Killing Curse

"*There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air — instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead.*"
— Description of the Killing Curse[src]

The **Killing Curse** (*Avada Kedavra*) was a tool of the Dark Arts and was one of the three Unforgivable Curses. When cast successfully on a living person or creature, the curse caused instantaneous and painless death, without causing any injury to the body, and without any trace of violence. The Killing Curse was accompanied by a blinding flash or jet of green light and a distinctive rushing sound when being cast.

The only known counter-spell to this curse was sacrificial protection, which used the power of love. The Killing Curse was a conventionally unblockable curse; therefore shield charms would not be able to defend against it. However, one could dodge the green bolt, block it with a physical barrier, or by the use of *Priori Incantatem*. An explosion or fire could result if the spell hit something other than a living target.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Middle Ages
	+ 1.2Global wizarding war
	+ 1.3First Wizarding War
	+ 1.4Between the wars
	+ 1.5Second Wizarding War
* 2Nature
	+ 2.1Performance
	+ 2.2Signs
	+ 2.3Sensation
* 3Survivability
	+ 3.1Sacrificial protection
	+ 3.2Horcruxes
* 4Curse interception
* 5Known uses
	+ 5.1Successful
	+ 5.2Unsuccessful
* 6Etymology
* 7Behind the scenes
	+ 7.1In films
* 8Appearances
* 9Notes and references

## History

### Middle Ages

"*The Cruciatus, Imperius, and Killing Curses were first classified as Unforgivable in 1717, with the strictest penalties attached to their use.*"
— Dumbledore's notes from *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*[src]

The Killing Curse was invented during the early Middle Ages.

Along with the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses, the Killing Curse was known as one of the most terrible and sinister curses in the wizarding world. After the Wizards' Council was reformed into the Ministry of Magic tighter restrictions were placed on the use of certain kinds of magic. The Killing Curse was deemed by the Ministry to be Dark magic and along with the Cruciatus and Imperius curses, were declared "*unforgivable*" throughout the UK in 1717, with the Killing Curse considered to be the most deadly of the three.

The use of any Unforgivable curse on a human would carry the punishment of a life sentence without parole in Azkaban.

### Global wizarding war

The Killing Curse was also used in 1927 by the Magical Congress of the United States of America on magical beasts considered dangerous.

This curse was used during the global wizarding war, both by Aurors and supporters of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. At one point during the height of the global wizarding war, the Auror Cassius Bell used this curse to kill a red-haired young witch.

### First Wizarding War

"*How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run... Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry... how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son... and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on Harry.*"
— Harry Potter reflecting on the murder of his parents[src]

During the First Wizarding War, when Barty Crouch Snr was in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he fought violence with violence, legalising the three Unforgivable Curses for Aurors against the Death Eaters in order to win the war. This was repealed once the war was over, as it was no longer necessary.

One of the most infamous events involving this curse happened on Hallowe'en (31 October) in 1981. Voldemort arrived at the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow, after being told of its location by Peter Pettigrew, the Secret-Keeper of its Fidelius Charm, and murdered James and Lily Potter while they attempted to protect their infant son Harry. He cast the Killing Curse on Harry as well, but it backfired destroying Voldemort's body. This event led to Voldemort's first downfall, the end of the First Wizarding War, and Harry's fate being sealed as "The Boy Who Lived".

It should be noted that despite the curse being illegal, Aurors were allowed to use deadly force and the Unforgivable Curses against opponents during the First Wizarding War.

### Between the wars

"*So that was how his parents had died... exactly like that spider. Had they been unblemished and unmarked too? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies?*"
— Harry Potter contemplating the Killing Curse after witnessing its use on a spider[src]

When disguised as Alastor Moody using Polyjuice Potion during the 1994–1995 school year, Barty Crouch Jnr performed each Unforgivable Curse on a spider in front of his fourth-year Defence Against the Dark Arts class in 1994. He told his class the penalty for using an Unforgivable Curse on another human being is life imprisonment in Azkaban.The Ministry did not approve of this because "Professor Moody" was showing these curses to those who did not truly need to see it (i.e., a class of 14-15-year-olds), but it does not appear to have been illegal.

Lord Voldemort also used the curse in 1994 to murder Frank Bryce, the Muggle caretaker who looked after Riddle House.

