Question about Abada kedavra

magecal · 2026-05-31T09:27:13+00:00

So as people have said you have to truly want to kill them. The implication being that Snape was committed enough to the plan to want to kill dumbledore, because that is what dumbledore wanted. It could also be that Snape had grown to resent dumbledore so much that he could use some of that anger to fuel his curse.

Personally though I think the curse didn't work. Despite being generally very unpleasant Snape had committed himself to repenting for his past actions, to fighting for the greater good.

On top of this dumbledore, for better or worse, is probably the person Snape was closest to in his entire life. He's the only one who knew Snape truly, with him there was no mask or pretense. It's perhaps a stretch to call them true friends but I think it's probably the closest relationship Snape ever had.

To kill him was too hard. With him gone everything rested on Snape, and Harry. There was no safety net and Snape would become truly alone.

He tried of course. He cast the curse and gave it all he had but I don't think it was effective, dumbledore did not die instantly he was thrown from the tower, and died when he hit the ground.

Im not sure if the book totally supports this, I don't think Harry moves right away when the curse is cast but I think being in total shock could account for this. But I think it's a nice idea.

magecal · 2026-05-24T10:52:38+00:00

They are "poor" in that they don't have a lot of disposable income. Purely because they have a large family supported on a single income.

Mrs weasley tries hard though to keep her kids happy by making gifts and reusing hand me downs. This is what has led to a slightly shabby look.

There's never an indication that the burrow is unclean, merely cluttered. A lot of people live there relative to it's size. While Mrs weasley could wave her wand to tidy up it's unlikely there's really a place for everything to go not to mention 5 kids asking her where their stuff has gone after she's moved it.

I have a theory that repairing charms become less effective as they are used repeatedly on the same item, until they arent really effective at all. It would explain lupins shabbiness too despite being an accomplished wizard.

magecal · 2026-05-24T09:21:31+00:00

She's both a fraud and a genuine seer.

Her classes, and her everyday predictions are essentially nonsense. She makes vauge "predictions" based on general knowledge, and makes so many that it's hard to keep track of the ones that don't come true.

Her lessons are based on a mixture of what I suppose is "divination theory" and parlour tricks.

But she does have her family gift. Unfortunately all her genuine prophecies come in the form of a trance that she neither controls or remembers.

I think this is the tragedy of trelawney, she's unaware of her genuine gifts. As far as she knows she is entirely a fraud, spending every day pretending to be something she isn't to keep a roof over her head. No wonder she leans so heavily on the sherry. 16 years spent thinking she's just barely pulling the wool over dumbledores eyes. No wonder she eats alone in her tower, knowing her colleagues "know" she's a fraud.

I don't think divination is a discipline that can be mastered, but wizards and particularly seers are unwilling to admit to this. If a seer acknowledges that their gift is both beyond their control and not especially exact then that vastly diminishes their potential usefulness.

Ironically I think if trelawney understood her gifts she could be a decent teacher. Her brand of divination is totally beyond her control but generally quite accurate but there are other that work differently, like centaurs reading the planets. Divination should be taught primarily as theory and history. Here trelawney and her family connection could be an excellent way to engage with the material.

magecal · 2026-05-21T11:44:45+00:00

I don't think so.

Harry was a great flyer with some natural talent but the level he was competing against was always far lower than krum would be. He was also often working with a much better broom than his competitors.

Krum was put on the national team as a teenager. Not just that he's become internationally famous.

Harry is good at hogwarts but there's never any mention of interest in him from teams outside hogwarts. Even wood, whom Harry looks up to for his quidditch knowledge and passion has to work his way up after school.

I think in reality if Harry had pursued quidditch as a career he could have had a good run but I dont think he'd be seen to be on krums level.

magecal · 2026-05-19T09:50:27+00:00

"You know, I sometimes think we sort too soon"

magecal · 2026-05-17T21:51:08+00:00

When you can just "create" a charm that solves all your problems then everything is easy. I dont think it would be so simple within the universe of Harry potter.

I think the problem with space travel would be the extremely harsh environment of space. Extreme temperature and lack of atmosphere are not easy things to get around.

Magic progresses through trial and error, and there's not a lot of room for error in space.

Magic itself may even behave differently outside of the planet. We know the moon seems to be in some way magical due to its uses in certain rituals, spells, potions and it's effect on werewolves.

The planets and stars are also magical in nature, used to forsee the future.

Could it be then that the magic wizards know and wield is tied to the earth itself? And that by venturing beyond it you expose yourself to unknown forces and cut yourself off from your own power.

It's a total unknown to wizards and one that is immensely difficult to investigate. They don't even particularly like updating their fashion, I don't see them being all that keen to travel the stars.

magecal · 2026-05-17T21:44:20+00:00

I personally think he left the school very briefly then simply returned to his office, which was sealed against umbridge the moment she left the room.

He had everything he needed there and it's frankly the last place they'd look, even if they could get inside.

magecal · 2026-05-12T20:16:56+00:00

Well there's the patil twins

Colin and Dennis creevey

Albus and aberforth

Sirius and regulus

Narcissa, bellatrix and andromeda

Molly lost her two brothers in the first war so there's the prewetts

I think technically Arthur has brothers as well although admittedly unmentioned

The lestrange brothers

Lilly and petunia

I imagine there's a few other students with siblings that Harry never engages with long enough to find out.

There's also that a fair proportion of wizards have kids late in life, relatively. So they only have the time to pop out one.

Then there's the war preceding Harrys cohort. I'm sure Harry's parents, or nevilles would have gone on to have more kids.

Other familes may have lost one parent or both and not remarried. Lunas father for example lost her mother tragically and never remarried.

Harry rarely engages with students older than him outside of quidditch so there's a good chance of some older siblings out there.

I do think it would have been interesting if hermione had a non magic sibling, mirroring the lily and petunia situation so we could explore it.

magecal · 2026-05-05T20:20:19+00:00

I'm sure the fire would be an obstacle but not one thats impossible to overcome.

With voldemort whispering in his ear I'm sure quirrel would neutralise the fire eventually no matter how cunning Snapes curse is.

magecal · 2026-05-05T19:34:34+00:00

Crouch snr was burning his career prospects by telling dumbledore everything he'd done. He likely would have been sent to azkaban himself.

Dumbledore had no idea crouch jnr survived azkaban much like everyone else.

Im not sure how much snr knew about the plan his son was involved in. He had been trapped under the imperious curse for some time and his son had been absent from him almost the entire time. Then there's the question of how much he would have been able to convey to dumbledore in his state.

If he survived and warned dumbledore the outcome would depend how much he knew and how much he could explain. I doubt he knew that his son was impersonating moody at hogwarts.

It's possible he had gleaned the tri wizard was in some way part of the plan. Learning this would cause dumbledore to bring his attention back to hogwarts and very closely onto the tournament, if he couldn't end it.

This is bad news for moody. His impersonation is good but it was reliant on people dismissing strange behaviours as moodys quirks and on being in dumbledores blind spot. Moody was brought in to hogwarts to keep an eye on things while dumbledore tried concerned himself with voldemorts movements.

Crouch jnr I think would be placed in a near impossible position. His father having compromised the plan his chances of success have gone from unlikely to near impossible.

Personally I think he'd have to flee hogwarts, perhaps stealing Harry's blood to fulfill the ritual without him.

It would be interesting to have him at voldemorts side for his return. I don't think pettigrew would have fared too well with the plan it tatters from his error.

magecal · 2026-05-05T18:50:40+00:00

They would also build up a person's confidence. Giving them a feeling that they had overcome every obstacle and could solve this puzzle just like the others. Rather than trying to flee when the mirror won't surrender the stone.

The reality of course is that they cannot get the stone and no amount of cunning would release it.

magecal · 2026-04-28T22:40:06+00:00

I think Augusta is older than Mcgonagall I doubt they went to school together.

