UNFORGIVABLE CURSES

In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, magic plays a large part in the series' ongoing plot. Most of the magic occurring in the series is separated into various individual spells, most of which have an incantation (which may or may not also be the name of the spell). As the wizard's society in the Harry Potter novels has a governing body (the Ministry of Magic), various spells are approved, regulated, or made illegal. A great many of these are curses; spells that bring about a harmful effect of some kind. In Rowling's novels, the most dangerous and potentially evil of these curses are called the Dark Arts.
The 'Unforgivable Curses' are some of the most powerful Dark Arts spells known. Commonly used by the books' villains, such as Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters and in some cases the Ministry of Magic, their use inspires horror and great fear amongst others. The curses are so named because their use is - except by Ministry of Magic authorisation - forbidden and unforgivable in the Wizarding World. Use of any of these spells on any human being can carry a life-sentence in the magical wizard's prison of Azkaban. These curses are thus very rarely used openly. However, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Unforgivable Curses are used liberally by good characters, ranging from Professor McGonagall with the Imperius Curse, to Harry Potter effectively using the Cruciatus Curse. He also uses the Imperius curse on a goblin and a suspicious Death Eater during their disguised attack upon Gringotts Bank. Since the spells are very powerful, their use requires a strong desire to bring about the effects, a directed will, and great skill. However, it is notable that Harry, though he kills Lord Voldemort, does so without the use of a Killing Curse and indeed never performs any, at least in the course of the books.
The use of the Unforgivable Curses was authorized against Lord Voldemort and his followers by Bartemius Crouch Sr, during the First Wizarding (or Voldemort) War. Although not stated, it is possible that this was limited to the Imperius Curse (to force a Death Eater to submit to questioning or surrender) and to the Killing Curse (as a last resort). Shortly after his resurrection, Lord Voldemort names two Death Eaters "killed by Aurors".

Contents

Avada Kedavra (The Killing Curse)

Origins

Known victims of the Killing Curse

Crucio (The Cruciatus Curse)

Known victims of the Cruciatus Curse

Imperio (The Imperius Curse)

Known victims of the Imperius Curse

References

External links

Avada Kedavra (The Killing Curse)

:'Pronunciation':
:'Description:' Causes instant death.
The 'Avada Kedavra Curse' is the worst of the Unforgivable Curses. This curse causes instant death that is not medically explainable. When the curse strikes a non-living object, the energy is released in a small explosion at the point of impact. If the material struck is flammable, the curse starts a fire of greenish flames. The extent of damage from the curse when used on a phoenix is uncertain, as the primary trait of a phoenix is self-resurrection. It seems to merely start the phoenix's current resurrection cycle over again. Albus Dumbledore's pet phoenix named Fawkes is seen to swallow a killing curse in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''.
The ''Avada Kedavra'' curse is used regularly by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters to kill their enemies. There is no known counter-curse or blocking spell, although the caster can be interrupted, the victim can dodge the green jet, hide behind solid objects, or, if the casting wizard is not sufficiently competent, the curse may be completely ineffective as described by Barty Crouch Jr acting as Alastor Moody in ''The Goblet of Fire''. Harry twice countered this spell by casting Expelliarmus.
Certain magical conditions have also been documented to defeat the curse, even on a direct hit:

★ Harry Potter was given magical protection against Lord Voldemort's use of the curse, when his mother sacrificed herself to save him.

★ Harry is saved by the twin cores effect between his wand and Lord Voldemort's during a duel, as well as during a battle. During this battle, Harry's phoenix feather wand snaps the wand Voldemort borrowed from one of his servants, Lucius Malfoy. The reason for this is unknown, even Mr Ollivander himself, a renowned wandmaker, is unable to explain this phenomemon, and qualifies it as "something unique". Dumbledore himself is not sure, but believes this feat to be due to the unique connections and relationships between the two duellists, which are complex and are "realms of magic hitherto unknown".

