After a disappointing third Fantastic Beasts installment earlier this year, Harry Potter fans had all but given up hope. However, there may be a future for the franchise in streaming, as head of HBO Max original content, Sarah Aubrey, has said that the company is "very much in the business of creating new content." This is incredibly exciting news for fans, but whatever new content is released must capture the whimsy and magic of the original films. The magic, of course, is one of the biggest attractions in the series, with myriad spells, potions, and charms capturing the imaginations of fans the world over.
While the silly, harmless spells added a sense of charm to the franchise, the Unforgivable Curses were totally disturbing. There were also many spells in between, that weren't illegal but definitely dangerous. While only three spells have been deemed Unforgivable, Redditors think that way more than these should have been termed so.
Bombarda Maxima
"Bombarda Maxima is literally a bomb," said Redditor half-a-virgin, who thought of the practical implications of creating a huge explosion and the vast amount of shrapnel that would result from it. The intention of the spell was obviously to damage and hurt people, which was why it should have been Unforgivable.
Bombarda Maxima could be used for demolition purposes, but this spell was designed to create a bang, which could seriously hurt others with all that flying debris.
Obliviate
This memory charm had varying degrees of severity, but either way, it was extremely dangerous for wizards to have a spell so handy as to make people around them forget their actions. It could lead to countless crimes being committed, which would go unreported because the victims didn't remember them.
Firelite67 agreed, saying "You could get away with some pretty nasty stuff with something like that." In Lockhart's case, it even caused him brain damage, so it should not have been an unregulated spell in the wizarding world.
Love Potions/Amortentia
Many characters made bad decisions before Harry Potter's story began, and Merope's terrible mistake of slipping Tom Riddle the love potion, and therefore trapping him for years with her was one of them. Amortentia and various other love potions totally remove a person's ability to consent.
Potions are not direct spells but require strong magic ability to brew them. In fact, they were some of the most powerful magic in the wizarding world. Starwarz08 emphasized the danger of love potions, "They are like using the Imperius Curse but with just controlling love. I hate that Fred and George sell them to eager students."
The Horcrux Spell
According to Redditor hippopotameaffame "From what little we know about the Horcrux creation method, some unknown-to-us spell is used," and they are right. The exact spell or method for making a Horcrux is unknown. In fact, there is more about Horcruxes that not just Harry Potter fans misunderstand but also those in wizarding society.
However, what is known is absolutely horrific, involving murder and heinous acts, which is why Reddit wants it to be a part of the very short list of Unforgivable Curses. Splitting the soul is no small business, so making it Unforgivable would also deter many from using it indiscriminately.
Fiendfyre
Vincent Crabbe's fatal miscalculation in the last book proved just how unstable and scary the Fiendfyre curse was. It essentially raised a Chimera made of fire, which had a mind of its own. What was worse was that it was not made of ordinary fire, but the kind that could destroy a Horcrux too.
Hdkb824 feels that this curse should have been kept far from the reach of students and any other wizard by pronouncing it Unforgivable, "solely because of how dangerous it is." Stopping Fiendfyre is pretty much impossible, and in the wrong hands, it caused real havoc.
Inferius Spell
Deemed as one of Harry Potter's creepiest book scenes, the Inferi chapter was truly horrifying. Thajcakla said "The Inferius spell" should have been Unforgivable because of how disrespectful, inhumane, and petrifying it was.
Reanimating dead bodies with dark magic to make them skeletal servants to do one's bidding is certainly not normal or acceptable. These bodies belonged to real humans who lived full lives and deserved to be at peace after their passing. The Inferius curse did the exact opposite, and should be regulated a lot more harshly.
The Draught of Living Death
This potion was spoken about several times in the books, but its true effects were never part of the narrative. If fans delved a bit deeper into what the Draught of Living Death did, they would discover that it put drinkers in an abnormal coma-like state, where they could not wake up and would be put to sleep indefinitely and without permission.
This violation of a wizard's liberty is quite scary, and for hippopatameaffame "that is a death-like state, give or take. The person loses all control over their ability to live." This doesn't seem legal at all, and its sinister nature makes it Unforgivable.
Sectumsempra
A harsh reality of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is that Snape's vicious curse-making was disturbing, and Harry's use of it, irresponsible. The Sectumsempra spell was designed to cut the victim into ribbons and make them bleed to death, which was horrifying enough, but it got worse.
Hewhoexiists said, "Technically it isn’t well known and is also a curse, but that’s what makes it so dangerous." This was because Sectumsempra couldn't be cured with an ordinary healing spell. It needed a very particular antidote, which only Snape was aware of. In the wrong hands, it could lead to indiscriminate murder.
Polyjuice Potion
HahaHarleyQu1nn compared the adverse effects of Polyjuice potion in a modern context, stating "Polyjuice potion gives me “deep fake” if was real life comparison. Could fool a lot of people. Definitely unethical." This rings true, as it is not tough to snag a hair from the person the potion-maker wants to impersonate, and this could lead to all sorts of crimes when the brewer looked like them.
Wizards could carry out daylight robbery, impersonate loved ones, and create all kinds of chaos with Polyjuice. It should definitely be an Unforgivable Curse, and certainly not be allowed for minor wizards to use.
Human Transfiguration Spells
Seeing Malfoy turn into a ferret elicited many laughs, but a closer look reveals just how traumatic this sudden transfiguration into animal form may be. It was not regulated at all, and wizards could perform this willy-nilly, without the consent of those they were turning. A lot could go wrong while performing this difficult magic.
Techno156 explained, "You could do some pretty nasty things that would be illegal to humanoids, but not to animals, and that doesn't even get into deliberately botching a transfiguration." The rules were different for the species, but merging them into one could have disastrous consequences.