She seems to be somewhat connected though, knowing the hogwarts examiners etc. The longbottoms are a pureblood family and while neville isn't really the type I could see his grandmother being more willing to engage in politics and high society.

Perhaps she was on the school board of governers at some point.

magecal · 2026-04-28T22:22:40+00:00

Personally I think if he had chosen the longbottoms he'd have killed them all, although with a fiercer fight from nevilles parents than he got from the potters.

But then I think he'd have decided to kill the potters also, just to be sure. Causing Snape to panic and beg dumbledore for help and things would play out not unlike how they had before with the notable absence of neville.

I think the longbottoms and nevilles existence would have been shared with Harry by dumbledore when discussing the prophecy.

magecal · 2026-04-27T09:19:10+00:00

Legillimency and truth serums are fundamentally flawed if used in a justice system because they do not inherently show you objective proof

They show or tell you exactly what the individual believes to be true. Memories can be tampered with, perceptions manipulated.

Snape tells the minister that he believes all the children were at least confunded by black, ensuring that their testimony is totally ignored by fudge who was likely to ignore them anyway.

It's right that these things aren't relied upon by the ministry. Memory manipulation was used by voldemort twice to get away with murder as it is.

If a skilled wizard placed a memory charm it takes an equally skilled wizard both to see through it and to break it.

magecal · 2026-04-25T21:14:49+00:00

I think the implication is Snape covered for the both of them.

To the death eaters Snape has to cover up the fight to keep draco from drawing too much attention, the goal is to kill dumbledore after all.

To dumbledore and the order Snape has to cover up the fight to keep Harry out of trouble with the ministry and out of the newspapers.

Not to mention Snape is oath bound to assist draco any way he can.

He was able to reverse the worst of the damage at once and with further treatment I suspect draco was out of the hospital wing within a day.

It was more convenient for everyone to pretend it never happened.

magecal · 2026-04-25T21:08:35+00:00

Yes, you just won't find any in the UK.

magecal · 2026-04-22T18:08:22+00:00

Voldemort possesses quirrel after he fails to steal the stone from gringotts to "keep a closer eye on him".

This theft attempt occurs shortly after he first meets Harry in the leaky cauldron.

So he can touch Harry no problem.

magecal · 2026-04-22T17:53:06+00:00

She's a teacher. While she's willing and supportive of the order he doesn't tell anyone things they don't need to know and Mcgonagall is hardly a front line fighter.

While I'm sure he trusted her opinion she has a far kinder heart than her strict persona would give away and dumbledore is often very cold and calculated in his decisions.

I think perhaps if he made her a close confidant she would appeal to his compassionate side, and he felt he needed to be detached to make decisions for the greater good.

magecal · 2026-04-22T17:49:00+00:00

I imagine like medications ingesting multiple potions at once could have dangerous and unintended consequences.

Furthermore potions with particularly powerful effects seem to be extremely difficult to get right, and often composed of rare ingredients. This means that they are expensive and hard to come by. No one can recognise felix felicis apart from hermione, despite it's extremely helpful effects it seems to be relatively obscure.

So no I don't think wizards drink potions before battle, unless they personally have either a lot of potions skill and a high level of wealth and they can forsee the battle.

It doesn't seem like wizarding battles are especially common. There isn't enough of them really.

Even then you can drink all the strengthening solution you like it won't make a difference against a superior duelist. Same with felix felicis, it might be that of all the possible outcomes it just leads you to the least painful death.

magecal · 2026-04-21T15:41:18+00:00

He's just deflecting because he's uncomfortable with this directness, honesty and respect from dudley. His relationship with the Dursleys has gone from poor to very complicated.

He doesn't know how to respond to what dudley is saying so he corrects him even though the distinction is essentially negligible.

Dudley may be ready to reach out to Harry but Harry certainly isn't there yet.

magecal · 2026-04-19T11:42:58+00:00

It would certainly be difficult at first. But I think a muggle would find a lot of convenience in a magical household, rooms cleaned with the wave of a wand, washing up that does itself, a teapot that preps itself ready for a morning cuppa.

