A Lion's Roar
"Come on, Poppy, you can do this. Just go inside. It's just a bathroom."
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
The first-year stood outside the entrance to the questionable bathroom, her back pressed forcefully against the wall while she tried for the 8th time to convince herself this wouldn't be the evening she got herself killed. Her housemates had spent the entire walk down from the towers filling her in on the many 'legends' of the bathroom. She had no way of knowing that most of it was clever embellishment to make the dare more sinister and thus more daring.
What she did know came from them.
A vengeful ghost that could apparently steal your soul. Shadows that could pull you in and make you into a shadow yourself. A passageway with a giant snake at the other end, capable of turning you to stone – moving through the very pipes and waiting until it could hear a noise. Then it would strike, and if you weren't fast enough, you would join the ghost in her stall.
Most older students would know to roll their eyes at such things. Some might even scoff. Persephone wasn't one of them.
She believed with her whole heart that certain death awaited her on the other side of that grimy old door and that accepting the dare was slowly making its way to the top of the list of terrible mistakes she'd made since entering Hogwarts.
Why had she agreed? What had she been thinking? Most importantly, how would she have said no?
From the end of the corridor and around the corner, she could hear the snickers of those who'd accompanied her to ensure she actually did what she'd sworn she would.
How fanciful it had all seemed while they were still back up in the common room. With the fire burning low and everyone sharing the mischief they'd found throughout the week, Poppy had found it easy to be swept away by their passionate displays. Of course, they weren't all scaling rooms and stealing brooms to zip through the forbidden forest, and not everything had devolved into explosions – much to her small surprise – but it had been enough to captivate the little girl.
Her downfall came when she opened her big mouth to ask about the bathroom that Luca spoke of. The boy said he'd marched right in and that he'd had a chat with some spirit. Knowing that ghosts floated around the castle all the time and that she'd been inside several of the bathrooms herself, it hadn't seemed like such a fantastical feat.
Her fate was sealed the moment the others realised she had no clue about the abandoned lavatory on the second floor.
"Just five minutes. Survive five minutes. Come on, come on, come on."
If she stalled much longer, the girl would find herself with a new worry.
Curfew.
Last edited by Kaitlyn Connor on 20 Mar 2026, 03:31, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: changed topic type to RP :)
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
A Lion's Roar
Interacting with: @Persephone Grimsbane
Wc: 420
Speech: Laurie
Back again. Honestly, people told her that the so called abandoned toilets were no joke, but Laurie could see nothing but. Haunted? Even the houses back home were more haunted than the toilets. Turns out, missing half of your first year doesn’t give you much of a chance to make friends. And when you don’t have anyone to hang around with…you tend to go off alone. But that’s how she liked it. After all, everyone only knew her as that ‘lonely Slytherin girl’. To say that she was friendless would not be completely right, she had some acquaintances. But she was never really an extroverted person, so she preferred going solo. By her second year, she must have covered every nook and cranny of Hogwarts. She knew where the secret passageways were, and she was ready to bet that she could find her way around blindfolded. If only there was someone to make the bet with. Laurie put her backpack down on the floor, leaned against the wall and rested her eyes for a minute. This was one of the only places she really was invisible. She never really knew what quality put her in Slytherin. She wasn’t ambitious, even though she tried to be. She wasn’t strategic in the least, and she definitely couldn’t imagine herself as a leader. She took out a book, and flipped to the page where she had left. Typical fantasy book. Main character is abandoned, main character gets to know he has royal blood, main character finds his real family and friends. You know it’s fiction when it’s too good to be true. She put the book down and sighed. Even self help books were more appealing than that. Laurie. The name given to her in memory of her grandmother. Laurie was told her grandmother was a great witch. How much of that was true, she didn’t know. She checked her watch, she didn’t want to have a bad impression on the teachers as well. But there was still an hour left before Charms so she might as well stay here. Her gaze then fell on a first year Gryffindor, standing at the doorway. Most people came here in packs. Except herself, Laurie had hardly seen someone come to the Abandoned Toilets themselves. Unless they were dared by a friend. That must be it. However, seeing the girl’s frightened expression, Laurie’s face softened. She hesitantly walked up to the girl. H-Hi. I’m Laurie. What’s your name?
A Lion's Roar
Back from another day's dancing, Cassie decides to change her usual route and walk along the corridor on the second floor. It is a nice refreshment from all the tiredness, seeing such areas of the castle she seldom saw before. She tries hard to make a map of this floor in her mind-- this is a game she usual plays with herself while walking in the castle.
In her memories, this floor of the castle is boring. A study room and a classroom not used for any subjects are connected by the corridors, nothing special. Oh. There are the abandoned toilets. There are countless rumours about this place. There are ghosts, an entrance to the secret chamber that kills wizards and witches every time it opens...
Cassie used to be scared by all these rumours, but now, three years after she first entered Hogwarts, she knows clearly that rumours are just rumours. The only reason why she never enters this place is simply because it is too dirty-- who wants to get dust all over their robes?
