Talk:Minerva McGonagall

Relationship with Ron Weasley
Why isn't there anything about McGonagall's relationship with Ron Weasley? Shouldn't there be? -- GrouchMan (Send an owl then scram!! ) 16:50, 24 July 2009 (UTC)


 * How about we put it in the article since it isn't there? -- Kevin5593  Talk 15:47, 22 August 2009 (UTC)


 * That sounds good to me. -- GrouchMan (Send an owl then scram!! ) 03:23, 27 August 2009 (UTC)


 * The section about her relationship with the Weasley family is full of nothing but supposition and should be removed.

Relationship with Pomona Sprout
Maybe instead of just one Professor we could have "Hogwarts Staff" or something like that. This relationship with Pomona Sprout is not very well written.--Adumb1881 23:49, September 27, 2009 (UTC)

The relationship with Pomona is good, even i can say that is very good, because both women have the same thinks about Hogwarts, Snape and Dumbledore, and both being Head of House, they share a bit thir personality.Lestrange97 10:37, July 31, 2011 (UTC)

Picture & parentage
Can we please change the picture? The picture is creepy..
 * Go ahead, if you can find a better one. John Reaves (talk) 06:29, 27 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The one right bellow on the article would be much better. --Bluelantern 21:59, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Added picture of last poster of Minerva on Deathly Hallows part 2. I enjoy a lot, hope u guys too. If some1 wants to change i would appreciate it to b discussed first. Dumbeldorefan 8 June, 2011

The article says she's muggle-born but where's the evidence for this? It was never mentioned in the books (in fact, she seems to express some contempt for muggles) and I've never seen any interviews mentioning it. Metathesiophobia 18:57, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that she is muggle-born --Lupin &amp; Kingsley 03:28, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think she's muggle-born, either. During the Muggle-Born Registration Committee, it wasn't mentioned if, and I doubt that she was, interrogated. Many Death Eaters (The Carrows, for example) and Umbridge did more than dislike and disrespect her- they probably wouldn't have hesitated to act on the excuse to throw her in Azkaban. Yet she remained at Hogwarts to protect the students during the 1997-1998 school year.

This info from Pottermore http://www.hypable.com/harry-potter/2011/07/15/live-coverage-of-pottermore-talk-at-leakycon/ makes it sound like she didn't know about her magical heritage.

''New info on McGonagall. "Was the first child, and only daughter. Grew up in highlands of scotland in the early twentieth century and only gradually became aware that there was something strange, both about her own abilities and her parents' marriage. "''

She is perhaps a Half-blood whose father/mother decided not to tell his/her Muggle spouse and his/her children about Hogwarts until Minerva got her letter. 64.255.180.66 05:46, July 31, 2011 (UTC)

Another title...
She is Head of Gryffindor too...

Revert
Maybe someone with rollback powers can fix this page so it is in english again? Mafalda Hopkirk 13:42, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Motivation?
"McGonagall also managed to put aside her dislike of Professor Trelawney for a time, just to undercut Umbridge's authority." It has been a time since I last readed it the chapter, but I had the impression that Minerva was true in her motives and not using some kind of manipulation.

I don't know if she ever disliked Trelawney, but I would rather it read that she didn't neccessarily believe in the art of divination and was highly skeptic of Trelawney's claim to be a "Seer", as made apparent by several of her remarks on the subject of Professor Trelawney's class to her students.

65.30.7.189 22:44, August 7, 2011 (UTC)

Replacement
Was any indication given e.g. in interviews, who replaced her as head of Gryffindor when she took over as headmistress after 7? Well it is AFAIK never directly stated, the information from the books suggests that a headmistress/masters is not usually the head of a house which kind of makes sense too (to try to improve impartiallity and also because it would be better if headmistresses/masters are freer to do stuff in an emergency etc) 118.92.18.114 14:45, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

McG's longevity
Whoever wrote in the "Background information and notes" section seems to forget that she was Stunned four times during Harry's OWLs, which may have contributed to her early retirement. OneWeirdDude 19:08, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * It says that she made a full recovery.-- 19:11, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually, McGonagall only states that she has made a full recovery to Severus Snape, which the impression I got from reading was because he was shocked to see her and she was trying to show/tell him she was not easily gotten rid of whether or not she actually did make a full recovery is unknown, because Madam Pomfrey was suprised she wasn't killed on impact


 * It wasn't really an early retirement,she'd already been teaching for 61 years! By 2017 (when she retired) she was 92 years old!

Biography section
Shouldn't the biography section be from an in-universe perspective? The part in the 'After the War' section concerning Rowling's statements about McGonagall's retirement are stated in the Behind the Scenes section, so in AtW shouldn't we just say that she had retired by 2017? AngelQueen 15:40, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Pictures
Why are all the pictures in this article deleted????? Iluvgracie129 15:52, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * They're okay for me. Probably an image caching issue. Try clearing your cache and reloading the page. - Cavalier One Gryffindorcrest.jpg( Wizarding Wireless Network ) 16:05, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Hmm, weird. When I went back to the page, they were back. Thanks anyway.

Iluvgracie129 16:07, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Head of Gryffindor
Does anyone no who is the head of Gryffindor house now the McGonnagall is head of hogwarts

Let me know on my talk page cheers--Dumbledore08 18:50, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Yeah i wanna know what happened to Head Of Grffindor as well --Hogwarts09 09:03, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

For his friendship to the Gryffindor's it may have been Hagrid --Bongo2009  Talk 17:07, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Probably Hagrid as far as I'm aware he is the only Gryffindor professor at Hogwarts post Second Wizarding War brodieduncan 01:07, August 5, 2011 (UTC)

Also Neville Longbottom may have become Head of Gryffindor when he became Herbology Professor pre-2017 brodieduncan 01:11, August 5, 2011 (UTC)

Infobox Picture
I don't like using this picture. McGonagall's hair is supposed to be black but here it is distinctly grey. ShirleyA ( The Quibbler ) 10:49, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

There are some better pictures that could be used. I think the picture of her at the yule ball would be more fitting. 90.195.76.34 08:59, April 13, 2010 (UTC)

December
I made an edit saying that McGonagall began teaching in December 1956. If you'd like a source;

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, American paperback edition, pg. 321:

''"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Professor Umbridge asked.''

"Thirty-nine years this December," said Professor McGonagall brusquely, snapping her bag shut.

I don't mean to be rude, but if anyone cared about that edit they would have asked who made it. Agent B 16:07, May 25, 2010 (UTC)

Minerva's blood status
I think it's unlikely that she's Muggle-born, as the Death Eaters allowed her to continue her teaching career at Hogwarts even when they'd taken over and sought to rid the Wizarding world of so-called Mudbloods. I personally think she's a pure-blood witch, but we don't have any firm statement regarding her blood status. Should we not, however, write in her article that she's either a pure-blood or half-blood witch? -Chogyokko

We don´t know for sure if the "no muggle policy" was also applied on muggle-born teachers.--Rodolphus 11:28, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

You're right, but the same rule is used in Slughorn's article. -Chogyokko

Minerva can't be a muggle-born because another relative (possible nephew/niece) known as M. G. McGonagall went to Hogwarts Happychickenvermin 06:23, December 19, 2010 (UTC)]]

Assuming that it is a nephew/niece, that would mean she had to have had a sibling, which still technically doesn't rule out muggle born as in the case of Dennis and Collin, they are both magical and have muggle parents. --BachLynn (Accio! ) 13:31, December 19, 2010 (UTC)

The Slughorn article has some speculation in it, then.--Rodolphus 11:32, 31 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Seems to be the case with a lot of articles. Still, Death Eaters attempted to recruit Slughorn several times, which reinforces the fact that he's not Muggle-born, and him being a Slytherin as well. But those are the reasons that should be listed in reference to his supposed blood status, not that he wasn't kicked out of Hogwarts when Voldemort. If that were the case, the same would apply to not only Minerva, but to Pomona and Filius, and all the other teachers.


