Harry would have bet this was the dreariest, darkest place in the Castle. The air was damp, dust obscured the cracked mirrors, and the stone sinks were mottled with stains, with several patches of their surfaces flaked away to expose the dark material beneath.
A few candle stubs burned low in their brackets, casting dim light over the wet floor. It was thoroughly eerie.
The wooden doors of the stalls had peeling paint and were covered in scratches. On one of them, a hinge dangled loosely from the doorframe.
If they listened carefully, they could even hear sobbing.
Honestly, even the dungeon classroom where Snape taught was nicer than this.
"This... seems to be..." Ron looked rather strange. "The girls' bathroom."
"We'd better get out right now." As he spoke, Ron reached to turn the brass door handle and leave.
"Filch's right outside," Harry said, stopping him.
"Getting caught by Filch is better than having someone else come in and find us barging into the girls' bathroom," Ron said.
But Hermione looked around and told them,
"It's all right. Nobody comes here. Myrtle's always crying in here."
Myrtle? Something stirred in Su Er's mind. Then this was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets?
But wasn't the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets...? How had it ended up on the third floor?
"I didn't notice at the time that this was where Myrtle lived. Since we're here, we can ask Myrtle whether she saw whoever attacked that cat," Hermione said quietly as she walked farther inside. "I remember she left the dungeon classroom early that day."
Harry and Ron nodded vigorously. Su Er gave an absentminded nod and followed Hermione toward the innermost stall, his eyes remaining on the flaking sinks.
"What are you looking for?" Harry asked quietly. "Is