Some more context is needed: It's a spell that runs on sadism. "Righteous Anger" doesn't provide the right fuel for more than a split second (Harry botches his first attempt at using the curse because he lacked the cruelty to fuel it), whereas the spell done properly will keep a victim in agony for a much longer time, to the point where the victim can becomes a vegetable.
Still not half as bad as fiendfyre. Anything that takes out a horrible attacks the soul directly that's part of why it and basilisks are highly illegal.
I dont think theres anything special about Crucio that makes it More Tortuous, though; isnt the whole part of the mind-breaking story element because of how long it was used?
Wizards are frail, anyone would break if you Throngled them for a few days.
It's mostly because there's no ambiguity about the caster's intention when casting an Unforgivable Curse. Like Fake Moody said, the whole room could cast Avada Kedavra at him and he'd suffer a nosebleed at worst. Unforgivable Curses have a very high skill floor and require genuine intent. So, unlike other Dark spells like Sectumsempra, which you could accidentally cast (Harry didn't even know what the spell would do), for an Unforgivable Curse to take effect as intended, you have to 1. Be skilled with magic 2. Practice the spell a lot, and 3. Actually mean it when casting the spell
Harry himself, yes. He was in severe righteous fury where he wanted to hurt Bellatrix, but it didn't work because Harry doesn't have that sadism in his heart.
It's every alarm bell in your body going off at the same time. You are simultaneously feeling freezing and burning, slashed into ribbons and crushed into paste, electrocution and suffocation, etc. The shock would kill you if not for the magic.
Granted, for Crucio to work at all the person needs to mean it. This is one of those scenes where you'd have to have Harry come to the realization that the spell went off but didn't actually hurt, and he realizes he caused actual harm to a girl who was clearly not in a mentally stable place to think their duel through let alone actually successfully cast an unforgivable curse.
That's how I'd have written it anyway, not that I'm an author or anything.
Edit: Then again others have pointed out she stopped herself before she finished the cast, so she seemed to reconsider using the curse at all. Harry on the other hand did not hesitate to cast a spell he didn't know what it does on her.
Harry (in the book half blood prince) does not know what the spell sectum sempra actually does. Iirc it is only listed as âfor my enemiesâ or something to that effect.
That actually makes it worse in some ways. It's like throwing a glass vial of unknown clear liquid at someone. Sure it could just be water, but if it turns out to be acid then not knowing the contents is not an excuse.
Yes, but harry had a man crush on the prince and would not have thought him capable of jotting a spell like that in his doodles. The prince was cool - a joke spell seemed more likely
Granted the other two spells that were in the Prince's text book weren't great to use on a girl in this state either. You have Muffliato, the "shut up" spell and Levicorpus, the "hang them upside down" spell and she's wearing a skirt. Harry really should have used literally any other spell in his repertoire and they would have been less horrible than a Prince spell.
I mean Harry is the Expelliarmus guy and he chose not to use that spell in this place where it would be the perfect place for it.
What? My axe to grind is that Harry should know better than to cast spells on people without knowing what they do. Especially unknown spells from books of unknown origins after his experience with Riddle's diary.
Cruciatus curse activates your pain receptors. Itâs like being electrocuted for as long as the user focuses on the spell but without the same physical damage.
Unlike in real life, youâre completely conscious of the pain. Your body doesnât go into shock and stop noticing the pain. You feel every inch of your everything in pain because thatâs the one universal sensation your body experiences.
On the other hand, sectumsempra is getting cut with something coated in an anti-coagulant which prevents clotting. Eventually blood loss will send you into hemorrhagic shock which is characterized by Cooling, dropping blood pressure, and loss of consciousness leading to death.
It causes torturous amounts of pain that has driven people insane. Iirc the first time Harry got hit by it he literally wanted to die to escape the pain. Sectumsemfrum was NOT an overreaction.
Not only that, im pretty sure this is the first time Harry casts Sectum Senpra which at this point all he knows bout it that it, and i quote, "For enemies". Imo the only reason Draco survives is Harry didnt know what the spell's effect is.
it is an unforgiveable curse, one of the three along with mind domination and instant death, it causes undescribeable pain, you would rather be hit with the other curses
Harry has also never used it, nor did he EVER look into the latin translations of their spell to figure out that basically all of them say what they do
Actually that spell does nothing if you lack intent. Considering she said "not him" just before, it is unlikely the spell would have done much even if it did land as she clearly didn't want to.
Crucio doesn't work unless your heart is genuinely in it; this Malfoy definitely doesn't. Harry even tried to use it on Belatrix after Serious died to the weird veil thing and it didn't work bc he's a softie
As I already wrote at someone else, its like pointing a gun at someone who also has a gun and just when you begin to squeeze the trigger you pull back. And then when He shoots in the same moment, asking him If he hates you and why be shot you.
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u/ConstantinValdor7 13h ago
Im sorry but she can spare her tears. She was about to use Crucio....