Cosmetic surgery/surgery

[MARK SAUNDERS]

No: HPFGUIDX 34720

   Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 20:14:08 -0000
   From: "sing2wine" <bonnie.abrams at cwine.com>
Subject: Cosmetic Surgery in the HP World

In HPforGrownups at y..., "lucky_kari" <lucky_kari at y...> wrote:
Magically altering robes does not, for some strange reason,
work
in the Harry Potter world, in the same way that cosmetic surgery
doesn't seem to exist anywhere. I don't think JKR thought out
that one.

I questioned this (the cosmetic surgery part..) in my first post
about Moody's nose and leg. I pointed out the bones growing back in
Harry's arm in CoS. But a simpler example of cosmetic surgery in the
HP world is Hermione's teeth in GoF. After she was restored to having
human instead of rodent teeth - she had the nurse shorten them
slightly to make her more attractive - wouldn't that constitute
cosmetic surgery?

Bonnie  /  sing2wine

Bonnie,

There could be a very simple answer to the Moody question. What if he
prefers not have his "problems" corrected? What if, for example, he enjoys
the unnerving effect his magical eye has on people? Maybe he leaves his leg
the way it is to remind him how he got it? (Moody/Crouch seems to manage OK
with a wooden leg).

Harry's arm was repaired without question because, a. he's a minor, and
therefore other people are responsible for his welfare, b. it was a mistake
that led to what happened to him, and c. his injury wasn't "cosmetic".

Don't forget that with Hermione's teeth, she admitted exaggerating how much
the teeth had grown to get Madam Pomfrey to make them smaller than they had
been (for Hermione's own preference). The insinuation was that Madam Pomfrey
would NOT have been willing to do this had she not been deceived.

I wonder if people really remain injured as such exist within the magical
fraternity? Could it not be that, generally-speaking, magical practitioners
use their magic to repair many of the physical injuries that happen to them,
just because they have the ability to do so? (Cancer, apparently, is one
they have trouble with). It's clearly not the same with mental problems:
Lockhart's amnesia was obviously going to take some time to heal, and there
was no mention by anyone of being able to cure the madness of those within
Azkaban (even by LV himself, who presumably will attempt to free his
followers, and would have found such an ability useful when trying to
repatriate those made insane by life in the prison).

Mark S.