44 - Revelation
Chapter Forty-Four
Revelation
"Class dismissed."
Between the commotion that broke loose at Professor McGonagall's words, Sunset absently levitated her things back into her bag. She only gave Hermione a meaningful look and a slight tilt of the head in McGonagall's direction, but her sister understood and began shepherding the rest of the group off towards the next class. Leaving her behind.
Professor McGonagall turned, seeing that Sunset had approached her and that the room was empty otherwise. "Can I help you, Miss Shimmer?"
"I hope so, Professor. I have a question. A question about animagi to be exact."
Minerva tilted her head, looking at the girl with curiosity. "And what would that be?"
"Is it possible to recognize an animagus while they are in their transformed state? Is it possible to tell if an animal is actually a transformed animagus?"
Minerva looked Sunset, tilting her head slightly. "What brought this about? Do you know of an animal you suspect of being an animagus?"
"I do. Ron's pet rat, Scabbers."
"Mr. Weasley's rat? What has brought you to this conclusion?"
"I happened to have an aura sight charm up in the common room on Sunday evening, and I noticed that Scabbers had far more internal magic than a mundane rat has any right to."
McGonagall arched an eyebrow, thinking the matter over and watching the girl before her closely. "That is indeed suspicious. But if I am reading your expression correctly, that isn't all?"
"No professor, it isn't. I got suspicious, so I did some research and asked Ron and Percy about Scabbers. Percy brought him into the family after he found him when he was seven. And Scabbers was fully grown at the time. A normal rat rarely lives longer than two years. And when I read up on animagi, I learned that animagi will always keep the lifespan of a wizard, not adopt that of the animal."
Minerva thought about the matter. This was troubling. The evidence Ms. Shimmer was bringing forward was damning, and it's potential consequences were severe. Most troubling of all, this still didn't seem to be everything. With two fingers, she motioned for the girl to continue.
Ms. Shimmer opened her bag and fished a book from it. Animagus – Awaken Your Inner Animal. "I did my research with this. It's from the school library. I scanned it for magical imprints and found four that were exceptionally strong. The strongest of them matches Madam Pince, the other three are badly degraded, from age if I had to take a guess. Probably three people that frequently handled this book over a long period of time, years maybe."
McGonagall sat down behind her desk, she had a feeling that she knew what was coming. She was only waiting for the coin to drop. And she had a feeling she would want to be seated when it did.
"Adjusting for the degradation, one of the imprints is a near perfect match with Scabbers."
Minerva looked at the book and took it from Sunset's hands, she checked the index for the date of publishing. It was the next printing after the one she herself had used to attain her animagus. She only saw two viable courses of action, the first, and most obvious, she would only be able to take later in the day. The second she could, and would, take right now. "Miss Shimmer, what class will you have next?"
"History of Magic, Professor."
"Good, Professor Binns is unlikely to even notice your absence. Follow me." She got up from her chair, the book held in one hand as she left the room, turning into the fastest way she knew to the library. Irma Pince was by far not her favorite colleague, she was strict and not entirely likeable. But there was one thing she was known for among the faculty above anything else.
She kept immaculate records.
It only took them five minutes to reach the library. "Irma, I need to check your records on this book."
The librarian took one look at the book and wordlessly waved for the two new arrivals to follow her before stalking off into a side room. Like the library, the room was arrayed in rows, only made of filing cabinets instead of bookshelves. The letter, unsurprisingly, A wasn't far. After a few more steps, Madam Pince drew her wand, pulling open a drawer and calling a specific folder from it. The name of the book was written on the side.
They trailed behind her as she walked over to a table. "Here." Placing the folder on the table, she opened it and took a small stack of parchment from it. On them was a list of names, each associated with three dates. Professor and student alike quickly understood them to be lending date, due date and return date.
Approaching, Professor McGonagall pushed the first page out of the way, then the second. She took out the third page, then the fourth. There it was, over the span of three years, three names repeated with only a few others strewn in between: Potter, James; Black, Sirius and Pettigrew, Peter.
"You are certain that there were only four signatures of exceptional power, Miss Shimmer?"
"Absolutely. It's one of them."
"Well, that is odd. Supposedly one of these men is imprisoned and the other two are dead. We will have to get to the bottom of this. There is a certain way to check. Miss Shimmer, bring Mister Weasley and his 'rat' to my office after your final class today. We shall yet find the truth."
Without another word, Professor McGonagall left the library and went to find her class. Sunset returned the papers to the correct order and their place within the folder before leaving the backroom, handing the folder and the book back to Madam Pince. Then she, too, left the library.
Sunset led a confused and mildly nervous Ron, in turn carrying a very nervous and rather shivery Scabbers down the corridors to Professor McGonagall's office. She hadn't explained why the Transfiguration Professor wanted to see Ron. And he certainly had no idea what she wanted with Scabbers. The fact that Sunset kept a close eye on Scabbers, barely looking at Ron, and kept her magic at the ready as the faint glow of teal around her hands suggested confused Ron. Scabbers, too, was eyeing her hands nervously.
Before long, they reached the office and Sunset knocked. "Come in." As the door opened before them, Scabbers decided to make a break for it. He ran from Ron's hand up his arm and jumped from his shoulder to the floor. Or at least he intended to jump the floor, instead he was caught in mid air as the glow around Sunset's hand's surged.
Ron looked from the rat caught in a teal glow, to his fiery haired friend keeping it trapped and to the Professor getting up from behind her desk. "Do come in now. We have something important to check. With a calm wave from her glowing hand, Sunset made it clear that Ron should go ahead. As she followed behind, Scabbers floating to the center of the room and the door closing behind her in a teal glow, she nodded to Professor McGonagall.
Scabbers was turned to face McGonagall as she waved for the two students to stand beside her and drew her wand. "Don't worry, Mister Weasley, Miss Shimmer has made some observations that have led us to believe that your pet isn't what he appears to be. Should we be mistaken, this won't harm him. Homorphous."
At the final word, a beam of white and blue erupted from her wand, striking Scabbers in mid-air. A wave of magic pulsed from the rat, breaking Sunset's hold. In response she once more lit up her eyes with magic, watching carefully as the transformation slowly reversed.
The rat on the ground shuddered and began to grow like a tree, quickly gaining in height until it was towering over the two students, but still a head smaller than McGonagall. The shape resolved into a human man with a rat-like face. He was not pretty by any standard. And the wand he drew from his sleeve was pointed at McGonagall.
"Avada-"
Before she could hear the full incantation, Sunset's instincts took over. She had never heard this incantation before, but she felt the dark magic form in this wizard's wand. She paid no attention to the rest of the words as all her focus went into her magic. She didn't have time to draw a wand. Instead the teal glow around her hands shifted to pale gold and a barrier sprung up between her and the man, quickly extending outwards to enclose him.
It wasn't enough. The bolt of green light slipped by her light magic barrier at the last second.
Thankfully, McGonagall's wand was already drawn. A series of complicated motions had one of her cufflinks coming off and floating before her. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a hand mirror, only to be hit by the green light a split second later. Molten glass and silver dripped onto the floor from where the mirror had nearly been melted through. Still, it fulfilled its purpose and deflected the attack, sending it shooting off over her attacker's shoulder. This time, however, Sunset's barrier had finished forming and the spell shattered against it. A momentary flicker in the shield was all the indication that anything had just hit it.
When her barrier fully closed around the man, Sunset drew her wand from her sleeve with her right hand while maintaining the barrier with her left. A pulse of teal magic erupted from the tip of her wand, quickly washing over the room. Her, Ron and McGonagall, as well as the room itself were unaffected, but the man was engulfed in a teal glow and ceased to move. "Professor, if you could relieve him of his wands."
Not having a visualization charm up like Sunset did, McGonagall tilted her head. "He has more than one?"
Sunset nodded. "He has two. The other is in his back pocket. You can reach through the shield."
Trying to touch the faintly glowing barrier after putting down the molten mirror, McGonagall noted that, indeed, she could reach through it as though it was no more solid than air. She took the wand that the man had just attempted to kill her with, then walked around him and reached into the back pocket of his trousers, pulling out a second wand, placing them both on her desk.
