"Disciplinary hearing of the tenth of June 1943 is now in session. Due to an unmitigated act on the accuser's side namely, erm-" The Minister cleared her throat as she looked at her papers on her stand before she said, "Moaning Myrtle—the defendant Olive Hornby and a witness to the crime may proceed to step forward."
Olive Hornby and Miss Lucinda Fanghorn both stepped forward while the Minister made her summary of the case known. Lucinda was asked if she had anything to say on the matter to Moaning Myrtle, the accused. The angry expression on the elderly woman's face was clear enough for Hermione to see that things were not going to bode well for Moaning Myrtle. "She used her magic to nearly drown me with a tidal wave of water running through the halls of her brother's wedding! The outrageous act should be accounted for," Miss Lucinda practically screamed at the top of her lungs as she glanced with hatred over at Myrtle and cried out, "I want to see some discipline for her ruining one of my finest dresses!"
"Very well Miss Fanghorn you may step down now."
Hermione took a minute to glance over at the ghost and saw that Moaning Myrtle looked positively ill standing in front of the Ministry of Magic waiting for the evaluation of her actions to be confirmed. Hermione watched as Ottaline Gambol the head Minister sat at the podium with her dress robes hanging loosely around her skinny arms. She had spent the better point of an hour relaying the events of Myrtle's recent activities and looked worn and ready to retire from her efforts.
The head Minister's gavel thumped loudly on her desk without anyone extending a hand to help it along. A magic spell produced by the head minister, made the gavel stop the erratic, "Thwack, thwack" sound that echoed in the room. There were seats lined up in the Ministry boxes on both sides of the podium where the head minister sat and the other valued workers occupied the uncomfortably hard looking chairs.
Hermione caught sight of someone who must have been a relative of the infamous Rita Skeeter because this woman had similar features. She also worked for the Daily Prophet, and her magical quill was busy writing furiously on a piece of parchment which hung in midair.
Glancing over to the left side of the Ministry of Magic Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she recognized someone else. A woman stepped forward from the gathering of Ministry workers and during the minute when she heard the tinkling laugh a sense of foreboding came over Hermione and her arms spread with goose bumps which made her shiver in reaction. Dolores Jane Umbridge came into view and Hermione winced when she saw the lady with the false smile turn her gaze toward the ghost standing alone in front of the Ministry.
"You have been made aware of your rights have you not, Moaning Myrtle?"
Myrtle nodded timidly and gazed back at Delores Umbridge who said, "Then you must know that you violated the restrictions put forth by the Ministry of Magic to protect you, and you must be punished for your transgressions."
Myrtle looked from Umbridge to the head minister and said in desperate self-defense, "But I had good reason to do what I did. You see, Olive set my things on fire at Hogwarts, my bed, my pictures-everything is gone! How could I stand aside and let her hurt me like she did without doing something about it?"
Ms. Umbridge and the head minister looked at each other with speaking glances before Umbridge started to talk again. Hermione shivered when she caught the cold glint of disbelief in her gaze. Delores Umbridge spoke calmly as she stated the law and said, "No student is allowed to perform any spells of any kind outside of school. You have accused Olive Hornby of malicious actions but are you prepared to offer us any proof that these so called crimes have occurred?"
Hermione's heart sank for Myrtle when she heard the ghost say in a small voice which was barely audible in the crowded room, "I have no proof that she set fire to my belongings…"
"If you have no proof of these crimes against you, then are we simply supposed to take your word for it?"
Hermione watched as Myrtle's confidence shrank to the size of a split pea as she said quietly, "No."
"Then do you expect us to punish Olive Hornby, when you have no evidence to back up your claims about this so called fire incident?"
"No one saw her do it, but I was there!"
"Why didn't you call for help if you were there Myrtle?" Miss Delores Umbridge gave Myrtle a doubtful look as she said, "Was it because you are telling us lies to get attention because you feel the need to distract us from the actual crimes which you, yourself committed against Miss Olive Hornby?"
"I'm not telling you any lies it was the truth! She set fire to my belongings and got away with it because no one but me was there to see her do it!"
"Is this true Ms. Olive Hornby? Did you set fire to Myrtle's belongings at Hogwarts?" The head minister looked from Myrtle to Olive who sat in the stands with her mother by her side and Miss Lucinda Fanghorn was close by still appearing decidedly agitated.
"I have no idea what she is talking about head minister." Olive's cool expression remained eerily calm as she spoke the lie out loud and Myrtle seethed with pure frustrated injustice.
"She's not telling the truth head minister, you've got to believe me!"
Miss Delores Umbridge's impatience began to reveal itself when she responded to Myrtle's outburst with a strong exclamation of her own. Her face turned stone cold red with anger as she said to Myrtle, "You will not lie to us Myrtle when we have proof, a witness claiming she saw you use the spell to eliminate your own charm!"
Miss Umbridge produced a tinkling laugh which sent Hermione's nerves on edge when she said, "The wall of water was a clever trick girl, but unless you are saying that all of us involved with the ministry, are naive fools we have no choice but to offer you the punishment you richly deserve."
"If I should be punished for my actions," said Myrtle with a last call to her own defensiveness she lifted up her chin and Hermione was proud of her when she said, "then Olive should be punished as well. I will accept any punishment I am given because I did break the school rules, but so did she and she should not be absolved of the wrong actions she made against me."
"Without proper evidence of her so called actions, she will be viewed as innocent but you however cannot go unpunished," said Miss Umbridge as she wore a deceptive expression of grudging acceptance. "After all, naughty students must be held accountable for all of their misguided choices and since we have a witness to your crimes, Miss Lucinda Fanghorn, we should take the proper steps necessary to ensure your punishment. Am I right on this instance, head minister?"
Hermione sighed with sad disappointment when Ms. Ottaline Gambol voiced Myrtle's sentence with honest sincerity and said, "I am sorry Miss Myrtle but Delores here is exactly right. You cannot go unpunished when we have a witness to your crimes and since there is no evidence to back up your claims I cannot rightfully accept them as such. I hereby sentence you to spend a solid post-life at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry until further discussions are warranted. This is my last exclamation on this point, the court is adjourned."
The head minister sank her gavel onto the podium without raising her hand to thrust it down and the crowd began to dissipate as Hermione sat discontentedly with Myrtle in the Ministry's court room. Hermione couldn't be entirely certain but before she was thrown out of the final memory she thought she heard Myrtle mutter softly with her voice slightly cracking with emotion. "So that' is how my story will end then?"