Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom

• Type: Girls' Lavatory
• Location: First floor, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland
• Owner/Residents: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Moaning Myrtle
• Key Features: Out of order, haunted, entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, gloomy and poorly maintained

Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom is a girls' lavatory located on the first floor of Hogwarts Castle. It has been out of commission for many years due to the constant presence of the ghost of Myrtle Warren, who haunts it relentlessly. The bathroom is described as gloomy and poorly lit, with most of its light coming from a few sputtering candles and a grimy window. It features a line of chipped stone sinks with tarnished copper taps, a large, cracked, and spotted mirror, and peeling paint on the wooden doors of its cubicles. One of the toilets is permanently out of order. The bathroom's tragic history is central to its identity. On 13 June 1943, a student named Myrtle Warren was hiding in one of the cubicles to cry after being teased by Olive Hornby. While there, she heard a boy's voice speaking a strange language. Upon opening the cubicle door to tell him to leave, she came face-to-face with the Basilisk, which had emerged from the Chamber of Secrets. She died instantly upon looking into its giant yellow eyes. The boy who released the beast was a young Tom Riddle. After her death, Myrtle's ghost returned to haunt the site of her demise, causing so much disruption that the bathroom was eventually abandoned by students and staff, earning it the name “Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.”

This seemingly unpleasant location plays a pivotal role in several key events throughout the series.

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The bathroom serves as the secret headquarters for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as they brew the Polyjuice Potion, chosen specifically because no one ever uses it. It is here that Harry first interacts with Moaning Myrtle, learning the details of her death. This bathroom contains the hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, which Harry discovers and opens by speaking Parseltongue to a specific tap. Ginny Weasley also threw Tom Riddle's Diary into a toilet in this bathroom, where it was later found by Harry.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Following advice from Cedric Diggory, Harry takes the Golden Egg to the prefects' bathroom but later uses Myrtle's bathroom for more privacy to decipher its clue. Moaning Myrtle herself provides the crucial hint that he must open the egg underwater. She reveals that she spied on Cedric Diggory when he did the same.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The bathroom becomes a place of refuge for a distressed Draco Malfoy, who confides his fears and frustrations to Moaning Myrtle. Harry discovers Malfoy crying in the bathroom, leading to a fierce duel between them. The duel culminates in Harry casting the Sectumsempra curse, severely injuring Malfoy and leaving him bleeding on the flooded floor before being rescued by Professor Snape.

• The Entrance to the Chamber of Secrets: One of the copper taps is distinguished by a tiny snake scratched onto its side. When commanded in Parseltongue, the tap glows and the entire sink unit sinks into the floor, revealing a large pipe that serves as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
• The Toilet Cubicles: The row of cubicles is where Myrtle Warren died and where her ghost often resides. She has a particular fondness for the U-bend of one toilet, which is where Ginny Weasley discarded Tom Riddle's Diary.

• In the film adaptations, the bathroom is depicted as much larger and more ornate than the book's description suggests. It features a large, circular island of sinks in the center of the room, providing a more dramatic setting for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. (film)