She turned around to see that the barrier had dissipated and a teal mist was seeping into the man's head. As his eyes turned upward and he collapsed, fast asleep, she took a moment to look at him in more detail. His features were decidedly more rat-like than they used to be, a known side effect of maintaining an animagus transformation for extended periods of time, but there was no mistaking Peter Pettigrew.
"Thank you, Miss Shimmer." She pointed her wand to a potted plant at the wall of the office, turning it into a couch. "Place him there for the time being." With a sigh, she looked at the mirror in more detail, then canceled the spell on it. The much smaller item had fared even worse against the spell than its temporary form. The face was almost entirely melted off and the mechanism behind it was fused together and wouldn't turn.
This was the result of powerful dark magic. There would be no repairing this. Not to mention it was evidence anyway. She couldn't help the smirk that came to her face. It paid to be prepared. She quickly walked around her desk and opened a drawer. Among various other things, there was also a replacement pair of cufflinks.
Once her wardrobe was once more in order and the piece of evidence stored safely in her pocket, McGonagall raised her wand once more. "Expecto Patronum. Message for Albus. Albus, we have a bit of a situation. Please come to my office immediately. And brace yourself for a bit of a surprise." With a nod, the silvery tabby cat jumped off and vanished into mist.
Albus Dumbledore was already rushing down the halls when the patronus reached him. He had started rushing towards Minerva's office the moment the wards of Hogwarts had informed him of a dark spell being cast there. She had told him over lunch of the potential animagus she would check right about now.
The moment the patronus materialized and spoke in her voice, relief flooded him. If she was in good enough a shape to cast a patronus and speak to it so clearly, the situation couldn't be so bad. The warning to brace himself for a surprise was ominous to say the least.
The moment he rushed into the office, he saw four people already there. Minerva was standing in the center of the room, keeping her wand pointed at a familiar man sleeping on a couch against the wall. It only took him a second to make the mental connection to what she had told him at lunch. His features may have changed, but he still recognized Mr. Pettigrew. To the side, Ms. Shimmer was calming down an obviously somewhat shaken Mr. Weasley, the youngest of them. The one who had discovered the infiltrator and the one who had thought him a pet.
"Minerva! What happened here? What spell did he use?"
When Minerva turned to him, it was barely noticeable, but from the look in her eyes, he could see that she was shaken by what had transpired. "He used the killing curse, Albus. I managed to deflect it and Miss Shimmer cast a shield that nullified the spell when it hit it and immobilized him with a second spell. I took both his wands after she told me where the second one was and she put him to sleep once he was disarmed. She says that, unless it is canceled, the spell will last for several hours."
Concise as always. In the space of four sentences, Minerva had summarized what had transpired and given him enough to act. He absently noted that Miss Shimmer, hiding her own mental turmoil, though not as well as Minerva, walked over once Mister Weasley was somewhat calmed and joined the professor in pointing her wand at the sleeping man. He, meanwhile, walked over to Minerva's fireplace, throwing a pinch of powder into the flames.
"Ministry of Magic. Office of Amelia Bones."
Once the green fire flared up, he pushed his head into the flames. "Amelia, are you there?"
The woman at the desk turned to him. "Albus? How can I help you? Did something happen at Hogwarts?"
"You could say that. A supposedly dead man just tried to kill my Transfiguration professor. I thought you might want to know."
Amelia's eyes narrowed. "I do. Is Minerva alright?"
"She is. He is subdued and currently presents no threat, but he did use one of the Unforgivable Curses. We're in her office if you want to come through."
Amelia nodded curtly. "We'll be there in a minute." Without another word, she turned and rushed out through the door.
Albus pulled his head back.
"Amelia is coming. We'll have this matter cleared up soon."
Miss Shimmer turned to him, still occasionally letting her eyes flick over to Mr. Pettigrew. "I feel like we're missing a bit of backstory here."
"True enough," Albus agreed. "This is Peter Pettigrew. He supposedly died at the hands of Sirius Black nearly ten years ago. Clearly, that isn't the case. We shall hear the full story from him."
As he finished speaking, the fireplace beside him flared green and a square jawed witch with a monocle and short, gray hair emerged from the flames, followed by a bald man with dark skin and a serious expression.
