Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Unbreakable Vow
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Unbreakable Vow | |
|---|---|
| Type | Spell or method |
| Features | Vow once made cannot be broken under penalty of death |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
An Unbreakable Vow is a method of making a vow that is magically reinforced. If the vow is broken, the one who made the vow apparently dies.
[edit] Extended Description
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Severus Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa Malfoy. Almost all of the preparation of the Vow is mental, and it requires a third party, the Bonder, who actually casts the spell, and whose wand is used to actually provide the magical power to reinforce the Vow. For the Vow mentioned here, the Bonder is Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix Lestrange.
[edit] Analysis
It appears that the vow must be worded in three parts, with the receiver of the vow making three requests, each of which must be answered with something similar to "I will". Each question results in an enhancement of the magical bond between the maker and the receiver of the vow, made visible by a thread of red light emanating from the wand of the Bonder.
Very little has been mentioned of the nature of the Vow; it is likely that the role of the Bonder is somewhat similar to the role of the Secret-Keeper in the Fidelius charm, in that the vow is locked up in the soul of the Bonder.
[edit] Questions
- Given what happens when the Secret-Keeper dies, what would happen to the maker of an Unbreakable Oath should the Bonder of that oath die?
