Ancient Magic vs. Dark Magic (was ancient magic)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 82013

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Talisman" <talisman22457 at y...> 
wrote:
>> Alas, long after St. Vander Ark laid down the Lexiconic gospel you 
> rely on, Dumbledore tells us that it was he, DUMBLEDORE, (not Lily) 
> who made the "decision" that Harry would be protected by a 
> certain "ancient magic" likely to slide under LV's radar.(OoP 835)
> 
> Moreover, that's not the only "ancient magic" that uses a parental 
> soup base.  Recall that "old piece of Dark Magic" (GoF 656) that 
> required some "Bone of the father....Flesh of the Servant... and 
> Blood of the Enemy?" (GoF 641-42)  Odd fabric of creation, that. 
 

Jen:  In the discussions on Ancient Magic, I think a distinction 
needs to be made between Ancient Magic and Dark Magic because they 
seem to be two different things in canon.

The Ancient Magic Dumbledore refers to and takes advantage of  
appears to form a permanent bond between two people, until one should 
fulfill or break that bond. It implies a positive relationship even 
if the relationship between the two is negative or even non-existent 
prior to the magic that bonds them:

".....When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a 
certain bond between them....This is magic at its deepest, most 
impenetrable, Harry." (Dumbledore, POA, chap. 22, p. 426)

The Fidelius Charm is "An immensely complex spell
..involving the 
magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The 
information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret Keeper
." 
(Prof. Flitwick, POA, chap. 10, p. 205)

"You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he {Voldemort} 
knows, but which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, 
underestimated--to his cost. I am speaking of course of the fact that 
your mother died to save you." (Dumbledore, OOTP, Chap. 37, pps. 835-
836)

"She {Petunia} may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, 
bitterly, yet she still took you, and in doing so, she sealed the 
charm I placed upon you." (Dumbledore, OOTP, chap. 37, p. 836)

"While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood 
dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort.....your 
aunt knows this.....She knows that allowing you houseroom may well 
have kept you alive for the past fifteen years."  (DD, OOTP,chap. 37, 
p. 836)

It's also important to note, in all these examples, that a choice is 
made to activate the bond: Harry chooses to save Wormtail when he 
begs for mercy, Wormtail agrees to be Secret Keeper, Lily chose to 
give up her own life for Harry, Petunia agrees to house Harry.

             **************************************
Dark Magic is different, or perhaps a subset of Ancient Magic. From 
the examples we have, Dark Magic doesn't imply a positive 
relationship between people, but rather a forced relationship without 
full disclosure and true consent by at least one of the people 
involved:

"So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be 
exactly what I wanted....I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of 
her deepest fears, her darkest secrets.....I grew... powerful enough 
to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to pour a little 
of *my* soul back into *her*..." (Riddle, COS, Chap. 17, p. 310)

"Never trust anything that can think for itself *if you can't see 
where it keeps its brain*. Why didn't you show the diary to me, or 
your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of 
Dark Magic--" (Arthur, COS, chap. 18, p. 328)

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given...flesh of the servant 
willingly given...Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken..." (Potion 
ingedients, GOF, chap 32, pps. 641-642). In the next chapter, 
Voldemort refers to this potion as "an old piece of Dark Magic" (p. 
656)

Also, possessing others may be a form of Dark Magic but the text 
doesn't specifically say that.

Summarizing, I'd say there's a definite distinction between the two, 
and Dumbledore has yet to use Dark Magic by the canon criteria we 
have so far.