 * Don't forget that Filch was still at Hogwarts, and he's a Squib. - Nick O&#39;Demus 11:45, 31 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I thought I would mention that, but Squibs come from Wizarding families. It's possible that he was treated harshly and like scum, but we shouldn't forget that he was just the caretaker. I don't think Death Eaters would've put many pure-bloods to wipe the floor. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Chogyokko (talk • contribs).


 * Lets not forget that Voldemorts rule for not permitting muggle-borns attendance to Hogwarts was to prevent the TEACHING magic to muggle-borns to stop muggle-born witchcraft and wizardry, getting rid of muggle-born teachers who already know magic would have been pointless. Patr0nus 14:22, 31 July 2009 (UTC)


 * But there was still the Muggle-born Registration Commission. Anyone Muggle-born at Hogwarts would've been shoved into Azkaban. Following that norm, Minerva McGonagall should be either half-blood or pure-blood. -Chogyokko

She can't have been a squib, because squibs cannot attend hogwarts as students. I always thought she was pure blood. 90.195.76.34 09:01, April 13, 2010 (UTC)

There's no ways that she's muggle born. She's probably pure blood, as she does not seem to have extensive knowledge of the muggle world.Agent B 16:01, May 25, 2010 (UTC)

Undo edits
Looks like my browser has a problem with the page, and it screwed everything up. Sorry about that. Can someone with the undo rights please help to revert my mistakes? Thanks. - Wheezyy


 * Done. There seems to be a problem with the page format right now. Are you seeing some garbled text overlapping on the left side too? - Nick O'Demus 16:55, September 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * Yep. But it looks alright today. Except that my username is overlapped on the community box, but much better than yesterday. Wheezyy 14:14, October 1, 2009 (UTC)

Headmistress
Should it be noted in the infobox that she retired sometime inbetween 2008-2017? Maybe put Headmistress (formerly as of 2017)? I think it should i just wanted to see if anyone else agrees. Ratneer 21:29, November 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * ✅ --  Seth Cooper  owl post! 21:44, November 29, 2009 (UTC)

It's not formerly at all, as 2017 is not for another 7 years! 90.195.76.34 08:57, April 13, 2010 (UTC)

I have edited the infobox so it now says Headmistress (formerly as of 2017)Agent B 16:04, May 25, 2010 (UTC)

Seeker?
Is there any evidence in the books to show that McGonagall ever played seeker? She just doesn't seem the type of person who would play quidditch, if you know what I mean90.195.76.34 16:14, April 12, 2010 (UTC)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone the movie confirms that McGonagall was indeed a seeker. In the scene where Hermione takes Harry to see the trophy with James name on it it also has M.G Mcgonagall on it. Angela Diabolica 18:42, April 22, 2010


 * Not confirmed to be the same person. Besides, she couldn't have played on the same team as James Potter as she's much older than him. 70.244.161.203 15:53, April 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * So basically its confirmed that she didnt play seeker. James Potter was seeker on the team on that trophy anyway. I have removed the title from the infobox.90.195.76.170 15:16, May 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, but there were different years on the trophy, so it could still be her.
 * Yes, but there were different years on the trophy, so it could still be her.

what other family she does she have? Is there any mentioning of her relatives?Alex&amp;Draco4evr 23:47, April 12, 2010 (UTC)Alex&Draco4evr

There's no mention of any of her family members, but she had to have parents!

Nov. 1, 1981
It is said in the text the she spends the whole day watching the Dursleys. It was a Tuesday, shouldn't she have had classes to teach? --JKoch (Owl Me! ) 03:13, May 30, 2010 (UTC)

It was the height of the First Wizarding War and Dumbledore and Hagrid were also away from Hogwarts on missions to transfer Harry to his new home. I'd suspect classes were suspended that day in celebration of Voldemort's defeat. 86.10.191.198 21:04, September 6, 2010 (UTC)

Last Name
McGonagall comes from the Scotsman William Topaz McGonagall, who is to be considered one of the worst poets in the English language, although Rowling stated that this has nothing to do with Minerva, she only liked the surname.

Guess who's last name is McGonagall (not spelled with an -all...spelled differently)? Mine! ProfessorMcG 01:48, August 10, 2010 (UTC)

Relationship with Lee Jordan
There isn't even a mention of Lee on this page, while there definately was a relationship between those two characters. I think Lee should at least be mentioned, but I'd prefer a section abput the relationship between those two. (PS: Sorry for my bad English, I'm Dutch ;) -- Studio101  Talk 22:30, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

McGonagall a ghost?


I know that she's not a ghost, but has anyone else noticed that she's semi-transparent in this picture? -- Bee T. Are (Call me!! ) 15:34, April 21, 2011 (UTC)

As is Snape, odd, must be either a reflection/shadow of the opposite window or an editing error Patr0nus  ( Expecto Patronum! ) 16:02, April 21, 2011 (UTC)

Neither look transparent at all to me. The light on the top of M.M.s head is just a light reflection. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong. 99.184.93.163 20:02, April 27, 2011 (UTC)

I just watched the film again, and its actually wrong in the movie and so very clear! Bad mistake not to notice it in editing but the window in the background is clearly a visual effect added in after, possbily filmed against green screen? The layering of the editing is wrong and that is why you can see the window panes going across both McGonagall and Snape - you notice it clearer on the big screen at home! Patr0nus  ( Expecto Patronum! ) 20:44, April 27, 2011 (UTC)

Ministry Career
After Rowling's Pottermore announcement, the Leaky Cauldron has listed that "JKR is excited to include a long backstory on McGonagall - her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak...". Should we include she was a Ministry employee before joining the Hogwarts staff, or should we wait until more confirmation? --  Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 11:59, June 23, 2011 (UTC) JKR is excited to include a long backstory on McGonagall - her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak...
 * I'd say add the Ministry to her list of affiliations, but wait for more details before going into specifics. This is really exiting. Apparently Minerva was in love with a muggle during her youth. Jayden Matthews 12:07, June 23, 2011 (UTC)

I agree that we should list ministry official as a former occupation. Rowling's word is law. --Rodolphus 17:38, June 23, 2011 (UTC)


 * I know, but what is the fan sites' source? It wasn't mentioned on Rowling's announcement, and they don't say where Rowling said that. -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 17:40, June 23, 2011 (UTC)
 * It would explain why she is titled "Madam". -- Sa  X   on 20:14, June 23, 2011 (UTC)
 * I think they are their own source. They were given exclusive access to the site, after all. Jayden Matthews 21:43, June 23, 2011 (UTC)


 * I think it would be fine to mention McGonagall worked for the Ministry before joining the faculty at Hogwarts. The reference to "early heartbreak," on the other hand, strikes me as too vague to produce anything that could be integrated into the article. We'll just have to wait until further information is revealed. <font color="Green">&#x2605; <font face="Times" color="green">S <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">a <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">r <font face="Times" color="green">s <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">u <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">f <font face="Times" color="green">f <font face="Times" color="darkgreen">(Owl me!) 06:07, June 24, 2011 (UTC)

Filch
"During Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Filch response to Minevra is Mom"

lol... Must've been written by an American... Filch says 'Ma'am'.

It's just the accent; while he is saying "Ma'am" the accent makes it sound like he could be saying "Mom". Alkia 16:56, July 23, 2011 (UTC)