As she approaches the bathroom however, she finds two younger students by the entrance. What on earth are they doing? She gives them a closer look and finds a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. 'Hi.' she says as she stands by them. 'I am Cassie Jiang, a third year Ravenclaw. Why are you standing at the entrance of the abandoned toilets.' She thinks that she hears some chuckles in the distance, but she doesn't want to know what they are laughing at.
@Persephone Grimsbane @Laurie Holmes
Wisdom in the mind, Charm in the spirit.
iNPC: Mira Hawkins|Charmer
choco froggies buy&sell Wisdom Ball
A Lion's Roar
She could do this.
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
@Laurie Holmes
She had to do this.
Poppy sucked in a deep breath and spared another glance to the corner behind which she knew her housemates hid. One poked their head around and gestured for her to get on with it. They didn't have all night. Even if they managed to avoid any prefects on the way back up, some of the portraits had looser lips than would be ideal for any sort of escape. The safest way to ensure she didn't end up caught in the trouble of others was to be done before that trouble could find them.
The little girl nodded, trying to assure herself as much as the others, that this time she was ready and going to go.
As she turned, the door swung open, and Poppy felt certain that her soul had left her body. It may have seemed silly – it was a lavatory after all, albeit an abandoned one – but she...didn't expect there to be anyone inside. She jumped back with a terrified squeak, prepared to have her soul sucked like they'd all warned her it would be. Maybe it was that ghost they all swore was out for vengeance, or some demon that lay in wait but got impatient when she wouldn't head in or–
...A...Slytherin?
Oh.
Poppy calmed down just enough to notice the unremarkable appearance of the girl, and with her heart still hammering furiously, she drew a deep sigh of relief.
No death. Not for the moment.
The girl said her name was Laurie, but before Poppy could offer a reply, someone else appeared. Were her housemates sure this lavatory was really abandoned? Already it was receiving more foot traffic than she'd expect, especially at this time of the night when it wasn't the closet to any of the common rooms.
"Why are you standing at the entrance of the abandoned toilets?"
"I...we...well, I don't know why she's here but I—" Was this a secret? Did telling others count as forfeiting the dare? No one had made that sort of thing clear.
"I mean...I just...I just wanted to have a look inside. Someone – no one, really – told me – never mind, it doesn't matter." She looked to Laurie again, trying to steer the conversation away from her purpose. Having others there, she could already feel some of the anxiety fading. It was still there, still telling her to abandon ship and be labelled a coward, but Poppy did what she could to push through.
"Y–You were just in there, yeah? What's it like – who's in there? Did you get hurt?"
The Slytherin didn't look particularly terrified upon leaving, but perhaps she was made of tougher stuff.
"A–And," she continued, now looking back to the girl who'd introduced herself as Cassie. "Are you...are you heading in? Maybe we can go together – not together like that. You'll have your own stall; otherwise it'd be weird – I'd never suggest something like that, just...just company."
This was going well.
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
A Lion's Roar
Cassie waits as the Gryffindor girl asks Cassie if she can go into the abandoned toilets together. From her voice, Cassie can hear anxiety and fear. From her words, Cassie can analyze that the young girl is afraid of abandoned toilets, probably because of the rumours about this place, about it having ghosts. But really, there is nothing more than dust.
Seeing the girl stutter, Cassie can't help but chuckle a bit. 'I understand,' she says with a smile, 'are you afraid of the abandoned toilets? Honestly there is nothing more than dust inside, I promise.' just then, Cassie thinks of the reason why the girl is hoping to enter the abandoned toilets-- normally, only students hoping to do something against the rules will enter the place. 'By the way dear, why are you entering the abandoned toilets, I mean, there are lots of normal ones here in Hogwarts. Are you dared by anyone?' she pauses a little, 'or is it just a brave attempt for a little brave lion?' Cassie notices from the girl's uniform that she is a Gryffindor.
She understands that her words won't eliminate the girl's anxiety, so she holds out her hand, 'if you'd like, you can take my hand and we can enter together.' she smiles and waits for the girl's decision.
@Persephone Grimsbane
Wisdom in the mind, Charm in the spirit.
iNPC: Mira Hawkins|Charmer
choco froggies buy&sell Wisdom Ball
A Lion's Roar
Was she afraid?
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
@Laurie Holmes
Poppy wanted nothing more than to nod her head in emphatic agreement, but something stopped her. The entire point of the dare had been to prove that she wasn't afraid, that she was brave and worthy of the scarlet and gold that had plagued her school uniform since the night of the opening feast. Her housemates weren't so far off, and she knew they were listening. To admit it now, even with just a nod, would invalidate the entire dare when they were already teetering on the brink of curfew and she'd already plucked up some of the courage to be standing before the door.
Instead, Poppy shook her head. "N—No, of course, not! I...the bathroom...you're already standing there, so...so I assumed you must have been going in, too."
Blue-green eyes turned to the door when Cassie said there was nothing inside but dust. That couldn't have been right. If there was nothing more than dust, then why would her housemates have been so keen to have her enter? All the things they said, they didn't seem like the sort of things you could make up on the spot.
Had they really?
'By the way dear, why are you entering the abandoned toilets, I mean, there are lots of normal ones here in Hogwarts. Are you dared by anyone?' she pauses a little, 'or is it just a brave attempt for a little brave lion?'
