6. • There was a flash of blinding green light and a
rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible
something was soaring through the air —
instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its
back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead" —
Description of the Killing Curse
• The Killing Curse is a spell that causes
instantaneous death and is one of the three
Unforgivable Curses. Its incantation is Avada
Kedavra.
7. • The only known counter-spell is sacrificial
protection, which uses the magic of love.
However, one may dodge the green bolt or block
it with a physical barrier. The Killing Curse, as an
"unblockable" curse, cannot be stopped by
another spell, except in circumstances of Priori
Incantatem, where the caster and his opponent's
wands and spells are locked together. An
explosion or green fire may result if the spell hits
something other than a living target.
8. • Only two wizards are known to have survived blows
from this deadly curse: Harry Potter and Tom Riddle.
Harry survived two direct attacks: once in 1981 after
his mother's self-sacrificing love protected him from
Lord Voldemort, and once in 1998 after the curse, cast
again by Voldemort, failed to kill Harry, as he was
tethered to life by Voldemort himself, due to Lily's
blood protection which he took inside himself during
his rebirth. Lord Voldemort remained alive after the
aforementioned curse from 1981 rebounded and
struck him because of his Horcruxes. Voldemort was
notorious for using this curse regularly and
indiscriminately.
9. • History
• Creation
• "The Cruciatus, Imperius, and Avada Kedavra
Curses were not made "unforgivable" until 1717."
—Albus Dumbledore
• The Killing Curse was invented during the early
Middle Ages, by Dark witches or wizards. The
curse was created primarily as a means of quickly
and efficiently slaying one's opponent in a duel.
10. • Legal status
• Avada Kedavra being cast on a spider.
• Along with the Cruciatus and Imperius curses, the Killing
Curse is known as one of the most terrible curses in the
wizarding world. After the Wizards' Council was reformed
into the Ministry of Magic tighter restrictions were placed
on the use of certain kinds of magic. The Killing Curse was
deemed by the Ministry to be Dark magic, and, along with
the Cruciatus and Imperius curses, were declared
"unforgivable" in 1717, with the Killing Curse considered to
be the most deadly of the three. Cursing another human
with the Killing Curse would carry the punishment of a life
sentence in Azkaban.
11. • However, the First Wizarding War, when Barty Crouch Sr.
was in charge of the Department of Magical Law
Enforcement, he fought violence with violence, legalising
the three Unforgivable Curses for Aurors against the Death
Eaters in order to win the war. This was repealed once the
war was over as it was no longer necessary, though, in the
1994-1995 school year, Barty Crouch Jr. (under the disguise
of Alastor Moody) showed these three curses to his fourth
year classes on spiders despite the Ministry's disapproval.
• When Lord Voldemort took over the Ministry, the three
curses were once again legalised: this time every wizard
and witch had the right to use them as they please. In fact,
they were practised in Hogwarts as part of the curriculum
of Dark Arts class under the tutelage of Professor Amycus
Carrow. After Voldemort's death and the revolutionising of
the Ministry under Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, the three
curses were once again forbidden.
12. • It should be noted that despite the curse being
illegal, references have been made to Aurors
using deadly force against opponents, though
whether this means they were authorised to use
the killing curse specifically is unclear. Despite the
circumstances, it is unknown whether the Killing
Curse was used by anyone but Voldemort and his
Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. It is
also known that use of this curse may go
unpunished if there is sufficient evidence that the
caster did so under the influence of the Imperius
Curse
13. • Nature
• The flash of green light that indicates the Killing Curse
• The Avada Kedavra curse is recognisable by the flash of
green light and the rushing noise emitted from the
caster's wand. When the curse hits a living, organic target
it invariably kills them without injury. However, when this
curse hits an inanimate target the effect varies: it can
produce small fires, small greenish explosions, or
explosions of such intensity that can blow up an entire
story of a cottage. It is known by most wizards as Lord
Voldemort's signature spell. It is possible to intercept the
curse with other spells, but this is extremely difficult as it
requires the energy jets of the two spells to collide. As
the energy jets of virtually all spells are very small and
fast, this has only ever been recorded as occurring by
accident
14. • However, certain objects, such as the centar
statue of the Fountain of Magical Brethren,
managed to block the curse without any
visible damage to itself. It should be noted
that curse did not terminate the animation of
(i.e. "kill") the statue, however, the statue was
only animated by magic and so presumably
had no real life in him for the curse to take
away
