AK Stealing Souls; James' Life Debt To Snape?

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 35805

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
> Laura wrote:
> 
> <snip list of shortcomings of AK curse
> 
> You know, this whole AK things sounds like a bit of a scam to me.  
> If AK is unblockable, then DEs are at risk just as innocent victims 
> are.  Indeed, I can imagine James hiding behind a door and hitting 
> Voldemort with AK in the back when Voldemort enters the house.  So 
> why were the DEs becoming so strong way back when if the Good Guys 
> could sneak up on them and AK them, too?
> 
> I hope Milz won't mind if I borrow (well, OK, steal) her theory 
> about AK.  The idea, which is similar to Laura's creative idea, is 
> that Voldemort gains power by using AK to kill people.  In PS/SS, 
we 
> are told that Voldemort kept getting stronger.  So killing Harry 
> would have meant immortality and invincibility for Voldemort.  
> 

But in PS/SS Voldemort was trying to get the philosopher's stone, not 
kill Harry. That was the way for immortality that he chose. And if AK-
ing Harry would have brought him immortality and invincibility, why 
go through all the tedious resurrection ritual (in GoF)? He had Harry 
there. He could have simply AK-ed him, right? 

As for DE's being just as vulnerable to AK, I think that's pretty 
much established. Wasn't it Sirius who told the trio that Crouch 
authorized using the Unvforgivable curses on DEs? (I think. I don't 
have the books here.) AK is certainly described as absolutely 
unblockable (except for the unique case of baby Harry) which strongly 
implies that no spells - dark or otherwise - can make a wizard 
inviolable to it.
I don't think that the fact that the DEs were getting so strong had 
much to do with using or not using AK. Sure, it gives an extra edge 
maybe, but it's not a decisive weapon (like an atomic bomb). It kills 
one person at a time, and I would assume that the difficulty of 
killing a powerful wizard has more to do with catching him unawares 
or disarming him in order to be able to perform the curse in the 
first place. And if you've managed to to catch him unawares or 
disarmed him, then there are other spells you can use to vanquish him.
There are at least two obvious reasons why the DEs were getting so 
strong. One is Voldemort's actual power and deep knowledge of the 
dark arts (he is described as the most powerful wizard in the world, 
barring Dumbledore). The second is that Voldemort provided an 
ideology and, as a leader, a coalition centre. I'm sure JKR meant to 
remind us of Hitler and his ability to bring together, crystalize 
around himself, a movement of hatred. 
The AK and the other Unforgivables add to the terror the DE movement 
inspired, but I don't believe that they in themselves made them more 
powerful.

Naama