Can(n)ons and Teachers: McGonagall (was Hermione and Snape

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 128376

> Potioncat:
> > Also upthread someone asked if Snape had ever in any way 
> > encouraged Hermione. (Frankly I can only  think of one time he 
> > encouraged anyone.) But do we see McGonagall or anyone else 
> > encouraging Hermione to go farther and do more?
> 
> 
> SSSusan:
> As for McGonagall encouraging Hermione, well, she *did* give her the 
> Time-Turner.  She had confidence that Hermione could handle more 
> than your average student, and she went to some trouble to work 
> things out so that Hermione could have the TT.  I see that as 
> encouraging her, yes.  (Whether she should have done is another 
> matter, but I believe she was encouraging her.)
> 
> 
> Potioncat:
> > I'll start with a McGonagall moment. 
> > Other members of the staff seemed oddly tense too.
> > "Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that  you can't even perform a 
> > simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!" 
> > Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly 
> > difficult lesson, during which Nevile had accidentally 
> > transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.
> > 
> > Interesting. It sounds like something Snape would say, doesn't it? 
> 
> 
> SSSusan:
> Ugh.  I think you chose what may well be McGonagall's *worst* moment 
> in the series! :-) 

Neri:
McGonagall is the very image of the strict-but-fair teacher. She gives
praise very rarely, but although Transfiguration lessons aren't
covered in the series nearly as much as Potions, there are certainly
several cases in canon when she encourages Hermione and even Neville.
Examples:

SS/PS Ch. 8:
After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match
and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson,
only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor
McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and
gave Hermione a rare smile.

SS/PS Ch. 9:
Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through
the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.
"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I
don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup and you'll lose all the
points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching
Spells."

GoF, Ch. 15:
"We don't take O.W.L.s till fifth year!" said Dean Thomas indignantly.
"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you
can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has
managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might
remind you that your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if
anyone approaches it with a pin!"
Hermione, who had turned rather pink again, seemed to be trying not to
look too pleased with herself.

OotP, Ch. 13:
"You cannot pass an OWL," said Professor McGonagall grimly, "without
serious application, practice and study. I see no reason why everybody
in this class should not achieve an OWL in Transfiguration as long as
they put in the work." Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise.
"Yes, you too, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "There's
nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence".

Neri