Elphinstone Urquart (d. 1985) was a pure-blood wizard and a Ministry of Magic official for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He married Minerva McGonagall in 1982, but their happy marriage was cut short after Elphinstone's accidental death in 1985.[1]
Biography
Early life
Elphinstone Urquart was born somewhere in the British Isles, into the pure-blood Urquart family.[1]
Employment at the Ministry
Sometime after his seventeenth birthday, Elphinstone joined the Ministry of Magic and eventually rose to a senior office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.[1]
Minerva McGonagall joined the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after her graduation. Under Elphinstone, McGonagall was a most efficient and gifted employee, and the two were very fond of each other. After two years at the Ministry, Minerva was offered a prestigious promotion which she turned down. Minerva missed Scotland and had a continuing love for Dougal McGregor, a Muggle Scottish farmer, whom she felt could not marry because she thought that would be the end of her life ambitions.[1]
Retirement and marriage
When McGonagall joined the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry faculty, Elphinstone remained on terms of friendship with her. On occasion, while holidaying in Scotland, he encountered his old friend and proposed to her in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. McGonagall turned him down this and several other times, as she still had feelings for Dougal McGregor. However, in 1982, after McGregor's death, Urquart proposed again during a summertime stroll around the lake in the Hogwarts grounds. This time Minerva accepted. Elphinstone, now retired, purchased a small cottage in Hogsmeade for the pair of them, whence Minerva could travel easily to Hogwarts Castle every day. Minerva kept her maiden name as she had always been something of a feminist. The marriage was a very happy one, and a period of great fulfilment for Minerva. The couple did not have any children of their own, but they were close with Minerva's nephews and nieces (children of her brothers) and they were frequent visitors at their cottage.[1]
Death
The marriage was cut short in 1985 after Elphinstone's accidental death from a Venomous Tentacula bite. After her husband's funeral, Minerva left the Hogsmeade cottage and returned to her living quarters at Hogwarts Castle.[1]
Behind the scenes
- Elphinstone is a village in the County of Sterling, Scotland and is the name of a Scottish Lowland clan - Clan Elphinstone. The head of this clan also holds the title Lord Elphinstone in the Peerage of Scotland. This title is historically significant since it was held by the maternal uncle (and later cousins) of Queen Elizabeth II.
- Although not spelled the same, it is possible his last name is a reference to another Scottish clan - Clan Urquhart. This is a Highland clan, and if there is in fact a link, his name would include a reference to both the Scottish Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands. It is also of interest that Urquhart Castle is on the banks of Loch Ness, home of a kelpie known as the Loch Ness Monster.
Appearances
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
