Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s brief video, we’re
going to be discussing Harry Potter, Professor Minerva McGonagall- and one of her most iconic
lines in the entire Harry Potter series. I’m going to be discussing its significance, and
then having a go at a little theory.
A door to his left flew open and Professor McGonagall emerged from her office looking
grim and slightly harassed.
"What on earth are you shouting about, Potter?" she snapped, as Peeves cackled gleefully and
zoomed out of sight. "Why aren't you in class?"
"I've been sent to see you." said Harry stiffly.
"Sent? What do you mean, sent?"
He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning,
slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out and began to read. Her eyes zoomed
from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and
with each line they became narrower.
"Come in here, Potter."
"Well?" said Professor McGonagall, rounding on him. "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" Harry asked, rather more aggressively than he had intended. "Professor?" he added,
in an attempt to sound more polite.
‘Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?’
‘Yes,’ said Harry. ‘You called her a liar?’
‘Yes.’ ‘You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is
back?’ ‘Yes.’
Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, frowning at Harry. Then she said, ‘Have
a biscuit, Potter.’ ‘Have – what?’
‘Have a biscuit,’ she repeated impatiently, indicating a tartan tin lying on top of one
of the piles of papers on her desk. ‘And sit down.’
Now, this is such an important line because of the undertones that it conveys. At this
point in time Umbridge is beginning to rise to power- and she’s a pier of of McGonagall’s
- someone that Harry and all of the other students are meant to respect. It’s the
standard teacher/student relationship. Ultimately, in this sort of dynamic, insolence is not
tolerated from the student, but in this particular case- McGonagall clearly appears to side with
Harry. McGonagall should be disciplining Harry for talking back to Umbridge, but instead
of punishing him she ends up offering him a ‘biscuit’- a courtesy that one would
not expect during formal punishment. You see, McGonagall’s lack of enthusiasm to punish
Harry comes from a place of disliking Umbridge herself. She knows that Umbridge is nuts,
and ultimately she trusts the word of Harry and Dumbledore over her. This is precisely
why Harry is offered a biscuit. This event is also significant because McGonagall was
someone that took her job very seriously- the fact that she was able to act against
traditional ‘rules’ speaks volumes to how much she distrusted Umbridge.
But now on to the important question: what kind of biscuit did McGonagall offer Harry?
I think the key to this answer is in the tin- as a ‘tartan tin’ is specifically referenced.
We also know that Umbridge is Scottish and grew up in Scotland, which means that she’s
more than likely accustomed to traditional Scottish treats- biscuits included. So- what’s
Scottish and comes in a tartan tin, you might ask? That’s right - Walker’s Scottish
Shortbread.
If you aren’t aware- shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part
white sugar, two parts butter, and either three parts oat flour or four parts plain
wheat flour. It’s a scottish staple, and I think that this is a very compelling argument
for the specific biscuit that Harry was offered at THIS point in time.
However, this theory does fall to pieces, as just 7 chapters later- in chapter 19 of
the Order of the Phoenix, it is revealed that the cookie offered to Harry was in fact a
‘Ginger Newt’ a parody of the real life biscuit ‘Ginger Nut’. We know this because
of the following line:
'Provoked you?' shouted Professor McGonagall, slamming a fist on to her desk so that her
tartan tin slid sideways off it and burst open, littering the floor with Ginger Newts.
'He'd just lost, hadn't he?
And that’s it for this video- did you guys already know the type of cookie offered to
Harry? Let me know in the comment section below.
Until next time
I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends.