Magical Appearances / Hair

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 33474

Well, the "quote trail" in to complex for me to follow here, so I 
won't quote anyone.

The question is, "If Hermione got her teeth permanently fixed, why 
can't wizards just fix any part of their appearance that they don't 
like?  Why aren't they all gorgeous?" 

We've often seen magic in the story that is really too powerful and 
probably should have been left out. For example, there are all sorts 
of places in the story where characters could solve their problems by 
using Accio or a Portkey, but don't. I think Hermione having her teeth 
fixed is another example of this "overly powerful magic" problem. 

One could try to plug this plothole, perhaps by saying that only a few 
specially trained medical wizards (like Madame Pomfrey) are capable of 
doing permament body alteration, and that they charge too much or that 
people are too embarassed to use their services (like plastic surgery 
in the real world), but it's a stretch.  Alternatively, perhaps they 
like looking less than perfect.  Students who would like to alter 
their appearance can be explained by saying that they haven't learned 
the neccessary magic yet. 

-- Judy