Mary Macdonald

[Sailing Girl]

I just realised that no-one has started a thread about Mary, and I was wondering about her. So, here we are.

In my fic, I was thinking about giving Mary a little brother and a little sister. Can I do this, or is that non-canon? Also, I have a few questions about her, if no-one minds.

1) What kind of character do you think Mary would have? (By character I mean personality. )

2) What do you think she would look like?

3) What kind of family do you think she would have? (Snobbish, mean, loving...)

Thank you for reading, (and answering, I hope *wink wink, nudge nudge*), and feel free to add to this at any time!

[Maple_and_PheonixFeather]

You'll probably hate this answer, but I'm fairly certain that you can do whatever you want with her, as she's really just a name and not of much importance in the novel.

[Seer_Witch]

In my head, she was always a bit of a redhead--but there are so many of those in the books already, I wouldn't suggest it. Probably dark brown then, sleek, straight, long. To me, she was a bit of a gossip, though loyal, so she could be trusted with minor secrets (anything big would be spread). She was a mix of a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor, though Sorted into Gryffindor. Personally I agree with Equinox Chick's musings: Mary always seemed a year or so younger, a fourth or third year, but a close friend to Lily, if not something like a lapdog. If she was Lily's "lapdog," what I mean is that she was desperate to prove her maturity in doing those little things that Lily wanted but didn't explicitly ask for--a friend, but a slightly less than equal, though not through any fault of Lily's. Desperate to please, fiery (I can just see her standing, hair frizzed and crackling, with her fists on her hips, fire sparkling behind her), eyes dancing (with fire/anger, or delighted amusement), giggling easily, playful, always up for the "older kids'" suggested games. She seemed like she'd have a lot of friends, but sometimes overbearing--her friends probably need a break from her after awhile because she's just a little bit annoying after large doses and you just kind of want to say, "Wow, Mary, SHUT UP!" She's probably a firsty-lasty.

[AidaLuthien]

Question: Her last name is Macdonald, so can we safely assume that she's a Scot? Or is it a fairly common family name throughout the British Isles regardless?

[Midnight Storm]

Question: Her last name is Macdonald, so can we safely assume that she's a Scot? Or is it a fairly common family name throughout the British Isles regardless?

Aida - according to my friend Google, MacDonald is common all over Britain, but especially Scotland. It was 9th most popular surname in England in 2001. When she was born (assumedly 1960-ish), it was 3rd most popular.

I think it's safe to have her anywhere in Britain. You might want to get a second (British) opinion on this, though.

EDIT: Damn nargles! I'm meant to be underneath Aida, everybody!

[Equinox Chick]

If someone has a surname with Mac or Mc at the start, we would always assume Scottish ancestry. That doesn't mean they have to live in Scotland, and could be from anywhere, but it's a fair bet to say the father's family are Scottish.

Mac means 'son' in Scottish Gaelic.

Incidentally Mary's surname is spelt Macdonald and not MacDonald or McDonald. I have no idea whether the lower case 'd' makes any difference, but that's how it's written in the books.

~Carole~

[Sailing Girl]

My mother's family is Scottish, and I think that as long as you've got the 'Mac' in there somewhere at the beginning, it counts as 'Son of Donald'.

I might put her in as a Scot, though, so thanks everyone!

[georgeisholey]

I think you could probably give her siblings, since nothing is mentioned about her not having them in the books. I think she's at least an acquaintance of Lily's, so she might be a shy person, since Lily seems attracted to people who are sort of underdogs. What she looks like is really up to you, and her family. If Snape's memories are anything to go by, though, I think she migh have been somewhat of a bully-magnet.

Hope that's useful!

[Midnight Storm]

Well, JK does take a lot of thought in naming her characters. Mary means "bitter, rebellious" according to babynameaddicts.com. "Rebellious" could suggest that she is disobdient, and laid-back about school work, etc. The "bitter" part could mean that she's rather hostile to people she doesn't like, which could explain why she was targeted by the Slytherins.

1) What kind of character do you think Mary would have? (By character I mean personality.)
Bitter and rebellious can lead onto stubborn and, as I said, disobedient.

2) What do you think she would look like?
Well, I see her as dark haired - maybe a very dark brown. In Willow Rosenberg's "Trickster" and "Stars Apart", she has wavy black hair, I think.

3) What kind of family do you think she would have? (Snobbish, mean, loving...)
Loving mum and dad, and a younger brother or sister. Mary would probably find her younger sibling annoying. Or, she could have an awful family. That would at least explain her "bitter" quality.

Oh, God. She has turned into Sirius' counterpart. I think it would be wise to ignore everything I've said

Of course, this is all based of the study of her name, rather than actual canon. My Lily/James WIP has her as an impudent, sarcastic kinda girl. Quite Sirius-y now I think about it. Maybe I'll need to restructure her character a little ... *ponders*

Considering we know so little, I'd say you can do anything you want, really. She's practically an OC when written into the story.

[Equinox Chick]

It's worth pointing out here that Mary doesn't have to be in Lily's year or dorm. We hear about her as having been cursed by Mulciber and also the girl who told Lily that Snape was hanging around outside, but she could be a third year who Lily had befriended since the Mulciber incident.After all, she's referred to as Mary Macdonald and you tend not to call your friends by their full names.

Having said that, in my fics, she's Lily's best friend. She has short dark, curly hair, is reasonably bright (but not excessively so) likes having fun, plays Chaser and is currently going out with Remus.

She has a younger sister called Martha ( a year younger). I named Martha particularly because I wanted a biblical connection (which will get explained one day). I know JK Rowling did take some thought in names, but I'm not sure it applies in this case. I think the name just sounds good. After all, if she'd really thought about every name then she wouldn't have named the boy Dudders beat up 'Mark Evans' and thus lead to that whole debacle.

~Carole~