Wandlore and more

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 185388


> Magpie:
> It's possible, but for me it's very hard for it not to be incredibly
 icky. It's hard not to give Harry "credit" (if one considers it a 
credit) for not being able to cast a Crucio against Bellatrix, but 
then later when he proves to not only be able to do one just fine but
 feel satisfied about it there's a little blame on his wand. Even if 
it's not complete blame, even if it's not said to be an excuse, it's 
still responsible for whatever little extra thing made the  difference.

Pippin:
I don't think so. An trained dog will obey a command  while a dog with
less training might fail because it's not certain what's expected of
it. But most people don't have any problem feeling that the moral
responsibility for what a dog does on command is entirely with the
handler and not even a little bit with the dog. 

Magpie:
> If all the kids at school are indeed being forced to cast Crucio, 
> then maybe the spell just isn't all that hard and Harry, now that 
> he's 17 and has had a couple of tries (even if they didn't go all
the  way through) can do it.
> 

Pippin:
Snape predicted that Harry would never have the nerve or the ability
to cast Unforgivable curses. He didn't blame Harry's incompetence on a
lack of practice, though he'd done so many times in the past. Given
that Harry didn't practice, and didn't seem to grow noticeably in
nerve or other magical abilities, it's legitimate to wonder why he
suddenly showed skill with a spell which Draco had performed but he
had not.

 We're not certain how many students were actually successful with the
cruciatus. Neville wasn't punished for failing but for refusing to try.

Pippin