Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall: Genesis of a Pairing McGonagall and Snape. There is so much potential for them to be rivals, and yet... that depth of animosity is simply not there. Snape hated James Potter; he doesn't hate Minerva McGonagall. And one has to wonder why. You can go off in fascinating directions with such questions as these, and I did so cheerfully. main