Why was Severus Snape so reluctant to fight Minerva McGonagall in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'? - Quora. Because he wanted to carry out his mission without having to unintentionally (or intentionally) cause further harm.
Even though McGonagall is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, she's unable to defeat the Potions master. It show's Snape's power. Yet not only does he refuse to fight back, he also seems to deliberately deflect one of McGonagall's spells into the path of two Death Eaters behind him.
AS Aman Sharma says, Snape didn't want to hurt McGonagall or Flitwick, his colleagues and sometime friends. He used only defensive measures against them, and when they pressed him to the point where he couldn't defend himself without hurting them, he left.
In fact, Snape fought off McGonagall and directed her attacks against the Deatheaters behind him. Her desire to protect her students and her love of Hogwarts was on full display here. If at full capacity, defending everything she held dear, the new Headmistress McGonagall was unable to defeat Snape.
Snape is likely superior in terms of Potion making, magics of the mind and Dark magic. McGonagall is however almost certainly superior in her chosen field of Transfiguration. It's hard to say who outclasses who overall. Snape has a wider range of abilities/interests while McGonagall is more of a specialist.
Later in the year, McGonagall duelled with Death Eater Alecto Carrow during the Battle in the Astronomy Tower and later learned of Snape's murder of Dumbledore. McGonagall was initially appointed as Headmistress, but was demoted after Voldemort took control of the school and placed Snape as Headmaster.
Winner: Snape
The kind of versatility in magical abilities that Snape displayed was almost around the level of Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort, making him easily more powerful than the average wizard and even the members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters.
When McGonagall calls Snape a coward, she is not referring to his skills. She is in fact attacking his ethics and morals. From Harry and Co.'s perspective, Dumbledore was weak and alone and begging Snape to not kill him.
Weaknesses. McGonagall is never portrayed as having any particular weaknesses. Her stern facade likely prevents anyone from getting close to her emotionally, with the possible exception of Dumbledore. We are led to believe that she prefers her solitude.
McGonagall followed up Harry's action by using the Imperius Curse on Amycus before tying him up with a net, rendering him useless during the Battle of Hogwarts.
In the novel, the duel between McGonagall and Snape plays out somewhat differently; she did use fire at one point in their duel, though it was through using the fire from burning torches along the walls, not through conjuring flames from her wand.
Professor McGonagall did not know. It took her by surprise just as it took Harry by surprise.
Draco's refusal to reveal Harry's identity to Bellatrix was not because he liked him. It was because he believed that Harry was the only chance they had at defeating Voldemort. At first, Draco admired and revered Voldemort until he threatened his family's safety.
Once again, the trio had the wrong end of the broomstick. Snape was trying to prevent the Stone from falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, he was a distraction from the real threat: nobody suspected Quirrell while his colleague was 'swooping around like an overgrown bat'.
Why didn't Dumbledore tell Snape about the Elder Wand so Snape could break it before Voldemort found it? The answer is simple: It was far too risky for Severus Snape to be aware of both the Hallows and the Horcruxes.
She is someone Voldemort respects as she is a tremendously powerful witch.
She was strong enough to kill Tonks (an auror). McGonagall had no such lack of discipline and was incredibly powerful in her own right. Bella was the only death eater that was able to deflect one of the spells from Dumbledore.
She accuses them of concocting the whole dragon story to lure Malfoy out of bed and get him into trouble. As punishment, McGonagall deducts fifty points from Gryffindor for each of the three wrongdoers. Harry is horrified that his house will lose 150 points.
None of the pupils had the power to cast Avada Kedavra. Not even McGonagall could cast it, and she was duelling to kill - she said so herself.
The Reddit thread agrees Snape's Boggart may revolve around the person who mattered most to him: Lily Potter. Snape's unrequited love for Lily lead to his greatest fear coming true, a fact that wasn't revealed until The Deathly Hallows.
Neville Professor Snape Neville fears Professor Snape who treats him rudely with sarcastic comments. Neville seems afraid of this harsh treatment that makes him feel inferior constantly. Parvati Blood-stained, bandaged mummy Parvati is afraid of something that is scary to her, possibly because it can harm her.
Snape hated Neville because he was a daily reminder Lily Potter could have lived. Snape's guilt over his part in her being targeted by Voldemort in the first place was bad enough, but to see a living, breathing reminder that things could have played out differently even after that act made Snape particularly vicious.
Lord Voldemort
Tom Marvolo Riddle started both Wizarding Wars, created the Death Eaters and killed Harry Potter's parents. We could go on – he was the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time – but we won't. His horrific achievements are well known.
Albus Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the Harry Potter.
Severus Snape
He easily held off Harry in Half-Blood Prince, especially since Harry had tried to use several spells that Snape had invented himself. Harry won't ever take on his potions teacher with hopes of winning.