Could Neville's magic structure have been affected by a combination of the Cruciatus Curse and a Memory Charm?
Will thought everyone at the High Tower should look after Neville more closely from now on. The boy had been through far too much.
But it was hard to say exactly what had happened to Neville's magic. No one had researched anything like it before.
Studying the two spells might offer a way to find out.
The Cruciatus Curse was one of the Three Unforgivable Curses. Most people knew only that it caused extreme pain, but any Wizard well versed in Charms or Dark Magic knew it could also damage the soul to some degree.
To cast it, a person had to feel intense negative emotions and want to hurt the target.
What kind of person would cast such a vicious spell on a baby?
Will didn't consider himself a good person. Even so, he would never use that curse on an innocent, defenseless infant.
The worst thing he had done, as far as he was concerned, was drain other people's Joy. And that Magic required no intense malice. He had even felt somewhat sorry for the villagers, which was why he had given them gold in compensation.
Of the Three Unforgivable Curses, the Cruciatus Curse was the one he used least.
"So the Cruciatus Curse may have damaged Neville's soul when he was an infant, and Mrs. Longbottom used a Memory Charm on him afterward. The interaction between the two disrupted his magic structure. But the damage to his soul wasn't irreversible, and as he grew older and his soul gradually recovered, his magic structure and memory returned to normal?"
Will pondered this as he went downstairs.
It was common knowledge that the Cruciatus Curse could harm the soul. Why, then,