ESE!McGonagall (not what you think)

[Bex]

No: HPFGUIDX 164409

> Caspen wrote:
> > And, as Julie asks, if she's so loyal, why doesn't Albus trust her
> more, and why doesn't he confide in her? It really doesn't make sense
> to me, regardless whether she's secretly a hot-head or not.
> > 
> Debbie responded:
> > That trust issue looms large, doesn't it?  The reason I continue to
> be enamored of ESE! McGonagall is that the only other reason I can
> come up with for McGonagall to be so out of the loop is very
> unpleasant -- it's that McGonagall (like most of the other women in
> the story) doesn't really have a narrative function except to serve as
> a stereotype spinster schoolteacher. And it does fit -- she's stern,
> no-nonsense, competent and efficient, but underneath has a soft spot
> for her 'children'.  She's a stock character in fiction, the type who
> provides atmosphere -- she gets no action, no mystery, and no growth.
>  <snip>
> 
> Carol chimes in:
> I think her usually concealed softness or emotionalism is the reason
> that DD doesn't trust her with every detail of his anti-Voldemort
> plan, that and her already heavy workload and his need-to-know 
> policy.

blitz:
I agree - the emotionalism is not always a good trait in matters of
dire straits. It makes her much more human to the reader, but
Dumbledore may see it as a disadvantage. 

And as I noted before, she isn't very good at politics. I don't think
she could officiate an order meeting with someone she didn't
particularly like - if she had to deal with ol' Dung and they butted
heads, I can see a situation a bit similar to that of Severus and
Sirius in OotP. 

If she was entrusted to very important information, like the existence
of Horcruxes, I think that she would act on it somewhat rashly,
including wanting to help DD/Harry find them. Dumbledore has said it
before: "You are needed at Hogwarts!" And she is - as a liason between
HQ and Hogwarts, as a very respected member of the WW, and as someone
Harry inherently trusts. Keeping her out of the loop is just the only
way to keep her happy and at home.

I don't see her as simply the spinster teacher - she's more important
that that. But her importance lies with where she is right now.

Carol:
> But she's a cat Animagus, too. Why haven't we heard more about that?


blitz again:
Still waiting for that shoe to drop. It will be important in book 7,
I'm sure. My concern is that she is registered - every DE that can do
research may know about her markings - so it isn't a really good
method of hiding. But it may come into play. I'll be watching for cats
in the next book.  :)


> > Debbie:
> > IIRC, the timeline is that Riddle graduated in 1945 and returned in
> 1955 to request the DADA job.  McGonagall began teaching at Hogwarts
> shortly thereafter (my calculation is that it was 1956 as OOP covers
> 1995-96).  The odd thing is that she seems to have started mid-term,
> in December.  

Carol:
> What happened, I think, is that the headmaster, Armando Dippet, died
> suddenly in December  the asstant headmaster and Transfiguration
> teacher Albus Dumbledore took over the position, leaving the
> Transfiguration job open, so McGonagall, a Transfiguration whiz and
> registered Animagus, got the job. DD may have
> specifically wanted to hire a Gryffindor to take over as HoH as well
> as Transfiguration teacher (just as, IMO, he wanted a Slytherin
> Potions master to take over for Snape in HBP because Snape's
> inevitable departure from Hogwarts at the end of his year as DADA
> professor would mean that Hogwarts would need a new Slytherin HoH. Two
> birds with one stone.) McGonagall's qualifications are what's
> important, not her availability. (Of course, we do wonder what we did
> before she became Transfiguration teacher, but it doesn't really
> matter. People frequently leave one job for a better one. Maybe McG
> was waiting for Dumbledore to retire!)

blitz:
I wish someone would ask JK that question, just to get it put away. I
always felt that was the case - Dippet died, DD took over, and within
a week or two, Red Eyes is asking DD for the DADA position. (It was
snowing in that memory - DD had probably just taken over, and LV
probably made his move the second he heard about it.) McGonagall was
probably one of his preferred students, and he remembered her maybe
wanting to teach?

I'm just curious as to what she did with those ten years. I don't
think it has anything major to do with the story line - perhaps she
got married, or even widowed before her husband and she could start a
family?

I still hold that she's a childless woman who wanted a baby - and
Dumbledore gave her a thousand of 'em.





And for clarification, Caspen, I wasn't /trying/ to kill this thread -
I was making a joke that when I post on something, that the thread
usually gives up the ghost soon after (or right after). Please, keep
posting! I like getting in the chatter!

~blitz, who was intrigued by the Enchanted!McGonagall theory, but
doesn't feel it holds much water in her boat.