### Second Wizarding War

"*The Elder Wand slashed through the air and green light erupted through the room; the kneeling goblin rolled over, dead; the watching wizards scattered before him, terrified: Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy threw others behind them in their race for the door, and again and again his wand fell, and those who were left were slain, all of them, for bringing him this news, for hearing about the golden cup —* "
— Voldemort ruthlessly massacring goblins with the Killing Curse[src]

The Killing Curse was known throughout most of the wizarding world to be Voldemort's signature spell. Lord Voldemort was a prolific user of the Killing Curse throughout his life. He used the curse excessively throughout the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He also used the curse outside of warfare, most likely for pleasure, having killed Charity Burbage, an outspoken muggle supporter, to satisfy the pure-blood supremacy of both himself and his supporters. His first known usage of the curse was at age 16, murdering his father, paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother. He used it to murder famous wand maker Mykew Gregorovitch and notorious Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, while searching abroad for the Elder Wand.

When he learned of Harry Potter's successful Gringotts break-in and retrieval of Hufflepuff's Cup, he murdered several goblins and other Gringotts employees in a fit of rage. Ironically, the Killing Curse, Voldemort's signature spell, would ultimately be the very spell that lead to his own defeat. On 2 May during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry willingly let Voldemort hit him with the Killing Curse, in order to be rid of the piece of Voldemort's soul he harboured at the time. In his final duel against Harry Potter, Voldemort would not realise that the curse would backfire (because the Elder Wand would not kill its true master), thereby finally putting an end to the Dark Lord.

When Voldemort took over the Ministry, the three curses were once again legalised; this time every wizard and witch had the right to use them as they pleased. In fact, they were practised in Hogwarts as part of the curriculum of the Dark Arts class under the tutelage of Professor Amycus Carrow, a Death Eater. After Voldemort's death and the reform of the Ministry under Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, the three curses were made forbidden once again.

## Nature

"*The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glow like lighting rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut....*"
— James Potter being murdered by Voldemort with this curse[src]

The Killing Curse was recognisable by the flash of green light and the rushing noise emitted from the caster's wand. When the curse hit a living, organic target it invariably killed them without pain or injury. However, when the curse struck Voldemort and succeeded in causing his biological death, he described the curse as having ripped his soul from his body.

Also, while most victims would simply drop dead when struck by the curse, at other times it may carry a force of impact, such as when Snape's casting was able to blast Dumbledore off the Astronomy Tower ramparts. During the Battle of Hogwarts, in the Forbidden Forest Harry described the impact of the curse as an "*iron-clad punch*".

When the curse hit an inanimate target the effect varied: it could produce fires, large greenish explosions, or explosions of such intensity that could blow up an entire cottage. It was known by most wizards as Lord Voldemort's signature spell. It was possible to intercept the curse with other spells, but this was extremely difficult as it required the energy jets of the two spells to collide. As the energy jets of virtually all spells were very small and fast, this had only ever been recorded as occurring by accident.

However, certain objects, such as the centaur statue of the Fountain of Magical Brethren, managed to block the curse without any visible damage to itself. It should be noted that the curse itself did not terminate the animation of (i.e. "kill") the statue, however, as the statue was only animated by magic and so presumably had no real life in him for the curse to take away.

### Performance

"*Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it — you could all get your wands out and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed.*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) on the skill required to cast the curse[src]

The curse required great skill, power, and intent in order to be performed correctly. In 1994, Barty Crouch, Jnr, disguised as Alastor Moody, claimed that if all of the students before him were to get out their wands and perform it on him at one time, he would likely be completely unaffected as he believed they all lacked the necessary power needed to cast the spell. In 1997, during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Severus Snape also stated that to cast Unforgivable Curses, one needed both nerve and ability. It was possible to cast the curse nonverbally, as Bellatrix killed a fox without an incantation. During his duel with Dumbledore during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort also used this curse several times without an incantation.

It is known that the Killing Curse, in addition to requiring the caster to be a very skilled witch or wizard, also required a genuine willingness and at many times desire to commit murder. Bellatrix Lestrange seemingly implied this was true of the Unforgivables, and it was true of the Cruciatus Curse, but not so much with the Imperius Curse. One of the main reasons why Lord Voldemort demonstrated such an affinity for the curse was due to how exceptionally powerful and skilled he was magic wise, along with his complete and utter lack of remorse or value for the lives of fellow humans.

For example, Draco Malfoy, despite possessing many undesirable personality traits, found himself unable to murder Albus Dumbledore because he did not want to actually kill him. Voldemort, on the other hand, had no such restraint and murdered countless people without remorse in his pursuit of power and immortality; in fact, he was fully prepared to murder one-year old Harry Potter upon deducing him to be a potential threat. He was intending to use this most heinous act to create his final Horcrux. He succeeded, during the act, a piece of Voldemort's soul entered Harry. This effectively turned him into a Horcrux. However, it would lead to his downfall and death.

### Signs

"*A team of doctors had examined the bodies and had concluded that none of the Riddles had been poisoned, stabbed, shot, strangled, suffocated, or (as far as they could tell) harmed at all. In fact (the report continued, in a tone of unmistakable bewilderment), the Riddles all appeared to be in perfect health — apart from the fact that they were all dead.*"
— The Killing Curse has no psychical signs and leaves no external marks[src]

The Killing Curse was described as a jet or flash of blinding green light that "*illuminates every corner of the room*" followed by a rushing sound, which caused the victim instant death. Victims of the Killing Curse were identified by the fact that they simply appeared to have dropped dead for no biological reason. Indeed, victims seemed "*perfectly healthy*" apart from the fact that they were dead.

This lack of visible injuries was one that had confused Muggles throughout the years of its use, requiring many Ministry of Magic officials to modify memories. For example, Muggle authorities were stumped over the death of the Riddles. The only thing about the bodies the doctors noted (determined to find something wrong) was the look of horror on their faces, as though they had been frightened to death. Wizarding authorities, however, could tell at once the cause of death, due to the curse's somewhat unique nature.

### Sensation

Presumably, the Killing Curse did not inflict any pain on its target, since it caused instantaneous death. However, Harry Potter, who awoke after a Killing Curse cast by Lord Voldemort hit him, described the sensation as an "*iron-clad punch*", though this may have been caused by the destruction of the fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul contained within his body. However, when he was initially struck by the curse, it caused him no sensation at all.

When Voldemort was struck by his own rebounding Killing Curse after he attempted to kill Harry Potter the first time, he described the sensation of his soul being ripped from his body as being "pain beyond pain". However, given the uniquely mutilated state of his soul at the time and that his soul had not gone to the afterlife, it seems likely that his reaction was atypical.

## Survivability

"*Not nice, Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me.*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) regarding Harry Potter surviving the curse[src]

The Killing Curse could be dodged or physically blocked by an object, such as the statues Dumbledore animated to protect Harry Potter during his duel with Voldemort after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. The Killing Curse was known to be unblockable, as once it struck the living victim, it almost always resulted in immediate death. There was "no counter-curse", since it was not possible to revive the dead. However there were some exceptions:

### Sacrificial protection

The most effective method of surviving the Killing Curse was through sacrificial protection; the willing sacrifice of one's life for another, a manifestation of love, which was the most potent defence against the "unblockable" Killing Curse. Love was a powerful and mysterious branch of magic; it gave those who experienced it the ability to do very great things.

Harry Potter was saved by his mother Lily Potter, when she lovingly sacrificed herself for him after she refused to stop shielding him from Lord Voldemort, despite having been given the choice to live. Harry became the only known survivor of the Killing Curse with no ill effects, aside from attaining a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

### Horcruxes

Another defence employed against the Killing Curse was the creation of at least one Horcrux. The creation of Horcruxes was a preventive measure, created by a wizard long before he faced an actual Killing Curse attack. However, this was less effective than sacrificial protection, since it only allowed a little more than the soul of the target to live, while the target's body still died. If one had Horcruxes, they would not be dead, but they would barely be alive and would be reduced, as Voldemort was when the Killing Curse backfired with his attempt to murder Harry in 1981 to living as a mutilated spirit.

Some of the methods Voldemort used, or planned to use, to survive in this state included; living off another, drinking unicorn blood, using the Philosopher's Stone (reduced to a wraith-like state and the stone destroyed soon after before he could), and creating a rudimentary body from unicorn blood and Nagini's venom.

Voldemort's Horcruxes tethered his soul to the world. The Curse drove his mangled soul from his body, leaving him to roam only as a shadowy spirit, unable to move on to the afterlife but is a less-than-alive life form. If possible, one can make a Regeneration potion to return to human form, but it required the bone of the father, the flesh of the servant, and the blood of an enemy. Because Voldemort required a servant to perform the rites of his rebirth, he was forced to spend thirteen years in hiding as he had no one who would come to his aid for such time.

Upon the destruction of all his Horcruxes, Voldemort had no more defences against death, and was finally killed by his own deflected Killing Curse.

## Curse interception

"*Harry responded with further Stunning Spells: Red and green collided in midair in a shower of multicoloured sparks...*"
— Harry Potter's stunners blocking the Killing Curse[src]

The *Priori Incantatem* effect was when two wands that shared the same cores were put into battle against each other. One wand would then force the other wand to repeat its previously-cast spells. Because of this, a Killing Curse could be blocked if a wand that shared the killer's wand's core fired a spell at it: both spells would connect and thus the wizard had been spared by the Killing Curse.

Priori Incantatem occurred in the duel between Harry Potter and Voldemort in the graveyard during Harry's fourth year. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse and Harry cast the Disarming Charm, and because their wands had twin cores, *Priori Incantatem* occurred; Harry was not killed and was able to hold Voldemort off to give him time to escape.

Phoenixes were semi-protected from the Killing Curse, due to them being immortal. In 1996, Fawkes swallowed one intended for Albus Dumbledore, causing him to burst into flame and die instantly. However, he then was reborn from his ashes.

The spell could be directly countered using a Stunning Spell, in which case red and green jets of light would meet and create multi-coloured sparks. Since neither spell was able to reach its intended target, neither would have any effect, as the jets of light basically exploded on each other. However, this was particularly tricky, as it required both jets of light to collide with one another. It is unknown whether this was limited to the Stunning Spell or if it was possible to reflect the Curse with other spells, although during Harry and Voldemort's final duel a similar thing happened when Harry's Disarming Charm collided with Voldemort's Killing Curse, although the Elder Wand's allegiance to Harry had to be taken into consideration in this particular situation.

If another target was placed between the caster and the targeted individual, then the new target would take the hit of the Killing Curse, which could simply result in an object being destroyed or damaged in an explosion of flames. One could also avoid the effects simply by dodging or if the caster had poor aim, as with many similar offensive curses, the spell had to be directly targeted at the intended victim.

Should the caster have used the Elder Wand—or actually any wand—without winning its allegiance, to cast the Killing Curse onto its true master, the wand would refuse to kill its master and therefore the curse would backfire onto the caster, thus killing them instead, as when Voldemort’s Killing Curse rebounded on him during his final duel with Harry Potter.

## Known uses

"*He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.*"
— Harry Potter being hit with the curse[src]

### Unsuccessful

"*Crabbe wheeled around and screamed,* AVADA KEDAVRA! *again. Ron leaped out of sight to avoid the jet of green light.*"
— Vincent Crabbe attempting to murder Ron Weasley[src]

 Lord Voldemort
 Death Eater
 Death Eaters
 Vincent Crabbe
 Bellatrix Lestrange
 Delphini

## Etymology

*Avada Kedavra* is based on the Aramaic אַבַדָא כְּדַברָא, *avada kedavra*, meaning "*let the thing be destroyed*". J. K. Rowling confirmed this during an audience interview at the Edinburgh Book Festival on 15 April, 2004, where she had this to say about the spell's etymology: "Does anyone know where *avada kedavra* came from? It is an ancient spell in Aramaic, and it is the original of *abracadabra*, which means 'let the thing be destroyed'. Originally, it was used to cure illness and the 'thing' was the illness, but I decided to make it the 'thing' as in the person standing in front of me. I take a lot of liberties with things like that. I twist them round and make them mine."

This phrase is also the origin of *abracadabra*, which, like *Hocus Pocus*, is used by magicians as a magic word when they perform tricks.

"Kedavra" also sounds very similar to the English word *cadaver*, which means "corpse", and derives from the Latin *cadere*, "to fall".

## Behind the scenes

* The biological reasons for the victim's death have never been fully explained. In any case, it is something that does not affect the health of the victims, as Muggle autopsy show that there is no change aside from outright death. It may simply be that the Curse just causes every organ in the body to instantaneously shut down, causing the death.
* It is likely that if a caster could successfully prove they only cast the Killing Curse under the influence of the Imperius Curse, they would avoid imprisonment in Azkaban.
* Before he was introduced to this curse in his fourth year class, Harry had always pondered how exactly Voldemort killed his parents. The revelation was rather unpleasant for him.
* After Harry Potter survived a second killing curse, he described it as having left a bruise that felt like an "iron-clad punch".
* Out of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Killing Curse is the only one that Harry did not use.
* While the curse is noted to be unblockable, there are many exceptions listed: the seventh book shows jets of red and green light colliding and shooting off into multi-coloured sparks, much like fireworks, while the films show it being blocked with a Shield Charm.
* This is the only known spell whose sole and primary application is death. However, it is not the only spell that can prove fatal; Fiendfyre, *Sectumsempra*, *Confringo*, *Diffindo* or even *Stupefy* in exceptional circumstances. Antonin Dolohov used an unnamed curse that could also prove fatal and Molly Weasley also used an unnamed spell on Bellatrix that caused Bellatrix's death; it is unclear whether any of the other attack spells being used by non-Death Eaters during the battle at Hogwarts were intended to kill the target, or simply disable.
* The curse's incantation were Voldemort's last words in life in the novel.
* Worth noticing is the similarity between the hand movements for the Curse and the shape of Harry's scar; both resemble lightning bolts.
* This is the only one of the three unforgivable curses without a Latin incantation.
* During the Encounter at the Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin intended to kill Peter Pettigrew for his betrayal of James and Lily Potter. It is unknown how they wanted to do it, but it was possibly by using this curse. If it would have been used, Peter would have died the same way as his former friends.
* In the films the curse has been seen as a jet, a flash, or a burst of green or turquoise light.
* In the PC video game version of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Quirrell frequently shoots Harry with a green mist-like spell that may be the Killing Curse in the Underground Chambers, though it does not kill instantly. Harry deflects these spells back to Voldemort with the Mirror of Erised to defeat him.

* In *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4*, Frank Bryce is replaced by a milkman. However, his death by this curse cannot be considered canon as no echo of him appeared during the Duel in Little Hangleton.
* In the video game adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*, Cadmus Peverell uses the Killing Curse to commit suicide.

### In films

* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Lucius Malfoy says "*Avada-*" at Harry Potter after he unwillingly frees Dobby. Dobby knocks Lucius backwards with magic to protect Harry, and he does not finish the incantation. The part of the incantation shown was not represented in the subtitles. This line was improvised by Jason Isaacs.
* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, Barty Crouch Jnr uses not three spiders but an arachnid of a separate species, an Amblypygi.
* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Bellatrix Lestrange is shown using the Killing Curse to murder Sirius Black in a scene slightly different from that of the novel, in which Sirius was pushed through the Veil by an unidentified curse cast by Bellatrix. The effect of the curse is also not shown to be instantaneous in the film. Instead, it hit his arm or shoulder, stinging him and causing him to show signs of weakness as he fell into the Veil.
* In *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*:
	+ After being warned by Kingsley's Patronus and the Death Eaters arrive, an unidentified Death Eater appears and immediately attacks an unidentified Auror with what appears to be a Killing Curse, which causes the Auror to be blasted off his feet and into the wedding cake.
	+ After defeating a Death Eater in a London diner, Harry, Ron and Hermione briefly consider killing the man before choosing to wipe his memory instead; it's unclear what spell would have been used had they decided to carry through with the idea.

* In *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2*:
	+ Voldemort kills Pius Thicknesse with the Killing Curse after Pius interrupts Voldemort's thoughts. It is unknown if Pius survived the Battle of Hogwarts in the book, but it is certain that Voldemort did not kill him.
	+ Ron Weasley casts a green spell in an attempt to kill Voldemort's snake Nagini (one of his Horcruxes). Though if this was indeed the Killing Curse that Ron used against Nagini, she would have been destroyed as Horcruxes can be destroyed by being hit with a Killing Curse. This is proven when Harry surrenders to Voldemort and he is hit with the curse, while Harry was "killed", Voldemort simultaneously destroyed the Horcrux that resided in Harry's body. However, it may be that Ron *did* attempt the curse, but simply lacked the power and will to actually make it effective, based on prior observations that the person casting the Unforgivables must really want to achieve their intended purpose. It is also possible that the fragment of Voldemort's soul that was in Harry was only destroyed by the Killing Curse as Harry was an accidental Horcrux, and as such he lacked the additional enchantments that gave the other Horcruxes their invulnerability.
	+ The Killing Curse rebounds on Voldemort during his duel with Harry by the green light of the curse emitting through the crack in the Elder Wand, causing Voldemort's hand to turn black and spread through his body, which in turn led to his death.
	+ The rebounding Killing Curse affects Voldemort by causing him to disintegrate into ashes instead of leaving his physical body dead, although development screencaps for the film indicated he was originally going to leave his body behind like in the book.
* In *Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore*, Gellert Grindelwald fires a green spell at Credence Barebone in Bhutan, that his father and uncle parry with joint uses of golden light, which appears to be the Killing Curse, but neither the film nor screenplay identify the spell used, nor is it cast with an incantation; however Albus Dumbledore does later describe Grindelwald's act of firing this spell as him having "sought to kill".
	+ Earlier in the film, Vinda Rosier fires similarly green spells at the mother Qilin, eventually killing her, whereas in the screenplay this attack is merely described as Rosier and Carrow "firing SPELLS, flaying the mother Qilin's hide". The Killing Curse does not cause any physical injury to its victims, thus the spells used in the screenplay are definitely not Killing Curses; the screenplay is higher canon in the films, thus even if Rosier's green spells are Killing Curses in the film, this cannot be considered a canonical appearance of this curse.