\u201cYou said not to use space magic wandlessly because it\u2019s so easy to get yourself killed by accident. But I think there must be more. What else should be careful with?\u201d Harry looked at Lyra.<\/p>\n
They went out to the woods to practice while Lucius and Narcissa told children stories, and the day was particularly dreary.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get the obvious out of the way; if you\u2019re doing something complicated in a high-stress environment where your mind is all over the place, the probability that you\u2019ll get something wrong and very much unwanted becomes all-but-certainty\u201d, Lyra smiled. \u201cSo, in battle, keep it simple. Freeze, disarm, incapacitate, or kill. No complex, over the top charms. With a wand, you can be pretty sure that the spell goes the way where your wand points, and even then people sometimes have things backfire, which is what Voldemort failed to learn when attacking you multiple times. With your mind, your main enemy is mental chaos, turbulence, exhaustion, or inability to tear your mind off of something. This means you have to fight extremely calmly, and that\u2019s not always something you can do\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the non-obvious part?\u201d, Viktor noticed where this was going.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe non-obvious part concerns the nature of the spells themselves. Some spells are inherently harmful to the caster. They affect the target, but they also affect you<\/i>. The unforgivable curses are an excellent example. Avada Kedavra<\/i>, for instance, requires a specific destructive mindset of a cold-blooded murderer, where it hardens your heart, makes you cruel, unfeeling and horrible, more like Voldemort than a normal human person. With a wand, it\u2019s bad enough. However, to cast it wandlessly, you need to focus that intent with your soul directly, and manipulate that kind of magic directly. It\u2019s like being immersed in hot corrosive acid while you do it. It harms you, and horribly so. The damage you incur is a multiple of that which you would incur using a wand. I tried, and it took me a while to recover, despite the fact that I killed a mere cockroach. I felt as if my soul fractured slightly, and I only healed after feeling very painful remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, that\u2019s why you paused time when I saw you fight; it gives you time to do thing peacefully and makes the situation calm. But what was that red light you applied to their hearts? I expected green, if anything\u201d, Hermione wondered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy own modification of Reducto<\/i>. It combines heat, lightning and fragmentation of the target. It instantly stopped their hearts and thermally destroyed the heart muscle, but as far as difficulty goes, it\u2019s basically a cooking spell. Zero backlash. Highly blockable, though, and I wouldn\u2019t recommend it against an active target because Protego<\/i> shields against it completely\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cKind of hard to cast Protego<\/i> when you\u2019re frozen in time\u201d, Harry noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue, but there are always artefacts, such as those protective hats George\u2019s shop sells\u201d, she warned. If someone wears that, your spell might backfire, so it\u2019s always a good idea to wear such an artefact yourself\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d, Hermione asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy of course\u201d, Lyra smiled. \u201cThat sweater of mine is more than just cozy and warm\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSneaky\u201d, Viktor nodded approvingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two questions\u201d, Harry scratched his neck. \u201cFirst, if we don\u2019t actually have a choice, and we have to use a curse that will harm us, what\u2019s the point of irreversible damage we can never allow ourselves to cross? And second, if there are corrosive spells, are there spells that do the opposite? Heal the soul when used?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth questions are excellent\u201d, his wife nodded approvingly. \u201cThe point that should be avoided at all cost is actual murder, defined as killing an innocent person with malicious intent. With a wand, that will fracture your soul. Wandlessly, I\u2019m afraid it would shatter it. There\u2019s a big difference between that and using the same spell out of righteous anger against a horrible murderer you want to stop, but still, it\u2019s harmful, and I recommend killing with other kinds of magic. As for the second question, the answer is yes. Exalto<\/i>, my anti-Dementor spell, is one. It heals the soul by invoking the deepest, most complete fulfilment. It destroys Dementors because they are localised spiritual emptiness that is negated by such a spell. I guess it would cause incredible remorse and suffering with possibly fatal consequences in really broken humans. It creates profound spiritual ecstasy in pure souls, which you would well know\u201d, she smiled. \u201cThe second such spell is Cordem Revelio<\/i>, if used with a healing intent. It reveals your heart, but it also heals it. However, if someone like Voldemort used it, I think it would shatter his soul rather than heal it, because it would activate remorse for all his sins at once and that would not be survivable\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, in short: destructive, torturous and murderous magic will greatly harm us, while healing magic, especially spiritually healing magic, will heal us?\u201d, Viktor summarised.