Unforgivable Curses

Cruciatus redirects here . For the ligaments in the knee, see Cruciate ligament.

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".

Avada Kedavra (The Killing Curse)

Pronunciation: /ə'vɑ.də kə'dɑ.vɹə/

Description: Causes a bright green flash that results in the instant death of the intended target.

The Avada Kedavra Curse causes instant death that is not ever 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 14, 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's former house servant quickly casted 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".

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."

Known victims of the Killing Curse

Victim	Caster	Notes
Tom Riddle SeniorTemplate:HP6	Tom Marvolo Riddle (teenager) Template:HP4	Tom Marvolo Riddle's father. Death used to create the Ring Horcrux.
Mary Riddle (Tom Riddle Sr's Mother)Template:HP6		Tom Marvolo Riddle's grandmother.
Thomas Riddle (Tom Riddle Sr's Father)Template:HP6		Tom Marvolo Riddle's grandfather.
James Potter	Lord VoldemortTemplate:HP1 (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 due to special circumstances. 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 due to special circumstances. Rebounded on him from Harry's protection. Survived due to Horcruxes.
Bertha Jorkins Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	Captured by Voldemort and tortured for information.
Frank Bryce Template:HP4		After Bryce is caught eavesdropping by Nagini. Death used to create the Horcrux in Nagini
Cedric Diggory Template:HP4	Peter Pettigrew	On orders from Voldemort, using the Dark Lord's wand.
a fox Template:HP6	Bellatrix Lestrange	By accident when Bellatrix thought the animal was an Auror.
Albus Dumbledore Template:HP6	Severus Snape	Under the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts.Template:HP6 Dumbledore had sought this personally from SnapeTemplate:HP7 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 Template:HP6	Thorfinn Rowle	Accidentally (both are Death Eaters).
Charity Burbage Template:HP7	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) Template:HP7	Death Eater	When they missed Harry (on the magical motorcycle with Hagrid) during their escape from Privet Drive.
Alastor Moody Template:HP7	Lord Voldemort	With a curse in the face, when Mundungus Fletcher, who was disguised as Harry, left him behind to escape on his own.
German-speaking woman Template:HP7		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 Template:HP7		Murdered for losing the Elder Wand to Grindelwald.
Gellert Grindelwald Template:HP7		Murdered in Nurmengard prison for refusing to speak about the Elder Wand.
Harry Potter Template:HP7	Lord Voldemort	Not fatal due to special circumstances. 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 Template:HP7
Lord Voldemort (part of soul in Harry)
Lord VoldemortTemplate:HP7	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.Template:HP7

Crucio (The Cruciatus Curse)

Cruciatus redirects here. For the ligaments in the knee, see Cruciate ligament.

Pronunciation: /'kɹuː.si.oʊ/

Description: Inflicts unbearable pain on the recipient of the curse.

The Cruciatus Curse, which causes unbearable 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 Template:HP7	Gellert Grindelwald	Tortured when he opposed the friendship between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
Frank and Alice LongbottomTemplate:HP4	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 Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	To elicit information about the Triwizard Tournament.
Peter Pettigrew Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	As punishment for allowing Barty Crouch Sr to escape.
Cedric Diggory Template:HP4	Viktor Krum (Imperiused by Barty Crouch Jr)	To incapacitate him during the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry Potter Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	In the graveyard during the duel between Potter and Voldemort; done twice.
Avery Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	In the graveyard following Voldemort's resurrection after flinging himself at Voldemort's feet, begging for forgiveness for his betrayal.
Neville Longbottom Template:HP5	Bellatrix Lestrange	In the Department of Mysteries; to make Harry hand over the prophecy.
Bellatrix Lestrange Template:HP5	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's successful application.
Harry Potter Template:HP6	Amycus Carrow	In the chapter Flight of the Prince when Harry is trying to chase Snape.
Ollivander Template:HP7	Lord Voldemort	For information about the Elder Wand.
Andromeda Tonks and Ted Tonks Template:HP7	Unspecified Death Eaters	Tortured for information on Harry Potter's whereabouts.
Rufus Scrimgeour Template:HP7	Lord Voldemort	Tortured for Harry Potter's whereabouts before eventually being murdered.
Neville Longbottom Template:HP7	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 Template:HP7	Bellatrix Lestrange	For information on how the three friends obtained Godric Griffyndor's sword.
Amycus Carrow Template:HP7	Harry Potter	In the Ravenclaw Common Room shortly before Voldemort's Arrival, as retaliation for Amycus spitting on Professor McGonagall.
Harry Potter Template:HP7	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: /ɪm'pɪə.ɹio/

Description: Causes the victim of the curse to obey the spoken/unspoken commands of the caster.

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 Template:HP4	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 Template:HP4	Barty Crouch Jr, impersonating Alastor Moody	In the Triwizard Tournament Maze.
Barty Crouch Jr Template:HP4	Barty Crouch Sr	Kept under the curse after being rescued from Azkaban.
Barty Crouch Sr Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	Put under the curse after Voldemort and Wormtail took over the Crouch household and released Barty Crouch Jr.
Alastor Moody Template:HP4	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 Template:HP4	Lord Voldemort	Once at the graveyard duel which Harry successfully resisted.
Broderick Bode Template:HP5	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 Template:HP5	Lucius Malfoy	Sent to steal the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. Caught in the process.
Madam Rosmerta Template:HP6	Draco Malfoy	To help smuggle a cursed necklace and poisoned wine into Hogwarts - in his attempt to kill Dumbledore.
Katie Bell Template:HP6	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 Template:HP6	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 Template:HP7	Yaxley	Allows the Death Eaters to undermine the Ministry of Magic.
Travers Template:HP7	Harry Potter	An attempt to prevent him from interfering with his, Ron's, and Hermione's plan to infiltrate Gringotts.
Bogrod Template:HP7	Harry Potter	(Several times; the curse petered out quickly each time) In order to help their infiltration of Gringotts.
Amycus Carrow Template:HP7	Minerva McGonagall	Made to surrender his and his sister Alecto's wands, before lying down next to his Stunned sister.
Stan Shunpike Template:HP7	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.

External links

• Unforgivable Curses on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki