Reasons Why Minerva McGonagall & Albus Dumbledore Aren't Real Friends

1. Dumbledore had plans for Harry from the moment he picked him up from the rubble of Godrics Hollow and took him to the Dursleys. He didn't tell McGonagall anything about what would happen in Harry's life.

Even when he was beginning to do further research and learn more about Voldemort, Dumbledore never thought it important enough to give McGonagall much information. As one of his closest confidantes, one would expect he could have told her at least a little bit, but he mostly kept her in the dark.

2. Even though Dumbledore and McGonagall were said to be very close friends, they rarely seemed to spend much time together.

The only times we saw many scenes with the two in the same room were when there was a major event going on or mortal peril. It was very rare that the two of them were actually shown having a good time with one another or relaxing as friends typically do. It seems like they were more suited to being allies and working together as staff members than being very close pals.

3. After the series was wrapped, J.K. Rowling did release some extra information about McGonagall and Dumbledore's backgrounds. We know that the two knew a little bit about each other's backstories.

It is implied that McGonagall may have even known about Dumbledore's affections for Grindelwald, and he knew about some of her own heartbreak. However, beyond that, it's never clear if McGonagall knew much else about Dumbledore's family or his upbringing. One would think that as real friends, they would know a lot more about each other's personal history.

4. One of the biggest points of contention between the professors and Dumbledore is his continued trust of Professor Severus Snape. Not many of the teachers like him, not even McGonagall. She has apparently voiced her concerns about Snape on several occasions, only to be shut down by Dumbledore.

It's clear that he needed to keep most things about Snape secret so he could preserve the eventual triple agent game Snape would play with Voldemort, but why couldn't he explain some of it to McGonagall? He needn't have told anyone else, but she deserved to get at least a semblance of an idea of what Snape's overall purpose and relationship with Lily was and why it was so important.

5. One of the few times we saw McGonagall and Dumbledore butt heads was in their very first scene together when they deliver Harry to the Dursleys. McGonagall doesn't understand why on earth Dumbledore would want the "boy who lived" to stay with such horrible muggles who have terrible and elitist views toward the entire wizarding world.

But Dumbledore is adamant about his decision. It would have been easier for him to just explain the reasoning for why Harry needed to live there and retain Lily's protection, but instead, he just leaves her in the dark.