★ In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', Harry is saved because Voldemort used Harry's blood (that, at age 17, still contained his mother's protection) to resurrect himself, thus affording Harry one additional protection against his curse, as well as that Voldemort's wand, the Elder Wand, which had been won from Dumbledore by Malfoy and then by Harry from Malfoy, recognized its master, Harry, when Voldemort and Harry simultaneously shot their spells, thus rebounding Voldemort's killing curse back at him and leaving Harry unharmed.

★ In the second film a very angry Lucius Malfoy says the first part of the killing curse which was about to be used on Harry until Dobby "the Malfoy house servant" quickly cast a spell of his own.

Origins

The name of this curse is related to the popular magical phrase ''Abracadabra'', which is actually of Aramaic origin: ''avhadda kedhavhra'' meaning "disappear like this word".^[1]
During an audience interview at the Edinburgh Book Festival (15 August 2004) Rowling said:

"Does anyone know where ''avada kedavra'' came from? It is an ancient spell in Aramaic, and it is the original of ''abracadabra'', which means 'let the thing be destroyed.' Originally, it was used to cure illness and the 'thing' was the illness, but I decided to make it the 'thing' as in the person standing in front of me. I take a lot of liberties with things like that. I twist them round and make them mine."^[2]

Known victims of the Killing Curse

Victim	Caster	Notes
Tom Riddle Senior	Tom Marvolo Riddle (teenager)	Tom Marvolo Riddle's father. Death used to create the Ring Horcrux.
Mary Riddle (Tom Riddle Sr's Mother)		Tom Marvolo Riddle's grandmother.
Thomas Riddle (Tom Riddle Sr's Father)		Tom Marvolo Riddle's grandfather.
James Potter	Lord Voldemort (at Godric's Hollow)	Killed trying to hold off Voldemort to let his wife and son escape. Did not have a wand on him at the time.
Lily Potter		Killed while trying to shield Harry Potter from the curse. Did not have a wand on her at the time.
Harry Potter (as baby)		'Not fatal'. Because Lily Potter sacrificed herself for her son. It caused his forehead scar and put a piece of Voldemort's soul inside Harry.
Lord Voldemort		'Not fatal'. Rebounded on him from Harry's protection. Survived due to Horcruxes.
Bertha Jorkins	Lord Voldemort	Captured by Voldemort and tortured for information. Death used to create the Horcrux in Nagini.
Frank Bryce		After Bryce is caught eavesdropping by Nagini.
Cedric Diggory	Peter Pettigrew	On orders from Voldemort, using the Dark Lord's wand.
a fox	Bellatrix Lestrange	By accident when Bellatrix thought the animal was an Auror.
Albus Dumbledore	Severus Snape	Under the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had sought this personally from Snape a few months before it happened, to try to avoid the Elder Wand's possession passing to Voldemort. Dumbledore was already dying due to the curse from Marvolo's Ring (which would curse the body if a person tried it on).
Gibbon	Thorfinn Rowle	Accidentally (both are Death Eaters).
Charity Burbage	Lord Voldemort	She is a prisoner of Lord Voldemort, and he tortures and kills her in front of the Death Eaters and feeds her to his snake Nagini. Formerly taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts.
Hedwig (snowy owl)	Death Eater	When they missed Harry (on the magical motorcycle with Hagrid) during their escape from Privet Drive.
Alastor Moody	Lord Voldemort	With a curse in the face, whenMundungus Fletcher, who was disguised as Harry, left him behind to escape on his own.
German-speaking woman		Murdered at Gregorovitch's former residence somewhere in central Europe because she did not know where Gregorovitch was.
German-speaking woman's two children		To eliminate witnesses
Gregorovitch		Murdered for losing the Elder Wand to Grindelwald.
Gellert Grindelwald		Murdered in Nurmengard prison for refusing to speak about the Elder Wand.
Harry Potter	Lord Voldemort	'Not fatal'. Destroyed the Horcrux in Harry, but did not kill him because of the lingering protection from Lily's spell, in combination with the Elder Wand's allegiance to Harry, and also that Voldemort stole Harry's blood, which because of Lily's protection securing Harry to live as long as Voldemort lives
Lord Voldemort (part of soul in Harry)
Bellatrix Lestrange	Molly weasley	Hit in the heart by a curse during their duel. Unconfirmed which spell, but this is the most likely one.
Lord Voldemort	Lord Voldemort	When he cast the curse against Harry Potter it rebounded off Harry's Expelliarmus spell with fatal consequences, due to the Elder Wand's allegiance to Harry.

