The Dark Arts

The Dark Arts are a branch of magic devoted to causing harm, exercising control over others, or achieving malevolent ends such as defying death. This form of magic is widely considered immoral and is heavily regulated by the wizarding community's governing bodies, such as the Ministry of Magic in Britain. The Dark Arts are primarily associated with Dark wizards and witches, most notably Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. The study and use of the Dark Arts are believed to corrupt the practitioner's soul and are central to the major conflicts of the First Wizarding War and the Second Wizarding War.

The defining characteristic of the Dark Arts is the intent of the caster. As explained by Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody), casting a powerful Dark curse requires a genuine desire to cause its effect. For example, to successfully cast the Killing Curse, the wizard must truly want to kill their victim.

• Spiritual Corruption: The practice of Dark magic is shown to have a corrosive effect on the user's soul. The most extreme example is the creation of a Horcrux, which involves splitting one's soul through murder. Albus Dumbledore noted that Lord Voldemort's repeated use of such magic mutilated his soul and dehumanised him, both spiritually and physically.
• Lasting Traces: Powerful Dark magic can leave permanent traces on places, objects, and people. Dumbledore detected the remnants of terrible magic in the seaside cave where Voldemort hid his locket Horcrux. Similarly, a curse can persist for years, such as the one placed upon the Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
• Unnatural Acts: Many forms of the Dark Arts involve twisting the fundamental laws of nature and life. This includes reanimating the dead to create Inferi, splitting one's soul for immortality, and inflicting unbearable pain through spells like the Cruciatus Curse.

While there are countless jinxes, hexes, and curses, some forms of the Dark Arts are particularly infamous.

• The Unforgivable Curses: A trio of curses deemed so evil by the Ministry of Magic that their use on a human being is punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban.
  • ` * Avada Kedavra (The Killing Curse):` Causes instantaneous, painless death.
  • ` * Cruciatus Curse:` Inflicts excruciating physical and mental pain on the victim.
  • ` * Imperius Curse:` Places the victim under the complete control of the caster.
• Horcrux Creation: Considered by Professor Horace Slughorn to be the foulest of Dark inventions, a Horcrux is an object in which a Dark wizard has hidden a fragment of their soul, granting them a form of immortality. The creation process requires committing murder, the supreme act of evil, to split the soul.
• Inferi Creation: The act of reanimating a human corpse through Dark magic. The resulting creature, an Inferius, becomes a grotesque puppet with no will of its own, blindly following the commands of the Dark wizard who created it.
• Dark Curses and Jinxes: Beyond the Unforgivables, numerous other spells fall under the umbrella of the Dark Arts.
  • ` * Sectumsempra:` A curse invented by Severus Snape that lacerates the target as if slashed by an invisible sword.
  • ` * The Morsmordre spell:` Conjures the Dark Mark, the symbol of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
  • ` * Fiendfyre: A powerful and dangerous cursed fire that seeks out living things and is notoriously difficult to control or extinguish. Vincent Crabbe unleashes it in the Room of Requirement.
• Dark Potions: Certain potions are classified as Dark magic due to their malevolent effects. The Drink of Despair, used by Voldemort to protect his locket Horcrux, is a prime example, causing the drinker to experience terrible visions and intense thirst.

The study of the Dark Arts is forbidden at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where students instead learn how to protect themselves in Defence Against the Dark Arts class. However, some institutions, like the Durmstrang Institute, are known to teach the Dark Arts to their students (as noted by Igor Karkaroff). Combating the Dark Arts is the primary responsibility of the Auror office within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

• Lord Voldemort: Widely regarded as the most powerful and dangerous Dark wizard of all time, he delved deeper into the Dark Arts than anyone before him, most notably through his creation of multiple Horcruxes.
• Gellert Grindelwald: A powerful Dark wizard who terrorised Europe before his defeat by Albus Dumbledore in 1945.
• Death Eaters: The followers of Lord Voldemort, known for their proficiency in and use of the Dark Arts. Notable members include Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jnr, and Antonin Dolohov.
• Severus Snape: A master of the Dark Arts and an exceptionally skilled Potioneer. While he served as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, his knowledge of Dark magic was extensive, having invented several Dark spells as a student.

• On the Pottermore website, J.K. Rowling expanded on the nature of Dark magic, noting that it can leave a “stain” on a location where it has been repeatedly practised, making the place feel cold and unpleasant. It can also permanently mark or scar a person, both physically and spiritually. (Pottermore)
• In the film adaptations, the visual effects for Dark spells are often distinct. The Killing Curse is consistently shown as a jet of green light, while the Cruciatus Curse is often depicted with flashes of red or white light and causes visible convulsions in its victims. (film)