A moral theory of Magic (was Re: A simple-minded question)

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 95109

Ali wrote:
<snip>
Dumbledore says [about life debt] that "This is magic at its deepest, 
its most impenetrable" p. 311 PoA UK edition.

>From that, I think it's fair to infer that it is a form of ancient
magic. Whether "Ancient" magic is old and liable to be forgotten or
a very particular field of magic is of course another argument.
<snip>


Carol asked
(in the Unforgiveables thread, #95063):
But the question remains, Unforgiveable *by whom*?


Now Neri:

All this kind of fits together. We have:

1. Lily's sacrifice ("ancient magic").
2. Life Debt. 
3. The three Unforgivables.

(did I forget something?) 

All seem to be of the same family of magic, magic "at its deepest, 
its most impenetrable". In all of them a wizard does something highly 
moral or highly immoral to another wizard. And the result? Lily's 
sacrifice shows us this: The moral side gains something that lends 
him immunity, especially immunity towards the wrong doer. And the 
immoral side? He seems to lose something that makes him vulnerable at 
some very basic level. Especially vulnerable to the one he wronged.

So what is this something that they gain or lose? Power X, naturally. 
The Power That Is Behind The Locked Door. The power that is "more 
wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than 
the forces of nature". Some say it is Love, some say Truth, some say 
other things. But as in algebra, names are interchangeable. It is 
what Power X *does*, and *how* it does it, that are important.

What is the Life Debt? What happens if you just don't pay your life 
debt? The debtor seems to conditionally lose some of his Power X to 
the one who saved him. This makes him vulnerable until he can repay 
the debt and gain back the lost amount of Power X.

Now to the Unforgivables. "Unforgivable by whom?" asked Carol. By 
Power X, of course. When you use an Unforgivable curse, you lose some 
Power X for good. You can *never* get it back. Lose to whom? To the 
one you hurt, naturally, or to his loved ones who are still alive. It 
is like a life debt that is impossible to repay. Types like Tom or 
Bella have a huge and irrevocable minus in their Power X account.

Now it also makes sense why Harry has such a huge quantity of Power 
X. It is not only his mother's sacrifice. It is also the fact that 
Voldemort used an Unforgivable twice, both on Harry's mother and on 
baby Harry himself (not to mention also killing Harry's father). That 
certainly makes for a powerful combination. 

It is also obvious why the Power X in the DoM is always kept behind a 
locked door. The poor fools who somehow managed to trap it in there 
can't use it for anything. Power X can be exchanged and used only 
through moral and immoral acts.

And another thing: why does DD frequently acts, or avoids acting, in 
such a fatalist way? He often just steps aside and let Tom and Harry 
play it between them. What does he know that we don't? Some figure 
that he is a grand puppet master. That he arranges everything that 
happens. But did he arrange James and Lily's death? Did he arrange 
Sirius' death? I think not. I think DD does his best to avoid 
meddling (although sometimes he can't restrain himself) because he 
knows that "the consequences of our actions are always so 
complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very 
difficult business indeed" (PoA Ch. 22, same place where he explains 
the life debt buisness). DD knows that the battle between Tom and 
Harry will be decided by Power X mechanics, and DD meddling in it is 
only likely to complicate things further.

 
Neri, who branched out a bit this time.