Q 5, McGonagall (was Re: CHAPDISC: DH30, THE SACKING OF SEVERUS SNAPE

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 184537

"Oryomai" wrote:
> 5.Why does Harry tell Professor McGonagall that Voldemort is on the
> way to the castle when in reality he is on his way to check on the
> Horcrux? At this point, the jig is pretty much up: Harry's in the
> castle, there are Death Eaters everywhere, and he needs help.  He's
„« used lies of omission on everyone else, why not Professor 
McGonagall?

Potioncat:
Do you mean, after Harry "sees" LV at the lake? He tells McGonagall 
the truth because the battle is about to happen, and because she is 
the Professor-in-charge at Hogwarts. In fact, it will turn out to be 
only a few moments before LV does show up at the gates.

I'd like to add a few thoughts about Minerva. 

She does take charge here, in a way she never has before. In the past 
she was the Deputy to DD. DD's reputation was one of awesome power 
and knowledge. We've always seen her defer to him. Now she truly has 
the authority and responsibility of Hogwarts and she comes into her 
own.

She attacks Snape just as he starts to use Legilimency--and after 
he's just reminded her that he's a DE. (I'm not saying he intended 
to. It was likely an involuntary reaction to twist his left arm.) She 
contacts the Heads, then gives them quick instructions. Setting up 
protection for the castle and starting the evacuation process. Truly, 
this is no longer the safest place for the children. 

She also deals with Slughorn. Look at the difference, Flitwick points 
out only that they won't be able to 'keep" LV out, not that they 
shouldn't try; Sprout is all for defending the castle; but Slughorn 
expresses doubt about defending the castle. He almost sounds ready to 
hand Harry over.

Minerva makes her stand perfectly clear. Hogwarts is going to fight 
LV and the DEs and they are fighting for real. Anyone who fights 
against them in any way, risks being killed. This is war.

This is where she refers to Slughorn and his Slytherins--and this 
speech has bothered some readers. But while we come into this 
situation cold, Minerva has been living with it all year. It seems 
obvious that Snape has played his role very well. The staff believes 
he is a loyal DE who murdered DD. It also seems Slughorn has tried to 
walk on both sides. We don't have any canon, but this indicates to me 
that there has been some vacillating on Slughorn's part.


>From post 184536 Amiable Dorsai writes:

> 
> <Lurker pulls off Invisibility Cloak>
snip
> 
> More interesting to me is McG's reaction: she not only does not
> chastise Harry, she ups the ante by using the Imperius Curse.  To 
me,
> this is the passing of the baton, this is Minerva acknowledging 
Harry
> as her leader.  This also, and this is more subtle, I think, Minerva
> anxious to bring this to a head--to purge her beloved Hogwarts of 
the
> thugs who've taken over, who abuse her students.
> 
> It's one of the most powerful and telling scenes in the book.
> 
„« Amiable Dorsai

Potioncat:
Hey, long time no see, you should join in more often!

Very good point. To Minerva, Carrow has been using Cruciatus on the 
students, and making them use it on each other all year long. So the 
use of it by Harry, and her own use of Imperius are somewhat 
justified---at least in her mind. I guess this has been said before, 
but it's just now I've really "gotten" Minerva's point of veiw. 
(Which doesn't change my own opinion of the way JKR presented and 
wrote about Unforgivables.)

OK, is SSSusan lurking out there? She's another McGonagall fan. If 
you can hear me, what do you think of Minerva in this chapter?