Dolohov's curse (Was: More About Snape and Occlumency)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 121818


Jocelyn wrote:
> In OotP, Hermione is blasted by a slash of purple fire and seriously
injured - and the spell was cast by someone who couldn't speak at the
time. (page 698 in my copy)
> 
> I suspect that this is advanced magic, which Harry (and we with him)
are unlikely to encounter at school.  Nevertheless it seems to exist.


Carol responds:
As I understand it, this particular curse was the result of a
whispered spell which would have been stronger (and possibly fatal) if
Dolohov had been able to speak it aloud. I don't think it's *advanced*
magic so much as *Dark* magic performed by a powerful and evil wizard
who can cast the spell even though he can't speak it. (Snape
frequently Evanescoes spills without speaking the spell; I think that
powerful wizards can perform spells without speaking them, especially
if they have wands that suit them well--which raises the point of
where the DEs who escaped from Azkaban got wands and whether they
might have been more effective had their own wands not been confiscated.)

At any rate, I expect that we'll hear more about this slashing spell
that produces purple light. Maybe Hermione will investigate it in HBP
since it produced her injuries. And we may hear more of Dolohov, too.
He's the one who was convicted for "the brutal murders of Gideon and
Fabian Prewett" (OoP Am. ed. 543) and just possibly he used this spell
to kill them rather than an AK, which is swift and painless and would
probably not be described as "brutal."  Dumbledore says that some of
the DEs in VW1 were nearly as terrible as Voldemort, and Dolohov seems
to me to fit this description as well as anyone we've seen.

BTW, you must be using the British edition since p. 698 in my edition
is in the "Grawp" chapter.

Carol, who wants to learn more about this particular spell, which I
very much doubt is taught at Hogwarts