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"Are you in here again, sulking Myrtle? Because Professor Dippet asked me to look for you-"
— Olive finding Myrtle Warren's body[src]

Olive Hornby (fl. 1940s) was a witch who used to harass and bully Myrtle Warren about her glasses when they were school girls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Olive was born between 1926 and 1932, around the time Myrtle was born. She also had a brother.

Hogwarts School[]

When she was eleven years old, Olive received a letter, accepting her into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's unknown if she was older than or was the same age as Myrtle, so their Sorting might have been at the same time or in different years.

Bullying Myrtle[]

On one such occasion, Olive cruelly taunted Myrtle about her glasses, which was the reason Myrtle was in the bathroom that concealed the Chamber of Secrets on the night of her murder.[4] After realising that no one had seen Myrtle for a couple of hours, and knowing that Olive Hornby had previously bullied Myrtle, Professor Armando Dippet, then-Headmaster of Hogwarts, requested her to go and look for Myrtle. When Olive got to the bathroom, the first thing she saw was Myrtle's dead body lying on the floor. This left Olive in a state of shock and horror, according to Myrtle's ghost, who watched the scene with delight.[5]

Haunted by Moaning Myrtle[]

Moaning Myrtle, as Myrtle's ghost was now known, haunted Olive Hornby for a long period of time, even after she left Hogwarts.[6] After Moaning Myrtle interrupted her brother's wedding, Olive went to the Ministry of Magic to get rid of the troublesome ghost. Myrtle Warren was then sent back to Hogwarts Castle, where she haunted the bathroom in which she died.[5]

Death[]

Olive Hornby was already dead before the events surrounding the 1994-1995 Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, although it is unknown what year she actually died.[2]

Etymology[]

  • The olive branch was sacred to the Ancient Greeks as a symbol of the goddesses Athena and Eirene, and it remains a symbol of peace and victory to the modern day. Olive trees produce fruit which is eaten or pressed for oil, and the tree itself is used in woodworking.
  • Her surname Hornby comes from the name of several places in northern England, which derive from a combination of the Old Norse given name Horni, meaning "horn", and the Old Norse word býr, meaning either "farm" or "settlement".[7]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Olive was still at Hogwarts when Myrtle died -- she was sent to find Myrtle by Dippet -- meaning that she was no older than 17 in 1943 but was at least 11.
  2. 2.0 2.1 From Moaning Myrtle's remark in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (emphasis added): "And then she saw my body...ooooh, she didn't forget that until her dying day, I made sure of that..."
  3. "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
  4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 (The Chamber of Secrets)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 25 (The Egg and the Eye)
  6. If she was still at Hogwarts, Olive would force Moaning Myrtle to go away by calling the Headmaster or her parents, not the Ministry of Magic.
  7. "Hornby" on Ancestry.com
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