Dark Magic and Snape / Dark Creatures

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 161562

> Betsy Hp:
>> I think power can still be a source of corruption if used 
> unchecked.  But I do think with magic power is power and it's the 
> way it's *used* that differentiates between good and evil.  For 
> example, Lockhart's abilities with memory charms.  The memory 
charms 
> aren't dark.  Lockhart's abilities with them didn't make him a dark 
> wizard.  But the *way* he used them was bad.
>

a_svirn:
I don't know about that, since I can't be entirely sure what *dark* 
is. But they are definitely evil. 

> Betsy Hp:
> You know, I wonder if Voldemort didn't employ the "muddled waters" 
> to corrupt Quirrell?  We know Quirrell was good at his subject 
> (DADA), so I think it's safe to assume he'd have had a good idea of 
> what magic is dark and what magic is light as per the MoM (which 
I'm 
> assuming is a key source of the current definitions).  It'd have 
> been easy for someone as well-versed and as well-spoken as 
Voldemort 
> to start asking some questions.  "Why is this spell dark and this 
> one not?"  "Couldn't that dark spell be a benefit on certain 
> occasions, and that light one an ill?"  Talk about devil's advocate!

a_svirn:
We've been told how Quirrel came to be corrupted. He "opened his soul 
to Lord Voldemort". Which means that he *meant* to be corrupted as 
much as Voldemort did. 

> Betsy Hp: 
> If the WW has made the MoM's definitions of dark and light magic 
> their ethical crutch I can see them being quite susceptible to that 
> sort of  manipulation.  And I can see them concluding that there's 
> no good or evil, just power.

a_svirn:
Actually, I don't believe anyone in the WW pays much attention to the 
Ministry's definition. The bad guys don't care much because they are 
bad, and the good guys don't care because "their ethical crutch" is 
different from that of the Ministry. 

> Betsy Hp: 
> Which would suggest that designating light and dark magic *harms* 
> rather than helps the fight against evil.

a_svirn:
Basically, it suggests that it's about political struggle, not about 
struggle against evil.