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harry potter - Why don't Death Eaters always use Avada Kedavra?


When the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, why did the Death Eaters not just use Avada Kedavra and kill everyone?




Answer



The main reason why they didn't use Avada Kedavra is that they are attacking a school full of children. Although Death Eaters are what we consider "evil", not all of them are as bent on evil as Voldemort. We know of at least 4 (Crabbe, Goyle, and the Malfoys) of the Death Eaters had children of their own in the castle. In fact even Voldemort expresses a desire to not "shed magical blood" during the battle.



"If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."



The intent of the Death Eaters is to take control of the school, and capture Harry Potter, they were not intent on killing everyone.


If you want to read up on some (speculative) logic on the topic of spell casting these answers provide excellent insight into spell casting, which would provide a reasonable explanation if the Death Eaters did want to kill everyone why they still wouldn't always use Avada Kedavra.


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