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In the acceptance letter Harry Potter received from Hogwarts, the second page has a list of requirements for the start of school. At the bottom of the letter it states:

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

And yet, very early on in his first year, Harry Potter is gifted a Nimbus 2000 by the head of his house Professor McGonagall. This no doubt made Harry Potter the only first year student to be allowed their own broom.

Seems to me that McGonagall was intentionally breaking the rules to benefit her own house, which seems unethical.

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  • 1
    Perhaps McGonagall held it in trust for him until his second year, letting him ride it only during approved times?
    – Xantec
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 19:12
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    Minor quibble: I believe Harry was gifted the broomstick from Dumbledore. McGonagall asks Dumbledore for permission to bend the rules, but unless I'm misremembering, the handwriting on the card that came with it is Dumbledore’s. I doubt McGonagall would be able to afford (or want to use) the money needed to buy a Nimbus 2000.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Feb 13, 2016 at 23:48

6 Answers 6

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44

In Sorcerer's Stone, it is explained that special provisions were made to allow Harry to have a broomstick.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir."

Sorcerer's Stone - Page 165 - US Hardcover

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    The special circumstances being that McGonagall wanted a ringer?
    – Jack B Nimble
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 19:45
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    "The expression ringer generally refers to the illicit practice of using a clearly superior competitor in order to gain an unfair advantage. " wisegeek.com/in-sports-what-is-a-ringer.htm
    – Jack B Nimble
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 20:09
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    Haha, yes, I would think she would want a ringer, then. McGonagall is very competitive when it comes to Quidditch! :)
    – Slytherincess
    Commented Nov 30, 2011 at 20:47
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    @JackBNimble - an untrained 11-year old with no previous exposure to the game is hardly a ringer - he just had a lot of natural talent. A 'ringer' is when a company hires an NFL player to answer phones in tech support for a few days so he can dominate the inter-departmental football game.
    – Jeff
    Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 15:27
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    @Liath -- Going off the top of my head, I don't think McGonagall actually played professional Quidditch, but she was an ardent fan of Quidditch and, I believe, played for Gryffindor when she was a student. McGonagall's mother, Isobel, was captain of her house's Quidditch team during her time at Hogwarts, per Pottermore (it doesn't say which house McGonagall's mother played for). Okay, so I dug into my Pottermore folder and found that Minerva indeed stopped playing Quidditch upon finishing Hogwarts, so, no, she was never a professional player. :)
    – Slytherincess
    Commented Jun 14, 2014 at 2:06
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As Kevin noted, Harry was given a special exemption. From Book 1:

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...." [ this was Prof. McGonagall speaking - DVK ]

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7

When McGonagall was telling Wood about Harry (or somewhere very close to that), she said she'd talk to Dumbledore about getting an exception for him.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."

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3

I think the exception was to join the team, and I think it is implied that the broomstick is for Quidditch only, and not for use outside these times. Of course, he would have needed to practice on his own at times.

IIRC, this is not explicitly stated, however, I think that Harry using it for his own purposes would have been considered breaching the rules.

Yes, McGonagall did break the rules by getting Harry into the team, but had this agreed. Part of this would seem to be him getting a broom to use.

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2

The rule says that first years are indeed not allowed to carry their own broomsticks, but I think in Harry's case this rule is bent because he was the first first year student in a century to play quidditch. Maybe the 'no broom' rule is for first year students because they're not selected for the quidditch team till the second year at Hogwarts (as also mentioned by Ron). Hope that made sense? O.o

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-3

The rule is most likely implemented because first years cannot control brooms, where as Harry was extremely competent, therefor allowing an exemption for the rule.

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