Unforgiveable and dark magic

[melclaros]

No: HPFGUIDX 79066

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, EnsTren at a... wrote:
> In a message dated 8/28/2003 2:55:09 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> gbannister10 at a... writes:
> 
 Can you suggest > situations where the Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius 
Curse or the Avada  Kedavra Curses could be used to constructive 
ends? I believe they are implicitly dark and evil and, hence, 
unforgiveable.
> > 
> > Geoff
> > 
> 
> Imperius could be used to help people overcome their phobias.  Put 
them under 
> it and make them do what ever it is they fear, move them away and 
release 
> them.  It could also be used on paniced people to lead them to 
safty or make them 
> calm down.


me:

No, I don't think so. The 'patient' would not overcome the phobia, 
just 'walk through it' on your order. Once the curse was lifted the 
phobia would be there still, perhaps worse seeing that the patient 
was forced to--say walk over a bridge while being totally out of 
control of their own actions. Yep, feels good while under the spell 
but the cause of phobias is thought to be in most cases a lack of 
control. "I'm afraid of crossing bridges because the bridge might 
fall down--I can't hold the bridge up--etc..."

The ONLY positive use I can see for Imperius would be in a life-
threatening situation wherein someone was about to do in someone else 
or themselves. Even then, since we don't know every spell out there, 
I'm relatively sure here are more appropriate ones to use. 

> 
> Killing curse is a humane method of putting someone, or something, 
out of > their misery.  I'm sure Sir Nicholas de Pimsy (or whatever) 
would have welcomed > an AK after the tenth stroke of the Ax.


You know this for sure? Not to get too far into spiritualism here but 
as it's touched on in the books with ghosts, poltergeists and the 
infamous 'veil' I'd be willing to bet that AK destroys the soul. That 
is hardly a merciful death. I read somewhere (here? if it's anyone 
here who came up with this i apologise for not aknowledging you) that 
arch we see in OoP is this 'humane' method of carrying out the death 
penalty. It's a portal where life exists one one side and does not on 
the other. There is no DYING as such--just a passage from one state 
to the next.
(headache setting in)



> 
> The curtatious curse, I admit, is a difficult one.  But couldn't it 
be used 
> to determin nerve damnage?  Let's say someone cracked their neck or 
something, 
> or was cut deep.   A Petrificus Totalus to keep them from moving, 
one split 
> second crucio, and then release them after a bit and ask them if it 
hurt 
> everywhere.  Nerve damage = no pain.
 
> If you argue the crutatious goes straight to your brain as it were 
you could 
> still use ti to check brain activity in someone in a coma, how they 
react to 
> it, for instance, they might even wake up for all we know.
> 


This hardly bears thinking about! There are far less disgusting ways 
to determine this! Maybe you'll luck out if, in fact, the patient is 
not feeling any pain, but what if they are? Would you want 
this "test" perfomed on you? On your child? CRIPES! The muggle 
methods of doing this *now* are bad enough, but at least they're not 
full-body excrutiating agony!
***Ask them if it hurt?**** 


Melpomene, feeling slightly ill