I just finished reading the seventh book of the Harry Potter series, it was really a gripping and electrifying novel!
However, there is one small thing I have been wondering about for quite a while.
In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Bartemius Crouch (Alastor Moody's impostor) mentions that in order to successfully cast the Avada Kedavra Curse, a person needs to be an extremely powerful wizard. "If all of you pointed your wands at me and uttered the Avada Kedavra Curse, it's unlikely that I would get anything worse than a nosebleed".
However, after reading the other books, I gained the impression that almost anyone could perform the spell.
For example, Vincent Crabbe mutters the Avada Kedavra Curse in the Room of Requirement ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") and Hermione and Ron barely escape the flash of green light. There is no reason to think that Crabbe (still a teenager and a mediocre student) could be a particularly powerful wizard.
Examples of extremely powerful wizards are Voldemort, Dumbledore, Grindelwald and possibly Snape, McGonagall and Bellatrix Lestrange.
Yet it seems as if teenagers like Crabbe and "average" Death Eaters like Nott could still kill by using this curse on students, Order of the Phoenix members etc.
Was Barty Crouch wrong in his explanation?
Is it the case that one doesn't need to possess amazing magical skills in order to perform this Unforgivable Curse?
Please share your thoughts.
I think that, yes, it's likely Barty Crouch was wrong in his explanation, because God knows that guy wasn't right in the head... I think with the right will-power anyone could excecute the curse, but for more powerful wizards(Dumbledore, Voldemort, etc.), it may have been easier to get up the strength to make the curse work properly. _________________
I ♥ Alastor Moody.
Dude, join the Potterpals chat.
Good point, I have to agree. You mentioned "will power". This reminds me of Lestrange's remark about the Cruciatus Curse - "You have to really mean it, Potter." Perhaps the same applies to the Avada Kedavra Curse, that's why most students are unable to successfully perform the incantation. _________________ Name: Philior Dandankus Ivanov Gordov
House: Ravenclaw
Patronus: Raccoon
Wand: Dragon Heartstring, Redwood 11 3/4 inch
Blood: Muggle
Allegiance: Hogwarts
I don't think you have to be a particularily powerful wizard to cast the Avada Kedavra spell, but the person casting the spell would probably have to really mean/want it. _________________
I think what he meant by saying that you need to be a very powerfull wizard is that you need to be very evil and to mean it when you say it. That works with every unforgivable curse. _________________ The 2 peole in this picture are Harry and Ginny
I don't think you have to be a particularily powerful wizard to cast the Avada Kedavra spell, but the person casting the spell would probably have to really mean/want it.
i agree with this, the way i feel that someone is to use an illegal cure like that you need to want to hurt someone, you need to have, i dont want to say "evil" emotion, but you need to feel strong enough to kill, take over, or torture someone that your able to do that to them.
Spoiler:
when harry uses the curse on the goblin in gringotts, he WANTED to get to that horcrux, he felt strong enough, enough will power as said above, to be able to curse someone
I don't think you have to be a particularily powerful wizard to cast the Avada Kedavra spell, but the person casting the spell would probably have to really mean/want it.
Good point, I have to agree. You mentioned "will power". This reminds me of Lestrange's remark about the Cruciatus Curse - "You have to really mean it, Potter." Perhaps the same applies to the Avada Kedavra Curse, that's why most students are unable to successfully perform the incantation.
i agree with you.I think although crabbe lacked in magical power he was quite at home with unforgivable curse.As neville told crabbe and goyle are top in using cruciatus curse,but harry failed to use it first time.So,he was not lacking in will power to execute the curse. i also think that being evil make the unforgivable curse easy to cast.
I agree with the points raised, in fact Dumbledore too may have had a hard time performing the Avada Kedavra Curse (he was too pure for that). _________________ Name: Philior Dandankus Ivanov Gordov
House: Ravenclaw
Patronus: Raccoon
Wand: Dragon Heartstring, Redwood 11 3/4 inch
Blood: Muggle
Allegiance: Hogwarts
I agree with the points raised, in fact Dumbledore too may have had a hard time performing the Avada Kedavra Curse (he was too pure for that).
Ah but was he? He himself said that he wanted power too much. Could he infact have solved everything if he had killed Voldermort before harry was born.
And Beletrix tells you how you use the Unforgiveable curses. You have to truely mean them, truely want to hurt, kill, control.
