Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and the unforgivable curses.
‘Now ... those three curses – Avada Kedavra, Imperius and Cruciatus – are known as the
Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to
earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That’s what you’re up against. That’s what I’ve
got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need
to practise constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills
... copy this down ...’ [Mad-Eye Moody]
That was of course mad eye moody, actually barty crouch jr, explaining what the unforgivable
curses are.
The reason for these three curses being ‘unforgivable’ is simple: legislation. They were first classified
as "Unforgivable" and illegal by the ministry of magic in the year 1717. At the same time,
the ‘strictest penalties’ were put in place and attached to their use. Before 1717,
we can only assume that they were regarded just like any other spell. And while we don’t
have any information to support this, there must have been some sort of catalyst that
made the ministry truly realize how dangerous these spells were. Ulick Gamp was the minister
for magic at the time the spells were outlawed, with just one year left in his term.
The three spells were truly set apart from others, and they were very clearly categorized
and outlawed. What’s interesting, however, is that while these three spells are pretty
awful, and their potential for destruction is high, there are other spells that exist
in the wizarding world that technically have the same capacity to do damage.
The Unforgivable Curses are three of the most powerful and sinister spells known to the
wizarding world. They are tools of the Dark Arts and generally only used by the darkest
and most sadistic witches and wizards-unafraid of the consequences attached to their use.
But, something that I’ve always wondered was if Dumbledore had ever performed one of
them? He lived for quite a long time, and experienced both the first and second wizarding
wars first hand- so surely he had some exposure to them.
We know that Albus Dumbledore has a little bit of a dubious past, having previously been
close with dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Along with Grindelwald, He was fully on board
with a plan that would establish a global wizarding hierarchy, placing wizards in power
over muggles. That’s right-the Dumbledore that we know and love, wanted to RULE over
muggles.
Fortunately, sooner rather than later, Dumbledore’s direction in life changed for the better,
as he parted ways with Grindelwald. After a disagreement involving Dumbledores brother,
Abeforth, the trio entered in to a three way duel, which resulted in the death of Albus’s
sister, Ariana. The pair had only known each other for 2 months
before parting ways, “two months of insanity,” as Dumbledore would later recall them to be.
Nonetheless, during this time the pair shaped one another's ideas, powers, and destinies.
Of course, Dumbledore had a bit of a troubled home life before any of that ensued, as his
father had been sent to Azkaban for attacking 3 muggle children after they attacked his
daughter, and Albus’s sister, Ariana.
But, even after parting ways with Grindelwald, Dumbledore would have had many opportunities
to perform unforgivable curses. Particularly during the first wizarding war, when Barty
Crouch Sr, the head of the department of magical law enforcement, authorized aurors to use
the unforgivable curses without risk of penalty. The Death Eaters were strong, and it was imperative
that the ‘good’ guys start resorting to ‘dire’ measures to ensure that the reign
of darkness over the magical world could be stopped effectively. His instructions were
that the death eaters should be defeated ‘by any means necessary’. He adopted an attack
first and question later strategy- prioritizing killing suspects over capturing them if appropriate.
Dumbledore was the leader of the order of the phoenix during this time, an organization
comprised of aurors and other powerful witches and wizards who shared one common goal: defeat
Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
The original Order was created in the 1970s, and was constructed after Voldemort returned
to England from abroad and started his campaign to take over the Ministry of Magic and persecute
Muggle-borns. The Order worked quite closely with the ministry to defeat voldemort and
his forces, and so they were also allowed to administer ‘necessary force’ - permitting
use of the unforgivable curses.
The sheer power of Voldemort and his forces during the first wizarding war meant that
the good guys had to cast spells first and question their morality second- and given
that Dumbledore was the LEADER of the order of the phoenix, I am willing to bet that he
used at least one unforgivable curse during the course of the war. But, which of the 3
would Dumbledore have used? Surely some would be more fitting than others.
The imperius curse or Imperio is most often used by dark witches and wizards, and, when
it is cast on a victim, they are forced to perform the unquestioned bidding of the caster.
Being under the control of this spell is said to be like experiencing a ‘wonderful release’
from any sense of responsibility, making the victim extremely susceptible to any sort of
influence from the caster. This one really doesn’t seem like Dumbledore’s
style, and I’m not sure what sort of advantage it would bring the good guys. Dumbledore is
a huge proponent of free will, something which the use of the imperius curse would directly
contradict. He believes that everyone’s path is defined by their choices, and that
everyone has the capacity to change the trajectory of their life if the will is there. Because
of that, I think that the imperius curse is the least likely of the 3 curses for Dumbledore
to have used. It just doesn’t fit with his personality.
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
The Cruciatus Curse, otherwise known as Crucio, is most often used by dark witches and wizards.
When cast, crucio inflicts excruciating pain on the victim - pain so excruciating that
it is considered to be torturous.
Though I don’t think that Dumbledore used this spell later in life, I do think that
he may have used it as a young man- maybe even if just to learn how to use it. Him and
Grindelwald experimented with all sorts of dark magic-so I imagine that he would have
been curious as to how crucio works.
In the Order of the phoenix there is actually an exchange between Voldemort & Dumbledore
which seems to possibly allude to the use of crucio.
"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed
over the top of the shield. "Above such brutality, are you?"
"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly,
continuing to walk towards Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though
nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. "Merely taking your life would
not satisfy me, I admit-" "There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!"
snarled Voldemort. "You are quite wrong," said Dumbledore...
However, Dumbledore may have just been referring to ‘imprisonment’ as a fate worse than
death, as we know that Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard after his capture.
"They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell at Nurmengard. I hope that
it is true. I would like to think he did feel the horror and shame of what he had done."
The third and most life-threatening unforgivable curse is of course The Killing Curse.. Avada
Kedavra. Avada kedavra’s purpose is simple, it causes the victim to instantly die. If
you want to kill your victim, then this is the spell to use. Given the nature of the
first wizarding war, and how high the stakes were, I think that it’s highly likely that
Dumbledore used the killing curse on one or two occasions. Had dark forces overcome the
ministry and the order, then there would have been no additional line of defence to protect
the magical world. By not killing, aurors and the order would have been taking an unnecessary
and lethal risk. Capturing is the way to deal with death eaters under ideal circumstances,
but in times of crisis, it may just be best practice to deal with them more permanently-even
if that means sinking to their level. Dumbledore is a logical man, and though he would have
avoided it wherever possible, I’m sure that he used the killing curse when absolutely
necessary-to preserve the sanctity of the magical world.
There are even a few passages from the text that support the notion that the good guys
were aware of the necessity to kill on occasion:
First, from the Deathly Hallows:
"I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes, also," said
Professor McGonagall. "If you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you.
But if any of you attempt to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within
the castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill."
Next, from the Goblet of Fire:
“Crouch’s principles might’ve been good in the beginning – I wouldn’t know. He
rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against
Voldemort’s supporters. The Aurors were given new powers – powers to kill rather
than capture, for instance. And I wasn’t the only one who was handed straight to the
Dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorised the use of the
Unforgivable Curses against suspects.”
And another from The Deathly Hallows:
"Harry, the time for Disarming is past! These people are trying to capture and kill you!
At least Stun if you aren't prepared to kill!"
So, as we can see, sometimes killing is necessary, even if you are one of the good guys. Dumbledore
was a cool, calculated and practical man- and I have no doubt in my mind that he would
have used avada kedavra on the odd occasion, if it served the greater good.
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