Avada Kedavra and Beyond

[keith.fraser at st-annes.ox.ac.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 22551

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., supergirl1024 at y... wrote:
> So we know the Avada Kedavra curse is big-time scary, THE 
> unforgivable curse.  So what's the curse shrimpy little Peter 
> Pettigrew used to blow apart the whole street?  ~Gwyneth

That's a very good question. There are a number of possible answers. 

The first, which I think I first saw in a forgotten fanfic, is that 
he didn't cast some uber-spell, but in fact just breached and ignited 
a gas main below like the Muggles said.

The second (mine, thought up just now) is that he cast some wide-area 
explosive spell which, although it was less powerful and evil than 
Avada Kedavra, caused more casualties. Something like a Fireball 
or :rummages in Player's Handbook: Circle of Doom spell in Dungeons 
and Dragons. These spells are of lower level than one like 
Destruction or Disintegrate (which are designed for killing big tough 
things and can only affect one target), but can cause more casualties 
due to their wide area of effect.

There's probably more.

Keith (alias Kebor, the 6th-level druid)