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There is a lot of attention given to the magical happenings of Hogwarts in theHarry Potterseries, but outside of the magical school, wider details can be challenging to come by. The school has a class with ever-rotating teachers,defense against the dark arts, dedicated to teaching students to defend themselves against dark wizards, but little is known about the dark arts. There is a heavy focus on Voldemort and Death Eaters, but the world of dark magic is far wider and much more frightening.
With all the incredible magic within theHarry Potterseries, it only makes sense that there would be many more notable dark wizards than simply Voldemort. Additionally, there must be vastly interesting dark spells outside of the Unforgivable Curses that are given so much attention across the series. The dark arts may seem simple at first, but the darker magic has a deep history and plenty of terrifying applications.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Put simply, the dark arts isHarry Potter’sversion of evil magic, a mirror version of the typical good magic seen throughout the films. This means that rather than magic being used to make the lives of wizards easier, dark magic is typically used to the detriment of others, hurting or even killing others in the process.The dark arts include the Unforgivable Curses, but it is not simply limited to them. There is a wider world of dark magics that includes cursing artifacts, brewing dangerous potions, and even working to breed unthinkably evil creatures.
An important aspect of the dark arts is that while it is typically associated with evil, being a user ofthe dark arts does not immediately make someone evil. There is value in witches and wizards knowing how to utilize the dark arts whether it be for historic purposes or for teaching students what to expect from the dark arts. With that in mind, it is also true that whoever utilized the dark arts would have to be careful as it was widely believed that simply using darker magics had some kind of corrupting power over the casting witch or wizard.
It is made clear throughout the series that those who dive deepest into dark magic are at risk of completely changing through the damage done to their souls.Voldemort is a prime and evil example of this, someone who literally splits his soul and becomes more and more deformed the longer he continues his dark practices. At the same time, Professor Quirrell fromHarry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stonehad a much more academic, albeit self-absorbed, interest in the dark arts, something that eventually led to Voldemort manipulating the wizard.
The Dark Arts:
Charms:
Jinxes: Oppugno Hexes: Knee-Reversal Curses: Cruciatus Curse, Imperius Curse, Killing Curse
Regeneration potions, the Drink of Despair
Horcruxes, bewitched books, Hand of Glory
Creatures:
Basilisk, Inferi, Dementor, Boggart, Werewolf
Just like the average strands of magic seen in theHarry Potterseries, there are many different strains of dark magic. There are various charms, artifacts, potions, and creatures that all exist thanks to dark magic. A key consideration for all of this is that not all dark magic is created equal. While there certainly are spells that are capable oftaking the lives of a dark wizard’s enemies, there are just as many dark arts spells that are nothing more than an annoyance that can be countered with a simple reverse spell.
There area variety of dark charmsthat vary in efficacy with jinxes being seen as the least dangerous, hexes being seen as a bit more dangerous, and curses being viewed as the most dangerous spells that can be used. An example of a simple jinx would be Oppugno, a spell that causes objects to begin attacking a target. A particularly worrying hex is the Knee-Reversing spell, one that flips the target’s knees in the opposite direction. Examples of dangerous curses are easy to come by throughoutHarry Potter, with the Killing Curse being the most notable.
There are plenty of cursed objects as well, but perhaps the most well-known are Horcruxes. Voldemort splits his soul and imbues objects with them in order to make himself effectively immortal, and while the act of creating such a Horcrux is shrouded in secrecy, it is known that the process is horrendous thanks to JK Rowling dancing around the mention of itin an interview with PotterCast:
I see it as a series of things you would have to do. So you would have to perform a spell. But you would also– I don’t even know if I want to say it out loud, I know that sounds funny. But I did really think it through. There are two things that I think are too horrible, actually, to go into detail about. One of them is how Pettigrew brought Voldemort back into a rudimentary body. ‘Cause I told my editor what I thought happened there, and she looked as though she was gonna vomit. And then– and the other thing is, how you make a Horcrux. And I don’t even like– I don’t know. Will it be in the Encyclopedia? I don’t know if I can bring myself to, ummm… I don’t know.
Thanks to the evil nature of splitting one’s soul,Horcruxes are widely viewed as one, if not the darkest objectsinHarry Potter. Despite this, it was also possible to breed creatures of great evil such as the Basilisk seen inHarry Potter And The Chamber Of Secretsor the zombie-like Inferi seen inHarry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince.
Who Are Some Notable Dark Wizards?
Notable Dark Wizards:
There are dozens of powerful dark wizards that receive attention throughout theHarry Pottermovies. The first that will come to mind for most people is the series’ antagonist, Voldemort. Viewed as the most powerful dark wizard to ever exist, he even had an order of dark wizards that followed him which were known as Death Eaters. Later,Voldemort’s own daughter Delphiniwould become a powerful Dark Wizard who would attempt to aid her father in the twisting time travel plot ofHarry Potter And The Cursed Child.
One interesting figure that deserves his own mention isone of the founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin. He was a notable practitioner of the dark arts, creating the Chamber of Secrets and placing a powerful Basilisk within it. As one of the most powerful wizards of his age, he was skilled with dark objects and was far more well-versed with Unforgivable Curses than most during his era (at the time of his prominence, the unforgivable curses weren’t yet taboo).
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Harry Potter
When Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard, he enters a world beyond belief. Aside from continuing his studies at Hogwarts with best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must also face Voldemort and his dark wizarding forces. The Harry Potter franchise is a worldwide phenomenon, spanning seven books, eight movies, three spinoff movies, a stage play, and numerous video games.
