Sadism or not ? McGonagall and her punishments

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186701

Shaun:
> > 
> > Well, first of all, I think there's a very clear reference in canon about it. The whole case that we are discussing. Professor McGonnagall tells Parvarti to remove the ornamental butterly from her hair.
> > 
> > Have we ever seen Professor McGonagall require a student to do something we 
> > know to be contrary to the rules of the school? For the life of me, I can't 
> > think of a single case. 
> 
> a_svirn:
> Yes, we have – when she made Harry a seeker in his first year. And that's a far more important rule than appropriateness of large ornamental butterflies.
>
Carol responds:
Not to mention that she actually buys him a broom (the best then available) to help him win.

Now I happen to think that ordering Parvati to remove the butterfly from her hair was no big deal (McGonagall is always strict and seldom concerned with how her students feel about it, and it's not as if she docked points or gave Parvati a detention.) But I'm not at all sure that she's enforcing a rule here. She's concerned, instead, with the impression that students in her House will make on the staff and students of the visiting schools, especially Durmstrang, as her ordering Neville not to reveal that he can't perform "a simple switching Spell" indicates.

As for students with unusual hairstyles, Lee Jordan's dreadlocks have already been cited. Young Severus Snape, at the time he was attending Hogwarts and had McGonagall for Transfiguration (though admittedly she was not his HoH) had hair long enough to drag on his DADA OWL exam as he wrote. But the best example is probably Angelina Johnson (who normally wears her hair in long plaits like Parvati and a number or other girls) being taunted by Pansy Parkinson during Quidditch practice:

"Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle, anyway? Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?" (OoP chapter 14).

Evidently, Hogwarts has no rules regarding hairstyles (or unnatural hair color--Tonks would have been in violation of the rules for her whole seven years!). McGonagall is just being acutely conscious of the impression that the students, particularly the Gryffindors, will create upon the visitors. With reference to the Yule Ball, which she refers to as "a chance for us all to--er--let our hair down," she adds sternly, "But that does NOT mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way" (GoF chapter 21).

She's concerned with decorum, or the appearance of it, whether or not a school rule is specifically involved. Or call it school pride or House pride. It's all about looking good in front of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. At least that's what the evidence within the book itself indicates.

Carol, pretty sure that McG simply did not want a student from her House to look "ridiculous" and that no school rule was being violated