Harry's Use of an Unforgivable Curse

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 96051

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan \(Intl Vendor\)" <v-
tregan at m...> wrote:
> Hi Jim & All,
>  
> <Jim>Do you feel Harry should be charged?</Jim>
>  
> <me>Yes, he should. Sure, if it had been an attempted Avada Kedavra 
I'd
> say he was justified (though Dumbledore sets a very different role
> model). But torture?</me>
>  
> <Jim>I disagree. Harry didn't torture; he turned out not to have it 
in
> him to torture Bellatrix.</Jim>
>  
> Hmmm, then why did he choose the Cruciatus Curse? Avada Kedavra 
would
> have been safer for Harry (c.f. if someone more powerful than you 
was
> intent on killing you, and you had a gun, where would you shoot 
them:
> torso or leg?) But perhaps I'm being too clinical, perhaps Harry's
> revulsion at killing  prevented him trying AK, and so Crutiatus was 
all
> that was left. 

Geoff:
If I might add two pennyworth to this discussion.

Have you never been exposed to a situation where you are goaded to an 
extent when you really wish harm on someone - even for a few fleeting 
seconds? I'm sure many, many of us have briefly gone down that road .

I can recall at the age of about 17 (i.e. not much older than Harry), 
I came into contact with a guy in my locality who was about 19. He 
took a dislike to me and gained a sadistic pleasure in going out of 
his way to mess me around whenever we met. It could include physical 
assault, taking property and damaging it and verbal abuse.

I can assure you that there were times when, if I had had the 
facilities to smash his face in, I would have done so. There is a 
real truth in "seeing red". Later I also richly enjoyed the fact 
that, at the age of 21, he was put away for three years for rape.

Harry was in this position. He was beside himself with anger, grief 
and disbelief. Why then did he choose a Cruciatus curse and not Avada 
Kadavra? Maybe because it was the first one that came to mind; maybe 
because part of him hoped that Bellatrix would be captured and there 
would be further punishment. Do we think rationally when we are 
aroused to that extent? Perhaps with experience but not when we first 
encounter such emotions.