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Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing MINERVA McGonagall. More specifically- I’m going to be discussing
aspects of McGonagall’s character that people who have ONLY seen the films won’t know.
That’s right- if you’re a book reader- you probably know all of these (at least I
hope so)- but if you’ve only watched Harry Potter on the silver screen, you’re in for
a shock.
1. Her Duel with Voldemort
There are lots of epic duels in the Harry Potter Story. The graveyard, the ministry
atrium, the battle of Hogwarts. But as it turns out there were some micro-battles that
never got screen time. Most of the battles we witnessed in theatres were between either
Voldemort and Harry or Voldemort and Dumbledore. McGonagall, a powerful witch in her own right,
only really gets ONE duel in the films- and that’s the brief one against Snape. However-
with that said, McGonagall played a very large role in the Battle of Hogwarts- and without
her, who knows what could have happened? After Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemort
ERUPTS and starts going crazy- challenging everyone in his path. It’s during this battle
that none other than McGonagall faces off against the dark lord- with a little help
from Slughorn and Shackebolt that is.
2. She SCREAMS at Cornelius Fudge
Throughout the films, Minerva McGonagall exudes a kind of stern confidence. She’s a powerful
witch, a strong proponent of the educational system- and..for the most part, she’s in
control of her emotions. Though she loses it on a few occasions throughout the story,
there is one moment in particular that comes to my mind when I think of ANGRY McGonagall-
and that’s the time she blew up on Fudge.
At the end of the Goblet of Fire, when Barty Crouch Jr is revealed as an imposter, Fudge
goes against Dumbledore’s wishes and allows the Dementors to enter Hogwarts and ‘kiss’
Barty Crouch Jr. Though Barty Crouch Jr was (to some) deserving of this punishment, allowing
Dementors to ‘kiss’ a criminal is certainly morally questionable. After Barty Crouch Jr
is ‘kissed’- she "screams more than Harry has ever seen her before" and doesn't relent.
Harry hears her exchange with Fudge from his bed in the Hospital Wing.
3. She Was Attacked by Ministry Of Magic Aurors
On Wednesday 17th June, 1996, Umbridge and a team of five Ministry Aurors, including
John Dawlish, set out of the castle to arrest Hagrid. When they arrived at Hagrid’s hut-
Hagrid didn’t go quietly, and actually put up quite a battle with Dawlish pleading for
Hagrid to ‘be reasonable’ as his stunning spells bounced off of the giant. Eventually,
McGonagall gets involved:
Minerva McGonagall: "How dare you! How dare you!"
Hermione Granger: "It's McGonagall!" Minerva McGonagall: "Leave him alone! Alone,
I say! On what grounds are you attacking him! He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such
—"
At this stage McGonagall is shot in the chest with four simultaneous stunning spells- immobilizing
her and subsequently sending her to the hospital wing at St.Mungos for treatment.
4. Her Relationship with Umbridge
During Umbridge’s reign of terror, many sat idly by or even EMBRACED her tyrannical
regime (think Filch). However, SOME certainly did not take her abuse in the slightest- and
McGonagall was a perfect example of this. When Harry has a career meeting with McGonagall
in Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge interrupts time and time again- explaining that Harry
won’t satisfy the requirements to become an auror with his current ‘Defence Against
the Dark Arts’ performance. To this, McGonagall fires back that Harry has received high marks
in all Defence Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent professor. BOOM.
5. She Screams When Harry dies
McGonagall is a tough lady- she really is, and her strength of character comes from,
well, a pretty hard life. Maybe her life wasn’t hard in every aspect, but if you look at her
string of relationships and how they ended- it’s pretty tragic, so it’s no wonder
she can manage a lot. However, in the Deathly Hallows When she sees Hagrid carrying the
lifeless body of Harry, she falls into complete despair and lets out a spine-chilling scream
that echoes throughout the walls of Hogwarts. “The scream was the more terrible because
he had never expected or dreamed that Professor McGonagall could make such a sound.”
6. The Massive Chess Set
In the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry and the trio are faced with all sorts of challenges
on their way to prevent Voldemort from acquiring Nicolas Flamel’s powerful artefact.
Obstacle #5 was the giant chess set, a magical obstruction put in place that required checkmating
the enemy king to further advance through the challenges. The trio advanced through
this challenge because of Ron, but it did divide the group- which was perhaps the intention
of this challenge, separating people from any aid that they may have had thus far.
It's later revealed that it was none other than McGonagall who brought the chess set
to life- most likely via the spell ‘piertotum locomotor’ which we see her also use later
on to enchant the Hogwarts statues.
7. She Didn't Approve Of Sybill Trelawney
If you had to think of two professors that are TOTAL OPPOSITES, I wouldn’t be surprised
if you landed on Sybil Trelawney and Minerva McGonagall. Trelawney, who teaches divination,
represents spirituality and other less ‘tangible’ ideologies. McGonagall, on the other hand,
holds logic and reason in a very high regard- a no nonsense sort of woman. With that said,
it shouldn’t be surprising for you to hear that McGonagall didn’t approve of Trelawney
(even though Trelawney always ended up being right..but that’s another video).
When McGonagall learns of Harry dying as a result of ‘The Grim’- she is quick to
point out that Trelawney is full of it, and that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.
She even jokes that she would let Harry off of homework if he dies.
8. Relationship with Neville
McGonagall is hard on the students of Hogwarts- she’s a tough cookie- but that certainly
doesn’t mean that she doesn’t care. Her relationship with Neville is a particularly
interesting one, as- especially as a young boy, Neville was exceedingly sensitive. McGonagall
gives Neville some ‘tough love’ on more than one occasion in the books- the most dramatic
example being when she severely punished him for leaving the password to the Gryffindor
tower lying around. For this mistake, Neville got detention and was banned from Hogsmeade
visits for the rest of the year.
However, McGonagall was also highly PROTECTIVE of Neville, saying the following in response
to Neville’s grandmother’s comments on his choice of NEWTS:
Remarking that It’s high time his grandmother “learned to be proud of the grandson she’s
got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have.”
9. Amycus Carrow Spat at Her
In the Deathly Hallows, after Snape becomes the new Hogwarts headmaster, some new-morally
corrupt members of staff are hired in the form of Alecto and Amycus Carrow. At a certain
point, things begin kicking off in the Hogwarts castle, and Amycus sees his sister Alecto
unconscious on the floor. This prompts him to begin blaming the students for the attack-
to which McGonagall stands up and protests.
To this, Amycus spits directly in McGonagall’s face. This is the one instance in which Harry,
completely enraged, was able to successfully use the Cruciatus Curse on someone. A true
testament to Harry’s LEVEL of rage.
10. She Comforted Molly & Arthur Weasley
In the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny’s life is in mortal danger. She’s had a run in
with Tom Riddle and his diary, and things aren’t looking good, which causes panic
at the Weasley household. Fortunately for Ginny- she is eventually saved. However, being
saved aside, Ginny went through something quite traumatic, and it took her a bit of
time to resume normal life.
McGonagall went out of her way to comfort both Molly and Arthur Weasley during that
difficult time- revealing a ‘softer’ side of the hardened McGonagall. She also explains
to them that Lord Voldemort had forced Ginny into opening the chamber against her will.
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Until next time
Remember
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts
are open