Dark Arts

Dark Arts
Name	Dark Arts Dark Forces
Incantation	Various
Hand movement	Various
Light	Various
Type of spell	Curse
Book information
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Last appearance	Quidditch Through the Ages

The Dark Arts is a branch of magic used to cause pain, control or kill. Dark magic includes the Unforgivable Curses, Dark creatures, potions and various poisons and curses. They appear throughout the Harry Potter book series.

It is thought to be unwise if a wizard dares to get involved with the Dark Arts, hence why Albus Dumbledore would not even use it. Those who do are labelled Dark witches and wizards. Voldemort and the Death Eaters are known for their involvement in the Dark Arts. Not all who use the Dark Arts, however, are evil - Harry Potter is notably proficient in a multitude of Dark Charms and the like, yet was also notably skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

About

Nature

Dark forces are pragmatic in nature because after they are countered, they return "fiercer and cleverer" than before. Dark magic is flexible and inventive which mean defensive spells have to be versatile to keep up. There are Dark spells that have to be performed with enough intent to be effective, e.g. a Cruciatus Curse will only work if the caster truly wants to cause pain itself. Dark forces can be hard to control. The process of petrification is an "advanced" Dark force.

Impact

Those who use the Dark forces are considered corrupt because they usually have bad intentions. It is physically damaging to their appearance, like in the case of Tom Riddle whose features turned serpentine-like after he kept delving further into the Dark Arts. Killing is damaging to the soul because it is essentially ripped into pieces. In rare cases, a Dark wizard will use murder to create a Horcrux. The process involves splitting the soul and the body completely for the unnatural purposes of achieving eternal life, taking another person's life for the selfish purpose of extending their own.

Spell damage caused by a Dark force can be permanent and impossible to reverse. Frank and Alice Longbottom were incapacitated for life and George Weasley lost an ear after being hit by the Sectumsempra curse. Basilisk venom usually kills within minutes unless the victim is healed by a phoenix's tears, and victims of the Dementor's Kiss are left in a vegetative state with no hope of getting their soul back.

In law

Dark forces usually have legal consequences if used including the Unforgivable Curses which are punishable by life in Azkaban. However, Aurors had permission during the First Wizarding War to use the Unforgivable Curses to capture Death Eaters. During the Second Wizarding War when Death Eaters took control of the government, they legalised Dark magic.

Every individual wizarding school teaches their students about the Dark Arts in different ways. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will only teach the Dark Arts in relation to defence with Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Durmstrang Institute will teach something more direct. Dark artefacts are legal although Arthur Weasley tried to introduce the Muggle Protection Act so that he had permission to seize such objects. Owning such artefacts does not garner a good perception in society.

Defences

The only single power capable of defeating every piece of Dark magic is Love. It is capable of generating an ancient shield of protection that will cause a Killing Curse to bounce back at the caster. Using a Dark force is not technically evil if used for defence purposes. There are counter-curses and spells capable of hurting or killing in defence which are not categorised as a Dark Art.

History

The fifteenth century children's tale, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, features a type of Dark magic that would not be possible in reality. The Warlock separates his body and heart by removing his heart to prevent falling in love. The story is an analogy to the dangers of using this kind of magic. He renders himself inhuman and his heart shrivels and grows hair to show his descent into beasthood. When he tries to put his heart back, it is too late - the damage is irreversible and he is possessed to take a human life.

Gilderoy Lockhart was part of the Dark Force Defence League during his successful career of "eradicating" Dark Forces. Truthfully, he was a fraud who stole stories of bravery from other witches and wizards.

Known Dark Forces

Spells

Type	About	E.g. of spell
Jinx	Causes minor inconveniences to the target	Knockback Jinx
Hex	Inflicts harm and inconveniences onto the target	Bat-Bogey Hex
Curse	Causes major pain to the target, enables control and has the power to kill.	Unforgivable Curses

Potions

Potion	Notes
Rudimentary body concoction	Used by Tom Riddle to create a rudimentary body after he was rendered a non-corporeal wizard.
Regeneration concoction	Creates a new body for a non-corporeal wizard who survived certain death after creating Horcruxes.
Emerald Potion	Causes the drinker unbearable pain.

Creatures

Acromantula

Basilisk

Banshee

Dementor

Werewolf

• Hag
• Vampire

Dark witches and wizards

Lucius Malfoy

Peter Pettigrew

Tom Riddle

Quirinus Quirrell

• Antonin Dolohov
• Emeric the Evil
• Walden Macnair

Related books

• Curses and Counter-Curses by Professor Vindictus Viridian
• The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts