AN: Okay, this is my first Harry Potter fic.
Disclaimer – Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and that is a very good thing. If I'd owned the books, they'd have been totally different and Harry would've been a lot less nice.
Thank you to my beta Onkoona – you're amazing!
Student:
Year:
6th
House:
Subject:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Essay Topic:
The Unforgivable Curses
The Unforgivable Curses are considered by the Wizarding World to be the worst curses in existence. Performing any of these curses carries the punishment of a life sentence in Azkaban. It is considered to be unknown how theses curses came into existence. Sources are contradictory about much regarding these curses.
There are three Unforgivable Curses – the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse and the Avada Kedavra Curse.
The Unforgivables Explained
The Imperius Curse
The Imperius Curse is performed using the incantation Imperio. It gives the caster complete control of the person they have performed it on and shows no visible sign when being cast. It is impossible to discern whether an individual has been put under the Imperius Curse. The Imperius Curse is also the only Unforgivable that can be resisted. It is possible for a witch or wizard to negate the effects of the Imperius for a short time if the witch or wizard under said curse has a strong enough will. It is also possible for one to resist the curse to such an extent that they throw off the caster's magic completely and thereby end the curse. This is very rare, however and requires incredible mental strength and force of will.
The Cruciatus Curse
The Cruciatus is the second Unforgivable and causes the victim to experience extreme pain. The incantation is Crucio and it causes a jet of red light to erupt from the caster's wand. The after-effects of the Cruciatus are usually twitches and spasms that increase in intensity according to the power of the caster and the length of the curse. Repeated exposure to the Cruciatus leads to extensive brain and nerve damage. There is no known defense against the Cruciatus Curse.
The Killing Curse
The Killing Curse is the third and worst Unforgivable. It causes an instant, painless death. The incantation is Avada Kedavra and the spell itself is a green jet of light. There is no known defense against the Avada Kedavra and there has only been one known survivor.
These three curses are considered to be the worst type of magic imaginable. They have been illegal since 1791, briefly being legalized by Bartemius Crouch Senior during the First War against the Dark Lord Voldemort. They are classified as Dark Magic and it is assumed that performing any of these curses will corrupt one's magic and soul, thereby turning them evil.
Personal Opinion
I personally do not agree with many of the above statements. Here's my opinion on the Unforgivable Curses:
They're not evil. Nor should they be called Unforgivable.
The so-called Unforgivables have had their purposes warped by the witches and wizards of the Wizarding World, largely due to the theory behind them and the writings detailing their original purposes and their creators having been lost centuries ago.
However, there are still sources available if one looks for them and it is coupling these sources with the use of common logic that has allowed me to come to the above conclusion.
Firstly, yes, the Imperius Curse and the Killing Curse are used to control and end the lives of others. They do fall into the category of Dark Magic due to their nature – they are volatile, difficult to master and they give the caster control over aspects of the recipient.
They are not evil.
For me to explain at all why I believe that the Cruciatus is not evil and also to fully explain my reasons for believing both the Imperius and Killing Curse to be Dark, not evil, it is necessary for me to explain the true purpose behind each spell.
The Imperius Curse
The Imperius Curse was intended to give the caster control over another. It was not, however, meant to be used to harm.
The Imperius was created by a Healer. The witch, having seen the tragedies caused by abusers, addicts and all the other filth of the world simply wanted a way to make sure criminals like these would not commit their crimes again.
She wanted to invent a spell that would mimic the effects of Muggle hypnosis, planting an instruction into the subconscious of a witch or wizard, which would ensure that they did not commit any of these crimes again.
Her motivation behind this was two-fold. Firstly, this spell would ensure that escapees from prison wouldn't be a threat – they would no longer want to commit murder, rape or assault. And, it wouldn't be necessary for witches and their children to be disowned, disgraced or shunned because they were betraying their spouse and parent. She would no longer have to worry that the people who'd come to her for treatment would come back in worse condition, or not come back at all.
She succeeded and the Imperius was used as it was intended for a period of fifty years. Unfortunately, this witch, knowing that many would misuse her spell, ensured that only a handful knew about it and only three how to perform it. When she died, she asked the three who knew how to cast the Imperius to spread it to others but cautioned them to be careful.
Only one managed to carry out her wish for the first person he taught the spell to was Herpo the Foul. This 'Dark' Lord turned on him and killed both him and everyone else who knew anything about the Imperius. He claimed it as his own invention and distorted it, changing it into the Imperius we know now.
Thus, the Imperius is not evil. It was not intended for evil usage and labeling it evil would be similar to labeling Wingardium Leviosa evil because someone used it to drop a piano on some other idiot's head.
The Cruciatus Curse
The Cruciatus Curse. The most mutated of the three, the Cruciatus was created by a husband for his wife, intended to be a birthday gift. This wizard was one of the most powerful, most noted of his generation and was pursued by many. His wife, though never doubting him, understandably was unhappy about these circumstances.
The wizard, seeking to reassure his wife, created a spell that would project his feelings about her toward her. She would be filled with pleasure due to the strength of his love for her.
He succeeded in his creation but the spell and its purpose never became widely known because neither he nor his wife spoke about it. They preferred to keep it to themselves due to the intensely personal nature of the spell.
Unfortunately, the wizard who would later become Emeric the Evil heard about this spell and somehow convinced the wizard to teach it to him. Emeric played on the wizard's heart, explaining that he wanted to perform this spell for his ailing mother, to show her how much he truly appreciated her. The wizard agreed and taught Emeric the spell.
Emeric, however, used the concept of the spell to change it and make it something evil, painful. He used the theory that if love for the person the spell was cast on made them experience pleasure, then surely hatred for said person would make them experience pain.
Emeric used the Cruciatus on his enemies and, later, to torment his prisoners. He used it on them to persuade them into giving up information. He also taught his version to all of his followers who were involved with torture.
Thus, Godric Gryffindor's romantic gesture for his wife was forgotten and a torture curse was born.
This is why the Cruciatus is not evil. It has been used for evil purposes but it is not evil. It isn't even Dark, which shouldn't be reassuring, but I digress. When used as intended, it is Light magic, Love magic.
The Killing Curse
The Avada Kedavra. The worst spell of all. The curse that kills instantly. The curse that no one can avoid, that no one could survive. This curse must definitely be evil, right?
Wrong.
The Avada Kedavra is one of the most humane ways to die. It's painless, instant and causes no damage to the body.
Dark Lords and Ladies are characterized as sadistic so why would one of them invent a spell that kills so painlessly? Why would they leave the body untouched?
The true reason that the Avada Kedavra was invented was so that it could be used as a form of euthanasia.
The wizard who invented it had a mother who suffered from an incurable ailment. She wanted to die but any form of death would have been painful. In desperation, to try and save his mother and her fellow sufferers from more pain, he devoted himself to searching for a way to kill a person painlessly.
This search led him to inventing the Killing Curse. It was never intended to be used for anything but euthanasia, but because word of this wizard's spell spread around and many who suffered from the same disease his mother had begged him to help them, the Killing Curse became known to many.
All that was necessary to corrupt this spell was for the knowledge of how to cast it to fall into evil hands.
And somehow, it did. Somehow, Merwyn the Malicious learned of the Killing Curse.
With Merwyn's usage of the spell, the true purpose of it was lost and it became the terrifying
weapon we know today.
The Killing Curse was never intended to facilitate murder. Much like the Draught of Living Death, its purpose was to relieve suffering. It was only due to the spell being favored by an evil person that its purpose became malevolent.
I've stated my reasoning above, but I re-iterate now – the Unforgivables were not intended to be what they are today when they were created. Their original purposes were vastly different to what they are today and using these spells the way they were intended to be used can only help Wizarding kind.
Thanks everyone!