Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, and the final installment of the Deathly Hallows.
In my one of my previous videos, I discussed WHY Harry’s Expelliarmus beat Voldemort’s
avada kedavra during both the battle in the graveyard as well as during the battle of
Hogwarts. But one question that I still saw floating around was - why did Harry never
feel pain from Voldemort’s cruciatus curse? Why was Harry also able to resist..CRUCIO?
An unforgivable curse.
The following excerpt from the Deathly Hallows depicts this:
‘You see?’ screeched Voldemort over the tumult. ‘Harry Potter is dead by my hand,
and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!’
Harry had been expecting it: knew his body would not be allowed to remain unsullied upon
the Forest floor, it must be subjected to humiliation to prove Voldemort’s victory.
He was lifted into the air, and it took all his determination to remain limp, yet the
pain he expected did not come.
The truth is, there are a number of reasons for why Harry, at this stage, was nearly invulnerable
to lord Voldemort. And if we look closely, Harry wasn’t the only one that Voldemort’s
spells had little effect on. Neville Longbottom was frozen on the spot, and in one swift,
fluid motion he was able to break himself free from the Full Body-Bind Curse that trapped
him.
Fortunately, there is an answer to this question- and its’ not just ‘plot armour’ - it
was clearly thought out.
From the book:
"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry as they circled, and stared into
each other's eyes, green into red. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't
you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people--"
"But you did not!"
"--I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected
from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You
can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle,
do you?"
Essentially, what happened was this: Remember Lily’s sacrifice for Harry? Where she died
and made Harry invulnerable to Lord Voldemort? Well, Harry actually made the same kind of
sacrifice that she made. Just as Harry was protected by his mother's sacrifice, all of
Harry's friends and loved ones were protected by Harry's sacrifice. Protecting everyone
that Harry loves against arguably the most powerful dark wizard of all time seems like
a tall order, so it’s untelling how long THIS protection would have lasted, but as
far as the battle of hogwarts were concerned - most were safe from that point onward. That’s
the first reason- and it explains why spells would have been ineffective against people
like Neville.
The next reason once again comes back to the elder wand.
From the book:
“Harry saw the elder wand fly high” - “spinning through the air towards the master it would
not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last”.
This passage explains that because Harry is the more deserving and rightful owner of the
Elder Wand, that it’s power cannot be effectively used against him.
In chapter 24 of the same book, Harry talks to Ollivander, and the following passage explains
the importance of the relationship between the wand and the caster:
“‘A person can still use a wand that hasn’t chosen them, though?’ asked Harry.
‘Oh yes, if you are any wizard at all you will be able to channel your magic through
almost any instrument. The best results, however, must always come where there is the strongest
affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then
a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.’”
What this explains is that there is more to being powerful than just a powerful wizard
utilizing a powerful wand. The relationship between the two is equally as important as
the inherent power of each, and a failure to establish this almost symbiotic relationship
will result in a shortfall of magical capabilities and the eventual failure of the wand’s mastery.
Voldemort was never the true holder of the elder wand, nor was he able to form any sort
of relationship with it, which resulted in his inability to master it. This meant that
his power was stunted, and in an interesting turn of events he was perhaps even less powerful
than he would have been with his regular wand. Harry was the true master of the wand, which
meant that it would not kill him, and Voldemort, being the unlawful owner of the wand, could
not produce a level of power that was enough to kill Harry, killing curse or not.
The NEXT reason for Voldemort’s cruciatus curse being ineffective is that Voldemort
performed the curse on, what he thought, was a dead corpse.
‘You see?’ screeched Voldemort over the tumult. ‘Harry Potter is dead by my hand,
and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!'
Voldemort casts the Cruciatus curse to prove Harry's death- which means that he truthfully
believed that Harry was dead. In magical theory, it is clearly stated that one must believe,
expect and feel for some charms and spells to work. It is my belief that, in addition
to Harry's sacrifice, the Cruciatus didn't work cause Voldemort didn't expect it to.
He believed Harry was dead and wouldn't feel anything, therefore it didn’t happen.
And the last reason for the ineffectiveness of Voldemort’s cruciatus curse is that Him
and Harry were basically one in the same person at this point. They were just so interconnected.
When Harry went forward to allow himself to die, Dumbledore explains to Harry why his
soul survived.
"Precisely!" said Dumbledore. "He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it!
Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily's protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life
while he lives!"
What this meant is that Harry would live for as long as Voldemort was alive.
As we know, Voldemort used a regeneration potion to reconstruct his body. One ingredient
of this potion, was ‘blood of foe’ which, basically means that Voldemort used Harry’s
blood to reconstruct his body. This also would have been the same blood that belonged to
Lily, Harry’s mother. When reconstructing his body, Voldemort thought that this would
work to his advantage, and that it would shield him from Lily’s same sacrificial protection
that destroyed him many years prior. He also thought that this meant that he would be able
to properly attack Harry. What happened instead, was that he rendered Harry the only person
capable of killing him, and turned himself into a Horcrux of sorts for Harry. This meant
that as long as he was alive, Harry could not die.
And for all or some of the reasons listed above, Voldemort’s cruciatus curse was ineffective
on Harry.
And that’s it for this video! If you guys have any questions/comments, then let us know
down in the comment section below. Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY