that he made and that his descendants added to. Generations of family putting in something more. No wonder it was going overkill on the green and silver snake motif.

Esmeralda turned out to be incredibly helpful with directions and the layout of the Chamber. Apparently there were a number of entrances and exits, but most came and went with the ever changing layout of the castle. The only fixed entrance point was the one in the girls' bathroom (which during the Chamber's creation was a closet that was then expanded and repurposed when modern plumbing was implemented) and the only fixed exit point led into the Forbidden Forest. Not wanting to tango with whatever lurked in the woods right now (despite being in the presence of a basilisk that could kill him with a glance but instead had allowed herself to be temporarily blindfolded), he instead crawled through a pipe that Esmeralda had directed him to after saying goodbye to the nice snake and promised to return to visit.

The exit point of the tunnel was the Slytherin boys' bathroom, and Tom didn't think he'd ever been so ecstatic over the presence of a urinal before. But alas, context. The boy exited the bathroom, changed into his pajamas, and fell straight to sleep with his dorm-mates none the wiser about where he had been.

He would later find out that Hornby had gotten a teacher under the false claim that Tom had locked himself in the bathroom only to find it empty. The dark eyed child managed to hide the smug expression he wanted to wear when the girl confronted him in public about it.

"Hornby," he had begun slowly, "Why would I willingly go into a girls' lavatory? And on that vein, how did you assume that I was in there if you hadn't been there yourself? That sounds suspiciously like you were there, but since I was on my way to my Common Room, what did you see that made you think I locked myself in the toilets?"

Ah, the murderous look on her face was so worth the blue skin that she hexed him with. He almost forgot how great it felt messing with others and getting away with it... once he knew enough not to get caught. Then again, he now had a secret Chamber filled with hidden knowledge and a very helpful Basilisk. That should be enough to ensure that the next year would be more interesting than the last.

Time passed quickly for Tom, whose schedule now consisted of classes, mealtimes, study sessions, running away from bullies, and now spending copious amounts of time in the Chamber with Esmeralda. For obvious reasons he avoided the entrance that was in the girls' bathroom and became proficient in learning the times and locations of the other entrances and exits to avoid being caught. Not that he would get in trouble per say, but Tom didn't really want anyone else to know about his Sanctuary.

The Three Musketeers noticed his distance and his increased disappearances and had voiced their concern. Tom felt rather touched that they were paying such close attention to him and offhandedly revealed that he had found a private place to study when the others were out with their fellow housemates, away from the hustle and bustle (and bullies and such) of the castle. This seemed to mollify them enough not to pry. Well, it worked for Pomona. The other two needed more proof that he was alright before realizing that Tom was going to keep his mouth shut about whatever it was and correctly assumed that it was because any information shared with them somehow got back to Tom's tormentors despite their attempts to prevent such things. Feeling rather guilty about his predicament, both Filius and Minerva promised not to pry as long as he stayed safe and healthy. He couldn't ask for better friends.

Exams came and went. Tom felt like they were all ridiculously simple. His housemates didn't exactly share his sentiment, nor did most of the other first years. When they got their results, even Slughorn had to admit that the lowly mudblood was at the top of the class, beating the second highest Slytherin (which was Malfoy) by a large amount. Needless to say that the blond was both livid and shocked, surprised by the rest at the skill and control over his magic that not even pureblood children could achieve and angry that such power and potential laid in such a filthy blooded child.

The house cup went to Ravenclaw that year. Filius was very proud. He chatted animatedly with Minerva, Pomona, and Tom on the train ride home. In that moment, the four of them were as close as they had been in the beginning of the year, except now they were defined by house and friend.

Returning to Wool's that summer was like a dose of reality. Even with the madness of bullies in the castle, it was nothing compared to the hopelessness one felt at the sight of the dreary building full of sorrowful children in a world on the brink of war.

Mrs. Rosewood and Mr. Burke were both happy to see him again, which was good. Form time to time the young lad would still help out in the bakery, his skills rising as the squib taught him new skills. Now that he understood the magical world better, Tom was aware that the store the man ran was situated on the less savory Knockturn Alley and housed quite a few things that were considered 'Dark'. Of course, the dark objects were kept on the magical side, past the door that the parrot guarded so faithfully. Tom was allowed to explore this new side of the store, the black parrot silent at the sight of Tom's school robes. Browsing through the wares the young wizard inquired about nearly every object in rapt fascination. This pleased Mr. Burke immensely.

And so the summer passed by with little fanfare. Tom baked pastries, read his new books, browsed the savory and unsavory sides of his favorite store, and finished his homework. All too soon he found himself standing before the scarlet steam train once more. This time, however, he had a destination in mind as he looked for a good compartment that he and his friends could share. Filius was the first to arrive, and the two boys began discussing their summers (with the half goblin regaling tales from his family clan gatherings) with animated body language and hand gestures. When Minerva arrived to see this behavior, she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Boys.

Pomona was the last to arrive, having had to chase after her escaping toad that once again had made the leap for freedom. The Hufflepuff girl shot Tom a pout while Filius laughed and Minerva pressed her lips thin in an attempt to stave off a giggle when the boy voiced this to them. The toad seemed to look abashed at being caught, but Tom got the same reactions when he attempted to point this out. Some people just didn't see what he saw. Everyone was in tears when the dark haired child sighed dramatically.

The train blew its whistle and began to chug away to its destination in the Scottish highlands, carrying its burden of children far from its London station. It was rather odd now that Tom thought about it. The only train to Hogwarts was in England despite the school being in Scotland. Even stranger, Platform Nine And Three Quarters was the entry point, despite the school accepting students from all over the UK. Now, Tom knee for a fact that Minerva still resides in Scotland, so technically she would have to travel all the way to Charing Cross and hop on a train that took her...back to Scotland.

"Hey Minnie." Tom began, and the Gryffindor girl quickly swiveled her head towards one of the two boys who could call her that without getting hexed in the nads, "Why is it that you travel down to London if you live closer to Hogwarts anyway? Wouldn't it be easier if you just flew there from your house?"

"Well the train is an important part of the Hogwarts experience." Minerva answered with a prim nod, "Plus it gives me time to talk to you all without everyone else crowding around. Besides, Tom, you seem to slink away if there are too many people." she finished with narrowed eyes, but the dark haired boy was prepared.

"Those same people are almost always trying to talk down or prank me." he pointed out, "And it's jus not fair on you lot if you have to look after me because of some house and blood purity grudges. Besides, I've got Esmeralda to keep company now."

Filius nodded sagely while Pomona and Minerva pinked slightly. They always did this at the mention of Esmeralda, though they appeared to be under the impression that it was a code name for a girl in Slytherin. Well, technically that's true but the kicker was that they thought she was human. Seeing as one wouldn't advertise the fact that they had a Basilisk in a secret chamber under the school, Tom allowed this misconception to continue... even if Filius kept giving him 'knowing' grins and the girls started acting strange at the mere mention of her.

What was up with that?

"Poppy thinks you're just too accident prone," Pomona retorted brightly, "But that's something we all think anyway."

"Rolanda seems alright with you." Minerva added, though her tone conveyed that she wasn't quite sure, "At least she stopped ranting about your sudden flying turnaround." her eyes then gained a twinkle of curiosity, "Though speaking of flying, are any of you going to try out for Quidditch?"

"Not it!" answered Pomona almost immediately, "Professor Beery wants he helping out in the greenhouses. He said I have a knack for keeping the plants in check!l

"Not it!" squeaked Filius, "I'm thinking of joining Professor Merrythought's Dueling Club."

"You could do both!" Minerva huffed, "Besides, it's just trying out. It doesn't guarantee you a position. What about you, Tom?"

Minerva turned to the Slytherin that had just been grinning at his friend's antics with hope glittering behind her black spectacles. Considering that he had been privately practicing with the unconventional method of broom taming (and applying that with circus acrobatics), his flying skills had skyrocketed.

"I might as well give it a go." Tom replied and was rewarded with Minerva's rare beaming smile, "Not that it's likely I'll get in. I'm pretty sure they'll make up some excuse even if I was qualified. Though I also want to check out the Dueling Club. It certainly sounds interesting enough."

This time Filius gave a cheer as well, and the two boys high-fived with cheeky grins on their faces. As was beginning to become their own tradition, they all pitched in for sweets from the trolley lady, snacking on cauldron cakes and licorice wands as they swapped jokes and stories. By the time the train rolled into Hogsmeade Station, they were once again the tight knit group that they had been before they had drifted.

The quartet made their way to where the non-first year students got their ride to Hogwarts - the carriages. When Tom caught sight of them, however, he paused. Pulling the carriages were the oddest horses he'd ever seen, if they could be called horses at all. They resembled more dragon-horses with a dash of spooky deadness that he couldn't help but be fascinated by. One of the not-horses turned to look at him and nickered when he patted the flank, smiling before he joined his friends in the carriage. With the last passenger inside, the calvary of carriages set off toward the castle.

"I wonder what kind of spell they use to charm the carriages to move." Pomona wondered aloud.

Tom, however, was looking intently at the boats that carried the first years, little shadows against the shimmering Black Lake. How different it was to see the experience from another angle. It was too dark to truly make out, but Tom swore he could pinpoint the moment that the students saw the castle, imagined the awe that was on their faces like his was just a year before.

"Probably an animation charm of some sort." Minerva answered speculatively, "I think that's how the boats get across the lake."

A child that was in one of the boats fell over into the water, only to be picked up a second later by a giant tentacle. Oddly enough, the boat stopped moving until the tentacle was once more under the surface. Could it be that the Squid was pulling the boats along instead?

"Or perhaps a charm that directs the object to a particular place, pulling it along as the wheels make sure it moves." Filius added helpfully, "What do you think Tom?"

"Hm?" The boy in question asked, his attention back on his three friends, "Sorry, what was the question?"

"We were wondering what magic is used to pull the carriages and the boats." Filius reiterated helpfully, "We were thinking of some sort of animation charm or a charm that pulled an object towards a given destination."

Dark eyes blinked in confusion.

"...You can't see the dragon-horses pulling the carriage?" Tom asked slowly, "They're all thin and winged and wrapped in scales. Hard to miss, I would think."

"Tom." Pomona said slowly, "There's nothing pulling the carriages. All I see is thin air."

Minerva and Filius were looking at Tom in akin to horror before sharing a look of worry between the two of them.

"Did you ever see someone die?" Filius asked slowly.

"Of course." the still-confused child answered, "I watched a bloke fall off an elephant once in a circus. Then the elephant fell too... right on top of him. After that I realized that balance was the most important thing about circus performing."

The giggle that came out of Minerva was slightly hysterical as both Pomona and Filius stared at him as if to say 'we should have known'.

His friends were odd sometimes.

Sitting at his place at the end of the Slytherin table, Tom watched the sorting of each student with feigned interest. Dutifully he clapped harder when a student joined the ranks of the green and silver house, but the new initiates appeared to already know his status as a 'mudblood' and therefore gave him a wide berth. Near the end of the sorting was when it got interesting.

"Warren, Myrtle!"

It was easy to spot the poor sod that had fallen in the lake. Her hair and robes were still damp (though not dripping, someone must have cast a drying charm) and her face was one of the most miserable he'd ever seen. She appeared to be holding back tears, though her red eyes also told Tom that she had been crying previously. From the other table over, he heard Hornby guffaw at her sorry sight. This cruel grin turned into a sneer when the girl got sorted into Ravenclaw.

Since Warren was the last one to be sorted (which probably added to the mortification and nervousness), the feast began shortly after. The delicious scents wafted through his nose as Tom began to pile the food up, ever grateful to be back at Hogwarts. There was nothing like a summer of poverty and fear to remind him of how much he missed going to this school despite its own problems.

Surprisingly, Malfoy and his crew were not the worst perpetrators when it came to bullying Tom. Perhaps it was because the Slytherins could only attack him in their Common Room, where Filius' present warned him of any funny business, or because Tom himself had gained notoriety due to his skills in both hexes, curses, jinxes, and good old street fighting. He proved to not be above kicking a bloke in his family jewels and had already learned (through sheer self preservation) how to cast silently. It was this that most likely endeared him to Professor Slughorn, who began to go out of his way to make sure the other Slytherins didn't bother Tom, even if the man still offhandedly disparaged his lack of magical ancestry.

Cornelius Fudge and Olive Hornby (the former being mostly a yes-man mook for the latter) quickly took the prize of Tom's Top Tormenters. Their demeaning comments didn't quite affect him as much as it would have on another student (as Tom already had a small novel's worth of names and verbal jabs from Wool's alone), but their pranks and hexes solely targeted towards him were annoying and humiliating.

Like the one that made horns sprout upon his head and was so heavy that Pomona, Minerva, and Pomona's Hufflepuff friend Poppy dragged him to the Hospital Wing after he fell down a flight of stairs (and he was doing so well with balancing the horns, but he could only do so much once Fudge pushes him over). Or when he was hit with a jinx from across the mandrakes they were repotting, forcing him to spent the rest of Herbology vomiting giant slugs. Filius did his best to get rid of the slimy creatures, but the laughter from the other students just made things worse.

