Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Hogwarts transfiguration professor, and later headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.
Minerva McGonagall is a Scottish half-blood witch that attended Hogwarts school of witchcraft
and wizardry. Her age is a bit unclear- and actually a bit of a canon blunder. In Fantastic
Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we see a younger McGonagall, who appears to be in
her 20s or so. But, this is not consistent with what JK Rowling had revealed about McGonagall
in the original series. Originally, Rowling stated that McGonagall started teaching at
the school in 1956, at the age of 21. However, Fantastic Beasts 2 takes place in the year
1927 - it just doesn’t really add up. In a 1995 conversation between Umbridge and McGonagall,
McGonagall reveals that she had been working at Hogwarts “Thirty-nine years this December,".
Which is consistent with what Rowling had said initially. Anyway, moving on..
McGonagall is a half-blood, which means that she was born to one magical and one non-magical
parent. Her parents were muggle Robert McGonagall and witch Isobel Ross. She also had two brothers-
Malcolm and Robert Jr.
Minerva had a bit of an interesting upbringing, because her father never knew that her mother,
Isobel, was a witch.
"Isobel could not bring herself to mar the bliss of the honeymoon by telling her smitten
new husband that she had graduated top of her class in Charms at Hogwarts, nor that
she had been Captain of the school Quidditch team."
After Isobel fell in love with Robert, she gave up magic in pursuit of a normal life
with her muggle love-interest, and she never revealed to him that she was magical. After
being happily married for some time, Isobel eventually became pregnant with their first
born, Minerva Mcgonagall. When Minerva was born, however, it occurred to Isobel that
McGonagall may very well show signs of magical ability. She was a witch after all. Eventually,
as she had predicted, Minerva began to show signs of magic. McGonagall began doing things
that no normal muggle child could do- like summoning toys to herself and making the family
cat do her bidding. It was at this point that Isobel knew that she would have to tell her
husband about her background. She would have to tell him that she was a witch.
After Isobel told Robert, they stayed together, but their trust never was the same, which
had a huge impact on the family. Robert didn’t have any inherent problem with her being magical,
but the fact that their relationship was based largely on a lie was an issue for him. It
was a really sad situation, as they truly loved each other, but it was hard for him
to come to terms with. It was a hard time for the family as a whole, and, as you might
have expected, Minerva’s siblings- Robert and Malcolm, also turned out to be magical.
Robert Sr was the only muggle. Despite increased family tension, McGonagall became very close
with her father as she got older. And even though he wasn’t magical, and couldn’t
relate to McGonagall in that way, she was still closer with him than with her mother.
She was also said to resemble him in temperament.
Like most other witches and wizards, McGonagall attended Hogwarts herself, and like Dumbledore
and Tom Riddle, she was the most talented student of her entire year. She achieved top
grades in her Newts and owls, and showed powerful magical ability from a very young age- showing
a particular affinity for transfiguration, which we know she later teaches. Shortly after
arriving at the school she went to the sorting ceremony, where students are sorted in to
their respective houses. McGonagall’s sorting proved to be a rare occasion, as she was a
‘hatstall’ - something that only occurs once every 50 years or so. This is when the
sorting hat takes longer-more than 5 minutes to be exact- to make its decision. It occurs
when a student has a personality that could be considered equally suitable for more than
1 house, and in McGonagall’s case, the hat deliberated for 5.5 minutes on whether she
should be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. She was eventually sorted in to Gryffindor.
When Mcgonagall was finished studying at Hogwarts, her future looked bright, as she had continually
impressed her professors and peers while attending the school. Upon graduation she was offered
a position at the department of magical law enforcement in the ministry of magic, the
department of the ministry responsible for upholding wizarding law. However, before starting
in her new role, she returned to her parents home for the summer to spend time with her
family.
It was during this summer that McGonagall first met Dougal McGregor, a clever, handsome
muggle farmer who lived in the same town. The two instantly hit it off, sharing common
interests, a sense of humour, and just an overall outlook on life. The pair got along
so well, in fact, that Mcgregor eventually proposed to Mcgonagall. Without hesitation,
McGonagall accepted his offer, but as some time passed, she began to truly consider the
implications of marrying Dougal. You see, similar to the situation with her parents,
McGonagall had failed to inform Dougal that she was in fact, a witch. This was the exact
mistake that her mother had made with her father, and McGonagall saw first hand the
impact that this had on their family. McGonagall was a talented young witch with a promising
future at the ministry of magic, and telling Dougal that she was magical would have jeopardized
this future- breaking laws pertaining to the international statute of secrecy. If she told
him that she was magical, she would be breaking wizarding law and throwing away her future
job, and if she didn’t tell him that she was magical, and they wed anyway, it could
mean following her mother’s unhappy footsteps. She could not bear the thought of ruining
her future family in a similar fashion.
When McGonagall’s mother Isobel told her father Robert that she was a witch, it had
a profound impact on the family, their trust, and their relationship. Minerva, who saw all
of this unfold first hand, decided that marrying Dougal was not the right thing to do. As Mcgonagall
could not marry Dougal, she needed to break things off, but the worst part of all of it
was that McGonagall could not even give him the real reason why. 3 days after accepting
his initial proposal, she met with Dougal and informed him of her revised decision.
She told him that she could not marry him, and left the village shortly after in pursuit
of her new career.
Though she was starting an exciting new position at the ministry of magic, this was one of
the hardest periods of her life. Dougal, unable to accept that McGonagall would leave so easily,
fought for her, and sent McGonagall letters for a long time - hoping to win her back.
However, McGonagall knew that she could never be with Dougal- she saw how destructive her
mother’s situation had been on her family, and it just wasn’t an option for her. Dougal,
however, did hold a very special place in McGonagalls heart for the rest of her life,
and she kept Dougal’s letters under her bed in her Hogwart’s quarters.
After leaving for London, Minerva began working at the ministry of magic. Her initial time
at her new workplace was difficult, as she was still suffering from the decision that
she made regarding Mcgregor. At this point in time, there was still more of a distinct
divide between the wizarding and muggle worlds, and there was definitely more prejudice towards
muggles, and muggle-borns. Some of her co-workers at the ministry had a very low perception
of muggles, and Minerva, who was very close with her father, and even fell in love with
a Muggle, did not enjoy this environment. In spite of everything, she still excelled
in her work, as she had always been an exceptional student, hard worker, and innately very magically
talented.
Her work ethic eventually garnered her the attention and respect of her older boss, Elphinstone
Urquart. However, after some time at the ministry, McGonagall began to miss her family and home
in Scotland, and expressed to Urquart that she would soon be leaving the ministry. In
response to this, Urquart tried to offer her a promotion to keep her around. This was an
offer that she politely declined.
But though she wanted to return home, she didn’t want to stop working altogether,
which lead to her application at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Almost
instantly, McGonagall was offered a posting in the transfiguration department. The best
part about it? She would be working directly under transfiguration department head, Albus
Dumbledore.
When she returned home, she was devastated to hear that her former love interest, Dougal
Mcgregor, had gotten married with another local. Knowing that she turned him away without
ever giving him a proper explanation, she wallowed in her sorrow and knew that she would
have to accept how things had turned out. In ‘Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism,
Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies’, a trio of e-books published by Pottermore, it’s
actually revealed that Mcgregor was eventually randomly murdered by death eaters during the
1970s- admidst the first wizarding war. Later in life, McGonagall felt additional guilt
for leaving Dougal, as she wondered if he would have survived had they gotten married.
Anyway, after Minerva found out that Dougal had remarried, Albus Dumbledore, who was her
boss, comforted her on the night that she found out, helping to form the strong relationship
that the two would go on to have. When the first wizarding war broke out in the year
1970, McGonagall continued teaching at Hogwarts, but also helped out with the efforts against
Voldemort and the Death Eaters when she could. She chose not to join Dumbledore’s outfit,
the Order of the Phoenix, and instead spied for the ministry of magic. In her animagus
form, a tabby cat, she would spy on death eaters and relay information to aurors at
the ministry. She managed to survive the first war without any personal injury, but did suffer
the loss of her brother, Robert McGonagall, and many others. After the war she continued
working as usual.
Minerva enjoyed her role at Hogwarts immensely- she was a strict, but fair professor with
a passion for transfiguration. However, despite cutting ties with the ministry, Minerva’s
former boss, Elphinstone Urquart, would contact her frequently. What Minerva didn’t know
was that Urquart wasn’t contacting her for professional reasons- you see, he was in love
with her. When visiting McGonagall at the Hogwarts grounds one day, he proposed to her,
but McGonagall-still processing the pain of losing Dougal to another woman, had to turn
down his offer.
