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The Polyjuice Potion

The Polyjuice Potion, which is a complex and time-consuming concoction, is best left to highly skilled witches and wizards. It enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person, as long as they have first procured part of that individual's body to add to the brew (this may be anything - toenail clippings, dandruff or worse - but it is most usual to use hair). The idea that a witch or wizard might make evil use of parts of the body is an ancient one, and exists in the folklore and superstitions of many cultures.

The effect of the potion is only temporary, and depending on how well it has been brewed, may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours. You can change age, sex and race by taking the Polyjuice Potion, but not species.

The effect of the potion is only temporary, and depending on how well it has been brewed, ~~may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours.~~ and last however long the author needs it to last.

I remember creating the full list of ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. Each one was carefully selected. Lacewing flies (the first part of the name suggested an intertwining or binding together of two identities); leeches (to suck the essence out of one and into the other); horn of a Bicorn (the idea of duality); knotgrass (another hint of being tied to another person); fluxweed (the mutability of the body as it changed into another) and Boomslang skin (a shedded outer body and a new inner).

The fact that Hermione is able to make a competent Polyjuice Potion at the age of twelve is testimony to her outstanding magical ability, because it is a potion that many adult witches and wizards fear to attempt.
Shame she stopped carefully selecting things after first few books.

Why do you need "outstanding magical ability" to make a potion?
Ability to read and follow instructions, sure.
I can understand that. But "outstanding magical ability"?
Do they need to cast magic in the potion somehow?

In the world of Harry Potter, a ghost is the transparent, three-dimensional imprint of a deceased witch or wizard, which continues to exist in the mortal world. Muggles cannot come back as ghosts, and the wisest witches and wizards choose not to. It is those with 'unfinished business', whether in the form of fear, guilt, regrets or overt attachment to the material world who refuse to move on to the next dimension.

Having chosen a feeble simulacrum of mortal life, ghosts are limited in what they can experience. No physical pleasure remains to them, and their knowledge and outlook remains at the level it had attained during life, so that old resentments (for instance, at having an incompletely severed neck) continue to rankle after several centuries. For this reason, ghosts tend to be poor company, on the whole. They are especially disappointing on the one subject that fascinates most people: ghosts cannot return a very sensible answer on what it is like to die, because they have chosen an impoverished version of life instead.

Ghosts can pass through solid objects without causing damage to themselves or the material, but create disturbances in water, fire and air. The temperature drops in the immediate vicinity of a ghost, an effect intensified if many congregate in the same place. Their appearance can also turn flames blue. Should part or all of a ghost pass through a living creature, the latter will experience a freezing sensation as though they have been plunged into ice-cold water.

Witches and wizards are much more susceptible to what Muggles call paranormal activity, and will see (and hear) ghosts plainly where a Muggle might only feel that a haunted place is cold or 'creepy'. Muggles who insist that they see ghosts in perfect focus are either a) lying or b) wizards showing off - and in flagrant breach of the International Statute of Secrecy.

Poor Muggles.
They can't even be ghosts. Only wizards are so "cool".
And all those people who think they have seen ghosts?
Yeah, they are dirty liars or, like always, a wizard did it.

Chamber of Secrets
The subterranean Chamber of Secrets was created by Salazar Slytherin without the knowledge of his three fellow founders of Hogwarts. The Chamber was, for many centuries, believed to be a myth; however, the fact that rumours of its existence persisted for so long reveals that Slytherin spoke of its creation and that others believed him, or else had been permitted, by him, to enter.

There is no doubt that each of the four founders sought to stamp their own mark upon the school of witchcraft and wizardry that they intended would be the finest in the world. It was agreed that each would construct their own houses, for example, choosing the location of common rooms and dormitories. However, only Slytherin went further, and built what was in effect a personal, secret headquarters within the school, accessible only by himself or by those he allowed to enter.

Perhaps, when he first constructed the Chamber, Slytherin wanted no more than a place in which to instruct his students in spells of which the other three founders may have disapproved (disagreements sprung up early around the teaching of the Dark Arts). However, it is clear by the very decoration of the Chamber that by the time Slytherin finished it he had developed grandiose ideas of his own importance to the school. No other founder left behind them a gigantic statue of themselves or draped the school in emblems of their own personal powers (the snakes carved around the Chamber of Secrets being a reference to Slytherin’s powers as a Parselmouth).