Professor Dumbledore managed to slow the amount of slugs coming out in the next class, but the damage had already been done for the most part. Still, at least he was able to complete his beetle-to-button transfiguration alongside Minerva, who had been staring at him in worry mixed with something he couldn't quite pinpoint. After both Gryffindor and Slytherin got points for being the first to complete the task (Slytherin for doing so despite vomiting slugs at random intervals), the Scottish girl at Tom for powering through.

Thankfully by lunchtime the spell had worn off, though Tom spent quite some time in the bathroom rinsing out the rest of the slime that was still sitting in his mouth.

With the increased amount of spells that he'd been hit with already (with no sign of letting up), perhaps it was time to fight back.

Tom's face was blank when both Hornby and her friends came down to the Great Hall the next morning with boils that could only be removed if they were popped. Filius, Minerva, and Pomona all glanced at him and knew, giving him wry smiles in the beauty of vengeance. Filius drilled him on how he tweaked that curse once he got Tom alone, excitedly picking apart the things they could do to make it worse (for science, of course).

Sometimes Tom's timing sucked. By that, he meant that the Chamber had decided that today the only entrance and exit point would be the second floor girl's bathroom. Checking the one-way window that was disguised as a mirror from the other side again, the boy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There didn't appear to be any movement, so he decided it was now or never to get out of the place lest he miss dinner.

It was the sobs that seemed to bounce off the walls that immediately told him that his assumption was once again wrong. There was definitely someone in the bathroom. Specifically, there was a girl wailing in one of the stalls at the end of the room, her voice drowning out the sound of moving stone.

For a second Tom stood there, conflicted. On one hand, the noises the crying girl was making perfectly covered his arrival and would allow him to slip away unnoticed to dinner. On the other hand, there was a girl crying and nobody had come to check on her and if she stayed here any longer she would be skipping a meal (a horrible thing in his opinion). With a sigh, Tom made his choice.

"Hullo."

He cringed slightly as his voice echoed, but it served its purpose as the wailing stopped. The sound of sniffling could be heard accompanied by the sound of the stall door opening.

"You're a boy." the mystery girl's voice stated, her head barely peeking from behind the door, "Boy's aren't allowed in here."

"I heard you crying and wanted to make sure that you were alright." Tom answered, which was admittedly the truth (even if large parts were omitted), "I'm Tom Riddle."

The stall door opened completely now, revealing the girl to be nine other than the first yet that had fallen in the lake. Her pigtails hung at the sides of her head like limp plant, but that could be because they were covered in some sort of slimy substance. His memory immediately went to the slug incident and he felt a twinge of empathy.

"M-Myrtle. Myrtle Warren." the girl stammered out, her face rapidly turning red, "What a horrid sight I must be... red and puffy and covered in gunk... in front of a boy no less..."

It became apparent that she was talking more to herself than him, most likely to stave off embarrassment or push him away, but Tom was having none of it.

"Who did this to you?"

Another sniffle.

"Olive Hornby." was the reply, tinged with anger and resentment, "She got me just outside the door and made a bucket of slime dump itself on me. I think she had help from Peeves too. I heard him laughing with her and her friends as she left ."

"Ah, Hornby." Tom muttered to himself this time, "Makes sense. She's a nasty bint. Hexed me to vomit slugs a week ago."

His comment made Warren look up at him with hope in her eyes. Tom could read her thoughts like an open book. 'You're like me.' Her expression then became shy as she wiped away the various liquids on her face.

"D-do you think you could fix me up before dinner?" Warren asked shyly, "It would be horrid for me to show up to dinner like this, but I guess that's what Hornby wanted."

Tom gave her a beaming smile, which oddly enough only made her redden more. He began to mentally list the cleaning spells needed for this job.

"I'd be happy to."

Pomona, Tom, and Filius sat together in the stands as they watched Minerva go through hoops, caught quaffles, and flung the red balls into the tiny hoops suspended nearly fifty feet in the air. Ever since the first time on the train the girl had dreamed of one day becoming a Chaser. Now her wish was coming true as she displayed her skill for the team to see. From the expressions of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who desperately needed to fill the void that one of their Chashers had left when she gradated, it looked to be a certain shoo-in for Minerva. His suspicions were confirmed when she ran to them, breathing hard, to give them the good news.