"Ah, Amelia. Perfect timing. Over here." Albus waved her over to the couch and her eyes narrowed when she saw the man on it, her monocle cutting into the lid.
"I see what you meant by 'supposedly dead'. I see the finger wasn't all that was left after all. Just all he chose to leave behind. How did you find him?"
"That would be thanks to Miss Shimmer here." Albus waved a hand at the girl. "She discovered that there was something unusual about Mr. Weasley's pet rat. After she came to Minerva about it, he was revealed."
"He used an Unforgivable Curse?"
"Yes," Minerva confirmed. "He attempted to kill me the moment he resumed human form. Fortunately I was able to deflect his attack and, together with Miss Shimmer, was able to subdue and disarm him."
Amelia raised an eyebrow and gave the girl a measuring stare, before turning back to Albus. "You have his wand?"
"Wands. And yes. We have both of them." Albus pointed a finger to the pair of wands on Minerva's desk. "Perhaps Garrick can help us identify the second one."
Amelia took a moment to mentally connect the first name to the old wand maker, then nodded. "We'll owl him. Anything else?"
"There is something on his forearm."
The entire group turned back to Ms. Shimmer whose glowing eyes were affixed to Mr. Pettigrew's left forearm. Albus walked over to the sleeping man and pulled back the sleeve of his robes, revealing a very recognizable tattoo. He sighed. "The dark mark. This makes things rather clear, doesn't it?"
Amelia nodded. "We'll have to get him to the Ministry for interrogation. I'd also like to get eyewitness accounts from all of you." She sighed. "It's always such a hassle transporting prisoners through the floo."
Once more, Miss Shimmer spoke up. "If you wish, I can take us to the atrium of the Ministry."
Amelia stared at the girl for a moment longer before turning to Albus, who nodded. "Very well, Miss Shimmer, was it? If you have a more convenient means of transportation, go ahead."
"As you wish." Ms. Shimmer drew her wand from her sleeve, its tip glowing teal. Mr. Pettigrew floated up from the couch, still sound asleep, and the entire group – two teachers, two ministry officials, two students and a criminal – vanished in a flash of teal.
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
637 users online
841,445 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I feel you should mention that he didn't finish casting the killing curse because if he had there would certainly be no way that Minerva could deflect it, Dumbledore only managed to block it by using a statue.
nice work.
9636993
And Harry managed to block it, repeatedly, with a simple shield charm. As far as this story is concerned, Avada Kedavra isn't actually all that powerful, it's specifically meant to do one very exact thing upon impact with a living being. If it doesn't impact a living being, it won't do anything.
Yay! Why do I think of Dr. Yueh when I think of the traitorous Pettigrew. Treason is the mainest thing they have in common, after all.
danienlared.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/dr-yueh_1.jpg
9637008
He never blocked it with a shield charm he intercepted it mid-air using another spell. The whole point of the killing curse is that you can only stop it by intercepting it or just getting out of the way and of course a failed cast isn't nearly as powerful as the real thing. The idea is that if it's strong enough to kill you instantly it's strong enough to break through nearly any defence. Objects hit by the spell are described as bursting into flames or being completely broken which shows just how strong the spell is.
The point is if you remove the unblockable aspect you might as well not even use it.
9637008
Imperio, Crucio and Avada Kedavra are such strong dark magic that not even Protego Horribilis, which I imagine is a shield charm designed to block dark magic, can block them. The only way to block those three spells is to put something, or someone, else in its path. Harry deflected the Killing Curse as a baby because Lily died for him, giving him a protection against Voldemort. But since Voldemort took his magic in the resurrection ritual, he's never deflected the spell since, except for one instance: When the Elder Wand refused to harm its true master.
9637062
Or all the other times towards the end of the Battle of Hogwarts when Harry is under his invisibility cloak and throws shield charms all over the place to block spells from the death eaters and protect his allies. There are repeated descriptions in that section of people who 'would have been killed' going on to attack another death eater. Note that those aren't just spells from Voldemort (who is, unknowingly, having trouble with his wand at the time) but from the others as well (who don't have that problem). And yes, I'm well aware that that is a contiunity error in the books.
I suspect that the reason for that is that J.K. Rowling eventually realized just how cheap an unblockable insta-kill spell actually is. That's the main reason I've implemented this nerf a bit earlier. I've also decided to have light magic be more effective, the darker the spell it's meant to protect from. No spell is darker than this one.
In other words, if the death eaters are gonna try to kill some of the good guys in this story, I'll damn well make them work for it.
9637085
Fine, but when has McGonagle, a Transfiguration Mistress, ever had trouble creating an object to block spells with?
9637085
I suspect this is what you're talking about, it never says that Voldemort is casting killing curses the fact that Harry can block them means that they aren't the killing curse.
Absolutely LOVED the update, keep up the wonderful work!
9637095
This isn't the only place we can deduce that little retcon from. The first chapter of book six mentions that Madam Bones had a real fight with whomever killed her and that they suspect it was Voldemort himself. If they had an unblockable insta-kill spell, the very notion of a real fight is laughable.
9637133
The killing curse is an incredibly powerful spell, it's effects on inanimate objects shows this, not everyone is capable of casting it and if you can it's not something you can just spam until it finally hits. The only reason you use it is if you're confident it will hit because as I mentioned you can always just get out of the way of the spell. We can assume that it's a pretty draining spell as well so it's more efficient to use spells that, while not a guaranteed kill, are harder to dodge.
Thank you for the update, I'm really enjoying the pace of the story.
I also like that you took the insta-kill aspect off the killing curse. I'm sure that spell coming from more competent and less distracted wizards could be impossible to block, but a third rate caster should not have an "I win" button.
9637230
Let me correct you on that. I did not take off the 'insta-kill' aspect of the spell. That aspect is the very thing that defines it. I took of the 'unstoppable' aspect as it is utterly ridiculous. The story will go into more details on the weaknesses of the spell in the future, but for now, suffice it to say that it very much, can be blocked. Like any spell, it can be cast at different power levels. If the spell is more powerful than the shield trying to block it, the shield breaks and the spell goes through. If the opposite is the case, the shield is weakened, but the spell dissipates. In this particular case, the power level of the spell is largely irrelevant to its effect so long as the minimum power requirement it met. Given how hasty it was cast in this case, it wasn't particularly powerfull and well within Professor McGonnagall's ability to deflect. (note that she is a skilled duelist)
9637260
I think you're taking the term "unstoppable" too seriously. Superman is said to be invulnerable but there are definitely things that hurt him. However 9 times out of 10 you won't have access to one of the things that can hurt him so for all intents and purposes he is invulnerable. We see in the book that despite being unblockable there are ways to actually block it but you won't necessarily have something solid enough to hide behind when it's cast at you. And while shield spells won't stop it you can still stop it by hitting it with another spell but that's like shooting an arrow out of the air with another arrow. Not to mention just because someone casts it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to hit after all the caster could be a terrible shot or you might just be too far away for the caster to be able to hit you.
Here's a question how far away was wormtail when he cast the spell? Because a point-blank spell is pretty hard to block let alone deflect. It's not like her office is that big.
Why weren't more precautions taken before attempting to reveal a disguised wizard? Why not have some other teachers in the room or at least Dumbledore? This whole thing was handled ridiculously carelessly.
9637300
Again: Wizards aren't neccessarily known for common sense.
9637342
And what's Sunset's excuse?
Seriously saying they lack common sense is just a crutch for lazy writing among fan-fic writers. It's not even an excuse here they knew what they were trying to do and had a good idea what might happen if it turned out Scabbers was an animagus. I'm not saying they had to go overkill with them hiding behind a barrier or something but they should at least realize there was a chance of things getting dangerous and invited some other teachers to observe. Plus out of all the wizards you could claim lack common sense McGonagall is not one of them.
I'm going to admit, that I am not really into Harry Potter. I read the first 3 books and watched the first 3 movies, but it really didn't strike my fancy. My favorite wizard is Harry Dresden, not Harry Potter. But. I have found I like it when it's crossed with MLP. I read The Wizard and the Lonely Princess out of curiosity and that hooked me on the crossovers. This one is very good and I'm enjoying it. I've got a question. Would this 'killing curse' effect an immortal? Like Celestia? Or would she be like the Hulk and spit out the bullet that Banner tried to off himself with?
9637361
Hard to say there are no true immortals in Harry Potter, and many would argue Celestia isn't immortal just long-lived, however Voldemort is as close to immortal as anyone ever got and while the killing curse didn't kill him it did destroy his body leaving him as a bodyless wraith forced to survive by possessing others and living off them like a parasite.
9637356
Sunset's excuse is simple. She's from Equestria. She didn't expect attempted murder. Simple as that.
9637260
I always thought avada being unblockable was bs anyway the spell is supposedly 300ish years old you trying to tell me in 300 years no ones tried to find a counter. Whats bad and why its a unforgivable curse is its a 1 hit kill on contact.... on contact. So its a good ambush opener and killing defeated or the unarmed. Sidetracked ... but like how we find cures for diseases theird have to be wizard researchers whose job is to develope anti curses by using testing ... like the reverse of what barty croutch jr. did to the spider... cast the shield or counter curse before the spiders hit.
9637380
The reason it's unforgivable has nothing to do with the fact that's it's unblockable or that its an instant-kill. Plenty of spells can't be blocked or could kill you instantly like Fiendfyre, what makes it unforgivable is the intent. If you use one of the unforgivable curses it's because you want to control the person, you want to make them suffer, or you simply want them dead. There is no question of what the spell was being used for and what they were being used for was considered unforgivable.
9637385
Fiendfyre isn't an unforgivable, even though it is dark magic, can only be used for destruction, actively fights its caster, and apparently the only way to put it out is to let it run out of things to burn. Frankly I don't think there's any given canon reason for why the unforgivables are classified as 'the worst' of all the terrible things you can do to someone. Frankly it might actually be just the shield thing since that's the only canon reason they're mentioned as special.
9637385
Their all considered dark magic regardless of intention ... alot more curses would make the list if its just intentions. Obliviate *bamn* rape victim forgets their raped. Expeliarmus sends someone falling out a window down some stairs or into traffic. Etc etc. Which is weird since their only dark based off intention its a circle effect.... the imperious curse could be used to teach proper movements like wands or if its a master and pupil like say potions or alchemy for example the master could work through the pupil so he gets it right the first time then has them do it themselves ....while cruxio? Is a taser like self defense spell. But of course dark wizards gotta f things up and abuse them. Even avada could be used against dangerous beasts .... for example a dragon eats cows and other livestock you capture and transport ... if it eats humans you have to put it down since it'll associate people as food thus a maneater. Also those spiders f those things. A invasive species preying on local wildlife its rats and pigs all over again. If it wasnt for the fact most spiders are cannibalistic and the centaurs kill some theyd of overrun the dark forest completely.
9637444
That's not what I mean, spells are fueled by emotions and the emotions that fueled the unforgivables leaves the intent unquestionable. For example, after Sirius' death, Harry tries to use crucio on Belatrix but it didn't work. The reason was that Harry fueled the spell with righteous anger but the spell only works when you want to make the person suffer not because of what they did or who they are but because you want to cause them pain.
It's the same with the other two you have to want to rob the person of their free will and you have to want them dead not because you hate them or to avenge someone but just because you want to take away their life.
9637451
Ahhh ok i see what your saying now.
9637406
For the record, there is, cannonically, a counterspell for fiend fyre. What form that counterspell takes and how effective it is is never specified.
9637260
it may be noted that it still would be unblockable to most wizards, considering that Wormtail is not considered a powerful wizard, spent the last who knows how many years as a rat (so is probably unhealthy) ,did not finish the incantation and still dissipated a shield thrown up by Sunset Shimmer (a being whose magical power can be compared to Celestia and Twilight Sparkle) that was probably purpose made to counter dark magic, and all that is after it was deflected (though i do not remember any case where the Avada Kedavra has been deflected in such a manner) presumably losing strength. to summarize most of the people who are not main characters and thus have been to the magic rich environment of Equestria or are extremely powerful in their own right would not have a chance at creating a shield strong enough to stop the attack, and that is if they even think to.
9636993
The killing curse can be deflected by objects placed in the way by whatever means. It bypasses magical barriers, not physical ones. I just assumed that Minerva was ready for the unknown Animagus to try something, as she already had her wand out to cast the revealing spell anyway.
If anything, somehow defecting in back at Peter should have killed him, as it most certainly would not have stopped as Sunset's shield under most circumstances. The fact that it had means that there is now a way to magically block the previously unblockable killing curse. Everyone who finds out about that is going to want to know what variant of shield spell Miss Shimmer used in order to do so, because she just took the fangs out of one of the Deatheater's most potent weapons.
9637573
It is worth note that, several chapters ago, Sunset demonstrates this "light magic" that Equestria has developed to counter "dark magic" like the killing curse. The only light magic spell the wizards have, according to that chapter, is the patronus charm- which does not take the form of a shield.
Think like the killing curse is a cannonball, and everyone's been trying to block it with handheld shields (shield charms). Sunset's light magic shield spell is, in this analogy, the armored hull of a tank. If that cannonball is going fast enough, or the spell has enough power behind it, it can get through anyways- but in most cases, it won't. The amount of power in the shield would be the thickness of the armor.
9638066
I do realize that this is probably the case, but this is still a huge deal. Before this point, no direct reproducable magical barrier has ever blocked the Killing Curse. Prior this this point, the only times it has ever failed were when it either missed, was blocked by a physical object, or just one time when Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter as an infant only to have his own spell backlash spectacularly.
And there's Sunset Shimmer, using an Equestrian Shield spell that works perfectly fine against the Killing Curse, when not too long ago she gave several serviceable examples that humans are capable of learning Equestrian spells.
Basically, one of the three main weapons of the Deatheaters just lost a lot of it's potential effectiveness the moment that Dumbledore and Amelia Bones found out that the Unblockable Curse can be blocked. Dumbledore is going to ask if Sunset can teach anyone else the version of shield spell she had just used, and I do not see Sunset refusing this request.
At the very least, this version of the spell is going to propagate through the teaching staff and the Aurors, and it might even end up being added to the curriculum of Hogwarts.
I can't imagine Voldemort being too pleased to discover that one of his favorite spells just got effectively nerfed. Don't get me wrong, it'll still be extremely dangerous, but it's most potent tool for him wasn't that it could kill, it was the fact that knowledge that it was "unblockable" was so widespread. Once the wizarding population finds out that there's a fancy new spell that blocks the "unblockable killing curse" just fine, one of the Deatheater's greatest weapons for terror suddenly becomes a lot less effective.
After all, we're dealing with a subset of humanity that thinks that magic duels and quiddich are fun sports and that dragon handling and curse breaking are respectable and "reasonably safe" careers. Take away the guarantee that a specific spell will always kill anyone it hits, and you'll have a dozen damn fool wizards poking Deatheaters with sticks as if they were Steve Erwin.
So, as several people have already stated, you're wrong to assume that the Killing Curse is easy to block. It is 100% guaranteed that the "spells" being blocked by shields in the final battle are more likely non-Unforgivables, but which would have dealt lethal damage, such as cutting curses, which are 1000x BETTER than the Killing Curse in almost every way except they can be blocked. As much as I've loved the story up to this point, this is actually a BIG thing. I would have been fine with her conjuring something, Sunset's shield forming in time to block it, or even them just getting out of the way. This "nerf" makes no sense in the established context of the spell, is NOT actually done in the books or movies, and basically detracts from the story in a significant way. Much as I've been very supportive of this story so far, this almost made me quit reading. I STRONGLY suggest you change this, because a LOT of people will have a problem with it.
9637567
He didn't fail to finish the incantation, Sunset just didn't listen to the rest as she focused entirely on forming the barrier as quickly as she could. The shield also didn't fail, it just didn't form around him fast enough to stop the attack, because Sunset formed a bubble around the target instead of a wall between her and the attack.
9638246
There. That should be better.
9637406
They’re unforgivable for the extra things they do. The killing curse for example takes the soul of its victim, it’s soul attached to the wand that was used (Harry’s parents appeared during the lock with Voldemort because of this). I don’t know what the others do, all I know is the killing curse doesn’t just kill, it also prevents you from going to the afterlife. Your soul is taken, forever bound.
Personally I agree with all the comments. Avaya Kedavra is an unforgivable, yes it was a spell created a very long time ago but is also a very powerful spell. The magic of wizards seems ridiculously limited given the fact that they A: have to speak or make some sort of vocalisation, B: have to wave the pattern or make some sort of movement and C: have to use a wand. Not to mention the fact that Equestrian magic seems to trump Wizarding magic in most subjects and things, so I fully believe a shield would’ve never been created. It’s possible Death made the curse, after all, given he’s a character?
I can see light magic blocking the dark magic spell, given wizards only have the Patronus for light magic. I can’t see normal magic blocking it given how powerful it is. I can see a physical object blocking it, a physical object is ironically stronger at blocking things than a magical shield simply by merit of the fact that it’s physical.
I’ve never read the books and I’ve barely seen Order of the Phoenix let alone a anything after that, but even I don’t believe any random magical shield of any strength could block a spell that instantly kills and steals the soul of its victim. Yes, it’s powerful, yes it can be said it’s overpowered. But it’s also a power drain, can’t be spammed, can be blocked by physical objects, and in my opinion the most well-balanced spell in Harry Potter.
9638495
Let me clarify one thing. Avada Kedavra does not steal or bind the soul of its victims. What was created at the end of the Goblet of Fire was simply an echo. It wasn't their actual souls. Otherwise the Stone of Resurection wouldn't have worked in book seven. (Again, I can forgive you not knowing that since you didn't read the books and apparently also didn't watch the movies past the fifth.
This is definitely better than her just casually batting away one of the most powerful and most dangerous spells ever created and plays well to her talents. I should say I'm not against the Equestrian's providing a way to block the curse as long as it doesn't diminish the power such a spell is supposed to carry and if Voldemort, at full strength, cast the killing curse I would expect no shield Sunset could produce would be able to stop it.
9638495
Well balanced?
I mean, from a conceptual standpoint, it makes sense that dark wizards would make such a curse.
But from a writing standpoint, it was the biggest mistake J.K. Rowling ever made. After all, if there was an unblockable spell that was quick to cast and instantly killed the target, what point is there in casting something more interesting? The only prerequisite is skill, or maybe evil intent. Possibly both.
Rowling had to incorporate interesting environments in the fights, or rely on the heroes for the clever spells and interesting situations. The rest of the battle was just boring flashes of green light that HAD to be dodged.
Edit: It just occurred to me that since you didn't read the books, you probably weren't aware of the really interesting and fun fight scenes that would happen. So my point would be hard to relate with.
9685321
Well, one reason I can think of for not using it is that there are other spells capable of being just as lethal but are harder to dodge. The other reason is that despite being the bad guys they don't necessarily want to kill everyone. A good example is the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort wasn't stupid he knew how important the children were for the future as such he was hesitant to just kill them all.
44: I never understood why don't they just destroy the knowledge of the unforgivable spells entirely from the school curriculum. Just stop teaching it to students in DADA classes and people who knew about those spells would die out in a few generations.
9692710
One: what stops those who already know the spells from personally training their children in their usage?
Two: spells can be rediscovered.
“molten” is an adjective, “melted” is a verb. You need a verb there.
9637361
IMO, Celestia isn’t immortal, just unaging. I point to A Canterlot Wedding (among other places) & say that
Celestia can get flattened by magic so likely Old Glass Jaw would be affected. Fatally?, it depends on the strength of the caster.
The killing curse can't be defended nor deflected, no barrier or shield stops it and it only stops at hitting something alive.
I get this is a fic and I have seen people using other means to stop it, like using a spider or the patron charm after hiving it a life spell quality, but right here Minerva should be dead.
9928247
That has been pointed out to me and a regular magical shield cannot block it in this continuity. However, if you read closely, you'll find that McGonagall isn't blocking it with a shield, but with a piece of her clothing she quickly removed and placed in the way, and which is destroyed in the process.
So no she isn't dead, nor should she.