Dumbledore's broken nose

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 177387

zanooda wrote: 
> 
> Maybe Aberforth hit him twice :-)! 

Carol responds:

Maybe it was a one-two punch? (For anyone unfamiliar with this
expression, here's a definition:

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/one-two%20punch )

zanooda:
> I wonder why DD didn't fix his nose. Was it because he felt he
deserved a broken nose, or maybe he just looked in a mirror and liked
what he saw :-)? 

Carol responds: If any wizard knew "Episkey" (which appears to be a
simple spell since Tonks performed it when she was depressed and Harry
cast it perfectly the first time he tried), Albus Dumbledore would
have known it, even in his late teens. So either the spell hadn't been
invented yet or he chose not to perform it, probably because, as you
suggest, he felt that he deserved it. Each time he looked in the
mirror, he'd be reminded of his own guilt and folly. (Maybe that's why
he grew such a long beard--didn't want to look in the mirror long
enough to give himself a magical shave!) 

I wonder whether a broken nose can be fixed if it's allowed to heal
broken or whether it would have to be rebroken and then fixed (like a
Muggle's broken arm that's knit together crooked).

zanooda:
> And why didn't Bagman get *his* nose fixed?

Carol:
Knowing Ludo, he probably thought it looked jaunty or sporty (just as
Fleur thinks that Bill's scars show that he's brave). (Maybe Mad-Eye
Moody left the chunk out of his nose for a similar reason--either that
or the chunk was caused by Dark magic similar to Sectumsempra and
couldn't be healed.)

Returning to Albus Dumbledore, he's not wholly indifferent to his
appearance like the unkempt Aberforth and he has a taste for fancy
robes and hats (in contrast to Snape, who still wears black as
headmaster rather than green and silver like Phineas Nigellus), but
his vanity seems to be reserved for his brilliance as opposed to his
appearance. He was quite unself-conscious about his blackened hand,
for example, despite its being both repellant and an indication of his
own folly. I don't think he was punishing himself in that instance,
however. I think he wanted it to be seen as a false indication that he
was losing his powers, almost as an invitation to Draco and Voldemort
to get on with the assassination attempt. Even Snape tells Bellatrix
and Narcissa that his reactions aren't what they were when he knows
perfectly well that the "serious injury" was caused by putting on a
cursed ring.

Carol, wondering whether JKR thought of DD when she invented "Episkey"
and how she explained to herself his failure to use it