Category:Unforgivable Curses

From UnknowableWiki

The Unforgivable Curses are the strongest and most dangerous Dark Arts spells known to the wizarding world. The casting of any of the three is a crime that warrants a lifetime sentence in Azkaban. No one can cast one such curse without harbouring enough loathing; as Bellatrix Lestrange points out in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, righteous anger does not produce satisfactory results for long (OP36). Death Eaters often employ them, both to show their contempt for the Ministry of Magic's regulations and to stress that they possess enough hatred and skill to do so.

There are three Unforgivable Curses:

• Imperio, a curse that allows a wizard to control another's actions;
• Crucio, the torture curse; and
• Avada Kedavra, the killing curse.

They were used a great deal in the First War, during Voldemort's rise of power. In an attempt to strengthen Aurors in their struggle against dark wizards, the then Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Barty Crouch, Sr., allowed them to employ Unforgivable Curses against suspects, and to kill rather than capture (GF27).

These curses are first introduced to Harry Potter and his classmates in one of Professor Moody's Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons (GF14).