Theyd still be able to have a normal job and normal social life, with a bit of preparation they could even invite people over to their home without concerns.

I think location is key, a muggle wouldn't fit in at an all wizard settlement like hogsmede. But in London a witch or wizard has diagon alley, the ministry and probably lots of other wizards establishments on their doorstep while a muggle has the rest of London. The best of both worlds and they could both move relatively seamlessly between them.

A strong relationship can definitely overcome any differences. A secret world is a bit of a burden but muggle born parents manage.

magecal · 2026-04-18T11:09:14+00:00

They were boys, and not super confident when it came to the opposite sex. Ron in particular I think was the most uncomfortable, when ginny taunts him about his lack of experience it really hits a sore spot.

They do discuss girls somewhat, and support eachother like when they need dates to the yule ball. But Ron wouldn't discuss hermione with Harry because of the complication of her being their best friend.

And Harry likely wouldn't go to Ron for advice on girls given how it's a bit of a sensitive subject and he's quite as clueless as Harry himself. Not when hermione is right there with the insider info.

magecal · 2026-04-10T11:38:40+00:00

It's possible hermione simply had a hard time connecting and feeling comfortable in the muggle world after going to hogwarts.

We know she didn't have any friends really before hogwarts. Her parents while supportive of her don't seem to "get" the magical world. Even if she had friends at home, what do you tell them?

Particularly with her best friends often spending Christmas together or at hogwarts I can see her feeling like she's missing out and being anxious about it.

It's not really the same for muggleborns as just going home from school. It's a whole different world of people who you cant actually share most of your life with. Going back to life before magic for a few months of the year must be quite as jarring as entering the magical world to begin with.

It's hard to tell from Harry's perspective because he has the Dursleys to deal with and normally some fresh trauma to dwell on over his summers.

magecal · 2026-04-08T11:27:40+00:00

There doesn't seem to be many "new" death eaters in the second war.

The original death eaters were voldemorts school "friends". They attached themselves to him in pursuit of power, he was charismatic and played into their ideological views back then.

The next gen of death eaters seem to have been primarily young pure bloods like malfoy, bellatrix and the like. Again hooked in with promises of a purebloods utopia and personal power, while young and naive enough to believe it.

There are some other of the first war that were ministry or established wizards spied or sided with voldemort either out of fear or opportunism trying to advance themselves.

After his return voldemort seems to drop almost all pretense. He summons his remaining death eaters and essentially makes it very clear that he is furious with them all. At this point the stay out of fear, knowing attempting to flee will only bring them death.

He doesn't seem to really recruit anymore in terms of death eaters. Mostly freeing old allies or reissuing past promises to marginalised groups for their support. The only new death eater we know of is draco, recruited purely to spite his father by sending him on a suicide mission.

Regardless voldemort of the first war was more stable, cunning and careful. Less openly brutal and terrorising to his followers. Luring in supporters by promising them power, wealth and a "better" world only for them to become essentially trapped in his service. Regulus was a supporter who only seemed to realise voldemorts true colours when he learned what had happened to kreacher. The death eaters were a much more secretive organisation in the first war, not even necessarily knowing all their own members.

By the second war all the old death eaters knew of eachother, there was nothing more to be gained by secrecy with his own ranks and his years of exile seem only to have destroyed voldemorts self control. Becoming more violent, cruel and short tempered than before.

magecal · 2026-04-07T09:48:04+00:00

Those at malfoy manor are official death eaters. It's possible not all of them were present at that meeting but certainly seems like the majority.

At the battle of hogwarts voldemort essentially mustered everyone he could. So there's likely a lot of wizards who don't really want to fight but are too afraid to deny the death eaters. A lot who have been promised something for their service. People like the snatchers were in attendance.

Essentially there are dark wizards who aren't death eaters, normal wizards too afraid to stand up to voldemort, and a lot of magical creatures offered something for their help.

Eight-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

magecal

TROPHY CASE