Quote:
Originally posted by Mrs. Weasley@Jul 29 2004, 01:13 PM
Mrs. Weasley carefully writes down her notes trying not to miss a word of what is being said. She then asks, "Professor Rae, I understand that jinxes and hexes are lesser forms of curses, but are all curses considered to be Dark Magic? Or does the intentions of the wizard using the curse still determine if it is Dark Magic or not?
*hears Mrs Weasley and raises her hand* Might I respond, professor?
I believe that not all Curses are illegal. As a matter of fact the using of said curses, hexes and jinxes are legal; what is illegal is the use you give to them. (Also the definition of Dark Magic falls on that description.) In each case it would be needed a trial to determine if the use was correct, self-defense, etc. There are certain restrictions for the using of those spells too: usually the curses will have more restrictions that the hexes, and the hexes more than the jinxes. There are certain areas or places where they are allowed, for example. A Blasting curse is completely legal in a Duelling Tournament, but in public places where muggles can see you wouldn't even be allowed to perform a simple lumos spell.
The ONLY spells that are not legal in ANY case are the Unforgivables, hence the name.