The prefect’s bathroom, such as it was, still felt like a step down from the sort of luxuries Gretchen had experienced in her short life but it was certainly a step up from sharing with every other girl in her house. At least an elevation to the prefectship implied that the company she now kept were able to comport themselves adequately well and thus far she had only been obliged to reschedule her ablutions once as a result of the company.

Breezing past Mr Macnair as he came away from the bathroom door Gretchen deduced with satisfaction that one of the girls had claimed the bathroom for their sex. Ostensibly there was an informal rota that the genders stuck to so no one was turned away but in practice they sometimes found the door barred and left irritated: it was never mentioned in prefect meetings but Gretchen appreciated the underlying fact that they were taking part in a silent battle right under the teachers’ noses.

“Thank Merlin,” she said with satisfaction as she closed the door behind her and was immediately met with the scent of sweet soap greeting her on humid air. She blinked away the steam and turned to the bath, immediately stopping in her tracks, frozen to the spot with shock.

“Waterford?” Gretchen blushed bright red, averting her eyes to the floor, brain racing to catch up. “But I just saw Macnair, he couldn’t get in so I thought-”

The magic in this castle never broke, whatever they all said about the staircase; it was simply impossible. But so was the alternative. Gretchen risked another look at the body in the water, the suspicion rising with the steam. She had seen her brother’s shoulders and they certainly hadn’t been that delicately formed, nor the features quite so soft though she had never truly noticed before… “How did you get in?”

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?