Sectumsempra - have we seen it already?

[solskjaer_crazy]

No: HPFGUIDX 136630

First I want to say hello as I haven't been on this site since just 
after OOTP came out (to be honest that book really put me off HP and
I just haven't been interested since) but now HBP has got me back and 
interested again :D

Second I want to appologise if someone has already bought this up but 
I am slowly making my way through the posts since HBP came out and I 
have about 1000 left to go... *shame faced* I have done a search on 
this and nothing came up so hopefully it's kinda fresh ground :D. 
Basically I'm just wondering if we haven't seen Sectumsempra before...
. the cannon is being prepared but I would like to explain that this 
is partly in response to a number of posts asking how Harry was able 
to cast the spell correctly the first time when he didn't know the 
correct "swish and flick" movement as well as the word and partly cos 
it's something that I thought of the moment I read that part of the 
book and it's bugging me that no one else seems to have mentioned it 
(in the posts I've managed to read so far).

Cannon (from UK childrens editions):

OOTP Bottom of Pg 698
"Silencio" cried Hermione and the man's voice was extinguished. He 
continuied to mouth through the hole in his mask, but no sound came 
out. He was thrust aside by his fellow death eater (...) "Well done 
Ha--" But the death eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden 
slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple 
flame passed across Hermione's chest. She gave a tiny "Oh!" as though 
of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless"

Later on in the same book we are told:
Bottom of P746-747
The curse Dolohov had used against her, though less effective than it 
would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had 
nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey's words, "quite enough damge to 
be going on with".

And then the description of the spell when Harry uses it on Malfoy in 
HBP:
Very top of Pg489
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been 
slashed with an invisable sword"

Ok so why am I thinking anything here, a number of things:

Both are slashing/cutting injuries for a start even though one is 
chest only and one is face and chest but this can be explained
because Dolohov made a (i.e. ONE) "slashing movement", he slashed 
across Hermione's chest. Harry "waved his wand wildly" hence he had 
the correct motion (the "swish and flick") and got not only Malfoy's
chest but face as well.

Additionally perhaps Hermione didn't spurt blood everywhere because 
the spell was not complete (it had no audiable incantation with it) 
and possibly didn't actually cut her open so to speak, I do not 
remember any talk of her having an open wound although I could be 
wrong about that as I have avoided reading OOTP more than twice (see 
opening paragraph)whereas Malfoy got the full force and therefore had 
to be treated for more serious injuries much quicker than Hermione 
needed treatment(I'm not sure exactly how long their respective 
recovery times were).

The purple flame could easily have been obscured by the blood
spurting from Malfoy's chest as it is not said to come from the wand 
but to "pass across the chest" and even if it does come from the
wand, JK is known to not always tell us the colour of a spell (Sirius'
death anyone?) and no flame or sparks are mentioned with Harry's cast.

And just to see if it gave me any extra help in seeing if these two 
could be the same spell I went and looked up "sectum" in a latin 
dictionary and most of the words that came up were of the variety
that mean "to cut" "cutter" "cutting" "to be able to cut" and "cut" so
that kinda, well supports the idea perhaps? ;) (other words that came 
up were of the "follower" "to follow" and "way of life" variety)

I'm not saying this is the same spell just wondering if it could be. 
And if it is what does it mean? See that would imply that Snape has 
indeed given the DEs some advantages in the past (his DA spells that 
he wrote in his potions book) either by telling his friends at school 
those spells as other posts seem to have speculated or else doing the 
same when he was a DE (or both?). I don't know if this helps HRH in 
anyway, maybe it does cos they now have the ability to find out some 
of the spells they are up against but this was more me asking if 
anyone else thinks it might be the same spell than speculating on
what it might mean for book 7 as I'm not sure it means anything at 
all... so what do people think and if this has been addressed before 
then sorry and can you direct me to the posts?


Holly
Whose really enjoying the posts she's reading, especially as she is 
currently clinging to a "desperate hope" that Snape is good (despite 
having always been perfectly neutral about him before HBP!!!)