Eventually, however, after the first wizarding war had ended, Elphinstone got through to
her. He would frequently visit Minerva, and incessantly proposed for years, unable to
accept the fact that she would not be with him. FINALLY, around the year 1981, When McGonagall
was certain that she was finally over Mcgregor, she accepted his offer- and the pair got engaged
while strolling around the lake near the Hogwarts Grounds. After their engagement, a retired
Urquart bought a cottage for them to live in in Hogsmeade- not far from the school so
that she could easily travel to work. This was one of the happiest moments of McGonagall’s
life, however, it was short lived, as tragedy struck her once more. In the year 1985, after
just a few years of living together, Urquart suddenly and tragically passed away from a
venomous tentacula bite.
After his death, Minerva couldn’t bear to live in their cottage alone, and moved back
in to her quarters at Hogwarts school. After Elphinstone died, she poured everything in
to her work, and quietly suffered. She was a brave and private person, and the only person
who ever really learned of her previous hardships was Albus Dumbledore, in whom she confided.
Nothing particularly eventful occurred between 1985, when McGonagall moved back to the castle,
and 1991, when none other than Harry Potter began attending the school.
When Harry started there, McGonagall was fully aware of his past (Like every else), and because
she shared a close connection with both of his parents, she became a sort of ‘distant’
guardian for Harry. She could not openly choose favourite students, but, could she do it secretively?
Certainly. She gave Harry a hard time, but she was really really fond of him, and always
made exceptions for him where she could. McGonagall, like Dumbledore, quietly watched over Harry
for the duration of his time at the school, and even secretively gifted Harry a Nimbus
2000 after he made the Gryffindor quidditch team. In her youth, McGonagall played quidditch
herself, and had a strong desire for Gryffindor to beat out their rivals- Slytherin.
During the years that Harry attended Hogwarts, a LOT happened, particularly as 1991 marked
the beginning of the first signs of Voldemort’s resurgence, and 1995 marked the official beginning
of the second wizarding war. With everything going on, McGonagall would also help out where
she could, and even ended up joining the second resurgence of the Order of the Phoenix. She
spent the entire summer of 1995 doing background work for the order, and this occupied a lot
of her time, however, it wasn’t until the 95-96 school year that McGonagall really had
to deal with a lot. You see, the 95-96 school year was the same year that UMBRIDGE showed
up. McGonagall had a LOT of back and forths with Umbridge, and really did not approve
of her posting at the school. Given that she was unimpressed with her presence at the school,
period, I’m sure you can imagine how unimpressed she was when Dumbledore was ousted and Umbridge
took his place as headmaster. During this time, she quietly undermined Umbridge, and
protected students and fellow professors when she could.
"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."
After the Umbridge escapade was over, and Dumbledore was reinstated, the school began
to face increasingly difficult situations. The dark lord and his followers were growing
in power, and eventually, Dumbledore was no longer around. This meant that Voldemort and
his followers seized control of Hogwarts, and a convincing double-agent Snape was the
new headmaster. McGonagall remained a professor during this time, most likely so that she
could protect students and relay information to the order. When Harry, Ron and Hermione
returned to the school in secret, they informed McGonagall of their mission from Dumbledore,
and her response to this was that she would try her best to hold Voldemort and his army
back for them. This prompted the epic defence of Hogwarts, in which McGonagall uses her
transfiguration ability to bring all sorts of statues to life.
"Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"
McGonagall, alongside the other professors, fortified the castle, and fought valiantly
at the Battle of Hogwarts. McGonagall was also present for Voldemort’s defeat, and
in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, hugged Harry in relief.
After the war had ended, McGonagall was offered the ‘Order of Merlin First Class’ by the
new Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shackebolt. And just four short months after that, McGonagall,
who was more suitable for the role than anyone, was appointed the new Hogwarts headmistress.
McGonagall presided over Hogwarts students beginning with the 1998-1999 school year,
and after her promotion moved in to Dumbledore’s old quarters. As she had given up her transfiguration
posting, she was now responsible for, among other things, finding her replacement. You
might also remember that McGonagall served as a special messenger for Hogwart’s and
would travel to the homes of prospective muggle-born students, and inform their families of their
child’s magical abilities. This task was eventually handed off to Rubeus Hagrid, which
is questionable, given his immense size and initial shock value.
McGonagall is the current serving Hogwarts headmistress, and, provided that she is stil
quite young for a witch, I imagine that she will serve for many years to come.
And that’s it for this video- did you guys know all of this about McGonagall? Did anything
shock you? If so, what? Let me know down in the comment section below.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY