ESE!McGonagall (not what you think)

justcarol67 justcarol67 at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 30 15:21:09 UTC 2007


No: HPFGUIDX 164313

Snape's Witch wrote:
> 
> Something didn't ring quite true with me about Minerva being 70 at
the time of the first book so I couldn't help going into Hermione mode
just a bit and did some research at Accio Quote.  The 'spritely 70'
remark was made during an October 2000 interview after GoF was
published.  In 2001 she says Snape was 35 or 36 during GoF so I'm
assuming that when she answered the question about McGonagall she was
also thinking of GoF. Anyway her answers are usually relevant to the
latest book published.
<snip>
> I think someone else has already mentioned that Minerva was born in
1924 making her two years older than Voldie.  So they probably were at
school together but contact would be doubtful since they weren't in
the same house.

Carol adds:
Good point. I'll add a bit of speculation here: Given McGonagall's
personality and intelligence, I wouldn't be surprised if McGonagall
was a Prefect and even Head Girl in her time. If either were the case,
she'd probably have been at least superficially acquainted with the
fifth-year Prefects, including Tom, in her seventh year. Also, if she
*is* two years older than Tom, the chamber of Secrets would have been
opened in her seventh year.

Now, what do we *know* about her? She was a Gryffindor and is HoH of
Gryffindor at least from Harry's first year through his sixth. She
teaches Transfiguration and is a registered (cat) Animagus (BTW, I'm
sure that DD is familiar with her markings and she only asked "How did
you know it was me?" because it was dark outside and DD wouldn't have
expected her to be on Privet Drive); she's assistant headmistress
until the end of HBP and is usually on hand (along with Snape) when
anything unusual is going on in the castle; she's an avid Quidditch
fan who supervises the announcing of the matches and chooses the
commentator, has a running rivalry with Snape, and bent or broke the
rules by buying Harry a broom and making him Seeker in his first year
(undermining Madam Hooch, who said she would see that anyone who rode
their brooms while she was taking Neville to the hospital wing would
be expelled--interestingly, Draco isn't expelled, either); is a member
of the second Order of the Phoenix (we see her at 12 GP only once that
I recall, oddly dressed in Muggle clothes); is Scottish, with a
fondness for tartan (shared, apparently, by Filch and Figgy) and the
Scottish national flower, the thistle; she has rather marked opinions
regarding the incompetence of certain colleagues (Lockhart, Trelawney)
and the uselessness of Divination (one of several ways in which she
resembles Hermione) and a very civil relationship with Snape even
after she finds out that he's an ex-DE near the end of GoF); she
claims to have trusted him only at DD's insistence based on his
background (presumably from that point onward); she's stern and
straight-laced and Harry believes that she doesn't favor her own
students, but his Transfiguration class contains only Gryffindors, so
it's hard to say; she disapproves of Fake!Moody's use of
Transfiguration as a punishment, but her own detentions (sending
first-years into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid) are not exactly
mild and safe and her punishment of Neville for losing the passwords
seems excessive; she evidently plays chess (like Ron) based on her
obstacle in the third-floor corridor in SS/Ps; she disapproves of
Umbridge and thwarts her in various ways but advises Harry to keep his
temper and not talk back to Umbridge. She also disapproves of Dedalus
Diggle, whom she evidently regards as silly or foolish. She knew
Augusta Longbottom (maiden name unknown) at school and knew that she
failed her charms OWL, which suggests that they were in the same House
in the same year. And, oh, yes, she's "a sprightly seventy" as of GoF
and seems to have recovered from those four Stunners to the chest at
the end of OoP; we don't see her with a walking stick in HBP. And she
seems devoted to Dumbledore, standing up for him against Umbridge and
Fudge, and opposed to Voldemort (but still reluctant to say his name,
IIRC) throughout the books. She shows some concern and compassion for
Harry on occasion and bends the rules for him at least twice (but does
refuse to sign his Hogsmeade form). She attempts to be fair, helping
out Trelawney after she's sacked while being (probably) secretly glad
that Trelawney is no longer teaching, but doesn't always succeed. She
loses control exactly once that I can recall, when the Dementor sucks
Barty Jr.'s soul.

Not a lot to go on despite the length of the list. I think MGonagall
is what she seems: stern demeanor covering a soft heart and a
preference for her own house, not necessarily the best judge of
character based on her reaction to "poor little Peter Pettigrew" and
her apparent blindness to the bullying tactics of James and Sirius,
highly skilled in her subject, firm in her teaching methods and her
prejudices (against Divination, for example). I don't think she's
married or has any other secrets. The school appears to be her home
(though perhaps, like Snape, she goes somewhere else over the summer).

So why doesn't dumbledore confide in her more fully? Why doesn't he
regard her as his equal? Probably because she's highly competent at
what she does, but he can't trust anyone with more than they need to
know. The most loyal follower can be tortured for information, and
McGonagall is, after all, about seventy years old, nor does she seem
to be a Legilimens/Occlumens like Snape. And, given her soft spot for
Harry, it's probably best in Dumbledore's view that she doesn't know
what he's going to be facing. She'll be more efficient as a teacher,
HoH, and school administrator (as well as doing whatever she does for
the Order) if she's not too heavily burdened with extraneous
information regarding events that must occur whether she wants them to
or not (which, BTW, may be one reason why DD would tell Snape, who
already knows part of the Prophecy, more than he tells McGonagall
about his plans for Harry--DDM!Snape concerned with Harry's safety as
the Prophecy Boy, the instrument of Voldemort's destruction, whereas
McGonagall cares about Harry as a person--and would not understand the
need to subject him to Occlumency lessons or take him on a Horcrux hunt).

Carol, still just exploring ideas but not seeing any evidence for
Enchanted!McGonagall, much less McG as traitor in the standard sense
of ESE!





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