There are 3 known sinister spells in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, these are The Killing Curse, The Cruciatus Curse, and The Imperius Curse. Together, these 3 are called the Unforgivable Curses and attract the strictest penalties under wizarding law for the degree of damage caused when used.
The Killing Curse, also known as Avada Kedavra, causes instantaneous death on any living creature it is cast upon. It leaves no traces of violence on the body, just simply eliminates any trace of life from its victim.
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The only defences against this spell include dodging or blocking it with a physical barrier and a Sacrificial Counter that happens when a third party steps between the spell and its proposed victim, usually out of love.
In addition to its dramatic incantation, the Killing Curse is also known for the bolt of bright-green light emitted from the spell caster’s wand.
This is evident in each scene where the curse is evoked except for 1. When Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Severus Snape, kills headmaster Albus Dumbledore in Half-Blood Prince, the colour of his Avada Kedavra spell isn’t the green we’re accustomed to.
Instead, it’s blue in colour!
Although this discrepancy only occurs in the Harry Potter Film Series and not in the books, it hasn’t stopped fans across the globe from theorising about possible meanings and their implications.
However, despite the numerous theories, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus yet and many still want to know why Snape’s Avada Kedavra spell was blue.
Here’s a possible explanation to why this was so.
Why Was Snape’s Avada Kedavra Blue?
Based on the movies, we can safely infer that there are certain elements that make a spell effective. When all these elements are properly aligned, they produce a potent spell that reacts like it ought to in its truest form.
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Although Snape cast a Killing Curse, the intention to cause grievous harm was missing. This missing element tampered with the spell not by rendering it ineffective, but by altering its characteristically green colour.
You can find out more about how Snape became a Death Eater here.
Intent of the caster
A good spell that is expected to work effectively must be combined with a corresponding intent in the mind of its caster. This creates fluidity from the wizard to their wand and eventually to the manifestation of the spell they’ve cast. Although Snape’s Avada Kedavra spell was cast to kill Dumbledore, he had no true intention to do so, as he had found himself in an impossible situation and Dumbledore’s death was the only escape.
You can find out more about why Snape killed Dumbledore here.
The significance of intent in producing the expected results in a spell can also be seen in the unfortunate incident that led to Ron Weasley’s Splinching accident in Deathly Hallows. As he was trying to Disapparate from the Ministry of Magic with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Ron got splinched, losing some chunks of muscle from his upper arm.
Splinching happens when a wizard’s intent isn’t clear enough during teleportation and it results in leaving body parts or clothing behind in their previous location.
Wand movements
Other elements of an effective spell include proper wand movements; we see this as Hogwarts first-year students struggle with the levitation spell “Wingardium Leviosa” in Philosopher’s Stone. Several comedic and mildly catastrophic events occur as many of them incorrectly wave their wands about.
Pronunciation
Additionally, proper pronunciation also contributes to the correct manifestation of a spell. The wingardium leviosa debacle from Philosopher’s Stone is also a good example of how important the element of pronunciation is to spells.
Another example of this is when Harry mispronounces “Diagon Alley” as “diagonally” when he was using the Floo Powder mode of teleportation. His mispronunciation landed him in a different location entirely.
Here are the reasons why a wizard is able to cast a spell without needing to say anything.
Did Snape’s spell fit any of these criteria?
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Before Dumbledore is killed by the spell, we see Snape rightly enunciating “a-VAH-dah ke-DAH-vra” as well as waving his wand in the traditional zig-zag hand movement required for the spell. It’s this zig-zag motion that is imprinted on Harry’s forehead after Voldemort’s Avada Kedavra spell against him rebounded due to his mother, Lily Potter’s sacrificial counter.
Since Snape correctly pronounced the spell and used the right hand movement, we see that the only other element that could have affected his spell was the missing intention to kill. Nonetheless, here are some other possible reasons why Snape’s Avada Kedavra spell was blue:
Reason 1: Movie Editing
Because the book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, narrates Snape killing Dumbledore as so—
“Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. ‘Avada Kedavra’ A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest”
—it can be inferred that the bluish colour of Snape’s Killing Curse is simply the result of video editing. The scene itself is filmed in a dark setting, it could’ve been that the lighting on the set interfered with the editing process and created the blue effect. If you look closely, you will also notice a cyan-ish overlay on the scene to further emphasise the darkness of night. It is possible that this overlay interfered with the original colour of the spell and created the blue effect.
Reason 2: Movie Stunt
Movies are no strangers to Easter Eggs, elements that have been cleverly included in media for fans to discover. Seeing as the book makes no mention of Snape’s Avada Kedavra changing colour, it is clear that the movie executives took it upon themselves to add this new detail.
Knowing how keen Harry Potter fans generally are about the franchise, the colour of Snape’s spell could have been deliberately changed to create controversy among fans as it rightly did. The subject has become one of the most talked-about phenomena in Harry Potter fandom and might continue as such until a consensus is reached.
While the possibility of embellishment remains, there is also the possibility that it could’ve simply been an error on the part of the movie producers!
The error could have escaped the editing process and seeing as it generated a lot of traction, the movie executives refused to address it.
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