The Harry Potter series features three unforgivable curses: the Cruciatus curse, which tortures victims; the Imperius curse, which controls them; and Avada Kedavra, which kills instantly. Conviction for casting these curses results in life imprisonment in Azkaban.
In the Harry Potter books, an unforgivable curse is a curse that causes great harm or death to the witch or wizard upon whom it is performed. If convicted of casting such a curse, the sentence is life imprisonment in Azkaban, the wizarding prison. Only three curses are considered unforgivable: the Cruciatus curse, the Imperius curse, and Avada Kedavra. Readers are introduced to these curses in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire during a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, when the curses are demonstrated on spiders.
The Cruciatus Curse mercilessly tortures the victim. This unforgivable curse was commonly used by dark witches and wizards to extract information, and in some cases their victims were tortured to death or madness. The parents of Neville Longbottom, one of the supporting characters in the books, have lost their minds due to the use of this unforgivable curse. JK Rowling likely derived the name of the curse from the Latin word for “cross,” crux, which often appears in words meaning intense pain.
The unforgivable curse that most worries the Ministry of Magic is the Imperius curse, which is used to control the subject. An individual under the Imperius curse has no free will or ability to make decisions, essentially acting as a puppet of the dark witch or wizard casting the curse. Of course, a witch or wizard may also claim to be under the Imperius Curse when they have committed an act of treachery or violence, and the Ministry may have a hard time proving otherwise. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this unforgivable curse is used on several characters to devastating effect. The name of this unforgivable curse comes from the Latin root imperium, which means “to command”.
Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse, is the most devastating unforgivable curse. When cast on a witch or wizard, they will instantly die in a rush of green light. As Professor Moody tells his students in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the wizard who casts the curse must do so with intent and malice, or it will be ineffective. The name of this curse is probably taken from the word corpse. There is no known counter-curse, and the only person known to survive an attack is, of course, Harry Potter himself.
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