"...Oh." The small girl's cheeks flushed with colour. When said aloud by someone not suffering the same brain rot as half the students in her house, Poppy supposed...it all sounded a bit silly. Being led from her common room so close to curfew, being goaded into entering a bathroom that – if everything were true – could spell her death? She barely recognised herself. Poppy gnawed at her lower lip, unsure she was even meant to admit it had only been a dare. They hadn't exactly told her it was a secret.
"I'm...I'm n–not that brave," Poppy confessed in a lower voice as a hand reached up to move a few locks of her hair behind her ear. "It's...this..."
She was already there. Whether her housemates were telling the truth or not, conviction stirred inside her chest. They were waiting behind that wall, some of them prepared to mock her all the way back up the stairs the moment she turned tail or gave the game away. She could hear them already and...terrified as she was that Cassie might be the one who was wrong...the little girl felt she had something to prove.
"I've just heard so much about this lavatory, and...and it seemed like a good time to check it out." She sucked in a deep breath, building her resolve in the presence of an audience. With a final glance toward the corridor's end, Poppy took hold of Cassie's hand.
"We can walk in together."
With that, she nudged the door open and braced for the worst before walking in.
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
A Lion's Roar
Cassie smiles as the Gryffindor girl stutters. 'Indeed, I'd love to go on an adventure into the abandoned toilets with you.' She remembers the time when she first entered Hogwarts as a new student. She got lost in the huge castle, was afraid of all the rumours about evil things, and was even a bit anxious when she heard what a heavy workload the higher grade students are getting. Time passes by quickly, and she is much more mature. She is now a regular visitor to the library, and she is no longer that keen on making pranks and breaking the rules.
She takes the Gryffindor girl's hand firmly and opens the door with her. She can feel that the girl is nervous from the sweat in the girl's hand. Even herself is getting a bit nervous. The door opens. She walks in. Leaving footprints on the floor which is covered with dust. She coughs a little. She looks around. Nothing is different from what it looked like the last time she came here, which was over a year ago. She can see spider webs in the corner of the room.
It seems a bit cold here, Cassie shudders a bit. She looks at the Gryffindor girl who is still holding her hand. 'This is indeed a great time for an adventure' she grins, 'see? There is simply nothing but dust and some spider webs.' her voice echoes a bit in the empty room.
@Persephone Grimsbane
Wisdom in the mind, Charm in the spirit.
iNPC: Mira Hawkins|Charmer
choco froggies buy&sell Wisdom Ball
A Lion's Roar
'This is indeed a great time for an adventure. See? There is simply nothing but dust and some spider webs.'
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
@Laurie Holmes
Cassie wasn't...wrong.
There were a great many things Poppy had expected when they crossed the threshold into the bathroom. With everything her housemates had filled her head with and all the horrors her own mind had managed to conjure, the little girl felt almost...underwhelmed. There was dust aplenty. It coated the sinks and floor indiscriminately. Grime-stained sections of the wall, mould growing in the corners.
But no ghosts. No demons ready to drag her through the pipes. As far as she could tell, her soul still sat comfortably inside her...uh...wherever souls tended to reside within one's body.
Huh.
With just a bit more courage flowing inside her, Poppy released the older girl's hand, but she remained close. Things had a way of waiting until you were comfortable – complacent – before suddenly jumping out to surprise you. If that were truly the case , she'd prefer to be ready. There may not have been any ghosts floating around, but the grim setting was enough to warrant the retention of some caution.
"I don't...I don't get it," she confessed. All things considered, it looked like a pretty mundane, albeit neglected bathroom.
"Where's...?" The better question seemed to be, "W—Why would they say any of that stuff i—if there's nothing in here?" How Gryffindor could you be if you claimed to conquer an old abandoned bathroom? "Where're the...the pipes...and the monster in the pipes...?"
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
A Lion's Roar
The air freezes for a few seconds, as the young Gryffindor girl examines the room. Slowly, the girl lets go of Cassie's hand. Cassie listens as the girls stuttering words. She analyses the girl's emotions through her words. She can tell that she is still a bit nervous. Disbelief occurs too, since the rumours of the abandoned toilets seem just so real. Cassie smiles when she hears a bit of disappointment. Very Gryffindor indeed.
'There aren't monsters in the pipes.' Cassie speaks, in a soft voice. She thinks she knows why the girl is here in the first place now. 'There are so many rumours about this place, but few proved to be true. Some students dared you to come here, right?' she asks, in a sudden, curious about whether her guess is right.
'Brave little lion.' she says, smiling. 'You are already very brave to come to this place after you've heard all the rumours. I was very afraid of the abandoned toilets too when I first entered Hogwarts. Every year, many students come here to test there bravery.' Cassie recalls seeing a few Gryffindors in her year visit this place and brag about their experiences afterwards in classes. 'I can tell you are a little bit disappointed, do you feel like telling me why?' Cassie asks.
@Persephone Grimsbane
Wisdom in the mind, Charm in the spirit.
iNPC: Mira Hawkins|Charmer
choco froggies buy&sell Wisdom Ball