House
According to this article from someone who attended LeakyCon, Pottermore tells us that, just like the Sorting Hat debated putting Harry in Slytherin, it considered putting McGonagall in Ravenclaw, but she chose Gryffindor instead. This seems like very relevant information to the article. -- Parodist 04:20, August 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * It also says that "Professor McGonagall’s father was a Presbyterian minister by the name of Reverend Robert McGonagall. More information about her Ministry career as well as early heartbreak will also be revealed through Pottermore. Personally, I find her lineage very interesting, and I can’t wait to learn more." -- Parodist 04:22, August 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * More conflicting info on McGonagall's background drawn from various sources:
 * "Another sneak peek I got was into McGonagall’s background! (She reminds me of Hermione.) -She was muggleborn. -Her father was part of the clergy in a Presbyterian congregation. -She was the best in her year. -She was a hatstall. -She experienced early heartbreak. </3"
 * "On that note, we also glimpsed McGonagall’s mysterious backstory! I was able to catch that she was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and a witch, she did indeed play Quidditch at Hogwarts, and she fell in love with a Muggle boy. Very interesting…."
 * "McGonagall was muggle born, her father was a presbiterian priest, named Reverend Robert McGonagall."
 * <font color="Green">&#x2605; <font face="Times" color="green">S <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">a <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">r <font face="Times" color="green">s <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">u <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">f <font face="Times" color="green">f <font face="Times" color="darkgreen">(Owl me!) 07:11, August 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * A comment in response to your first source clarifies, "Actually, I think the info said that McGonagall's mom was a Hogwarts educated witch and her dad was a muggle. So she would be a half-blood. It's hard to remember though." This seems more correct, as the community has already concluded that McGonagall was either half- or pureblood, and Presbyterian minister seems much more like a Muggle career than a wizard one. I personally speculate, although I wouldn't hold myself to this, that the thing McGonagall realized about her parent's marriage was that her mother was a witch, and that the thing she learned about her own powers was that she had them in the first place. Given the attitude of the, er, greater religious community towards witchcraft in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, it strikes me as possible that the Reverend might have wanted to hide the fact that his wife was magical. -- Parodist 13:02, August 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * Another possibility is that Rev. McGonagall was a wizard who chose to live as a Muggle because he was deeply religious and couldn't reconcile magic with Biblical condemnation of witchcraft. Personally, I'd find that a lot more interesting, but the scenario you laid out (McGonagall's mom being a witch and not telling her husband) seems more likely, considering the general pattern of what JKR has done previously. <font color="Green">&#x2605; <font face="Times" color="green">S <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">a <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">r <font face="Times" color="green">s <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">u <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">f <font face="Times" color="green">f <font face="Times" color="darkgreen">(Owl me!) 01:03, August 5, 2011 (UTC)

Appearance Source?
Does anyone have a source for the details of McGongall's appearance? I know the black hair was described when Harry first meets her in PS/SS, but I cannot find any reference to either her eye colour or height.

Squibstress 18:39, August 6, 2011 (UTC)

Pottermore & dates
We all know math isn't J.K. Rowling's best subject, but the new information from Pottermore must make us reconsider some dates.

As we found out in "Order of the Phoenix," McGonagall began teaching at Hogwarts in December 1956. It's not explicitly stated that she became Transfiguration professor that year, simply that she began teaching then.

We now know from Pottermore that, after the summer following her graduation from Hogwarts, McGonagall worked at the Department for Magical Law Enforcement for two years before joining the Hogwarts faculty. BUT...it says, "The owl returned within hours, offering her a job in the Transfiguration department, under Head of Department, Albus Dumbledore."

This means a couple of things...1) McGonagall did not succeed Dumbledore as Transfiguration professor in December 1956, she became something of a junior professor/professor's assistant. 2) If she joined the Hogwarts faculty in 1956, that means she worked at the Ministry from 1954 to 1956...which means she graduated from Hogwarts in 1954...and was born circa 1936 (not 1925). The 1925 birthyear came from an interview where Jo said Dumbledore was 150 and McGonagall was 70; that Dumbledore birthyear was later "overriden" by Jo's Wizard of the Month, which showed that Dumbledore was 115 when he died -- so the credibility of the 1925 year has been lacking.

And 3) Since McGonagall didn't replace him as Transfiguration professor right away, Dumbledore didn't become Headmaster in 1956 -- which makes sense with Lupin's testimony from "Prisoner of Azkaban", that he became Headmaster when Lupin was 11 (1971). Apwbd150 21:58, August 15, 2011 (UTC)