The Hidden One

baths

"So...you ready?" Harry asked. Rose grinned at him.

"Am I?! What scent do you want? I'm thinking lavendar...ooooh, or Rose."

"Ummm...why not both?" Harry responded, although he looked very awkward. Rose let out a small squeal and turned on the taps. The smells somehow blended together into a scent that Harry immediately recognized as Rose's smell.

"I love lavendar and Rose. I use rose shampoo and conditioner and lavendar lotion," Rose explained. She had a soft smile on her face as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"It um...it's nice," Harry told her.

"I agree. Umm...ready to get in?" Rose asked. Harry nodded and they turned around as they stripped off their normal clothes. Both had agreed to wear a swimsuit but they hurried under the bubbles as if they were naked.

"This is nice," Rose sighed as she sunk under the bubbles until only her head was above the water. She had tied her hair into a messy bun, but some strands had escaped and were already wet.

"It's just a bath," Harry pointed out.

"Well...at Moony's house we didn't take baths. We barely had hot water so we took really quick showers," Rose explained.

"Why didn't he just use magic to heat up the water?" Harry asked. Rose snorted as she remembered the event.

"I asked him why one day and he said he never thought of it. So one day he decided to try and he ran a bath and heated up the water with his wand. Well, he heated up the water to the point where it was boiling and it wouldn't stop. We had boiling water in our tub for a week and the tub was hot to the touch for a month. It was a really long month of only taking sponge baths," Rose explained. Harry laughed at her story and thought about how different their lives were. Harry might not be loved at home, but at least he had access to a hot bath.

"So you've never had a real bath before?" Harry asked.

"In the dorm I have but not for a long time. I live with three other girls and there's only one mirror in the room. Anytime I try to take a bath someone knocks on the door. I always just shower,"  Rose explained. Both of their cheeks were  slightly pink as she explained. They were basically as far apart as they could be.

"Oh, that's...sad," Harry mumbled. Rose just shrugged. "Do you want to try the egg?"

"Oh, right...the egg. Sure," Rose sighed. Harry nodded and leaned over to grab the egg. Rose looked away when part of his chest was exposed.

Harry opened the egg above the water and a horrible screeching sound came out of the egg. Harry quickly slammed it shut.

"I'd try putting it under the water, if I were you."

Both Harry and Rose jumped and swallowed a considerable amount of water. They had been sitting on the step that went around the perimeter of the tub so they surprising new voice made them fall off. Rose quickly panicked and jumped back onto the step, as she had never learned how to swim.

"Myrtle! We're not wearing clothes!" Harry yelled. Rose quickly deduced that this was the infamous Moaning Myrtle.

"We are wearing clothes, Harry. Swimsuits are still clothes," Rose reminded him, still coughing up some water.

"I closed my eyes," Myrtle replied to Harry. She seemed to be ignoring Rose. "You haven't been to see me in ages."

"Yeah, well, you live in a girl's bathroom. I'm not exactly supposed to go in there," Harry said, sounding slightly angry.

"You didn't used to care," Myrtle whined. "You used to be in there all the time."

"Wow, Harry. What a creep," Rose joked. Harry sent her a small glare but his cheeks were turning pink.