Dragging his exhausted body, Severus Snape returned from the Forbidden Forest to the castle alongside the Headmaster, with only one thought in his mind, take a hot bath, then collapse into bed and sleep until morning.
Once they stepped into the Entrance Hall, Dumbledore made for the marble staircase. Snape hesitated briefly before following.
"Why are you following me, Severus?" Dumbledore asked without turning his head.
"Oh, I'm not following you, Professor," Snape replied. "I just want to take a bath. The way to the Prefects' Bathroom is along this corridor as well."
"Very well." Dumbledore chuckled softly and said no more.
The two of them walked together in silence for a while.
"Good night, Severus. Don't soak too long," Dumbledore said when they reached the staircase landing on the sixth floor. "Don't forget you still have classes tomorrow."
"Good night, Professor," Snape replied, watching as Dumbledore continued up the stairs, his robes vanishing around the corner.
Once they parted ways, Snape continued along the moonlit corridor until he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a wizard with a vacant expression and gloves on the wrong hands.
Just as he was about to locate the entrance to the bathroom, a faint glimmer in the corner caught his attention.
Looking down, he noticed two glowing eyes, like small lamps shining in the dark.
"Good evening, Mrs. Norris," Snape murmured. "Don't you dare make a sound."
Mrs. Norris had her tail raised, fur standing on end, clearly ready to raise an alarm.
"Stop!" Snape lunged forward and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
Mrs. Norris immediately froze like she'd been hit with a Petrificus Totalus spell, her paws dangling helplessly in the air, yellow eyes wide in shock.
"Shh-" Snape whispered, bringing his face closer to hers. "Don't cry out, all right? I can give you something tasty."
Mrs. Norris blinked, as if genuinely considering his offer.
Snape carefully set her down, scratching her chin with practiced fingers while pulling a small pouch from his pocket. It was a bag of snacks he had prepared long ago.
"See? I came prepared," he said, opening the pouch. The rich scent of fish instantly spread through the corridor. "This is something the house-elves made, much better than the scraps Filch sneaks off the dining table for you."
The cat's nose twitched, and the wariness in her eyes gave way to curiosity.
Snape placed a dried fish on the floor. Mrs. Norris hesitated for only a second before pouncing and carrying it off into the corner.
Within a minute, she had devoured it and even rubbed her head against Snape's wrist, asking for more.
"Good girl," Snape said with a faint smile, continuing to scratch behind her ears. "I knew you'd like it."
In less than five minutes, Mrs. Norris was completely won over. After finishing her treat, she even rolled onto her back and bared her belly, demanding belly rubs.
Seeing her like this, Snape couldn't help thinking that if Filch knew how easily his "sweetheart" could be bribed, he'd probably lose his mind.
"All right, little one," Snape said, picking the cat up. "You might as well come enjoy it with me."
To his surprise, Mrs. Norris didn't resist at all. Instead, she nestled comfortably into his arms.
Counting four tiles to the left of the statue, Snape reached the entrance to the Prefects' Bathroom and leaned in to whisper the password: "Fresh Pineapple."
The door creaked open. Snape slipped inside with the cat, shut the door, and finally had the chance to take in the legendary room.
His first thought was regret, why hadn't he sneaked in here before?
The Prefects' Bathroom was leagues above the ordinary student showers, at least three times larger. His usual bathing area only had a few crude showerheads and two perpetually cramped tubs, but this place was practically a small spa.
A chandelier of candles cast a warm, gentle glow across the space. Everything was made of white marble, including the sunken rectangular pool in the center, large enough to be called a swimming pool.
Around the pool were a hundred golden faucets, each with a gemstone-studded handle of a different color. A diving board jutted over the middle of the pool.
Snow-white linen curtains hung before the tall windows, and stacks of fluffy towels were piled neatly in a corner. The only painting on the wall was framed in gold, inside, a blonde mermaid slept on a rock, her long hair draping across her face and stirring gently with each breath.
"Now this is what I call living," Snape muttered, setting Mrs. Norris down.
The cat immediately began exploring, sniffing every corner curiously.
Snape walked toward the pool, his footsteps echoing in the vast room. He was eager to try a few taps and had just begun to undo his robe when he froze.
"Wait..." he murmured, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the room warily. A thought struck him, Hogwarts had a certain female ghost with a notorious habit of spying on people in baths.
"Moaning Myrtle!" he called out loudly, his voice echoing off the tiled walls. "I know you're here, come out!"
Mrs. Norris jumped at the sudden shout, meowing in alarm.
Aside from the echoes of his voice, the bathroom remained silent. The mermaid in the painting turned in her sleep and mumbled something unintelligible.
Snape frowned. Knowing Myrtle, she was probably lurking in a corner waiting for her chance. He decided to make a more thorough search.
He drew his wand and cast Revelio toward every corner and faucet in the room, but no hidden person or ghost appeared.
"Maybe I overthought it..." Snape straightened up, his eyes landing on the mermaid painting.
He walked over, lifted the frame, and peeked behind it.
The mermaid, startled awake, tumbled off her rock and splashed into the painted sea with a shriek.
When Snape put the painting back, the mermaid surfaced, her long hair dripping wet and clinging to her face. Seeing him, she thrashed her tail angrily, splashing water and letting out an ear-piercing scream.
The shrill noise echoed painfully across the marble walls.
