[HPforGrownups] OOP: Is Umbridge a Squib?

[the firey chasm from whence it came]

No: HPFGUIDX 66733


Okay, I happen to think that this theory is quite preposterous (no 
offense). But I'll go through your points and tell you why I don't agree:



>1. Squibs like Arabella Figg and Argus Filch have a very strong
>interest in cats. JKR makes frequent reference to the plates with
>pictures of kittens decorating Umbridge's office.

Figg and Filch do seem to have special relationships with cats, don't they? 
And this hasn't been yet explained. However, the kittens in Umbridges 
office I think tie into something else. Umbridge is described as having a 
girlish, overly sweet voice. She wears a disgusting pink cardigan. She's 
described in her worst moments as "dangerously sweet" (or something to that 
effect). I think in this case the garish kittens are another example of her 
cloying, "poisonous honey" personality. She's cutesiness shot through with 
utter venom. I don't think this has anything to do with Squib/cat 
connection. I think this is illustrative of something else entirely.


>2. When Umbridge teaches Defense of the Dark Arts, she makes sure
>that no spells are actually performed. This makes sense if she
>herself is unable to perform spells.

It also makes sense  if she is a MoM stooge placed there to prevent 
Hogwarts students from learning to fight, possibly on the side of DD in 
case he was trying to forcibly overthrow Fudge. Which, by the way, was 
Fudge's worst fear. Also in her speech she says something like "it's so 
good to be back (at Hogwarts)", which implies she was at Hogwarts before. I 
think it's safe to assume she was at Hogwarts before as a student, as I 
can't really picture her there as a cleaning lady. :P Also, it was 
mentioned that to work in the MoM (I think in PoA), you needed top grades 
on your O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. There's no way she could have taken those 
tests and passed them with the grades required for the MoM if she were a 
Squib.


>3. Although Umbridge has lots of authority, she has very little
>magical power.

There's a difference between "not having much magical power" and being a 
Squib. Being a Squib means you have NO magical power (except possibly in a 
life-threatening situation as JKR has hinted). She threatens to use the 
Cruciatus Curse on Harry, and there's no way she could perform that if she 
were a Squib. Also, in her very first class she's able to make letters 
appear on the blackboard by tapping it with her wand. This is definitely 
magic that she's performing while not in a life-threatening situation.


>It appears that Umbridge was able to use a stunning charm to set off
>Fred and George's fireworks.

She was using magic in a non life threatening situation, therefore she 
can't be a Squib.

>However, when Umbridge wanted to capture
>Hagrid, JKR makes a point of telling us that Umbridge took five
>people with her. One of these stunned Fang, and Hagrid threw him to
>the ground so forcefully he didn't get up again. When McGonagall came
>out to defend Hagrid, JKR mentions two times that McGonagall was shot
>with four stunners straight in the chest. If the group was united in
>its purpose, we would have expected five stunners. Was this a clue
>that Umbridge's stunning charm was basically ineffectual?

I do think she's the type of person who likes to give orders and have them 
carried out by others, rather than do things herself. Also, her not being 
able to do a good Stunning doesn't mean she's a Squib, it could just mean 
she has bad aim!


>When Umbridge wanted to get information from Harry about why he had
>been in her office, it became evident that Umbridge didn't understand
>the proper dosage of Veritaserum nor how long it takes to make
>Veritaserum.

This is evidence that she doesn't necessarily know much about that 
particular potion, not that she's a Squib. Potions aren't her area of 
expertise, making up stupid decrees and spying on students is.

>  Had she forgotten that lesson from her Potions class?

It's possible. You're assuming she went to a Potions class though, but to 
do that she would have had to attend Hogwarts. And having magical ability 
is a prerequisite for attending Hogwarts, so if she attended Hogwarts, she 
can't be a Squib. It doesn't mean she's a great witch, it just means she's 
not a Squib.

>When she realized that there was no more Veritaserum available, she
>made a big production of threatening to use the Cruciatus curse on
>Harry but never actually used it. Is it possible that this was only a
>very convincing bluff?

She never actually used it because Hermione bluffed her instead into going 
into the Forbidden Forest to look for DD's "weapon". I don't think it's 
consistent with her characterization to make empty threats, so if she was 
threatening Harry with the Cruciatus Curse, I'm pretty sure she can do it.


>Finally, we can be certain that Umbridge did do one spell properly.
>When she was in the forest and surrounded by centaurs, Umbridge
>successfully performed the Incarcerous spell against the centaur
>Magorian. I would suggest that this is the instance JKR was referring
>to when she said, "There is a character who does manage in desperate
>circumstances to do magic quite late in life, but that is very rare
>in the world I am writing about."

This isn't the only spell she manages to do though. We see her stun the 
twins' fireworks, and attempt to stun Hagrid (but miss). If she were a 
Squib she wouldn't have been able to Stun anything at all, not even miss! 
I'd also like to reiterate that I don't think there's any way a Squib could 
get a job working at the MoM, simply because they require test scores 
proving you can do magic (OWLs and NEWTs). So I definitely don't think she 
could possibly be a Squib. Besides, what would her being a Squib explain 
that isn't already explained by her being a witch doing the MoM's bidding?

~dream