Myrtle Warren

**Myrtle Elizabeth Warren** was a character in the *Harry Potter book series*.

She was a Muggle-born student who attended Hogwarts. Sorted into Ravenclaw house, she was attending the school when Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets and she was killed when she looked into the eyes of a Basilisk. After this, she transformed into a ghost who haunted the girls' bathroom where she died.

## Biography

### Early life

Myrtle was born into a Muggle family in the late 1920s to early 30s. At the age of eleven, she found out she was a witch and she was accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was sorted in Ravenclaw house. She was bullied by her fellow students who teased her because of her glasses.

In June of 1943, she was crying in the girls' bathroom after being teased by Olive Hornby for her glasses. She suddenly heard a boy, Tom Riddle, talking in there and walked out of her stall to confront him. Upon walking out, she caught him talking to the Serpent of Slytherin near the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. She looked the Basilisk in the eyes and died instantly. After her death, she transformed into a ghost.

The reason she turned into a ghost was so she could haunt Olive. She was missing for two hours before her body was found when Professor Dippet sent Olive to find her. Myrtle thought it was very funny when Olive saw her dead body and looked shocked and scared. She haunted Olive for the rest of her life and made her miserable. She even showed up to the wedding of her brother, causing Olive to get the Ministry of Magic to help get rid of her from the venue.

### Chamber of Secrets

In the 1992-1993 school year, Myrtle kept having tantrums and the bathroom was temporarily closed. Hermione Granger avoided it because Myrtle wailed at anyone who walked in.

In October, she attended Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's 500th Deathday Party. Hermione tried to avoid her but she heard her saying her name. Hermione tried to be polite and told her she looked nice, but Myrtle thought she was making fun of her. Hermione denied it but Myrtle started crying and left the party in tears while Peeves threw peanuts at her and called her "pimply".

Another day, Myrtle found Harry, Ron and Hermione in her bathroom because they wanted to ask if she saw anything on the evening that Mrs Norris was Petrified. However, Myrtle told them she wasn't paying attention because she wanted to kill herself but realised she was already dead. In December, saw the three friends brewing the Polyjuice Potion and thought it was funny when Hermione was turned into a cat.

Ginny Weasley later attempted to destroy Tom Riddle's Diary in the bathroom and threw it at Myrtle, who was very upset about it. She later told Harry and Ron where to find the Diary. In May, Harry and Ron worked out that she was the girl the Basilisk had killed the first time the Chamber had been opened. Harry asked her how she died and she was very excited to tell her story. Her face was shining and she pointed him towards a sink where she saw the Basilisk. He realised that it was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

## Appearance

Myrtle was short in height and had a very sorrowful face.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ It's unknown what age she was when she died. If she was in her first-year, she had to be eleven in September 1942. If she was in her seventh-year, she had to be 17 on 31 August 1943.
2. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 13 - "The pages of the diary began to blow as though caught in a high wind, stopping halfway through the month of June. Mouth hanging open, Harry saw that the little square for June thirteenth seemed to have turned into a minuscule television screen."
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 12
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 16
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, Chapter 25
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 8
7. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 9
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 13