Who bought the Nimbus?

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 37062

This isn't a reply to any specific post in this thread, just a 
general observation.

I don't mean to come down on any of those who see some deeper meaning 
in all of this, but I'm wondering if some folks are finding it a bit 
too difficult waiting for Book Five. :-)

Paraphrasing the rule of Okham's (or whatever alternative spelling 
you prefer) Razor, "the simplest explanation is usually the closest 
to the truth", I personally can't see a problem with accepting that 
McGonagall bought Harry the broom with her own money as a personal 
gift (with a benign ulterior motive). Why she did so doesn't require 
too much thought - she was there when Harry was left with the 
Dursleys and knows better than most how he must have been treated 
("You couldn't find two people who are less like us"), and 
appreciates that Harry probably needs some cheering up. She's 
desperate for Gryffindor to win the cup (or, more particularly, for 
Slytherin to lose), and she herself sees Harry as the best chance for 
that.

She had to pull strings to allow a first-year to have a broom of his 
own, and I agree that lots of debate could be had as to how she 
managed to convince Snape that "Famous" Harry Potter was worthy of 
breaking a seemingly important Hogwarts rule.

But I can't see any way that canon supports the need to seek any 
complicated arrangement whereby McGonagall paid for the broom with 
school funds, or worse yet, Harry's own. That Harry got the broom 
came as something of a surprise to him (more so in the movie than the 
book), so I doubt any prior communication was had between the two of 
them about payment. And McGonagall is far to ...err.. "noble" to 
steal from one of her pupils, even if it is for his own advancement. 

Incidentally, McGonagall appears to have no real or imagined 
proprietorial interest in the Nimbus - when it's smashed up, she's 
one of the few teachers who *don't* have something to say about it. 
At the very least, I would've expected her to have comiserated with 
Harry for his loss, but she doesn't even comment on it when the 
Firebolt turns up.