Harry Potter and the GoF question!?

Question

Okay, so in GoF, and this may just be in the movie or in the book as well, I'm not sure.
But "Mad-Eye" - well not REALLY him - was talking about the 3 unforgivable curses. And he said that the Imperious curse gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief because some people said they only did Voldemort's bidding under the Imperious curse. He said, "Now here's the rub. How can we sort out the liars?"
Okay, so why couldn't they just use veritaserum or Legilimency? I mean, why not?

What do you think about this predicament?

Answer 1

Because they don't know that they've been Imperiused. Telling the truth only means telling what you know.

Answer 2

Good question! I have no idea..



Well, I suppose if I remember correctly it takes Veritaserum a month to mature, and it says in OoTP that it's strictly controlled and managed by the Ministry of Magic. I suppose it has been used in interrogation, but being a strictly used potion, I presume that they didn't always feel the need to use it. Also, Veritaserum's affect can be blocked and resisted by loads of means, like Occlemency.



Also, if you remember in OoTP when Umbridge asked for it, Snape said it's preparation is quite difficult, it takes time and it isn't easy to make; that may mean, that the ingredients are hard to find, too.



Other than that, the people wouldn't realise that they were Imperioused in the first place, so the use of it would be useless on them because they don't actually know that they have been Imperioused so they cannot lie about it.



Well, that's all I can think of.. :S

Answer 3

I think they would do one of the things you suggested or use another, more gentle version than the cruciatus curse, as they can hardly do anything that's against their own law. Moody was just looking for the name of a curse that could theoretically make a person tell the truth. In fact, if the person in question was still under the imperius curse, the cruciatus curse wouldn't do any good. veritaserum would probably be the best method there. Although, it's an interesting thought... would the imperius curse or the veritaserum be stronger?

well anyway, hope this helps;)

Answer 4

Veritaserum is a difficult potion to brew; I think it takes at least a month, possibly two, to mix it. Legilimency is a skill that not many wizards have mastered. And, as someone else said, people who've been Imperiused have almost certainly been commanded not to reveal the truth.

Answer 5

Well, first rule: it's illegal for them to use Veritaserum in a trial, or they would ALWAYS do that.



The second thing is that Veritaserum doesn't always work. And someone that knows their potions (like dear Snape) could find a way to reverse its affects.



And some people can block their minds via Occlumency. Snape and Dumbledore could block their minds from anyone, so that could prove to be a problem...

Answer 6

because under the imperius curse, people are brainwashed, so they think they are telling the truth. legilimency is mind reading, so the imperius curse creates a false picture or situation in another person's head, where veritaserum and legilimency's techniques become invalid.

Answer 7

I've wondered the same thing for a while now. Maybe I'm missing something?