Mischief Managed | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 96

Remus gave him a look. "This is the girls' bathroom. James, we can't possibly —"

     "Trust me. No one ever comes here," James said confidently, cutting him off.

     "Why the hell not?" Sirius asked.

     "Well, I've been having conversations with Headless Nick lately, and he told me that this bathroom is abandoned. Completely," James said, smirking knowingly. "And there's a good reason for it."

      "Stop messing around and just spit it out!" Sirius said impatiently.

     James laughed. "Okay, okay. Follow me."

     And in they went, one after the other, into the quiet bathroom. No sound could be heard inside except for the echoing sound of their footsteps and the occasional drop of water dripping from the old and unused sinks.

     "Spooky," Remus observed calmly, looking around him with anticipation and thrill.

     "But I don't get it," Sirius said, "this place looks just fine. Why does no one ever come he—"

     "Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" someone said in a screechy voice, making the four boys jump.

      They looked of at the ghost of a young girl who had glided over, hovering a few feet above the ground. Her face was glum, half-hidden behind lank hair and tick, pearly glasses.

     "Err — James? Care to explain?" Remus said.

     "That's Moaning Myrtle. She haunts one of the toilets," James whispered back to him.

     "I heard that!" the ghost wailed. "And that's a very offensive thing to say!"

     "What is?" Sirius grinned. "To say haunting?" 

      "No! To — to call me that!" her eyes began to glisten with silver tears. "You boys are all the same! Calling me names! Don't you think I know what you lot call me behind my back!? Miserable, ugly, moping, moaning Myrtle!"

      "Well, technically we didn't say that behind your back. We said it straight to your face," said Sirius.

     At those words, Myrtle's tears began to stream down her face. She wailed and wailed, floating away and diving into her toilet, causing a flood.

      "Wasn't she just charming," Sirius said flatly.

      "That was unnecessary," said Remus, but Sirius only shrugged, grinning.

     "So this is where we'll keep the potion, huh?" Sirius looked around the bathroom, this time paying more attention to his surroundings. "This is good. The air shouldn't be too dry."

     "Yeah, exactly." James nodded. "At first I was thinking about making and hiding the potion in one of the secret corridors we'd found, but the book had instructed to keep somewhere damp. This bathroom just happened to be the perfect place."

     "Yeah, only if the ghost doesn't go blabbing around about what we're up to here," Sirius said grumpily, looking annoyed.

"I don't think anyone would believe her even if she figures out what you're planning to do," said Remus. "That sort of magic is basically impossible for any witch or wizard."

"Then good thing we're no ordinary witch or wizard," Sirius said boastfully.

      "So," said James, turning to face them and clapping his hands together, "here's the plan: as soon as we're done with the stupid exams and we're back home, we'll wait for the full moon and put the Mandrake leaf in our mouth until the next month. We'll return the leaves here once our fourth year starts. If we're really careful and everything goes well, with a little bit luck, our transformation will be done by the end of our fourth year. Now how does that sound?"