Imperius Curse

From Harry Potter Wiki

Imperius Curse
Incantation:	Imperio (im-PEER-ee-oh)
Type:	Curse
Effect:	Total control over the victim

The Imperius Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses. When cast successfully, it places the victim completely under the caster's control, though a person with exceptional strength of will is capable of resisting it. The curse's incantation is Imperio.

Contents 1 Effects 2 History of Use 3 Known Victims 3.1 Other Known Uses 4 Etymology 5 Notes and references

[edit] Effects

The victim of an Imperius Curse is placed in a calm, trance-like state in which all feeling of responsibility and anxiety is banished. They may then be directed to do anything the caster wishes, including crimes such as murder, political corruption, embezzlement, and so on. It is unknown if this hypnosis spell can affect physical capabilities, such as forcing a victim a task such as being stronger or casting spells far above their level, although Neville Longbottom was able to perform a series of "quite astonishing gymnastics" under the curse that he would not normally be capable of.^[1]

If the Imperius Curse is performed poorly, then the victim would have their mind addled, an example being Muggle Junior Minister Herbert Chorley. It seems the damage is long-lasting, as Chorley was sent to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to recuperate.

Resisting the Imperius Curse is possible, but requires great strength of will and character. Harry Potter, Barty Crouch Sr. and Barty Crouch Jr. each learned to resist the curse after being subjected to its effects.^[1] Resisting the Imperius Curse is similar to Occlumency, which requires a great amount of willpower.

According to Harry, using the Imperius Curse caused him to experience "a feeling of tingling warmth that seemed to flow from his mind, down the sinews and veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast"^[2]. He believed that his curse might not be very strong, however, thus the sensation from casting a more powerful Imperius Curse may be more intense.

It is possible for someone who has been Imperiused to place others under the curse as well. For example, Madam Rosmerta, who had been Imperiused by Draco Malfoy sometime during the 1996-1997 school year, was able to place Katie Bell under the Imperius Curse in an attempt to deliver a cursed necklace to Albus Dumbledore. It is also possible that the Death Eater Yaxley used the Imperiused Pius Thicknesse to place other high-ranking members of the Ministry of Magic under the curse in order to facilitate the overthrow of Rufus Scrimgeour.

[edit] History of Use

Death Eaters made use of the curse in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars to force innocent people to do their bidding. For example, Lucius Malfoy used the Imperius Curse to force Broderick Bode and Sturgis Podmore to try to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries in 1996^[3], and Yaxley placed the Imperius Curse on Pius Thicknesse as part of the plan to take over the Ministry of Magic in 1997^[4].

Ironically, many Death Eaters, such as Lucius Malfoy, avoided imprisonment in Azkaban after Voldemort's first defeat in 1981 by claiming that they had been under the Imperius Curse.^[5] As such, it became the Ministry's work to determine who is lying, even though many "victims" have managed to deceive them.

Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore speculated that Merope Gaunt may have used the Imperius Curse on Tom Riddle Sr. to force him to marry her, although Dumbledore thought it more likely that she used a Love Potion.

[edit] Known Victims

Victim	Caster	Notes
Barty Crouch Jr.[1]	Barty Crouch Sr.	Kept under house arrest; 1994.
Barty Crouch Sr.[1]	Lord Voldemort	Kept under house arrest; 1994.
A spider[1]	Barty Crouch Jr.	Demonstration in Defence Against the Dark Arts class, while impersonating Alastor Moody; 1994.
Harry Potter[1]	Barty Crouch Jr.	Same as above. Harry successfully resisted the curse after several attempts.
Neville Longbottom[1]	Barty Crouch, Jr.	Same as above. Neville did "a series of quite astonishing gymnastics".
Dean Thomas[1]	Barty Crouch Jr.	Same as above. Dean hopped around the room singing the national anthem.
Lavender Brown[1]	Barty Crouch Jr.	Same as above. Lavender was forced to imitate a squirrel.
Viktor Krum[1]	Barty Crouch Jr.	During the Triwizard Tournament, Third Task. Forced to attack Cedric Diggory with the Cruciatus Curse.
Harry Potter[1]	Lord Voldemort	Little Hangleton graveyard; After being forced by an unspecified spell to bow at the beginning of a duel, Harry successfully resisted Voldemort's Imperius command to answer a taunting question.
Broderick Bode[3]	Lucius Malfoy	Forced to attempt to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries; 1995.
Sturgis Podmore[3]	Lucius Malfoy	Same as above.
Madam Rosmerta[6]	Draco Malfoy	Forced to assist in the smuggling of a cursed necklace and poisoned mead into Hogwarts.
Katie Bell[6]	Madam Rosmerta	Forced to assist in the smuggling of a cursed necklace into Hogwarts in a plot to kill Albus Dumbledore.
Pius Thicknesse[4]	Yaxley	Forced to act as puppet Minister for Magic at the behest of Voldemort; 1997.
Stan Shunpike[4]	Unknown	Forced to serve the Death Eaters, fought in the Battle over Little Whinging; 1997.
Bogrod[4]	Harry Potter	Forced to allow Hermione Granger into the Lestrange Vault at Gringotts; 1997.
Travers[4]	Harry Potter	Forced to act as an accomplice in aforementioned bank heist.
Amycus Carrow[4]	Minerva McGonagall	As a means to confine him in Ravenclaw Common Room in 1998.

[edit] Other Known Uses

• Herbert Chorley, a Muggle Junior Minister, was the victim of a "poorly-performed Imperius Curse." The resulting symptoms included impersonation of a duck in public.

[edit] Etymology

This curse takes its name from the Latin imperiosus, meaning "commanding, mighty, and powerful".

[edit] Notes and references