Avada Kedavra

I've been wondering about these words.

I read Harry Potter late. I was reading book 3 after the 7th deally had already come out. I even successfully avoided catching any spoilers until I had finished the entire behemoth of words. I even enjoyed myself. (I was a Harry Potter hater before I got into them. Now I'm a Harry Potter tolerant.)

There was a lot of silliness all throughout the books. Just...a lot of it. You know. I don't have to prove that much of that giant franchise is pretty ridiculous. But it was fun. And it seemed, for the most part, that Rowling had a handle on how to treat some subjects seriously enough to get the reader invested in the story she was trying to tell.

But then... "Abracadabra!" Wait, what?

"It's the killing curse" (the most evil possible thing you can ever do as a wizard). "ABRACADABRA!!!"

Abracadabra? Really?

"No! It's Avada Kedavra!"

Oooooh. Oh that's much different. I see.

So, what I'm getting here is that J.K. Rowling, in her attempt to envision the most bone-chilling curse imaginable, made up a couple of words that, when said together, sound almost exactly like the word Bugs Bunny uses when he's pretending to be a genie. I just...I just don't understand how I'm supposed to take this seriously.

I also struggle to get my head around the idea that the ultimate, unforgivable spell results in what amounts to a quick and painless death. Shoot, I'd take that over some of the pranks the kid-wizards pull any day.

I've resolved that if I ever meet J.K. Rowling in person, I'm going to pull out a short stick and shout, "Avada Kedavra!" at her. Why? Eh. I don't think these things through.