Malum in prohibendum vs. Malum in se, was Re: Harry using Crucio.

[Bruce Alan Wilson]

No: HPFGUIDX 174355

Some things are wrong because they are illegal; other things are 
illegal because they are wrong.

Running a red light comes definitely into the first class. "Shooting 
a man in Reno just to see him die," (to paraphrase the old song) is 
definitely in the second. There are a great many things in between.

You will note that JKR shows her 'good' characters doing Crucio and 
Imperio, but never explicitly Avada Kevadra. Hence, SHE apparently 
thinks that the first two are MIP, while the last is MIS. (Now, some 
people don't see a difference, but this is JKR's sandbox. She gets 
to make the rules.)

Language is also a clue. The first two curses are in Latin, while the 
last is in Hebrew or Aramaic. Latin is the language of Law; Hebrew 
and Aramaic are the languages of the Bible. Man's law vs. God's.

Bruce Alan Wilson

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other 
forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle 
remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch