Zhang Xiao walked out of the classroom at his usual pace and headed straight back to the Common Room, just as he always did. His shirt clung uncomfortably to his back.
The Common Room had grown crowded. Almost all the students who had gone home for the holidays had returned.
They gathered in groups, laughing and talking loudly, sharing amusing stories from their holidays. Some brought out unusual gifts they had received to show their friends.
Zhang Xiao swept his gaze around and walked straight up to Gemma. Right now, he wanted nothing except somewhere comfortable to enjoy a good, long bath.
"Gemma, what's the password for the Prefects' Bathroom?"
Gemma raised an eyebrow and replied reflexively:
"That bathroom is exclusively for prefects. It isn't for you..."
Seeing Zhang Xiao's expressionless face, she swallowed the rest of her words.
She took out some parchment, quickly scribbled a line on it, and handed it over.
"Here's the password. Zhang... you..."
Zhang Xiao took it, glanced at it, and tucked it into his pocket.
"Thanks."
Leaving a bewildered Gemma behind, he made his way to the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the sixth floor of Hogwarts Castle.
The fourth door on the left led to the Prefects' Bathroom. After he gave the password, two Mermaid Statues holding pottery jars slowly moved aside.
It was a magnificent bathroom, with a rectangular bath sunk into the floor that looked like a small swimming pool.
Four tall pillars stood around the room, and numerous golden taps lined the bath's edge. They looked as though they were made of solid gold.
On the wall directly opposite the door hung a huge golden frame, enclosing a stained-glass mermaid seated on a rock.
The mermaid was playing with her golden hair as she watched Zhang Xiao, occasionally