Myrtle Elizabeth Warren
Origin: Harry Potter
Hair:
Eyes:
Species: Human
Birthday:
Residence: Krappweiss Street 58 (35-116)
Occupation:
Affiliation:
Talent: Magic
Medical notes: Former Ghost, revived
Sports/Instruments:
Languages:
Import Date: 5 (+)
Pets:
Myrtle Elizabeth Warren[8] (c. 1929[1] – June 1943),[2] more commonly known after her death as Moaning Myrtle, was a Muggle-born witch who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1940 to 1943 and was sorted into Ravenclaw house.
She was killed in 1943 by the Serpent of Slytherin, which had been released by Tom Riddle. After the incident, she became a ghost who haunted the second-floor girls' bathroom (and occasionally other bathroom facilities) at Hogwarts.[6]
Myrtle was a witch born circa late 1928 to early 1929[1] to a Muggle mother and father, making her a Muggle-born.[4]
She started her education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1939 or 1940[1] When she arrived at Hogwarts she was Sorted into the house of Ravenclaw.[7] While at Hogwarts she was unable to make any friends and was constantly teased and bullied because of this and her physical appearance, which included glasses and acne.[9]
In 1943, sometime into Myrtle's education, the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time,[4] which was a legendary chamber built by Salazar Slytherin and inside was a beast that only his heir could control.[9]
It was believed that Gryffindor student, Rubeus Hagrid had opened the Chamber because he was caught raising Aragog (an Acromantula), but it was actually Tom Marvolo Riddle, a Slytherin student. Hogwarts was soon facing closure as Muggle-born students were being mysteriously attacked by the mythical beast thought to be down inside the Chamber.[4]
On her final day of her life in early June 1943, Myrtle was teased by student Olive Hornby, who made fun of Myrtle's glasses and left Myrtle alone sobbing. Myrtle then ran into one of the bathroom's stalls and started crying. Shortly after Myrtle had entered the bathroom, Riddle entered and started speaking in Parseltongue in order to open the Chamber of Secrets, the entrance of which was hidden behind the sink in front of the very stall occupied by Myrtle at the time. The Serpent of Slytherin (a Basilisk) then emerged from the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The monster had been using the pipes as a means of transportation, as to not be seen and therefore never being caught.[3]
Myrtle, still in one of the stalls, recognised the voice as being that of a boy. Opening the stall's door, she was about to yell at Riddle to go away, when the Basilisk stared at Myrtle and her eyes met with the monster's. Since looking into a Basilisk's eyes is a fatal act, Myrtle was killed instantly and her body fell to the bathroom floor, becoming Tom's first victim.[3] Tom (later known as Lord Voldemort) used her murder to make his first Horcrux: the Diary.[10] Myrtle's body was later found by Hornby, something that Hornby would not soon forget.[11]
Myrtle's body was removed from the school after its discovery. After her death, Myrtle returned as a ghost so she could haunt student Olive Hornby in revenge for her bullying. Myrtle attended the wedding of Olive's brother uninvited. She apparently caused a massive scene to remind Olive of how she bullied her, causing a huge mess. Olive went to the Ministry of Magic to restrain Myrtle, who was thereafter obliged to remain at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[11]
Ever since, Myrtle haunted the bathroom where she had died, although she was sometimes seen in other bathrooms, and was even flushed into the lake occasionally. As a result of her haunting, her lavatory grave was rarely used, and was thus available for clandestine activities, such as forbidden potion-brewing, as long as one did not mind the company.[12]
On 31 October 1992, Myrtle was again invited to Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's Deathday Party, this time being his five-hundredth deathday. During the event, Myrtle was called by Peeves to meet Hermione Granger, who had previously talked about how awful it was to go to the bathroom that she resided in. She believed Hermione was making fun of her and started crying, and when she tried to say nice things about her, Myrtle's crying turned hysterical and she demanded Hermione not to lie to her. At this moment, however, Peeves also angered her with his comment of her being 'spotty', and she fled the room with Peeves pelting mouldy peanuts after her.[6]
The true importance of Myrtle's bathroom was that it contained the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the home of the Basilisk of Salazar Slytherin. In the 1992–1993 school year, the chamber was opened again, fifty years after its previous opening, by a Gryffindor first-year, Ginny Weasley, who was possessed by the diary of the earlier opener, Tom Riddle.[14] After Mrs Norris was Petrified by the Basilisk just outside Myrtle's bathroom, Hermione came with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley to investigate. Myrtle said she wasn't paying attention at the time due to wanting to kill herself because of Peeves's snarky comment earlier.[9] Myrtle later flooded her bathroom in a fit of pique when Ginny tried to dispose of the diary by flushing it down the toilet in Myrtle's stall.[4]
Hermione used Myrtle's bathroom in 1992 to brew Polyjuice Potion, which Harry and Ron used to impersonate Slytherin students Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.[12] Thus disguised, they entered the Slytherin common room to interrogate Draco Malfoy about the Chamber of Secrets. They learned only that, according to Draco's father Lucius Malfoy, the last time the chamber was open a Mudblood was killed (and that, contrary to their suspicions, Draco was not the Heir of Slytherin).[15]
Harry and Ron later learned from Aragog the Acromantula that the murdered student had been killed in a bathroom, and Harry realised that the student must have been Myrtle.[16] Myrtle was flattered by Harry's request that she tell the story of her death, the manner of which was one of the most important and interesting events of her short life.
Myrtle remembered only having seen a pair of enormous yellow eyes, but neither Harry nor Ron recognised this as a clue that the monster was a Basilisk. Hermione had already deduced the monster's nature by library research before she was Petrified, so Myrtle's clue was of no practical importance. However, her presence in the bathroom, combined with Hermione's clue about the Basilisk's use of pipes, did single the bathroom out as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.[3] Not long after, Harry killed the Basilisk using Godric Gryffindor's sword, avenging Myrtle's death.
During the 1994–1995 school year, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry hosted the Triwizard Tournament. Before the second task, the champions had to solve the mystery behind their golden eggs, which, when opened, emitted a harsh screeching sound. The secret was that the noise became speech when heard underwater.
One champion, Cedric Diggory, decided to meditate upon the clue in the Prefects' Bathroom. Myrtle spied on Cedric in the tub, admitting to Harry that it took Cedric a long time to figure it out; nearly all the bubbles in the bath were gone by the time he cracked it. Cedric later suggested to Harry Potter that he take his egg the Prefects' Bathroom. With Myrtle's hints, Harry was able to decipher the riddle.[11]
Myrtle also appeared to Harry whilst he was in the Black Lake. She pointed him in the right direction to find the village of the Merpeople, thereby helping him to reach the Tournament hostages before the other champions.[17]
In 1997, Harry and Ron encountered Myrtle in the boy's bathroom as they were talking. Myrtle expressed her unhappiness at Harry never coming to see her. Myrtle told them that another boy also came to the bathroom crying and alone (Draco Malfoy), but she refused to tell either of them his identity when they asked her, as she had promised to keep Draco's secrets.[18]
Later on, Draco Malfoy confided in Moaning Myrtle about his failed attempts to assassinate Albus Dumbledore. Myrtle comforted him, feeling that she understood him, though in fact his situation was nothing like hers. When Draco and Harry engaged in a violent duel, Myrtle, as usual, enjoyed the spectacle. The last time Myrtle was seen by Harry Potter was when she was ordered to leave the bathroom by Severus Snape.[19]
In 2020 in an alternate reality created when interference from Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy resulted in Cedric Diggory badly losing the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, the two sought a way to reach Hogwarts's Great Lake, unsatisfied with the changes they had made. They hoped to interfere with Diggory in the Second Task as well, but in order to do so, needed a means to reach the grounds. They realised that they could do so from the pipes in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Upon seeing them, Myrtle said it had been a while since there had been boys in her bathroom, but noted that she had a soft spot for Potters and was once partial to a Malfoy as well. As such, she helped them by showing them how they could access a pipe to reach the lake.
After they did so, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Professor McGonagall and Ginny Weasley arrived in the bathroom. At Harry's request, Myrtle explained to him what the boys had told her about their plans to save the life of Cedric Diggory, noting that she could never keep anything from him. She also described him (Harry) as becoming more handsome as he had aged, and taller as well.[25]
Physical description
Myrtle was a squat student with pimples and thick glasses. She died in 1943 and became a ghost, wearing her school uniform, as well as her glasses, for eternity.[9]
Personality and traits
Myrtle was constantly bullied during her education at Hogwarts, for both her physical appearance and her personality. Myrtle's personality itself was being very sensitive; she hardly ever smiled and took great offence at the smallest slight. She usually cried when she got sad, and when she did, she cried very loudly, hence her nickname Moaning Myrtle. She was often upset so badly that she tried to kill herself until she realised that she was already dead.[9] Myrtle did tend to be happy when something bad happened to other students, like when Hermione Granger accidentally gained cat fur, ears and a tail after taking a contaminated Polyjuice Potion.[15] The only time she seemed to enjoy herself was when she recalled the moment of death, describing the event with relish.[3]
She did, however, seem to warm to some male students, including Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.[19] Myrtle also appeared to be a desperate flirt; she constantly flirted with Harry Potter, and showed her desperation to find love by spying on students such as Cedric Diggory whilst he bathed in the prefects' bathroom.[11] Myrtle also was likely childish as well, as she liked to take bubble baths when she was alive, due to 'all those pretty bubbles'.[26]