Sooo… Quirrel knows a stunning hex that looks like Avadra Kevadra?
Then, back in Azkaban, facing that auror, when Quirrel used Avadra Kevadra in an attempt to force the auror to dodge, and Harry stopped it with his patronus...
...why did Quirrel not use the green stunner, unless Quirrel actually wanted to kill the auror?
And how long will it be until Harry asks that question?
As in this comment: Probably Quirrell is lying. When he realized Harry was upset about the centaur dying, he thought fast and Inferiused the centaur and made up the bit about green stunners.
IIRC, in canon Avada Kedavra has a distinctive color not shared by any other spell.
If Quirrell is lying, then asking the question “Why not use the green stunner in other circumstances where Avadra Kevadra was used?” may lead to that lie being uncovered.
I admit I had not considered Inferius on the centaur. However, I rather suspect that Quirrell is priming Harry here; he does something (hitting a centaur with a green stunner) that looks evil, then demonstrates that it is less evil than it was. In the future, then, Harry will be more inclined to believe that Quirrell has done something less evil than it looks like he has done; he could, for example, use Avadra Kevadra on Dumbledore later (making it look like a green stunner to Harry) in circumstances where a green stunner would not be evil and then rely on Harry to prevent any immediate revenge against himself (long enough to portkey away at least).
True (probably). The more troubling evidence includes the fact that he acted like he thought Harry would accept his first explanation, and that we saw him Obliviate Bellatrix without ordering her to forget. Plus, Quirrell uses the phrase “stunning hexes”, but those don’t prevent breathing (unless that really was “her last breath escaping” in chapter 33).
But an auror’s shields might be able to block a green stunning hex, and might be able to tell the difference between the two hexes prior to that regardless.
I think Quirrel used a powerful killing curse. I think that this is the case mainly because I don’t think a stunner would have had as much effect on a patronus as the spell which Quirrel used; also because, even when facing a significant decline in his reputation in Harry’s eyes (in hostile territory) Quirrel did not think to try to claim that it was a green stunner, leading me to the tentative conclusion that Quirrel had not thought of a green stunner at that time.
Sooo… Quirrel knows a stunning hex that looks like Avadra Kevadra?
Then, back in Azkaban, facing that auror, when Quirrel used Avadra Kevadra in an attempt to force the auror to dodge, and Harry stopped it with his patronus...
...why did Quirrel not use the green stunner, unless Quirrel actually wanted to kill the auror?
And how long will it be until Harry asks that question?
As in this comment: Probably Quirrell is lying. When he realized Harry was upset about the centaur dying, he thought fast and Inferiused the centaur and made up the bit about green stunners.
IIRC, in canon Avada Kedavra has a distinctive color not shared by any other spell.
If Quirrell is lying, then asking the question “Why not use the green stunner in other circumstances where Avadra Kevadra was used?” may lead to that lie being uncovered.
I admit I had not considered Inferius on the centaur. However, I rather suspect that Quirrell is priming Harry here; he does something (hitting a centaur with a green stunner) that looks evil, then demonstrates that it is less evil than it was. In the future, then, Harry will be more inclined to believe that Quirrell has done something less evil than it looks like he has done; he could, for example, use Avadra Kevadra on Dumbledore later (making it look like a green stunner to Harry) in circumstances where a green stunner would not be evil and then rely on Harry to prevent any immediate revenge against himself (long enough to portkey away at least).
On the other hand Quirrell, via the basilisk, has spells that are not shared with any other wizard.
True (probably). The more troubling evidence includes the fact that he acted like he thought Harry would accept his first explanation, and that we saw him Obliviate Bellatrix without ordering her to forget. Plus, Quirrell uses the phrase “stunning hexes”, but those don’t prevent breathing (unless that really was “her last breath escaping” in chapter 33).
Also, recall that Eliezer hasn’t read all the HP books. We can’t have 100% confidence that he is aware of any given fact that is true in canon.
In MOR, though, “green light the exact shade of the Killing Curse” is a spell first-year Draco can cast (ch47).
Presumably, an Auror knows more about hexes than a centaur.
But an auror’s shields might be able to block a green stunning hex, and might be able to tell the difference between the two hexes prior to that regardless.
What do you think you know about which spell Quirrell used, and how do you think you know it?
I think Quirrel used a powerful killing curse. I think that this is the case mainly because I don’t think a stunner would have had as much effect on a patronus as the spell which Quirrel used; also because, even when facing a significant decline in his reputation in Harry’s eyes (in hostile territory) Quirrel did not think to try to claim that it was a green stunner, leading me to the tentative conclusion that Quirrel had not thought of a green stunner at that time.
Quirrel could have learned the spell after the endeavour. On the other hand Quirrell is probably lying.