Re: Lily, Sev, Mary, dark magic - part 1
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Confundus does the same thing and is not illegal.
So why should one be illegal and not the other? Both spells cause their victims to do things they would never do when in their right mind. If Confundus can result in a multi-step behavior against one's normal judgment as in the case of Severus and Mundungus, then I don't see the difference between the two spells. The two spells should have the same legal status because they have the same outcomes.
How often do we see a raging lunatic roaming the streets though?
Rarity of circumstances should not be a consideration. If a spell has at least one legitimate use it should not be made categorically illegal. Legality should be based on specific circumstances. One may want to limit the use to licensed experts or investigate each use after the fact, but there should be ways to allow such legitimate use.
Rather than break the law I would rather use an exterminator.
I'm not arguing about what the legal status is but on what it should be. Give me a convincing reason for Imperius to have a different legal status than other mind-control spells. And note that you are arguing on legality, not on whether the spell is Dark or not, which is a different thing. Dark Magic per se isn't illegal, though some Dark spells and some Dark artifacts are, while at the same time some artifacts are illegal for other reasons (we have no information on spells that are illegal for other reasons though we have information on circumstances when magic is illegal - underage magic outside school, magic in front of Muggles, both with their work-arounds). In any case, you won't be breaking the law to use Imperius on non-humans. Hermione protests that Imperiurizing students would be illegal, but has no qualms about the spider.
Using the AK as a means of painless execution of animals?
And just plain butchering. Instantaneous, painless, bloodless. Very humane. (What waste of power? Potterverse magic sometimes requires effort to master, but once a spell is mastered it requires little to no effort. Probably less than wielding a knife. If Molly can use magic to cook meat, why not start the use one step earlier?)
The WW does not do surgery.
Maybe they should look into it. We know there are conditions magic can't heal completely or sufficiently. Do we know how effective magical cancer treatment is?
It is very inaccurate
Insufficient canon support for this claim. We see the spell used certainly 2 times, and very likely a third. Harry used the spell without knowing what he was doing, so obviously he couldn't control the effects. In the 7P battle Severus was going for full strength (he was going for a full amputation - most likely of the DE's wand arm) - but both him and his target were moving so obviously he couldn't aim properly. But if the nonverbal spell he cast at James was Sectumsempra then obviously the spell can be controlled to cause as little damage as the caster wants and can be aimed at a very small part of the body. Should be even easier at close range with an immobile target.
the cuts do not heal unless you know the counter spell
Not true. George's injury healed. The bleeding was stopped successfully by normal means (whatever they were, didn't even require a specialist healer) and the injury site is not described like anything different from what one would expect from a non-magical amputation. (Supporting whitehound's theory that Severus developed or adopted the spell because it mimicked a non-magical knife and therefore could be used in the Muggle world without raising suspicion that anything unusual was happening.) If the amputated ear had been recovered then perhaps the counterspell would have been used to reattach it, but we don't know either way.
Similarly, if what Severus cast at James was indeed Sectumsempra then he healed normally (Harry saw later photographs of James so he would know if there was any permanent scarring and he would be able to make the connection to SWM if he knew of any).
A surgeon has to learn on the job, so to speak. I don't think I would want to be the patient someone was practising on.
The same applies to our kind of surgery. Somehow we worked out a method to teach it. Wizards could too, if they wanted to.
So why should one be illegal and not the other? Both spells cause their victims to do things they would never do when in their right mind. If Confundus can result in a multi-step behavior against one's normal judgment as in the case of Severus and Mundungus, then I don't see the difference between the two spells. The two spells should have the same legal status because they have the same outcomes.
How often do we see a raging lunatic roaming the streets though?
Rarity of circumstances should not be a consideration. If a spell has at least one legitimate use it should not be made categorically illegal. Legality should be based on specific circumstances. One may want to limit the use to licensed experts or investigate each use after the fact, but there should be ways to allow such legitimate use.
Rather than break the law I would rather use an exterminator.
I'm not arguing about what the legal status is but on what it should be. Give me a convincing reason for Imperius to have a different legal status than other mind-control spells. And note that you are arguing on legality, not on whether the spell is Dark or not, which is a different thing. Dark Magic per se isn't illegal, though some Dark spells and some Dark artifacts are, while at the same time some artifacts are illegal for other reasons (we have no information on spells that are illegal for other reasons though we have information on circumstances when magic is illegal - underage magic outside school, magic in front of Muggles, both with their work-arounds). In any case, you won't be breaking the law to use Imperius on non-humans. Hermione protests that Imperiurizing students would be illegal, but has no qualms about the spider.
Using the AK as a means of painless execution of animals?
And just plain butchering. Instantaneous, painless, bloodless. Very humane. (What waste of power? Potterverse magic sometimes requires effort to master, but once a spell is mastered it requires little to no effort. Probably less than wielding a knife. If Molly can use magic to cook meat, why not start the use one step earlier?)
The WW does not do surgery.
Maybe they should look into it. We know there are conditions magic can't heal completely or sufficiently. Do we know how effective magical cancer treatment is?
It is very inaccurate
Insufficient canon support for this claim. We see the spell used certainly 2 times, and very likely a third. Harry used the spell without knowing what he was doing, so obviously he couldn't control the effects. In the 7P battle Severus was going for full strength (he was going for a full amputation - most likely of the DE's wand arm) - but both him and his target were moving so obviously he couldn't aim properly. But if the nonverbal spell he cast at James was Sectumsempra then obviously the spell can be controlled to cause as little damage as the caster wants and can be aimed at a very small part of the body. Should be even easier at close range with an immobile target.
the cuts do not heal unless you know the counter spell
Not true. George's injury healed. The bleeding was stopped successfully by normal means (whatever they were, didn't even require a specialist healer) and the injury site is not described like anything different from what one would expect from a non-magical amputation. (Supporting whitehound's theory that Severus developed or adopted the spell because it mimicked a non-magical knife and therefore could be used in the Muggle world without raising suspicion that anything unusual was happening.) If the amputated ear had been recovered then perhaps the counterspell would have been used to reattach it, but we don't know either way.
Similarly, if what Severus cast at James was indeed Sectumsempra then he healed normally (Harry saw later photographs of James so he would know if there was any permanent scarring and he would be able to make the connection to SWM if he knew of any).
A surgeon has to learn on the job, so to speak. I don't think I would want to be the patient someone was practising on.
The same applies to our kind of surgery. Somehow we worked out a method to teach it. Wizards could too, if they wanted to.