======Lavatory======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** Public Facility, Restroom
  * **Location:** Various, notably within [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] and the [[Ministry of Magic]].
  * **Owner/Residents:** Varies by location. The ghost [[Moaning Myrtle]] is a permanent resident of a specific girls' lavatory at [[Hogwarts]].
  * **Key Features:** Wizarding lavatories are often similar to their [[Muggle]] counterparts but can possess unique magical properties, including serving as enchanted entrances to other locations, being haunted, or containing secret passages.
=====Description and History=====
A lavatory, also known as a bathroom or toilet, is a common facility found throughout the wizarding world. While functionally similar to [[Muggle]] lavatories, they are often sites of significant magical activity.
At [[Hogwarts]], the introduction of a more elaborate plumbing system in the eighteenth century was a notable development. Before this, wizards were less concerned with sanitation and simply used magic to vanish their waste. The new plumbing was installed, in part, to be more discreet around [[Muggle]] observers of the castle. This modernization had a significant, unintended consequence: a descendant of [[Salazar Slytherin]], [[Corvus Gaunt]], took advantage of the construction to incorporate the hidden entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] into the pipework of a new girls' lavatory. (Pottermore)
Lavatories within the wizarding world can be enchanted for various purposes. The entrance to the [[Ministry of Magic]] for most employees involves flushing oneself down a toilet in a public lavatory in London, and the Prefects' Lavatory at [[Hogwarts]] features an enchanted, swimming pool-sized bathtub.
=====Role in the Story=====
Despite their mundane function, lavatories serve as the backdrop for several pivotal events in the series.
In their first year, [[Harry Potter]], [[Ron Weasley]], and [[Hermione Granger]] battle a [[Mountain Troll]] in a girls' lavatory, an event that solidifies their friendship. In their second year, the same lavatory becomes their base for brewing the [[Polyjuice Potion]] in an attempt to uncover the Heir of Slytherin. This lavatory is also the location of the secret entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]].
In Harry's sixth year, he and [[Draco Malfoy]] engage in a violent duel in this lavatory, which culminates in Harry grievously injuring Malfoy with the [[Sectumsempra]] curse. [[Albus Dumbledore]] also mentions that he first discovered the [[Room of Requirement]] one morning when he was in desperate need of a lavatory, and the room appeared for him filled with a collection of chamber pots.
The lavatories at the [[Ministry of Magic]] serve as a clandestine entrance, which the trio uses during their infiltration of the Ministry in their search for [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]].
=====Notable Lavatories=====
  * **[[Moaning Myrtle]]'s Lavatory:** A girls' lavatory on the second floor of [[Hogwarts]] that has been "out of order" for years. It is haunted by the ghost of [[Moaning Myrtle]], a student who was killed there by the [[Basilisk]]. One of the sinks features a tiny, scratched snake on the tap, which marks the entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]]; the entrance opens when one speaks [[Parseltongue]] to it. This is where [[Hermione Granger]] hid from her classmates on Hallowe'en in her first year, leading to the troll attack. It was later used by the trio to brew [[Polyjuice Potion]].
  * **Prefects' Lavatory:** Located on the fifth floor of [[Hogwarts]], behind a door whose password is "Pine-fresh." This luxurious bathroom is reserved for school Prefects and Quidditch captains. It features a large, rectangular, swimming-pool-sized marble bath with hundreds of jewel-encrusted taps that dispense water mixed with different types of magical bubbles. A large painting of a mermaid on the wall is a key feature. [[Harry Potter]] used this lavatory to decipher the clue of the [[Golden Egg]] for the [[Triwizard Tournament]]'s second task, with help from [[Moaning Myrtle]].
  * **[[Ministry of Magic]] Lavatories:** A set of public toilets on the surface in London that serve as a secret entrance to the [[Ministry of Magic]]. Wizards and witches enter a toilet cubicle and flush themselves to be transported into the [[Atrium]] of the Ministry. The trio used this entrance after stunning Ministry employees [[Mafalda Hopkirk]] and [[Reg Cattermole]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * According to J.K. Rowling, the decision to place the entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] in a bathroom was partly to mock the idea of a grand, obvious entrance for a secret chamber. The idea of plumbing being a later addition to the ancient castle of [[Hogwarts]] also provided a logical explanation for how the entrance could have been concealed for so long. (Pottermore)
  * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets//, the girls' lavatory is explicitly located on the second floor, which aligns with evidence from the novel. The set design for the [[Chamber of Secrets]] entrance, with the ring of snake-engraved sinks, is a memorable creation for the film. (film)