The Sorting Hat

[ghinghapuss]

No: HPFGUIDX 87391

> K wrote:
> I'm not sure that you can use Imperius like that - after all we 
know that Umbridge was willing to use unforgivables at the school but 
she insisted she needed Veritaserum (which seems to be incredibly 
complicated and time consuming to brew) in order to get Harry to tell 
the truth. 

Mandy here:
Umbridge use the unforgivable only when she felt she had no other 
option at that time.  She had used the Veritaserum on Harry, or 
thought she had, and it appeared not to work.  (I can't remember 
right now if Snape switched the tea or Harry carefully sipped it and 
avoided swallowing it.) Anyway Umbridge probably believed Harry was 
immune to it or something.  Plus when she was about to inflict the 
Crucio on Harry she was surrounded by children and on some kind of 
perverted power trip.  


> K:
Also the DEs would surely have used it on the Longbottoms rather than 
torture them for information - <snip> if a simple Imerio would have 
got the answer then they would have used that.

Mandy again:
No because the DE were thrown into confusion and chaos after 
the 'death' of LV.  They wanted information quickly.  The Imperio 
seems to me a complex spell that requires time and concentration to 
achieve positive results.  Controlling someone's mind is probably as 
tricky as trying to read it using Ligitimens.  Lucius could inflict 
it on, say, Percy as he has time to manipulate and hold the curse and 
Percy is not going anywhere.  The Longbottoms were being held for 
information by a group of DE's on the run and desperate to find their 
Master ASAP!  Imperio would be completely out of the question at that 
time.

Mandy