"Quiet!" Snape barked, covering his ears. Mrs. Norris's fur puffed up as she arched her back, hissing.
Snape jabbed his wand toward the painting. "Silencio!"
The mermaid went mute mid-scream. Her mouth opened and closed furiously, but no sound came out. She could only glare at Snape with puffed cheeks.
"Sorry to disturb your rest," Snape said, rubbing his ear with a calmer tone. "You can go back to sleep now."
The mermaid rolled her eyes, climbed back onto the rock, and turned her back to him.
After thoroughly checking every corner, Snape was finally certain there were only two beings in the room, him and the cat.
"Looks like she really isn't here." He sighed in relief and nodded in satisfaction.
Finally at ease, he grabbed a soft towel, laid it by the enormous pool, knelt, and opened a few taps.
He immediately discovered that each faucet released a different mixture of hot water and bath potion, he had never tried a bubble bath before.
The first spouted pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; the second poured out thick, shimmering foam so dense that Snape figured it could probably hold his weight; the third emitted a fragrant purple mist that spread over the surface.
"Amazing," he murmured, opening a few more taps. One in particular fascinated him, it produced an arched jet of water that curved gracefully across the pool.
The water and foam filled the deep pool astonishingly fast, steam soon clouding the air.
Snape shut off all the taps, kicked off his shoes, stripped off his clothes, and tossed them carelessly aside.
Completely bare, he climbed onto the diving board, made a clumsy diving pose, and splashed into the water with a loud plunk.
"Ah-" A long sigh of satisfaction escaped him as the warmth enveloped his body.
The Prefects' bath was indeed extraordinary; the water seemed laced with muscle-soothing potions. The fatigue from the forest began to melt away immediately, the hot water cradling him like countless gentle hands massaging his aching limbs.
At the pool's edge, Mrs. Norris reached out a paw to test the water.
Snape swam over and, without warning, scooped her into the pool. She flailed in panic, claws splashing wildly. He held her at arm's length to avoid being scratched.
"Relax," he said softly. "It's not that bad."
Gradually, the cat calmed down, realizing the warm water actually felt rather pleasant.
When Snape released her, Mrs. Norris began paddling clumsily around him.
"See? Not so bad, right?" he chuckled.
Colorful bubbles drifted around them as the cat batted at them like a furry ball, chasing them gleefully. Watching her play, Snape couldn't help feeling that something deep inside Filch must have just shattered.
After a few laps, Snape returned to the edge, leaning back with his eyes closed as the steam flushed his face and the bubbles brushed lightly against his skin.
Just as he was about to drift off, a soft, ghostly voice whispered beside his ear:
"Sev, were you tinkling and splashing just now because you were looking for me?"
Snape shuddered violently, his eyes snapping open as he choked on a mouthful of soapy water.
A translucent face hovered mere inches from his own, Moaning Myrtle floated above the surface, her large, mournful eyes staring straight at him.
"Myrtle!" Snape spluttered, coughing and sinking deeper into the water until only his neck showed. "Where did you come from?!"
Myrtle giggled, spinning in midair, her pearly ghostly body passing through the pool's marble edge.
"I was waiting for you outside," she said coyly. "Once the mermaid stopped screaming, I came in." She covered her eyes with transparent fingers in mock modesty. "Don't worry, Severus, I didn't miss any of the exciting parts."
"What exactly did you see?" Snape demanded.
"Oh, everything," Myrtle said smugly. "The parts I should and the parts I shouldn't."
"Oh, don't be so shy," she added, floating closer. Her thick glasses glinted mischievously. "Especially when you were standing on the diving board, honestly, your hip line was really-"
"I'm honored," Snape interrupted dryly, realizing with some dismay that he was being teased by a ghost who'd died as a teenager.
"Fine then," he said, standing abruptly in the pool, water streaming down his bare body. "If you're going to look, then look properly. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
Myrtle let out a shrill scream and dove headfirst into the nearest faucet.
"Put your clothes on!" her muffled, flustered voice came from inside the tap.
"So you can't bear to look when I actually let you?" Snape muttered, stepping out of the pool and drying himself off. "Honestly, what a situation."
Once dressed, he fished Mrs. Norris out of the pool and kindly dried her fur with a charm.
The cat purred contentedly, rubbing against his leg.
"Come on out, Myrtle," he said, holding the cat. "If you don't, I'm leaving."
Myrtle immediately emerged from the faucet, gazing at him with ghostly melancholy.
"Two whole months of summer vacation... Sev... do you know how I've lived through these two months? Do you?"
"Ah, don't be like that," Snape said quickly, scratching his head guiltily.
It struck him that for Myrtle, the entire summer might have been spent alone in the castle, a lonely ghost counting the days until her few friends returned.
"I'll be graduating next year," he said. "After that... well, you could leave Hogwarts and come with me, perhaps?"
"Really?" Myrtle said in surprise, her pearly form glowing brighter. "You'd let me follow you?"
"As long as you don't keep scaring me," Snape said. "I can only take so many shocks."
Myrtle nodded happily.
"Good night, Sev!" she said with a bright smile before drifting up through the ceiling.
Leaving the bathroom, Snape walked down the dark corridor, stroking Mrs. Norris's sleek fur. He fed her two more dried fish. "This is our little secret, all right? Don't tell anyone."
The cat brushed against his hand, seemingly in agreement.