- "Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev? He's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?"
- — Lily to Severus[src]
Mary Macdonald was a British witch of unknown parentage.[2] She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1970s with Lily Evans and Severus Snape, and was Sorted into Gryffindor House.[2]
Sometime during her time at school, she was assaulted by Mulciber, a pure-blood Slytherin and a future Death Eater, with Dark Magic.[2] The incident was quickly publicised and was heavily criticised by several students.[2] Several other Slytherins, however, felt that the event was a joke, and that it was merely for a laugh.[2]
She later informed Lily Evans when Severus Snape intended to spend the night outside the entrance to Gryffindor Tower to apologise to her for having previously called her a "Mudblood."[2]
Etymology
The name "Mary" is the usual English form of Maria, which was the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριαμ (Mariam) and Μαρια (Maria) - the spellings are interchangeable - which were from the Hebrew name מִרְיָם (Miryam). The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," and "wished for child." However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry ("beloved") or mr ("love").
Behind the scenes
- It is unknown precisely why she was assaulted by Mulciber except as a random target. It is possible that she was Muggle-born, or else that she and her family were blood traitors.