Harry's use of an Unforgivable excused? (was: Who taught Voldemort?)

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 130602

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Rebecca Dreiling" 
<srbecca at h...> wrote:
> 
> You know I'm sure this has come up in discusssion before but Harry 
did use an Unforgivable curse in OoP.  Is he excused because of the 
context of the spell's use?  Is he excused because he was fighting 
LV?  Does anyone think that he will have to deal with a punishment 
for this in HBP?  Or is it that the war has started and all 
rules/bets are off as far as spells/curses are concerned?
> 


Tonks:
I think that Harry was very wrong to do that curse, even under the 
circumstances.  When I *watched* him doing it, I screamed "NO Harry, 
NO!!"  But will he be arrested for it?  Probably not.  My reasoning 
here is that while everything an underage wizard does outside of 
Hogwarts seems to be monitored, and (especially at Pivot Dr. because 
the MoM is probably monitoring that area extra close), since this 
was in the MoM it may have gone unnoticed.  Also, it may be that the 
victim must press charges just as in the Muggle world.  But on a 
more important point, I think that Harry has to search his soul 
about this.  Here is another situation in which he did not stop and 
think and control his emotions.  Yes, I know that it would be hard 
to do in that situation, but control his emotions he must.  (I sound 
like Yoda, I know.) In RL we all, at some time in our lives, become 
angry enough to hurt or even kill someone, but most of us don't.  
And we don't because we have control of our strong emotions.  I 
think that Harry will have to learn this as well.  True, his attempt 
did not go well because it wasn't in him to *really* do it, but 
still I think he needs to sit in the corner for a bit and think 
about the ramifications of it all.

I think that only Aurors have the sanctions to use the Unforgivables 
in wartime.  Wizards like DD are above that and are, as we have 
seen, very able to defend themselves and others without stooping to 
such methods. I also don't think that JKR is going to give the 
message to children that it is OK to zap your enemy. There is enough 
of that in the world already.

Tonks_op