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Seamus: "Like the decorations? The Ministry's not too happy."
Mrs Finnigan: "Ah, why shouldn't we show our colours? You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents."
— Mrs Finnigan and her son[src]

Mrs Finnigan (fl. 1980-1997) was an Irish[3] witch.

She married Mr Finnigan, a Muggle, before she told him she was a witch, and it was a "bit of a nasty shock for him" when she told him after the wedding.[4] The two had a son named Seamus.

Biography[]

Early life[]

"I'm half-and-half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."
— Seamus[src]

Being Irish,[3] she presumably attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, likely being sorted into Gryffindor.[2] She was a fan of Quidditch, supporting the Irish National Quidditch team.[5]

She met and fell in love with Mr Finnigan, a Muggle, marrying him without telling him that she was a witch. At some point after the Finnigans' wedding, she told him that she was a witch, which proved a "nasty shock" to him, though he clearly continued to love her.[4] They had a half-blood son named Seamus, who went on to study at Hogwarts.

Mrs Finnigan told Seamus that ghouls were scarier than they were dangerous.[6]

1994[]

Ron Weasley: "Harry wouldn't do that — we met your mother, we liked her..."
Harry Potter: "That's before she started believing every word the stinking Daily Prophet writes about me!"
Ron Weasley and Harry Potter on Mrs Finnigan[src]

Mrs Finnigan took Seamus and his friend, Dean Thomas, to Roberts's campsite to watch the 1994 Quidditch World Cup final between Ireland and Bulgaria. The Finnigans' tent was covered in shamrocks, and located near several similarly-decorated ones.[7] The Ministry of Magic was displeased with the decoration,[8] But Mrs Finnigan believed that they had the right to show their colours, pointing out the Viktor Krum posters being hung by the supporters of Bulgaria.[3]

At the campsite, Mrs Finnigan met Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, though it is unknown if she knew who Harry was at the time. She asked the trio if they were supporting Ireland, eyeing them beadily before their confirmation.

1995[]

Harry Potter: "Just read the Daily Prophet like your mother, why don’t you? That’ll tell you all you need to know"
Seamus Finnigan: "Don’t you have a go at my mother."
Harry Potter: "I’ll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar,"
— Seamus and Harry Potter arguing about Mrs Finnigan[src]

A reader of The Daily Prophet, Mrs Finnigan believed the series of slander and lies they printed against Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore in the summer of 1995. She did not want Seamus to return to the school that year as a result, believing that Dumbledore was incapable of acting as headmaster.[9] However, she relented, and allowed him to.

1996[]

"I just wanted to say, I believe you. And I've sent a copy of that magazine to me mam."
— Seamus to Harry[src]

Seamus sent a copy of The Quibbler to his mother in 1996 to sway her into believing Harry over The Daily Prophet.

1997[]

"Seamus Finnigan, on the other hand, refused point-blank to accompany his mother home; they had a shouting match in the Entrance Hall which was resolved when she agreed that he could remain behind for the funeral. She had difficulty in finding a bed in Hogsmeade, Seamus told Harry and Ron, for wizards and witches were pouring into the village, preparing to pay their last respects to Dumbledore."
— Description[src]

After Dumbledore's death and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower in June 1997, Mrs Finnigan attempted to take Seamus home. However, he refused, leading to a loud argument between them in the Entrance Hall before she agreed to allow him to stay for the funeral. Mrs Finnigan encountered considerable difficulty finding somewhere to stay in Hogsmeade, due to the large amount of witches and wizards wishing to attend the funeral.[10]

When Voldemort made Hogwarts attendance compulsory after he took over the Ministry, Mrs Finnigan was forced to send Seamus to school for the 1997–1998 school year.

It is unknown whether Voldemort's control of the Ministry affected Irish wizards as strongly as it affected English, Scottish, and Welsh wizards, but if it did, Mrs Finnigan might have been under suspicion for her marriage to a muggle and her son's participation in Dumbledore's Army. Though not confirmed, since her son was a participant of the Battle of Hogwarts, Mrs Finnigan might have been among the thousands of student relatives and Hogsmeade villagers who marched to join the second half of the Battle against the Death Eaters.

Physical description[]

"He was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent, with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother [...] "
— Description[src]

Mrs Finnigan was a white woman with sandy-coloured hair, much like her son's.[1]

Personality and traits[]

"You don't know my mother, she'd weasel anything out of anyone!"
— Seamus on his mother[src]

Mrs Finnigan was said to be able to shiftily manipulate others into giving out information.[11] She was likeable and worried for her son, not wanting him to stay at Hogwarts while under the impression that Dumbledore was unstable or after the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.[10] Ron Weasley noted that telling Mrs Finnigan that he was anything but an Ireland fan would not have ended well for him.[5]

Behind the scenes[]

  • Given Fergus's magical ability, it is likely that he was related by blood to Mrs Finnigan, which would mean that she had at least one sibling.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch)) - "He was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent, with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother, and his best friend, Dean Thomas, also of Gryffindor."
  2. 2.0 2.1 Horace Slughorn: You'll be Gryffindor like her, I suppose? Yes, it usually goes in families. Not always, though. (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 4)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch) - Mrs Finnigan: Ah, why shouldn't we show our colours? You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat) - Seamus Finnigan: I'm half-and-half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - Seamus Finnigan: Me mam says that ghouls are more scary than dangerous.
  7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch) - "They had walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, so that it looked as though small, oddly shaped hillocks had sprouted out of the earth.
  8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch) - Seamus Finnigan: Like the decorations? The Ministry's not too happy.
  9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 30 (The White Tomb) - "Seamus Finnigan, on the other hand, refused point-blank to accompany his mother home; they had a shouting match in the Entrance Hall which was resolved when she agreed that he could remain behind for the funeral. She had difficulty in finding a bed in Hogsmeade, Seamus told Harry and Ron, for wizards and witches were pouring into the village, preparing to pay their last respects to Dumbledore."
  11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Seamus Finnigan: You don’t know my mother, she'd weasel anything out of anyone!
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