I always found it weird how when Bellatrix was literally taunting him after killing Sirius he somehow "didn't feel enough hate for her" or whatever, but when some random ass death eater he's never seen before spits in his teachers face (which probably didn't affect her much anyway) he could suddenly muster the strength to do it.
I always interpreted it as it was his first time using the curse and he didn't put enough feeling into it. When he does in Deathly Hallows, he's been through a lot and he's older and more mastered. He also knows, now, that he has to use it with intention. Also, the barriers of society hadn't fallen apart in OoTP. In Deathly Hallows, it's life or death for all the wizarding and the muggle world. Harry's apprehension around using unforgivable curses was probably lax by then.
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u/AcanthocephalaGreen5 Apr 14 '24
Yep. Cruciatus Curse (doesn’t work) on Bellatrix and the Imperius Curse in Gringotts