Harry and the Crucio. W as: Bellatrix and the Crucio

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 94863

Eric signed off with:
Eric, who thinks that with his anger issues, he could have Crucio'd
Bellatrix to a crispy critter with no problem whatsoever.
 

Mandy responded:
<snip> No matter how angry Harry is right now, anger is not what is
required to produce an effective Crucio. According to Bellatrix "You
need to mean them, Potter!  You need to really want to cause pain – to
enjoy it - righteous anger won't hurt me for long

" OotP Pg 715 UK 
edition.  
 
According to Merriam Websters; righteous means:  Reacting in accord 
with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin. 2 a : morally 
right or justifiable. <a righteous decision> b : arising from an 
outraged sense of justice or morality. <righteous indignation> <snip>

So it doesn't matter how angry Harry is, and his anger is genuine and 
good or *righteous*.  To produce an effective Cruciatus Curse, what's 
required it the desire to really hurt someone. To *need* (not want) 
to cause them pain. And to *enjoy* causing that pain. That is sadism 
in it's purest form.  That is what is required for the Cruciatus 
Curse.  That is what makes it Unforgivable.  

Harry is not there, thank goodness. Let's hope he never reaches that
dark place, or we've lost out hero for good.


Carol responds:
I agree with most of Mandy's post, although I think the part about
"*need* (not want) to cause them pain" is a slight misreading.
Bellatrix actually says, "you need to really *want* to cause pain."
So, yes, it's "want," not "need." But the ky point, I think is her
next words: wanting to cause pain means enjoying inflicting pain on
others, whether or not you're angry with them. (Think about Bellatrix
and the Longbottoms, whom she tortured to insanity out of sadistic
pleasuere, and contrast that with Harry's fury at Bellatrix for
killing Sirius.)

Other than that, I agree that a Crucio can only be properly performed
by a sadist like Bellatrix and that Harry's anger is "righteous" in
the sense of 2b, an "outraged sense of justice or morality" because of
what Bellatrix has (apparently) done to Sirius. I also wholeheartedly
agree that it would be terrible for Harry to reach the "dark place"
where he enjoys causing pain and is no better morally than his
enemies. If he performs any Unforgiveable Curse successfully, he will
(IMO) be irredeemably evil, like Bellatrix--or young Tom Riddle after
he AK'd his parents. Such actions *cannot be forgiven*. That's what
Unforgiveable means.

Carol