Assignment 4
holcharms@gmail.com Lesson 4
Short answer 3 pts each
1. What is the brand of magic used for defending against Leglimency?
Occlumency
2. Which curse has no known counter-curse?
Avada Kadavra - the Killing Curse
3. Who would be able to Accio something on familiarity alone?
Someone who knows and "feels" the Accio'd object as thoroughly and completely as humanly as possible, as Harry does with his Firebolt.
4. What does occulto mean in Latin?
To hide or conceal.
5. Why didn't the Cruciatus Curse work for Harry when he used it on Bellatrix LeStrange in the Order of the Phoenix?
Because would need to have real, complete and honest intent to cause pain, to hurt and torment the target, and not sparked by mere anger, but rather having taken the concious, rational choice of causing pain. In short, he had to "mean it".
For 15 points:
For this month's essay I would like you to outline 3 different careers available to students graduating from Hogwarts. Please include what charms would be important to excel at, and even what other classes, for that occupation and why. Be specific and be thorough, I want reasons and details, please. No less than 100 words, no more than 300.
Curse breaker
Spellmaker
Obliviator
EXTRA CREDIT 30 pts
Given the information we know about the 3 Unforgivable Curses, and how the first two may be deflected through Occlumency, I'd like to concentrate on the Killing Curse.
What do YOU think it does?
Where does it attack?
What kind of magic is involved or charm/spell, that would cease all life instantly?
What branch of magic would be best to create some kind of shield or counter-curse for this?
Please realize this is all speculation, so your imagination is key. Give me 2 charms, spells, or curses (made up or a variation of ones we know) that with skill and practice *might* be able to deflect or directly counter Avada Kadavra.
Please be sure to answer all of the above questions in your response along with your charms.
I think it basically "stops" all activity in the body for a second or two, similar to an Impediment charm, but supercharged. I'd stop the blood flow, electrical activity in the brain, photosynthesis (the whole "turning light into food" thing plants do, by the way), etc. The reasoning is simple: If one stops something from working, something else will take up the slack in the meantime. However, if we also stop the replacement, it'll need a second replacement, which might not exist. Quickly and efficiently, the whole house of cards tumbles down. And since death does something similar, it'd look exactly the same. Interestingly enough, this means the Darkest of Dark Magic is a charm.
Now, one could, theoretically, create a counter-curse in the form of a spell that "restarts" all that activity, like a supercharged and localized Ennervate, but I don't think we know about living beings to do so. I think some Muggles do, considering they can perform surgery. (I think a pureblood called it "cutting people up and sewing them back together"... I can assure anyone it's not that gross. I had a bit of surgery when I was a kid, actually)
Blocking it, however, would be relatively simple. The spell has a lot of force, but it's directed to stopping life. Therefore, it probably has no effect on something without life on its own, although it might shatter it. Thus, blocking Avada Kadravra could probably be done by animating or conjuring something physical, like that spell used to conjure chairs or the kind used to animate the suits of armor, and use it like a shield. A charm for animating a statue might be "animastatua", and to conjure a wooden plank (easy to wield and conjure!), "creotabula". A "Locomotor" or "mobilistatua/-tabula" could be used to aim the pieces, if one doesn't want to risk anything.