Imperius Curse and Harry (was Re: re:Imperalisk/

[Philip]

No: HPFGUIDX 182460

Carol says:


One thing I found interesting was the sensation that Harry felt when he cast the Imperius Curse, "a sensation of tingling warmth that
seemed to flow from his mind, down the sinews and veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast" (DH Am. ed. 531). Later, the narrator refers again to "the sense of heady control that flowed from brain to wand" (535). It's easy to see how such a curse could become addictive (Mulciber becomes an Imperius specialist, in contrast to Bellatrix, who enjoys the more sadistic Cruciatus Curse; the Imperius Curse, as we know from GoF, causes a sensation of pleasure similar to what a man feels listening to or watching a Veela.


Philip responds:

I noticed this, but to be honest it sounded awfully similar to

"He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head…"
from Harry's first purchase of a wand in PS.

Clearly the sense of connection is now deeper as Harry is further into his wizarding life, but I think this is not the curse itself.

I think that the reason this curse makes him feel this is the fact that the wand has been used by its previous owner in the same way, so the wand has an affinity for these spells.


As Mr Ollivander says in DH CH: 24,

"Subtle laws govern wand ownership" and "The best results, however, must always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and a wand… These connections are complex. An initial attraction and then a mutual quest for experience….."


I think the warmth coursing through Harry is this initial attraction… not unlike the words Rowling and other authors often use concerning physical attraction, rather than a result of the spell.

Personally, I believe Mulciber is just caught up in that desire for control – he is controlled so must control others to soothe his ego…

Thanks,

Philip