If you like it, put a ring through it.

Girls seemed to use the broken down restroom just to spite the hormonal ghost that haunted the water pipes of the dingy toilet. Maybe it was for comfort, foolishly thinking themselves the first to consider using it for much needed privacy; maybe it was to project an attitude of cool disregard for the social standards of the castle.

See, Henri figured it was a good place to frequent for the opposite reasons: she knew she would find plenty of prey there, and she loved to use the simple excuse of "oh, I'm new, I didn't even know it was out of order!"

Today, she had been sitting there awhile, during her free period, as other girls came in and out. She overheard the gossip they exchanged with their friends, and she engaged them whenever possible. None seemed to realize how long she had remained in the bathroom, for she made it seem as though each girl met her in passing. She had her makeup bag out and made a big show of almost applying more makeup, but never actually was pressed to do so.

It had been awhile before anyone had been pressed, but a new influx of girls arrived, probably as it was the middle of class and all had needed a quick refresher. As a girl approached the sink next to hers, Henri allowed her eyes to casually look over her. She then made a quick decision and gasped, "Oh my gosh, you have such a pretty nose! You should totally pierce it!"

Carly always got sticky, and it bugged her beyond belief. She had been sitting at lunch quietly eating her ham and cheese sandwich when some stupid Gryffindor boy threw maple syrup all over her, making her the laughingstock of the great hall. It covered her arms, hands, shirt and pants. She quickly ran out of the Great Hall, crying from embarrassment. The closest place she could go was the bathroom that held the ghost of moaning myrtle. She entered and went straight to a white shiny sink. She wasn't there alone however, as another girl was next to her and said something. Carly thought it best to ignore this girl as she had nothing to say, and the girl looked like another bully. But you could see the fear in her face.

The girl was crying, but Henri was going to pretend as though she wasn't because A) Crying wasn't fun B) She didn't care to pretend like she cared about whatever had upset the girl and C) She was much more interested in giving this girl a nose ring rather than a shoulder to cry on.

The girl must have been terrified of her. Henri saw the expression on the new girl's face change when she had addressed her, so Henri knew the girl had heard her, but was choosing to ignore her. Henri loved the idea that people were afraid of her. This girl was only encouraging her.

"I'm Henri," she said. "I'm serious, though. Have you ever thought of piercing your nose?"