16 August 2005
Death and Spells
Another quick one today, again about a concept mentioned in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In chapter Twenty-Eight, "Flight of the Prince," there is a curious passage when Harry sees Dumbledore's body.
The curious bit about this passage is that Harry is sure that the curse was broken because of Dumbledore's death. I don't recall ever having heard that a spell loses its effect once the caster is dead.
This leaves two possibilities: (1) Harry simply assumes this to be true based on the situation or (2) Harry knows this to be true, despite the fact that the reader does not. Either one has its own set of complications. For the sake of this article, I will assume that Dumbledore is dead.
If Harry merely assumes this to be true, then it is most likely false. Evidence suggests, after all, that the curse was not lifted simultaneously to Dumbledore's death. Several seconds passed between the time that the curse hit Dumbledore and the time that Harry realized that he could move again. Because Avada Kedavra kills instantly, Harry should logically have been able to at least scream when Dumbledore died.
There would also be the problem of other spells remaining active after their casters are dead. Logically, if the passing of a wizard negated his or her spell effexcts, shouldn't the Sorting Hat be just a normal hat? Or is this not true for all magic? Some magic, like Lily's protection of Harry, actually requires that the caster (although that term might not be correct to apply tho that case) be dead.
The second possibility, the one that Harry knows this to be true, has its own complications. It is very rare that Harry knows an important piece of information before the reader does. And this information is potentially important. Now that Dumbledore is dead, what has become of the spell that requires Harry to live with the Dursleys? What about the spells protecting Hogwarts, the ones referred to as Harry and Dumbledore entered in the previous chapter? Are these spells still in effect?
There is, of course, a third possible scenario: that JKR was simply being careless. But... come on, that's no fun!
He had known there was no hope from the moment that the full Body-Bind Curse Dumbledore had placed upon him lifted, known that it could have happened only because its caster was dead, but there was still no preparation for seeing him here, spread-eagled, broken: the greatest Wizard Harry had ever, or would ever, meet. (p608, US hardback)
The curious bit about this passage is that Harry is sure that the curse was broken because of Dumbledore's death. I don't recall ever having heard that a spell loses its effect once the caster is dead.
This leaves two possibilities: (1) Harry simply assumes this to be true based on the situation or (2) Harry knows this to be true, despite the fact that the reader does not. Either one has its own set of complications. For the sake of this article, I will assume that Dumbledore is dead.
If Harry merely assumes this to be true, then it is most likely false. Evidence suggests, after all, that the curse was not lifted simultaneously to Dumbledore's death. Several seconds passed between the time that the curse hit Dumbledore and the time that Harry realized that he could move again. Because Avada Kedavra kills instantly, Harry should logically have been able to at least scream when Dumbledore died.
There would also be the problem of other spells remaining active after their casters are dead. Logically, if the passing of a wizard negated his or her spell effexcts, shouldn't the Sorting Hat be just a normal hat? Or is this not true for all magic? Some magic, like Lily's protection of Harry, actually requires that the caster (although that term might not be correct to apply tho that case) be dead.
The second possibility, the one that Harry knows this to be true, has its own complications. It is very rare that Harry knows an important piece of information before the reader does. And this information is potentially important. Now that Dumbledore is dead, what has become of the spell that requires Harry to live with the Dursleys? What about the spells protecting Hogwarts, the ones referred to as Harry and Dumbledore entered in the previous chapter? Are these spells still in effect?
There is, of course, a third possible scenario: that JKR was simply being careless. But... come on, that's no fun!
# posted by Tawm @ 11:41 AM 
