Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ======Bathrooms====== =====Location Information===== * **Type:** [[Utility Room]] * **Location:** Various, notably [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], the [[Ministry of Magic]], and wizarding homes. * **Owner/Residents:** Varies by location; the ghost [[Moaning Myrtle]] famously haunts several bathrooms at [[Hogwarts]]. * **Key Features:** May contain magical plumbing, secret entrances, or be home to magical beings. =====Description and History===== Bathrooms in the [[Wizarding World]] serve the same fundamental purpose as their [[Muggle]] counterparts but are often imbued with [[magic]] or play a role in significant magical events. While most wizarding homes, such as [[The Burrow]], have functional, ordinary bathrooms, institutions like [[Hogwarts]] feature bathrooms with unique properties. The history of bathrooms at [[Hogwarts]] is particularly noteworthy. Before the eighteenth century, wizards and witches simply relieved themselves wherever they stood and used a simple [[charm]] to vanish the evidence. When [[Muggle]] plumbing was introduced to the castle, the descendant of [[Salazar Slytherin]], [[Corvinus Gaunt]], was forced to conceal the entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] within the plumbing of a newly constructed girls' bathroom (Pottermore). The bathrooms at [[Hogwarts]] range from the dreary and out-of-order to the exceptionally opulent, such as the [[Prefects' Bathroom]], which features a swimming pool-sized tub with an array of magical taps. =====Role in the Story===== Bathrooms serve as the backdrop for several pivotal moments in the series, often functioning as places of secrecy, conflict, or discovery. * **First-Year Troll Attack:** [[Hermione Granger]] is attacked by a [[Mountain Troll]] in a girls' bathroom and is rescued by [[Harry Potter]] and [[Ron Weasley]], an event which solidifies their friendship (PS). * **[[Polyjuice Potion]] Brewing:** [[Hermione Granger]] secretly brews the complex [[Polyjuice Potion]] over several weeks in [[Moaning Myrtle]]'s out-of-order bathroom (CS). * **[[Chamber of Secrets]] Entrance:** [[Harry Potter]] discovers that one of the copper taps in [[Moaning Myrtle]]'s bathroom is the hidden entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]], which opens only to the sound of [[Parseltongue]] (CS). * **The [[Golden Egg]] Clue:** Following a tip from [[Cedric Diggory]], Harry takes the [[Golden Egg]] from the [[Triwizard Tournament]] to the [[Prefects' Bathroom]]. Submerging the egg in water reveals the merpeople's song, the clue for the [[Second Task]] (GoF). * **Duel and //[[Sectumsempra]]//:** Harry and [[Draco Malfoy]] engage in a fierce duel in a sixth-floor boys' bathroom, culminating in Harry severely injuring Malfoy with the //[[Sectumsempra]]// curse from the [[Half-Blood Prince]]'s [[potion]] book (HBP). * **Infiltrating the [[Ministry of Magic]]:** Harry, Ron, and Hermione use enchanted tokens to access a set of subterranean public toilets that serve as an employees' entrance to the [[Ministry of Magic]]. They enter the Ministry by flushing themselves down the toilets after taking [[Polyjuice Potion]] (DH). =====Notable Bathrooms===== * **Girls' Bathroom (First Floor, Hogwarts):** Commonly known as **[[Moaning Myrtle]]'s Bathroom**, this facility is out-of-order and largely avoided by students. It is haunted by the ghost [[Moaning Myrtle]], who was killed there by the [[Basilisk]]. The bathroom's sinks contain the hidden entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]]. * **[[Prefects' Bathroom]] (Fifth Floor, Hogwarts):** An exclusive and luxurious bathroom reserved for school [[Prefect]]s, the [[Head Boy]], the [[Head Girl]], and [[Quidditch]] captains. It is protected by the password "Pine fresh." Its main feature is a massive, rectangular marble tub with numerous gold taps that dispense water infused with different magical bubbles, scents, and foams. It also features a large painting of a mermaid. * **Boys' Bathroom (Sixth Floor, Hogwarts):** Another bathroom frequented by [[Moaning Myrtle]], this location is where Harry followed [[Draco Malfoy]] and overheard him crying to the ghost. It became the site of their destructive duel. * **[[Ministry of Magic]] Public Toilets:** A shabby-looking underground lavatory that functions as a secret entrance to the [[Ministry of Magic]]. Witches and wizards enter a toilet cubicle and flush themselves to be transported into the fireplaces of the Ministry's [[Atrium]]. =====Behind the Scenes===== According to writing by J.K. Rowling, when [[Hogwarts]] adopted [[Muggle]] plumbing, the Gaunt family ensured the entrance to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] was incorporated into the new pipework, preserving its secrecy for centuries (Pottermore). In the film adaptation of //[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]//, the tap that opens the Chamber is distinguished from the others by a small, carved silver snake, visually foreshadowing its connection to [[Salazar Slytherin]] (film). The set for the [[Prefects' Bathroom]] in //[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]// was one of the largest and most elaborate created for the [[Hogwarts]] interiors (film).