Crucio (The Cruciatus Curse)

:'Pronunciation':
:'Description:' Inflicts unbearable pain on the recipient of the curse.
The 'Cruciatus Curse', which causes excruciating pain upon the victim, requires the use of a wand. Thus far, it appears that no character has cast the spell without saying the incantation aloud (i.e. it does not seem to be a ''nonverbal spell''). The effects of the curse depend upon the desires and emotions of the character - to produce the "excruciating" pain implied by the name, one must (according to Bellatrix Lestrange) desire to cause pain purely for its own sake. The extreme pain inflicted by the curse when cast so - without any apparent evidence of physical harm - makes it uniquely suited as a form of torture, and is used regularly by the Death Eaters.
''Crucio'' (Latin) means "I torture" originating from ''crux'' (genitive ''crucis''), which means "torture platform or stake" or, more specifically "cross". The word ''excruciating'' is descended from the same root - crucifixion was a form of torturous execution.

Known victims of the Cruciatus Curse

Victim	Caster(s)	Notes
Aberforth Dumbledore	Gellert Grindelwald	Tortured when he opposed the friendship between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
Frank and Alice Longbottom	Bellatrix Lestrange, Bartemius Crouch Jr and Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange.	Tortured into insanity, resident at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Bertha Jorkins	Lord Voldemort	For information about the Triwizard Tournament.
Peter Pettigrew	Lord Voldemort	As punishment for allowing Barty Crouch Sr to escape.
Cedric Diggory	Viktor Krum (Imperiused by Barty Crouch Jr)	To incapacitate him during the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry Potter	Lord Voldemort	In the graveyard during the duel between Potter and Voldemort - twice.
Avery	Lord Voldemort	In the graveyard following Voldemort's resurrection after flinging himself at Voldemort's feet, begging for forgiveness for his betrayal.
Neville Longbottom	Bellatrix Lestrange	In the Department of Mysteries; to make Harry hand over the prophecy.
Bellatrix Lestrange	Harry Potter	As revenge for killing Sirius Black; the curse's effects were weak as Harry was unable to mean it, which is a requirement for the curse to succeed.
Harry Potter	Amycus or Alecto Carrow	In the chapter ''Flight of the Prince'' when Harry is trying to chase Snape.
Ollivander	Lord Voldemort	For information about the Elder Wand.
Andromeda Tonks and Ted Tonks	Unspecified Death Eaters	Tortured for information on Harry Potter's whereabouts. Not fatal.
Rufus Scrimgeour	Lord Voldemort	Tortured for Harry Potter's whereabouts before eventually being murdered.
Neville Longbottom	Various members of the dark arts class	Neville mentions that he was tortured several times as practice in this new class instructed by Amycus Carrow.
Hermione Granger	Bellatrix Lestrange	For information on how the three friends obtained Godric Griffyndor's sword.
Amycus Carrow	Harry Potter	In the Ravenclaw Common Room shortly before Voldemort's Arrival, as retaliation for Amycus spitting on Professor McGonagall.
Harry Potter	Lord Voldemort	After apparently killing Harry, Voldemort uses the curse several times to desecrate the body, however, it does not cause him pain, as he uses the Elder Wand, which does not harm its rightful owner, Harry Potter.

In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', Draco Malfoy attempts to cast the spell on Harry Potter, but is stopped when Harry casts the ''sectumsempra'' curse before Draco can finish. Later in the novel, Harry twice tries to cast it on Severus Snape, but is halted from completing the incantation.
In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', Harry Potter successfully casts it on Amycus after he spits in Professor McGonagall's face. Harry references Bellatrix's words, saying "I see what Bellatrix meant... you really need to mean it."

