Imperius Curse

"*One of the three Unforgivable Curses, it allows the caster to control another’s actions.*"
— Description of the curse[src]

The **Imperius Curse** (*Imperio*) was a tool of the Dark Arts, and was one of the three Unforgivable Curses. When cast successfully, the curse placed the victim completely under the caster's control, though a person with exceptional strength of will could resist it. A person under the curse was said to be Imperiused. The fact that this curse could be directly defended against, made it unique amongst the Unforgivable Curses.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Middle Ages
	+ 1.2First Wizarding War
	+ 1.3Between the wars
	+ 1.4Second Wizarding War
* 2Nature
	+ 2.1Dangers
	+ 2.2Resistance
* 3Known uses
* 4Etymology
* 5Behind the scenes
* 6Appearances
* 7Notes and references

## History

### Middle Ages

"*The Cruciatus, Imperius, and Avada Kedavra Curses were not made* unforgivable *until 1717, with the strictest penalties attached to their use.*"
— Albus Dumbledore's notes in *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*[src]

The Imperius Curse was invented during the early Middle Ages by dark wizards or witches.

After the Wizards' Council was reformed into the Ministry of Magic, tighter restrictions were placed on the use of certain kinds of magic. The Imperius Curse was deemed by the Ministry to be dark magic, and, along with the Cruciatus and Killing curses, were declared "*unforgivable*" in 1717. The use of any of these three curses on a fellow human being would result in a life sentence in Azkaban, unless there was sufficient evidence that the caster did so under the influence of another's Imperius Curse; this was known to be a loophole that many Dark Wizards and Witches abused and lied about while they were facing trial and awaiting their sentence to prison time, particularly after the First Wizarding War.

Many Secret Keepers in the past were subjected to the Imperius and Cruciatus Curses in an attempt to divulge the secrets they kept, but to no avail, as the Keeper had to reveal their secret willingly and voluntarily.

### First Wizarding War

"*Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr on the Imperius Curse's controversy[src]

During the First Wizarding War, when Bartemius Crouch Senior was in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he fought violence with violence, and legalised 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.

It was also at that time that many Death Eaters, such as Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, Walden Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Nott and Goyle claimed that they had served under Lord Voldemort only because of the Imperius Curse. While their claims were accepted, the Ministry assigned personnel to attempt to determine who was truly under the curse and who was lying just to escape punishment. However, they were not perfect in proving deception. Malfoy, Macnair, and several others still eluded justice under the cover of this lie.

Lucius Malfoy was another such Dark Wizard who avoided imprisonment in Azkaban after Voldemort's first defeat in 1981 by claiming that he had been under the Imperius Curse. The Ministry was also flawed in several other ways when it came to detecting true Death Eaters; while a person’s pure-blooded heritage could be used as evidence to determine whether they were a Death Eater or not, this was nevertheless extremely difficult to prove, allowing many alleged "victims" to continue to escape prosecution, despite lingering suspicions.

### Between the wars

"*Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Harry watched as, one by one, his classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state.*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) casting the Imperius Curse on fourth years[src]

During the 1994–1995 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Barty Crouch Jnr, disguised as Alastor Moody, demonstrated these three curses to his fourth-year classes on spiders, despite the Ministry's disapproval. Later, he claimed that he had permission to perform the Imperius Curse on students in order to teach them how to resist it, though this might also have only been an excuse just to get back into practice with it.

While Barty Crouch did not use the curse to make the students do anything they would vehemently object to, most of the students under the curse were nevertheless completely under Crouch's command, and could not resist at the very least, performing physical feats that they would normally be unable to do; Harry Potter was the only one who managed to resist the curse and eventually shake it off after several attempts, due to his exceptional strength of willpower.

In 1995, Harry and the Order of the Phoenix considered the possibility that the Death Eaters may have placed an Imperius Curse on then-Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, but Albus Dumbledore suggested otherwise, which was of little comfort to them.

### Second Wizarding War

"*He must speak to the bereaved, clasp their hands, witness their tears, receive their thanks, hear the news now creeping in from every quarter as the morning drew on; that the Imperiused up and down the country had come back to themselves...*"
— The end of the Second Wizarding War and the Imperiused being freed[src]

During the 1996–1997 school year at Hogwarts, Professor Severus Snape had his sixth year class write a report on resisting the Imperius Curse, and thought they were so poorly written that he had to "endure" them.

