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After being kissed by a Dementor a person's body exists as an empty shell, without a soul, and they live in a vegetative state.

I was thinking that perhaps an evil wizard could round up some people who have been Kissed, put them under the Imperius Curse, and have them do their bidding. I can't find any mention of a requirement that someone needs to be in control of all their mental faculties to be Imperiused. Does one need a soul in order to be Imperiused?

Could the Imperius Curse be used on someone who has been kissed by a Dementor?

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    Sounds like they might be something like Inferi? Apr 2, 2021 at 14:45

3 Answers 3

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The effects of the Imperio curse are described like this:

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, "Imperio!"

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.

And then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain: Jump onto the desk...jump onto the desk...

We know that it gives the victim this strange feeling and an urge to do something. So if someone who got kissed has any sense of awareness or can feel anything, it would probably work on him. Harry Potter wiki compares the kiss to Persistent Vegetative State, a case when a person has brain injury and loses consciousness. It is my theory therefore, that the imperius curse wouldn't work on someone who was kissed, because he doesn't have consciousness and can't feel anything.

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Let's imagine a normal person. If they have been Imperiused and have enough will, they can resist and eventually break free of the Imperius Curse. So, put yourself in a Dark Wizard's shoes for once, and imagine, what prevents you from Imperiusing a person?

  • Their will
  • Their emotions
  • Their care for themselves and others

For a Dark Wizard to be successfully be able to Imperiuse a person, all these lifelines have to be cut.


Will someone, even after being Kissed, remain alive in the first place?

When someone has been kissed by a dementor, their soul is sucked out. Irrespective of this, they will continue to exist as mentioned in the OP, but as 'an empty shell'.

"You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self any more, no memory, no...anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You just - exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever...lost."

OK, but what are factors that make sure that I can still be Imperiused?

For once, you will -

  • Not have any sense of your self (preventing you from resisting the Curse. Why will you fight for yourself, if you have no sense of your own 'self'?)
  • Have no memory (preventing you to fight against the Imperius Curse for others, as you don't remember anything)

You have your organs intact, for one, and that includes your brain. Last time I checked, if you have a brain, you can be Imperiused.

Since there is minimal (or no, as I would argue,) resistance to the Imperius Curse, someone who has been Kissed will be easier to Imperiuse.

Also, to answer your main question,

Yes, someone who has been Kissed (and has enough organs left to live) can be Imperiused.

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If you read your question a bit closer, your answer is already there. As you said, they do have a mind and other internal organs are working properly, so I presume that is a dark wizard did cast the Imperious Curse on a kissed person, they would do their bidding as they have the necessary mind, and it would be quite easy, as they would be met with no resistance. But they would not make a very good Imperi (that's what I'm calling someone who has been Imperioused) because they would stick out. Someone with no soul can not have any emotions, and if a Imperi was to be doing things like walking into a bar with for some information, everyone would grow suspicious as they show the signs of a Imperi, but have the passion or some kind of emotion that makes them want to go to this bar. Or they're just acting weird. Either way, Magical Law Enforcement would be called. Another point is that people who have been Imperioused most likely are under careful care. Sure they are absolutely useless, but the people close to them want at least make sure they have a good rest of life in St Mungo's, which would mean that a nurse would be watching them, and should they go missing, I think that the family and/or friends of the Imperi would put something in the Daily Prophet about it, which would surely reach a lot of people. And finally, the lack of emotions, I think, would have them hard to control. I really don't no how to put this into words, but should someone have no emotions, they can't reallly do anything that useful. Sorry that that last one didn't make much sense, but that's my thoughts on this.

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    Your answer doesn't really address the question after the first two sentences. The question isn't about if they would be noticed, or where the Imperiused people would come from
    – fez
    Apr 2, 2021 at 16:19

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