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly\u201d, Lyra nodded. \u201cWe\u2019re Aurors, so doing our job with healing magic isn\u2019t really possible, at least not typically. However, stopping time, disarming, paralysing, shielding and so on are all harmless spells, and even when I used a cooking spell to boil their hearts, I used it with protective intent and, well, here\u2019s the interesting part: target and context matter incredibly. If I used that spell against an innocent, I would probably die in spiritual agony. Using it against horrible cold blooded murderers of the innocent actually felt good. It made me feel calm, at peace with the deeper layers of the world, harmonious and whole\u201d, she looked at him seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s interesting, and it confirms my own theories\u201d, Harry mused. \u201cWhen I used Crucio<\/i> against the Carrows, I had absolutely no adverse effects. My intent was righteous retribution against vile, sadistic villains. But I feel I wouldn\u2019t fare as well if I abused it against a good person\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are exactly right\u201d, his wife confirmed. \u201cIntent matters far more than one would expect. It can never justify harm, so you can\u2019t say you meant well but committed horrible deeds. It doesn\u2019t work that way. But if you\u2019re healing the world, opposing evil, protecting the good and the innocent, this intent shields you against adverse effects that would normally accompany evil means\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would imply that Snape suffered no adverse effects for killing Dumbledore because they agreed it between themselves, and he only did it to protect Dumbledore from an inevitable and more torturous death?\u201d, Hermione asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed. Had I done it, I think my soul would never have recovered\u201d, Lyra shivered. \u201cHowever, Snape\u2019s motivations were all noble and kind, and he remained whole\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a serious problem with justifying evil ends with good intentions\u201d, Viktor\u2019s face was dark. \u201cGrindelwald did that, and his moto was \u2018for the greater good\u2019. Historically speaking, evil means only ever lead to evil ends, and justifications of that kind serve only to make committing evil deeds easier\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is true\u201d, Lyra nodded. \u201cHowever, there\u2019s a big difference between what\u2019s actually true and what you make yourself believe in order to rationalise evil things. The consequence you suffer from spells is alleviated only if the deep magic of the world agrees with you. What you delude yourself with is of no consequence. I can\u2019t make that clear enough. If you can\u2019t kill with love in your heart, don\u2019t kill. I killed those five men because that was the necessary thing that protecting Hermione and every other innocent person that would have become their victim required. I don\u2019t know how to explain it, but I allowed myself to be guided by the deep magic, more than I actually commanded it to do my bidding. I just followed the course demanded by the feeling of rightness, protection, care and love. That\u2019s another reason why I wore that cozy, comfortable sweater. It makes me feel a certain way, and I follow that feeling in a fight \u2013 I remain soft, kind, soothing, comforting; even when I kill. That\u2019s why I could transition instantly to comforting Hermione \u2013 I never actually left the state of mind where I could do that. I never had to harden my heart enough to kill. I killed because I love\u201d, she smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I understand\u201d, Viktor nodded. \u201cYou actually do what you say, rather than say things that make you feel good about what you\u2019re doing\u201d, he grinned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand it too\u201d, Harry smiled. \u201cI used the cruciatus curse to punish villains who harmed the good and the innocent. When I fought Voldemort, I actually tried to make him repent for his sins, because I saw what was to become of him, on the other side, and it was terrible. In fact, he killed himself with his own curse; I merely disarmed him\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still don\u2019t understand what\u2019s the actual problem with space manipulation\u201d, Hermione wondered. \u201cI understand the moral issues with the dark curses, though\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpace manipulation is a problem because of the chaotic state of mind you will have unless you\u2019re perfectly peaceful. If you\u2019re not, and you touch space with magic, it might warp in uncontrolled ways and you might find yourself anatomically inverted, or present in multiple parts of the world at the same time. I do not wish to be more precise with that, but remember what they taught us about splicing, when they taught us apparition?\u201d, she looked at Hermione pointedly, and the woman shivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand now\u201d, she gulped. \u201cNo space magic. Keep it simple. Do things out of love and protective care. Never justify evil ends with fluffy words\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood girl\u201d, Lyra hugged her. \u201cLet\u2019s go home, I\u2019m cold and hungry\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou said not to use space magic wandlessly because it\u2019s so easy to get yourself killed by accident. But I think there must be more. What else should be careful with?\u201d Harry looked at Lyra. They went out to the … Continue reading