Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall (born October 4, 1925) was Professor of Transfiguration (1956 to 1998), Head of Gryffindor House, and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is one of the few registered Animagi of her century, being able to transform into a tabby cat with markings near the eyes resembling her square spectacles. Her Patronus is identical to that cat. After the fall of Voldemort, she became Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Personalities and Views
Minerva McGonagall is usually very serious and stern, and is held in respect (and some fear) by all students. She tolerates no talking or silliness from her pupils. She once told students that the Yule Ball would be a time for them to "let their hair down," and even she seemed to note it was unlikely she would ever let her own hair down.

She is also an avid Quidditch fan and has a love for cats. She wears emerald-green robes. She is also very fond of tartan patterns. Even her nightdress and biscuit tins are tartan.

Career at Hogwarts
Minerva McGonagall attended Hogwarts as a pupil from 1937-1944. She was sorted into Gryffindor House.

Professor of Transfiguration
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

- Minerva McGonagall lectures the first-years.

Minerva McGonagall wowed students on their first Transfiguration lesson by turning her desk into a pig and back again. Transfigurations lessons have consisted of match-to-needle, beetle-to-button, rabbits-to-slippers, teapot-to-tortoise, hedgehog-to-pincushion, guinea fowl-to-guinea hens, and mouse-to-snuffbox, with extra points for how pretty the snuffbox was, points off if it still had whiskers.

Minerva McGonagall sees other forms of magic less elegant and more simplistic then the art of Transfiguration. This thinking generally applies to Divination, a subject McGonagall thinks low of, mostly because she sees the Divination Professor, Sybill Trelawney, as a fraud.

Unlike her colleague Professor Severus Snape, she is careful to take an even-handed approach to discipline with all pupils, punishing those from her house even when this could mean losing the House Cup.

House Advisor
Minerva McGonagall was the Head of Gryffindor house. She was a mentor and role model for Hermione Granger, for they shared much in common, especially a certain fondness for rules. Both are particularly clever. She gave Hermione a "rare smile" when Hermione successfully transfigured a match into a needle on her first Transfiguration lesson. McGonagall also arranged for Hermione to use a Time-Turner in her third year to take additional classes. McGonagall was also personally moved to emotion when Hermione was attacked by the Basilisk in 1992.

McGonagall was also very attached to Harry Potter, as she was his House Advisor. For example, when Dolores Umbridge commented that McGonagall was "too ill to talk to anyone," causing the Inquisitorial Squad to laugh, Harry "found he was so full of rage and hatred he was shaking." Later, Harry becomes so infuriated when Amycus Carrow spits in McGonagall's face that he is able to successfully perform the Cruciatus Curse on him, something Bellatrix Lestrange had previously mocked him for being unable to do. What's more, Harry noted the worst sound he ever heard was McGonagall's scream when she believed Harry to be dead.

As a House advisor, McGonagall's contribution to the guardians of the Philosopher's Stone was a life-sized set of Wizard's Chess, transfigured to make it "alive."

In her Gryffindor capacity, it is unlikely that she would have taken her usual unbiased approach to discipline as far as to harm her beloved Quidditch team. Indeed, when she caught Harry disobeying Madam Hooch's instructions and flying a broomstick, her reaction was to recruit him as Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team rather than to punish him. On the other hand, she did support Snape in giving Harry detention on the same day as a final Quidditch match in 1997.

Deputy Headmistress
In her capacity as Deputy Headmistress, McGonagall leads the Sorting of first-years and acts in Albus Dumbledore's stead when he is away from Hogwarts. She also sends letters to first years to inform them of their acceptance at Hogwarts.

Against High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge
Minerva McGonagall saw it as a personal affront when Dolores Umbridge invaded Hogwarts in the capacity of High Inquisitor. McGonagall did all she could to circumvent Umbridge's authority without risking her own security as Deputy Headmistress. Indeed, she treated Umbridge with as little creedance and respect as possible while Hogwarts was under investigation by the Ministry of Magic, and even gave Peeves tips on how to unscrew a chandelier when he was trying to cause havoc for Umbridge. McGonagall also managed to put aside her dislike of Professor Trelawney for a time.

Minerva McGonagall did all she could to thwart the influence of the Ministry over Hogwarts. On the night that Rubeus Hagrid was attacked by Aurors on the Hogwarts grounds, she received four Stunners to the chest after attempting to intervene. She spent the rest of the school year in St Mungo's, recuperating. She returned after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and when Peeves chased Umbridge out with her walking stick and a sack full of chalk, she and the other teachers only tried half-heartedly to stop him and stop the other students from watching and cheering. In fact McGonagall was so happy about this she was heard commenting that she'd have joined the students in watching Umbridge being chased away and cheered as well but Peeves was using her walking stick (she was a bit weak still from the Stunners) so she couldn't make it to the door.

In spite of the differences between McGonagall and Umbridge (one might say one is "good" while the other "evil"), they shared a love for cats. Even in that single common trait, their tastes in cats were very different. McGonagall's Patronus and Animagus form cats are noble and dignified, like herself, and bore the markings of spectacles. On the other hand, Umbridge had an affection for "cutsie" cats, and covered her office in pictures of revoltingly-adorable kittens. Umbridge's Patronus was a "princess"-type cat - a fluffy Persian breed, which would require a lot of maintenance. This could be yet another source of irritation for McGonagall - the trivializing of her patron animal must have annoyed her a great deal.

Headmistress
Upon Albus Dumbledore's death in 1997, Minerva McGonagall succeeded as Headmistress of Hogwarts. Subsequent to Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry of Magic, Severus Snape was temporarily appointed Headmaster by Pius Thicknesse, and McGonagall returned to her former duties. Following Snape's murder in 1998, McGonagall recommenced her duties as Headmistress. She had retired by the time Harry's second son, Albus Severus Potter, was going to Hogwarts for the first time.

Order of the Phoenix
Minerva McGonagall is a leading member of the Order of the Phoenix, and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Hogwarts. With help from Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, she incapacitated the Death Eaters Amycus and Alecto Carrow. She also had a brief duel with Severus Snape, which ended with him fleeing out of a window. She then led the rest of Hogwarts' defenders in battle against the remaining Death Eaters. At one point in the battle she even dueled with Voldemort himself, alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt and Horace Slughorn, though the duel was interrupted by Bellatrix Lestrange's death at Molly Weasley's hands.

After Voldemort's death by Harry's hands, McGonagall yet again became Headmistress of Hogwarts. By 2017, she had gone into retirement.

Etymology
Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom. McGonagall comes from the Scotsman William Topaz McGonagall, considered one of the worst poets in the English language.

Behind The Scenes

 * In an interview after the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling said that Hogwarts had a different Head by the time Harry Potter's children arrived in 2017, saying that McGonagall was "getting on a bit". This, as Professor McGonagall would have been around ninety years old when Harry's children attended Hogwarts, and Dumbledore was 116 at the time of his death. Professor McGonagall does not seem the sort to take early retirement any more than Dumbledore was.
 * A movie from 1974 entitled "The Great McGonagall" was about the aforementioned poet William McGonagall.

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