Imperio (The Imperius Curse)

:'Pronunciation:'
:'Description:' Causes the recipient of the curse to do whatever the caster says.
This curse places the subject in a trance or dream-like state, and leaves him or her subject to total control by the caster. The experience of being controlled by this curse is described as a complete, wonderful release from any sense of responsibility or worry over one's actions, at the price of one's free will. Resisting the effect of the curse is possible, however, and several individuals have been able to successfully overcome it, including Harry Potter and both Bartemius Crouch Jr and Bartemius Crouch Sr, who learn to resist the curse after being subjected to its effects for an extended period. Harry Potter also performs this curse on Bogrod (a goblin working at Gringotts) and Travers whilst breaking into Gringotts in The Deathly Hallows, and describes the feeling of being the caster as controlling a marionette through a wand (although Harry's particular experience is suspect due to his lack of commitment to casting unforgivable curses).
''Imperare'' is Latin for "to order, command", and is the root of several modern English words. ''Imperium'' means "command" or "domain", and ''imperio'' means (among other things) "with authority". (Compare to ''impero'', "I command", and to ''crucio'' above.) ''Imperius'' is not, however, a Latin word.

Known victims of the Imperius Curse

Victim	Caster	Notes
Harry Potter and his classmates	Bartemius Crouch Jr, impersonating Alastor Moody	Harry successfully resists and blocks the curse after several attempts during a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson (allegedly sixth year students are permitted to be shown illegal dark curses, in a possible exception to the "use it and go to Azkaban" rule, but fake Moody, obliged to impersonate the real Moody to the utmost, elects to show the fourth-years).
Viktor Krum	Barty Crouch Jr, impersonating Alastor Moody	In the Triwizard Tournament Maze.
Barty Crouch Jr	Barty Crouch Sr	Kept under the curse after being rescued from Azkaban.
Barty Crouch Sr	Lord Voldemort	Put under the curse after Voldemort and Wormtail took over the Crouch household and released Barty Crouch Jr.
Alastor Moody	Barty Crouch Jr	Kept under the curse while imprisoned in his own magical trunk while Barty Crouch Jr impersonated him. Moody was kept alive for questioning and to provide hair for Barty Crouch Jr's Polyjuice Potion.
Harry Potter	Lord Voldemort	Twice at the graveyard duel but Harry successfully resisted the second time.
Broderick Bode	Lucius Malfoy	Sent to steal the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. Because he knew the task he'd been sent to do was impossible - the Prophecies can only be lifted by the person they are made about - the conflict caused Bode to resist the curse but to become mute and temporarily passively deranged, causing a state of vulnerability which led to his death.
Sturgis Podmore	Lucius Malfoy	Sent to steal the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. Caught in the process.
Madam Rosmerta	Draco Malfoy	To help smuggle a cursed necklace and poisoned wine into Hogwarts - in his attempt to kill Dumbledore.
Katie Bell	Madam Rosmerta (under the influence of the Imperius Curse)	To smuggle a cursed necklace into Hogwarts - in Malfoy's attempt to kill Dumbledore.
Herbert Chorley	Unknown	An attempt by the Death Eaters to spy on the Muggle Prime Minister through his Junior Minister. Rufus Scrimgeour notes that Chorley was placed under a weak curse that undoubtedly "addled his brains," as he frequently impersonated a duck.
Pius Thicknesse	Yaxley	Allows the Death Eaters to undermine the Ministry of Magic.
Travers	Harry Potter	An attempt to prevent him from interfering with his, Ron's, and Hermione's plan to infiltrate Gringotts.
Bogrod	Harry Potter	(Several times; the curse petered out quickly each time) In order to help their infiltration of Gringotts.
Amycus Carrow	Minerva McGonagall	Made to surrender his and his sister Alecto's wands, before lying down next to his Stunned sister.
Stan Shunpike	Unknown	It is unknown whether or not Stan was really under the Imperius Curse when flying with the Death Eaters but he was noted to have a blank look. Harry and others in the Order of the Phoenix believed he was but it was never verified after the war ended.

References

1. Colbert, David, ''The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter''
2. http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/news_view.cfm?id=80

External links