What is 'Dark Magic'?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 95783

Bill wrote:
> What exactly is 'Dark Magic'?  This has never been answered in 
> canon.  Many fans assume that the difference between 'Dark Magic' 
> and 'Light Magic' has to do with the intended results, but this 
> cannot be right, as many 'Light Magic' spells can be used to hurt or 
> kill others--for example, the Reducto Curse, which Harry uses in the 
> Third Task to blow a hole in a hedge, would also blow a person 
> apart.  The three 'Unforgivable Curses' may, if used, be cause to be 
> sent to Azkaban, but they are not specifically named as 'Dark Magic'.
>  
> Another theory is that 'Dark Magic' has to do with controlling 
> spirits or demons, in the same manner as the classical concept of 
> sorcery or necromancy.  This is possible, but there is no evidence 
> that I am aware of that such a thing exists in the Potterverse.
><interesting post snipped>

Carol:
Sorry to snip your post, but I don't have any ideas on the topic at
this point. I do like the idea that the Dark Arts aren't evil so much
as amoral, which would justify Snape's interest in them--but if
they're not evil, why have a DADA class and why does Dumbledore refuse
to teach them?

But my intention in responding was to point out that we do have at
least one instance of a Dark Wizard controlling a monster--Tom Riddle
and the basilisk. Admittedly, it's not a spirit, but maybe it's a
demon in beastly form. And what about the Dementors, who *are* evil
spirits, who serve the inept and corrupt Fudge because they want what
he can offer them (the souls of the Azkaban prisoners), not because he
can control them. But Voldemort, unquestionably a master of the Dark
Arts, is another matter. They will obey him, I'm sure, partly through
natural inclination and partly through his power over them. That's
probably as close as JKR will come to classical necromancy, but it's
close enough, IMO.

Carol

P.S. IIRC, Parseltongue is specifically identified as a Dark Art in
CoS. Sorry I don't have a page reference.