Yet another HP related post - go me!
Okay, I've been listening to HBP for the umpteenth time lately, and this time there's something bothering me.
What's the friggin' deal with the Imperius Curse?
For frankly, the Imperius doesn't seem like a very... subtle curse, does it? The descriptions from the book make it sound very crude. The victim's mind goes blank and it heeds a very simple command mindlessly.
Barty Crouch describes the curse as if it dulls all your senses, as if you're asleep or drugged. But really, that doesn't make it very useful, does it? If I want Draco Malfoy to seduce Harry Potter, then I want Draco Malfoy to use all the tools he has at his disposal to do it. I want him to use his charm, his personality. It doesn't seem likely to work if he just turns up in the Gryffindor dormitory, dull-eyed and naked...
But what's also very important in the times when we've seen the Imperius at work, is that the Wizard casting it is always standing there with his wand pointed at his victim. It seems to take tremendous effort to quell the free-will of the person in question and force them to obey.
But that really doesn't make sense, not when the magical world seems to believe that it's possible that people can be under the curse for a prolonged period of time without anyone realising it (i.e. the Ministry warns against possibly imperius-ed friends/family members in their booklet, and people like Lucius Malfoy managed to convince the Wizengamot that he was under it for months/years). And yet, Both of the Crouches turned into zombies when they were put under it and the muggle minister, Herbert Chorley, snapped.
I imagine that the curse is more effective if the wizard casting it is very powerful - and yet Voldemort couldn't manage to hold Harry under it for more than 3 minutes. What - was that the power of lurve that overthrew that? WTF?
What do we know about it? Just how broadly can it be operated? For example, could it work as a "mind mine" of sorts? A dormant command that can be only activated when certain conditions are met? "IMPERIO! You shall dance naked through Diagon Alley on this day in ten years time!" Or "IMPERIO! If you shall ever come across Draco Malfoy you will kill him on sight!" Could this have been the way Draco Malfoy controlled Madam Rosmerta?
So what I'm wondering is - how complex can the command be? Can the victim be expected to retain any of it's personality while under the curse (and therefore have some credibility while it's performing its task)? And just how much power does it take to sustain the curse? And just how much micro-managing is needed?
ETA: Here's an (incomplete) list of the people who have cast and suffered the curse in canon.
What's the friggin' deal with the Imperius Curse?
For frankly, the Imperius doesn't seem like a very... subtle curse, does it? The descriptions from the book make it sound very crude. The victim's mind goes blank and it heeds a very simple command mindlessly.
Barty Crouch describes the curse as if it dulls all your senses, as if you're asleep or drugged. But really, that doesn't make it very useful, does it? If I want Draco Malfoy to seduce Harry Potter, then I want Draco Malfoy to use all the tools he has at his disposal to do it. I want him to use his charm, his personality. It doesn't seem likely to work if he just turns up in the Gryffindor dormitory, dull-eyed and naked...
But what's also very important in the times when we've seen the Imperius at work, is that the Wizard casting it is always standing there with his wand pointed at his victim. It seems to take tremendous effort to quell the free-will of the person in question and force them to obey.
But that really doesn't make sense, not when the magical world seems to believe that it's possible that people can be under the curse for a prolonged period of time without anyone realising it (i.e. the Ministry warns against possibly imperius-ed friends/family members in their booklet, and people like Lucius Malfoy managed to convince the Wizengamot that he was under it for months/years). And yet, Both of the Crouches turned into zombies when they were put under it and the muggle minister, Herbert Chorley, snapped.
I imagine that the curse is more effective if the wizard casting it is very powerful - and yet Voldemort couldn't manage to hold Harry under it for more than 3 minutes. What - was that the power of lurve that overthrew that? WTF?
What do we know about it? Just how broadly can it be operated? For example, could it work as a "mind mine" of sorts? A dormant command that can be only activated when certain conditions are met? "IMPERIO! You shall dance naked through Diagon Alley on this day in ten years time!" Or "IMPERIO! If you shall ever come across Draco Malfoy you will kill him on sight!" Could this have been the way Draco Malfoy controlled Madam Rosmerta?
So what I'm wondering is - how complex can the command be? Can the victim be expected to retain any of it's personality while under the curse (and therefore have some credibility while it's performing its task)? And just how much power does it take to sustain the curse? And just how much micro-managing is needed?
ETA: Here's an (incomplete) list of the people who have cast and suffered the curse in canon.