When Lord 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 in the Dark Arts class under the cruel tutelage of Professor Amycus Carrow. After Voldemort's death and the revolutionising of the Ministry under Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, the three curses were once again forbidden, and many people under the Imperius Curse's influence felt like they were coming out of trances.

Death Eaters made use of the curse in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars to force many 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, and Corban Yaxley placed the Imperius Curse on Pius Thicknesse (albeit with difficulty and great effort) as part of the plan to take over the Ministry of Magic in 1997.

As the curse was legalised in 1998, even normally law-abiding citizens were permitted to use them during such time. Harry Potter used the curse three times on two different individuals in order for the Trio to break into Gringotts Wizarding Bank undetected. Minerva McGonagall used it to force Amycus Carrow to bind himself and his sister. After Voldemort was defeated and killed by Harry Potter, the victims throughout the country who had been Imperiused by the Death Eaters started to come back to themselves.

## Nature

"*It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.*"
— Harry Potter while under the Imperius Curse[src]

Unlike the Cruciatus Curse, being subjected to the Imperius Curse — when adequately cast — was *not* an unpleasant experience, in fact, quite the opposite; the victim of an Imperius Curse was placed in a calm, trance-like state in which all feeling of responsibility and anxiety was banished, similar to hypnosis. However, when Harry was Imperiused, he believed that his curse may not have been very strong, thus the sensation from casting a more powerful Imperius Curse may be more intense than the known account.

An adequately Imperiused being was placed under the caster's total control and was directed to do anything and everything the caster wished them to do: including crimes such as murder, political corruption, embezzlement, and even committing suicide (as explained by Barty Crouch Jnr, disguised as Alastor Moody and teaching the Unforgivable Curses to a group of fourth-year students at Hogwarts that included Harry Potter, where he explained "*I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats*"). Most people under the curse were nevertheless completely under the caster's command, and could not resist it at the very least, performing many feats that they would normally be unable or unwilling to do.

Also, whilst under the caster's control, the curse appeared to endow the victim with whatever skills that are required in order to complete the task at hand, such as increased physical strength, expanded knowledge, or granting them the ability to cast spells far above their level. For example, when Imperiused, Neville Longbottom was able to perform a series of "*quite astonishing gymnastics*" under the curse that he would not normally be capable of.

It was possible for someone who had already been Imperiused to place others under the curse as well, which would allow it to spread. 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 Corban Yaxley 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.

When a correctly cast Imperius Curse was terminated — for whatever reason — the victims became themselves again, as happened after the final defeat of Voldemort and the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts, when all of the people across the country who had been Imperiused by him or his supporters were released from the spell. Also, any pain that the curse had negated by the pleasant sensation would return, along with any other pain that the victim had suffered for the duration of the curse.

Although it was possible to use the curse on Secret Keepers to control them, it was impossible to use it to make them divulge the secret, as it must be done on the Keeper's free will.

The Imperius Curse appeared to be difficult to detect, as many supporters of Voldemort were able to successfully convince the Ministry that they only supported him due to the influence of this curse and Pius Thicknesse was able to successfully lay the groundwork for the Death Eaters coup of the Ministry for several weeks without being detected or even suspected by his colleagues. However, a Ministry pamphlet did note that one possible sign of an Imperiused person was acting in a manner inconsistent with their usual personality.

### Dangers

If the Imperius Curse was performed poorly, then the victim would have their mind addled, an example being Muggle Junior Minister Herbert Chorley. It seemed the damage was long-lasting, as Chorley was sent to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to recuperate and spent the rest of his life believing he was a duck. This was likely due to the fact that powerful, dark magic might leave irreversible biological damage, such as when George Weasley had his ear cursed off permanently. Presumably, this is one of the reasons why the spell was outlawed.

### Resistance

"*The Imperius curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it...*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr to a fourth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class[src]

Resisting the Imperius Curse was possible, but required great strength of will and character. The fact that it could be resisted made it unique amongst the three Unforgivable Curses, as it was the only curse that had a direct manner of defence. Harry Potter, Barty Crouch Snr, and Barty Crouch Jnr each learned to resist the curse after being subjected to its effects, although the latter two took quite a long time before building the said resistance. It would also appear that in the event that the victim succumbed completely to the control of the caster, unsuccessful attempts at throwing off the curse could have adverse effects on their physical and mental well-being.

Barty Snr was able to resist the curse when it was placed on him by Lord Voldemort himself, but Crouch was ultimately unable to fully break free from its hold over him and became delirious as a result. Professor Jakub Gorski put up a valiant fight against the Imperius Curse put on him by the Dark Wizard Bly, after he was made to attack his own students. Gorski ended up fainting from the strain of resisting it. According to Severus Snape, resisting the Imperius Curse was similar to Occlumency. Both required a great amount of willpower, though it is unknown if Occlumency would actually work against the curse.

## Known uses

"*Harry acted without thinking: Pointing his wand at Travers, he muttered, "*Imperio!*" once more.*"
— Harry using the curse on the Death Eater Travers[src]

## Etymology

This curse takes its name from the Latin *imperiosus*, meaning "commanding, mighty, and powerful", *imperium*, which means "power" or "authority", or *impero*, which means "to rule".

This is also the root of *imperative*, which is the form of a verb that acts as a command: this is certainly what the Imperius Curse achieves.

## Behind the scenes

* The Imperius Curse possibly causes a magically induced partial paralysis of the neocortex and the prefrontal cortex, the parts of the brain which, respectively, control conscious thought/logic and decision making. This, in turn, would reduce the victim's capacity for independent thought and make them more receptive to outside influence. This would explain why strength of mind is so vital for resisting the curse, since the act of forcing oneself to realise one's actions are, in fact, not of their own doing when their brain says otherwise would be no mean feat.
* It is uncertain what the effect would be of Imperiusing somebody who was already under somebody else's Imperius Curse. If it is possible to do so, it may be that the second Imperius would counteract or undo the first Imperius - but it may also be that it would cause great mental harm to the victim, since their brain would be receiving two different, and potentially contradictory, sets of orders.
* Of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius Curse is used by Voldemort the least (he uses the Killing Curse almost exclusively and tortures dozens with the Cruciatus Curse, mainly because he wants people to fear him). Though hundreds of people are described as having come back to themselves after Voldemort's death, it is unlikely that he personally cast it on all of them. He is recorded as only having used it twice, on Barty Crouch Snr and Harry Potter. He showed a talent for manipulating others in his youth without using this curse, however.
* The lack of difficulty experienced by Harry Potter in placing the goblins under the curse could indicate a lack of need for any evil intentions (which are required for the other two Unforgivable Curses), as making people feel wonderful is not evil in itself.
* In chapter 19 of year five of *Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery*, it is possible that Patricia Rakepick used this curse on Rowan Khanna at Hogwarts, as she is revealed to be a Dark Witch and 'R' member in chapter 30.

* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*:
	+ The Imperius Curse appears to give the victim's eyes a milky, glazed appearance which is not mentioned in the books and would decrease the curse's effectiveness, since it would be easily detectable. However, it's possible that this is a sign of a poorly or hastily performed curse, or one where the victim is actively resisting.
	+ When Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody), puts the Imperius Curse on the spider, he directs its movements with his wand, including having it float and hover in midair, as if the Levitation Charm was put on it. It's quite possible that he did put a non-verbal Levitation charm on it.
	+ The three spiders used were replaced with one single scorpion, known as an Amblypygi. He also enlarges it to allow the students to witness the spells easily.
* In *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2*, the Imperius Curse appears to be a mist that the victim smells and gets under the caster's bidding. It also appears to leave the victim in a slightly intoxicated, elated state.
	+ When the Imperius Curse wears off on Bogrod, Ron replaces the initial curse.
	+ In *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, when Newt Scamander used the Memory Charm on a Muggle that witnessed his creatures being unleashed from Jacob Kowalski's apartment, the spell appears visually similar and mist-like.
* This spell does not appear to be illegal in the handheld versions of *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7*, as Severus Snape teaches it to Harry in place of the Occlumency lessons from the book, film and game; furthermore also in the place of Focus, taught by Snape in the PC and console versions of the said game.
* The Imperius Curse was originally planned to appear in *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4*. It would have been cast with an orange light (rather than the yellow light used when the spell appeared in *Years 5-7*) and occupied the slot in the spell wheel used for pets by non-Dark wizards. In the final game, the Killing Curse is placed in that slot for Dark Wizards instead.