Which is why Barty Crouch said what he said, because none of those around him wanted to kill him, so he may have only gotten a bloody nose. _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
i think the reason that crabbe was able to do it was that he was extremely scared. that if he didnt do what he was told that draco would tell Lord V and he would kill him. id say the fear of death is incentive for pretty much anything _________________ House: Gryffindor
Wand: Unicorn Hair, Willow, 10 inches
Patronus: Eagle
also I don't know if Crabb had the brains to be scared. He seamed to only do the things that Malfoy told him, and even then it took his brain a second to do it. _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
i dont think dumbledore every used the curse...doesnt he mention sumwhere in the last book that when he had the elder wand he used it peacefull or something i dont remmeber but from the sounds of it i dont think dumbledores killed anyone...i do have a bad memory so if he has killed a person throughout the series PLEASE REMIND ME! _________________ forever the greatest wizard of all time
i dont think dumbledore every used the curse...doesnt he mention sumwhere in the last book that when he had the elder wand he used it peacefull or something i dont remmeber but from the sounds of it i dont think dumbledores killed anyone...i do have a bad memory so if he has killed a person throughout the series PLEASE REMIND ME!
Dumbledore never kills anybody in the series.
And infact he goes out of his way not to kill Tom Riddle, he tries to talk him down, and never shoots the Avada Kadavra spell at him. _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
I think that when using the Killing Curse, you have to want someone dead so badly that you cause it to happen by willing it to.
That's what I got out of the Barty Crouch comment as well as others...that you can't just point your wand at someone and say the incantation...there has to be more there...you have to really mean it...
...but BC could have been being arrogant, believing that a whole class of students couldn't kill him...but I seriously doubt any of them really wanted to kill him...thus it wouldn't have happened. _________________
Snape = ♥
I agree, if somebody had known who he was (and not Moody like he was pretending to be) then they may have been able to.
Dumbledore might have if BC hd Killed Harry, he was really really mad! _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
I used to think that having the Dark Mark made it more difficult to resist the urge to kill.
It's noteworthy that Crabbe and Goyle were much more susceptible to evil than Draco Malfoy.. _________________ Name: Philior Dandankus Ivanov Gordov
House: Ravenclaw
Patronus: Raccoon
Wand: Dragon Heartstring, Redwood 11 3/4 inch
Blood: Muggle
Allegiance: Hogwarts
That's because Draco was starting to have doubts where as Crabb and Goyle had finally be able to get out of Draco's shadow and could now be powerful AND stupid...a bad combination.
But, i can then understand why Crabb could pull off the killing curse, it's because he truely hated The Trio and wanted them dead - even if it was jsut for his own personal glory. _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
interesting that one of the most powerful spells is similar to the one we're most familiear with, "abra cadabra." I suppose we should use another magic word when spoofing magicians _________________ http://myspace.com/hardboiledink
I think JKR did that on purpose, maybe to show that magic shouldn't be taken lightly, or that you should understand something before you go blattering on about it. _________________ The boy who lived marries the wrong girl.
The girl whom he loves can not be his.
Harry, and Hermione...shoulda been!
Nicely put, Harry Loves Hermione, dabbling with magic could indeed be dangerous and the author would want this message to sink in..
Mercy and rationality are not held in high esteem by the Death Eaters, I guess that's why Crabbe and Goyle thought that Malfoy was losing his grip.. _________________ Name: Philior Dandankus Ivanov Gordov
House: Ravenclaw
Patronus: Raccoon
Wand: Dragon Heartstring, Redwood 11 3/4 inch
Blood: Muggle
Allegiance: Hogwarts
I think JKR did that on purpose, maybe to show that magic shouldn't be taken lightly, or that you should understand something before you go blattering on about it.
To me, it's a metaphor to shooting people with guns.
People think it is easy to pull the trigger and to shoot somebody. But if you have a gun, you really need to WANT to kill the person. Yes, accident's happen, yes, you can't get nervous and don't think clearly. But when you are thinking clearly, pulling a trigger and killing someone is one of the hardest decisions to make.
The AK curse reminds me of pulling the trigger of a gun and killing somebody. You need to want to kill the person. _________________ You only live once. If you do it right, once is enough.
With the Killing Curse, the person needs to have done it before to do on impulse, aswell. And Harry would have to really hate someone to cast it. _________________
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