A beloved character from the Harry Potter films, Minerva McGonagall is the soul of Hogwarts. Sometimes stern, but fair, she is always willing to help the students (especially Harry, Ron, and Hermione) and protect them, for example, against the tyranny imposed by Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge in The Order of the Phoenix. During the Battle of Hogwarts, she doesn't hesitate to summon immense statues to defend the castle, through one of the rare comic devices in the film The Deathly Hallows. While she is often confined to keeping the school going against all odds, her character is much more fleshed out in the books dedicated to the apprentice wizard. A look back at five anecdotes that are only known to those who have read J.K. Rowling's works and are fans of the enormous Pottermore database.
#5 Her personal history and past are tragic
It's on the Harry Potter fan site that Minerva McGonagall's past and history are detailed. Where does she come from? What did she do before Hogwarts? How did she come to lead Gryffindor House? We learn that she was born to a Muggle father and a witch mother, and had a very complicated childhood (her mother hid her powers from her husband). When she arrived at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat hesitated to send her to Ravenclaw, as her studious nature and brilliant student abilities suited the house. In Gryffindor, she excelled and was the best in her year, obtaining the highest grades in her OWLs and NEWTs. She managed to become an Animagi under the guidance of her Transfiguration teacher at the time: a certain Albus Dumbledore. An accomplished student, she was also an excellent Quidditch player. In short, everything went well for her during her student years, and her destiny seemed all mapped out. Unfortunately, the rest of her life would be more of a long ordeal. In love with a Muggle, she decided to run away, afraid of repeating the same family pattern. Drowned in boredom in London offices for a position at the Ministry of Magic that doesn't suit her, she is finally admitted to Hogwarts as Professor of Transfiguration, and marries Elphinstone Urquart, her former head of department at the Ministry. The man tragically dies, bitten by a Poisonous Tentacula after three years of marriage, plunging her into extreme loneliness. She would never find love again, and would devote herself entirely to her position, as well as to her missions for the Order of the Phoenix (although she was not part of it), during the First Wizarding War.
#4 How she became an Animagi
In the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Professor McGonagall is presented as a cat. Through an animation that has now aged well, she transforms and regains her features. We learn that she is an Animagi, a witch capable of transforming into an animal at will. A status she acquired under the tutelage of Dumbledore when she was a student, through hard work. Passionate about Transfiguration, she chose to acquire this power to be able to sneak around discreetly and spy, notably during the First Wizarding War, on behalf of the Aurors (for whom she works secretly). Such a power is, however, controlled. Unlike the Marauders, she is registered with the Ministry of Magic.
#3 She launches Harry's Quidditch career, but takes away his broomstick
As a talented Quidditch player, she is delighted to see that Harry has a natural gift for flying and excels as a seeker. It is she who secretly gives him the Nimbus 2000 during his first year. This is what we learn from the books, because in the film, the recipient of the gift is never mentioned. On the other hand, she does not hesitate to confiscate the Firebolt during her Third Year, which she considers too fast and too dangerous, and whose origin worries her. As a reminder, it is Sirius Black, recently escaped from Azkaban, who secretly sends it to her.
#2 Violently attacked, she spent time at St. Mungo's
Minerva McGonagall was indeed sent to St. Mungo's Hospital following serious injuries. A passage completely forgotten in the films that only readers know. In Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge becomes High Inquisitor at Hogwarts for the Minister of Magic. She restores order to the school, not hesitating to tighten the rules, remove any element of freedom, and fire certain troublesome teachers and staff, such as Sybil Trelawney and Hagrid. The latter is attacked by several members of the Ministry who have come to arrest him. Minerva McGonagall, who has tried all year to protect the school and the students from Dolores Umbridge, defends the Half-Giant. But she receives four Stunning Charms in the back. Seriously injured, she was rushed to the hospital for magical illnesses and injuries, and was absent from Hogwarts for several months.
#1 She becomes Headmistress of Hogwarts
She finally achieved recognition after Voldemort's death when she finally became Headmistress of Hogwarts. A position that should have been his after Dumbledore's tragic end in The Half-Blood Prince, but Severus Snape was tasked with monitoring and controlling the school during preparations for the "Dark Lord."
And to go further, discover these 5 anecdotes that you probably don't know about Remus Lupin, another Animagi.
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