Harry's Mistake: CRUCIO-> Bellatrix Lestrange

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 79358

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "msbeadsley" <msbeadsley at y...>
wrote:
> <newbie unlurking after reading about 5,000 posts>
> 
> Bellatrix recovers very quickly from Harry's attempt to Crucio! her 
> and then taunts him that he can't do it because he didn't hate 
> enough.  ...edited...
> 
> Just some thoughts.
> 
> "msbeadsley"

bboy_mn:

I accept that Harry did not have the intensity of hate and intent to
effectively Crucio Bellatrix, but he also made another big mistake
when he attempted the curse.

The Cruicio is a 'sustained' curse, not an 'event' curse like most
curses. Take the difference between a squirt gun/water pistol and a
garden hose/hosepipe. A squirt gun is like an 'event' curse; it
happens then it is gone; you pull the trigger and get one short
squirt. The Crucio, and I believe the Imperius, are 'sustained'
curses, when you turn a garden hose ON, the water flows continually
until you turn it OFF.

Think about the times when we have seen the Crucio curse performed,
the pain, and therefore the curse, are sustained until the wizard or
witch draw back their wand, and lift the curse. 

When you cast a Stunning curse, it is an event; the stunner shoots out
as a single time-limited event, and either hits it's mark or it
doesn't. We have never seen anyone sustain a continuous stunning force.

When Harry cast the Crucio, he did it like an 'event' driven curse. He
cast it then drew back assuming the curse would take care of itself
after that. Since he did not sustain continuous focused intent to
cause pain, the curse ended a second after he cast it.

I do believe that Bellatrix statement is true, you do need a vicious
cruel intent to cause vicious cruel pain; something that is not in
Harry's nature. But I also think, even though the book doesn't
directly explain this, that the curse failed because Harry did not
maintain a sustained focused intent. 

Just a thought.

bboy_mn