If you are familiar with the Harry Potter franchise, you may also be acquainted with the Unforgivable Curses. They are a trio of spells; the Imperius Curse, which allows the caster complete control over the subject; the Cruciatus Curse, which causes immense pain and was often used as a form of torture; and the Killing Curse, an unstoppable spell that causes an instantaneous death.
According to a commentary on “Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump” by Albus Dumbledore in the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the curses were declared “unforgivable” in 1717. My question is, if these curses are considered to be so terrible, why is there not a taboo or a Trace placed on the usage of them? This seems like an immense oversight by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic is the governing body over the English witch and wizard population, and it is often proven to be quite incompetent as the story progresses. It is not the only government body that comes to mind when thinking of oversights and thoughtlessness.
Perhaps there was nothing that could trace the use of the Unforgivable Curses in the 1700’s. They were declared to be unforgivable quite a long time ago, after all. Magic appears to evolve much the way Muggle technology and science does – for instance, broomstick ‘technology’ is constantly seen to be evolving in the books, with faster, more streamlined brooms continuing to be released throughout the books. The Nimbus 2000 is the fastest broom in the world in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, while the Nimbus 2001 takes over in the next book, only for the Firebolt to sweep in during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Throughout the series, we are introduced to a couple of different tracking options: the Trace and taboo.
The Trace is something set in place by the Ministry of Magic to detect whether underage witches or wizards are performing magic. Mad-Eye Moody offers the best explanation of the Trace in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
“...you’re under-age, which means you’ve still got the Trace on you.”
“I don’t—”
“The Trace, the Trace!” said Mad-Eye impatiently. “The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about under-age magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters.”
The Trace has quite a few different plot holes, but at its core it is a way for the Ministry of Magic to track the usage of spells done around under-age wizards and witches. Moody calls it a charm, so it must be applicable to other things… say, the usage of unforgivable curses?
Another magical tracking device is introduced during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when the Ministry (under control of Lord Voldemort) implemented a Taboo on the word ‘Voldemort’ in order to track down members of the Order of the Phoenix, who commonly used the name Voldemort instead of You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
“...the name’s been jinxed, Harry, that’s how they track people! Using his name breaks protective enchantments, it causes some kind of magical disturbance – it’s how they found us at Tottenham Court Road!”
“Because we used his name?”
“Exactly! You’ve got to give them credit, it makes sense. It was only people who were serious about standing up to him, like Dumbledore, who ever dared use it. Now they’ve put a Taboo on it, anyone who says it is trackable – quick and easy way to find Order members!”
It would have been just as easy to place such a taboo – it’s not specified how the taboo is implemented, but here it can be assumed to be a spell – on the words Imperio, Crucio, and Avada Kedavra. They have their own titles that differ from their incantation, so there is no need to say their incantation unless you are attempting to cast the spell. Students could still be instructed about the curses without needing visuals; Mad-Eye Moody showed all of the fourth-year and up students just what the spells could truly do, much to the chagrin of a few students, the school board, and the Ministry of Magic.
There are some theories that Voldemort created the Taboo curse himself, or forced the Ministry to create this curse, but that kind of magic takes years to establish. Voldemort had only been resurrected for two years at this point in time, and his followers who walked free had not been nearly as faithful as he had hoped. It is much more likely that it was a spell that the Ministry of Magic had created, abused by Voldemort.
The Ministry has had the idea of illegal, banned, unforgivable spells since 1717. That leaves plenty of time between 1717 and 1970 (the beginning of the First Wizarding War, Voldemort’s first reign of terror) for them to discover a way to track users of these spells. Had these precautions been taken, it would have made Voldemort’s terrorist reign end much quicker — or make it much less terrifying.
This is just one of many points in Harry Potter that show just how incompetent the government can be. This can be translated into today’s world: particularly in America. Right now, we are in a gridlock between parties, with many alt-right and conservatives are fighting for tighter security and defense from terrorists while the liberals are advocating standing by minorities and the idea of America being a nation of immigrants.
In both present-day America and fictional Wizarding London, the government is fighting for control. By not properly monitoring the use of these banned curses, the Ministry of Magic is not focusing on the big picture: the safety and welfare of the public. Instead, they attempt to maintain control and adjust based on their reputation in the eyes of their constituents. It is a common problem seen in modern governments today, and it is something that we as the public need to be aware of and make a point to change.
——
Works Cited
Crotty, Brenna. "Harry Potter and the Unaddressed Plotholes." Cohesive Thesis. 28 Feb. 2011.
Dunn, Alex. “There’s no such thing as the Trace.” Baruffio: a blog about Harry Potter. 13 May 2014.
Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Scholastic Press, 2007.
Rowling, JK. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Scholastic Press, 2000.
Rowling, JK. Tales of Beedle the Bard, the. Children's High Level Group, 2008.
Whisp, Kennilworthy. Quidditch Through the Ages. Scholastic Press, 2001.
Featured Image by Gabriel Picolo. Article originally posted here.