Natsu Dragneel and the Goblet of Fire

The Egg and the Eye

Natsu had no idea how long a bath he would need to work out the secret of the golden egg, he decided to do it at night, when he would be able to take as much time as he wanted. Reluctant though he was to accept more favors from Simon, he also decided to use the prefects' bathroom; far fewer people were allowed in there, so it was much less likely that he would be disturbed.

Natsu planned his excursion carefully, because he had been caught out of bed and out-of-bounds by Goldmine the caretaker in the middle of the night once before, and had no desire to repeat the experience. The Invisibility Cloak would, of course, be essential, and as an added precaution, Natsu thought he would take the Marauders Map, which, next to the cloak, was the most useful aid to rule-breaking Natsu owned.

The map showed the whole of Hogwarts, including its many shortcuts and secret passageways and, most important of all, it revealed the people inside the castle as minuscule, labeled dots, moving around the corridors, so that Natsu would be forewarned if somebody was approaching the bathroom.

On Thursday night, Natsu sneaked up to bed, put on the cloak, crept back downstairs, and, just as he had done on the night when Gildarts had shown him the dragons, waited for the portrait hole to open. This time it was Gray who waited outside to give the Fat Lady the password ("banana fritters"), "Good luck," Gray muttered, climbing into the room as Natsu crept out past him.

It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because Natsu had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of his nose with the other. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, Natsu was able to ensure that he wouldn't run into anyone he wanted to avoid. When he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, he located the right door, leaned close to it, and muttered the password, "Pine fresh," just as Simon had told him.

The door creaked open. Natsu slipped inside, bolted the door behind him, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around. His immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom.

It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pools edges, each with a differently colored Jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was asingle golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

Natsu moved forward, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls. Magnificent though the bathroom was - and quite keen though he was to try out a few of those taps - now he was here he couldn't quite suppress the feeling that Simon might have been having him on. How on earth was this supposed to help solve the mystery of the egg? Nevertheless, he put one of the fluffy towels, the cloak, the map, and the egg at the side of the swimming-pool-sized bath, then knelt down and turned on a few of the taps.

He could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed with the water, though it wasn't bubble bath as Natsu had ever experienced it. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another poured ice-white foam so thick that Natsu thought it would have supported his weight if he'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. Natsu amused himself for awhile turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. Then, when the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size, Natsu turned off all the taps, pulled off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, and slid into the water.