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After the second Wizarding war, who is the Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?
There were assumptions that it would be Professor McGonagall because she was most trusted by Dumbledore and also rightful Deputy Head, but there was also claims that JK Rowling specified in a TV documentary that it wouldn't have been McGonagall, because she was getting too old.
If it is true, then who is the current Headmaster/Headmistress?
Edit: With the release of The Cursed Child comes new answers! The current headmistress is Minerva McGonagall
Professor McGongall: But I was advised when I took this job
The Cursed Child, page 132
Emphasis mine
In an interview JKR said that
J.K. said that "McGonagall was really getting on a bit," and nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, there is an entirely new headmaster. Also, there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and that position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort's death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year
This is 19 years after the battle of hogwarts though, It is more than safe to assume that McGonagall was the immediate acting Headmistress of Hogwarts after the battle. Considering she was Deputy before Dumbledore died and Headmistress for a short while before Voldemort placed Snape in command.
There are two different parts of the Lexicon which say McGonagall was the headmistress until an unknown date.
McGonagall, Minerva Transfiguration Deputy Headmistress Headmistress 1998 ff. Head of Gryffindor House On staff since December of 1956 (OP)
And on a list of Headmasters she is at the bottom:
Minerva McGonagall (1998 -?)
I believe that McGonagall was definitely head for a number of years whilst she got Hogwarts back in order until like JKR said she got on a bit. The earliest we can state this as for definite would be 2014/15. She could have been in office for anywhere between 1 month - 19 years but she was definitely the acting headmistress after the battle.
In the introduction to Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling writes
Whether this commentary was written for his own satisfaction, or for future publication, we shall never know; however, we have been graciously granted permission by Professor Minerva McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts, to print Professor Dumbledore’s notes here, alongside a brand new translation of the tales by Hermione Granger.
— Introduction, J.K. Rowling (dated 2008)
As Deputy Headmistress after the Battle of Hogwarts, it seems reasonable that she took the post immediately after Snape’s defection. Note that the epilogue takes place in September 2017, so if we interpret this introduction as being in-universe in 2008, it’s consistent with the notion that McGonagall had retired by the epilogue.
There was then an interview which confirms that McGonagall retired by the time Harry’s children were attending Hogwarts:
19 years later, who’s the headmaster at Hogwarts?
Well, it would be someone new. Erm, McGonagall was really getting on a bit. So someone completely new. But if I ever do the encyclopedia, I'm promising I will give details.
— J.K. Rowling One-on-One with the Today Show (NBC): part 1, July 2007
I assume this means we’ll find out when we get to Deathly Hallows in Pottermore, but so far no detail has been given.
According to The Cursed Child, Professor McGonagall was the headmaster after the second wizard war, and during the education of Harrys kids.
Heres a little exert from the play.
HOGWARTS,
HEADMISTRESS’S OFFICE
HARRY and GINNY stand in PROFESSOR McGONAGALL’s office.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: And we don’t know where in the Forbidden Forest?
In Alternate timeline 1, McGonagall is stil headmistress.
In Alternate timeline 2, its none other then Umbridge.
DOLORES UMBRIDGE: Miss? I’m Professor Umbridge, the headmistress of your school, I’m no “Miss.”
I theorize that since it has been so long after the battle of Hogwarts, that professor McGonagall has resigned and that either Ron or Hermione is headmaster/headmistress of Hogwarts, as Harry wanted (and most likely went on) to be an auror. I think that Hermione is the most likely person to have become headmistress, as she is very smart, quick-witted, and more responsible than Ron, but he is still a possibility.
