Harry hit him with a spell before he'd even finished the words. Ron's agonised scream would have been heard in the afterlife. The good - or terrible - thing about mind and spirit magic was that the assault wasn't on the bones or flesh or sinew. These attacks didn't leave bruises, as there was no physical body to repair or heal. These strikes were on the soul ... on the very essence of a person ... and there was simply no other form of pain that could compare.