Tom's own tryouts were... interesting.

To be honest, he was convinced that no one would even watch him when he came (and by that he mean the Slytherin Quidditch team, because the Three Musketeers and oddly enough Myrtle came to see him fly) to try out for the now-available Seeker position. Then again, it appeared that everyone who was watching started to get the attention of those who weren't the moment Tom leapt off his broom in order the catch a Snitch five feet below him before his broom zoomed up beneath him and he spun on it as if it were a horizontal gymnastic bar. When he flew down to present the Snitch to the Captain (after being in the air for less than two minutes), the young boy blinked at the whooping crowd as the older Slytherin mechanically took the golden ball with the fluttering wings from his hands.

A couple of other tryouts later and Tom was mystified when he did, in fact, make it on the team as Seeker. When he asked his friends what all the commotion was about, Minerva giggled as she explained the reactions. Apparently Tom had forgotten how to fly properly and was pulling increasingly insane and death-defying moves that he usually did when he practiced alone, which translated to amazing-ridiculous-flying skills now that he was applying those moves to regular Quidditch.

The next day Rolanda Hooch marched up to Tom and demanded that he not play for Slytherin. When he told her 'no' she nearly had a nervous breakdown.

Dueling tryouts were much easier, as Professor Merrythought just smiled at them before signing him and Filius up. Both boys proceeded to rise in the ranks fairly quickly with their skill and speed,

On another note, Tom had been spending more time with Myrtle, who had taken to following him around after she caught him wandering the castle aimlessly (due to his friends' friends housemates not wanting the Slytherin around) and decided to tag along. She was rather bright underneath her self conscious exterior, and the dark haired child was happy that he was chipping away at her shell (and she had warmed up to him considerably after they both told the other that they were muggleborns). In fact, Myrtle was rapidly becoming Tom's partner in crime in their revenge plots, the girl's ability to find anything in the library became highly valuable. It was not unusual to see Tom sitting with her at the Ravenclaw table, pouring over books and making references that only those raised in the Muggle world could understand.

Unfortunately, being as bright as she was, at some point Myrtle became brave enough to question certain things about her green clad friend. Specifically, things about the day we met.

"Hey Tom." The younger Ravenclaw asked one day, the nervousness in her voice betraying the nonchalant attitude she was trying to portray, "What were you doing when you found me in the toilets?"

Blinking a few times, the boy in question looked up from his book to regard her.

"I was on my way to dinner when I heard you crying." he answered, a little confused by the sudden change in topic from the breeding habits of boggarts, "Why do you ask?"

"Because before Hornby closed the door I heard her cast a silencing charm on it." Myrtle answered, her eyes narrowed behind her round glasses, "The only way you could have heard me crying is if you were already in the bathroom. What were you doing in the bathroom, Tom?"

When Tom didn't answer right away, Myrtle's eyes narrowed even further.

"You weren't perving were you?" she asked suspiciously.

"W-what?" Tom sputtered, "No!"

"Were you trying to get a peek at the girls going to the toilet?"

"No! Ew!"

"Pervert!"

"Myrtle!"

"Well then what were you doing?" Myrtle questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"If I show you," Tom groaned out, "Will you promise not the tell anyone else?"

"...Now I'm worried." the Ravenclaw girl said after a few seconds, her eyes wide.

"So let me get this straight." Myrtle began as she stared down at the tunnel hidden behind the sink that never worked, "You're not a pervert, but your ancestor was?"

Tom shrugged, not really sure himself.

"More or less." he admitted, "As far as I know anyway. Why else put one of the permanent entrances and exits in a girl's lavatory?"

The boy then turned to the stunned girl and held out his hand to her smiling.

"Do you want to see what's down the rabbit hole, Alice?" Tom asked her with a teasing edge.

Myrtle stared at Tom for a good minute before slowly taking his hand, curiosity burning in her eyes. Together, the two of the slid down the large pipe (which was now devoid of gunk since Tom had been obsessively cleaning the place since he found the Chamber) as the sink rose up back to its proper place, making it look like nothing had transpired.

Because that was the thing about bathrooms. They were helpful in the oddest of ways.

AN:

Oni: Well that's the end of the chapter! Not sure how happy I am with it but...

Tom: Please Follow, Favorite, And Review if you liked the story.

Oni: And I'll see you next time, My Pretties!