What is certain is that by the time Slytherin was forced out of the school by the other three founders, he had decided that henceforth, the Chamber he had built would be the lair of a monster that he alone – or his descendants – would be able to control: a Basilisk. Moreover, only a Parselmouth would be able to enter the Chamber. This, he knew, would keep out all three founders and every other member of staff.

"a personal, secret headquarters within the school, accessible only by himself or by those he allowed to enter." and "he had developed grandiose ideas of his own importance to the school. No other founder left behind them a gigantic statue of themselves or draped the school in emblems of their own personal powers" sounds a lot like Dumbledore to me.

Btw, If Slytherin have been "always evil" why did the others made Hogwarts with him?
Weren't they all "the best of friend" on the beginning?

The sword of Gryffindor was made a thousand years ago by goblins, the magical world's most skilled metalworkers, and is therefore enchanted. Fashioned from pure silver, it is inset with rubies, the stone that represents Gryffindor in the hour-glasses that count the house points at Hogwarts. Godric Gryffindor's name is engraved just beneath the hilt.

The sword was made to Godric Gryffindor's specifications by Ragnuk the First, finest of the goblin silversmiths, and therefore King (in goblin culture, the ruler does not work less than the others, but more skillfully). When it was finished, Ragnuk coveted it so much that he pretended that Gryffindor had stolen it from him, and sent minions to steal it back. Gryffindor defended himself with his wand, but did not kill his attackers. Instead he sent them back to their king bewitched, to deliver the threat that if he ever tried to steal from Gryffindor again, Gryffindor would unsheathe the sword against them all.

The goblin king took the threat seriously and left Gryffindor in possession of his rightful property, but remained resentful until he died. This was the foundation for the false legend of Gryffindor's theft that persists, in some sections of the goblin community, to this day.

The question of why a wizard would need a sword, though often asked, is easily answered. In the days before the International Statute of Secrecy, when wizards mingled freely with Muggles, they would use swords to defend themselves just as often as wands. Indeed, it was considered unsporting to use a wand against a Muggle sword (which is not to say it was never done). Many gifted wizards were also accomplished duellists in the conventional sense, Gryffindor among them.

There have been many enchanted swords in folklore. The Sword of Nuadu, part of the four legendary treasures of Tuatha Dé Danann, was invincible when drawn. Gryffindor's sword owes something to the legend of Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur, which in some legends must be drawn from a stone by the rightful king. The idea of fitness to carry the sword is echoed in the sword of Gryffindor's return to worthy members of its true owner's house.

Well, of course the goblin King (shame it wasn't Jareth. I wonder how would Gryffindor deal with him) was the untrustworthy, greedy, deal breaking one.
It's not like any true Gryffindor would ever try to get back on a deal, right?
Oh, wait . . .

This just sounds so forced to me.
Gryffindor not killing the goblins, the reason wizards had swords just all of it.

And thanks JKR.
If you hadn't told us that "The sword of Gryffindor" is HP version of Excalibur we would have never seen the similarities.

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true owner's

Because of course, its goblin maker couldn't possibly have a valid idea about who its true owner is.

Damn you. Damn you so much.

There were so many questions about Polyjuice Potion in fandom:

We see that one acquires not only the inborn traits of the donor but also acquired ones (Barty Jr acquiring Moody's various injuries) - what about magical traits - would Polyjuicing into a DE give one a functional Dark Mark? Or just the look of having one? When the 6 Polyjuiced into Harry - did they become Parseltongues for the duration?

The effect of the potion is only temporary, and depending on how well it has been brewed, may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours.

So the Polyjuice in the later parts of DH was of higher quality than the Polyjuice Hermione brewed in COS, Barty brewed in GOF and Moody in the early part of DH? Except Hermione claimed she used Moody's potion, so what gives? (And later she said they only had one dose left - so it seems like she didn't brew any more of it.)

Do they need to cast magic in the potion somehow?

Caeria, in Pet Project proposes exactly that. It's a subplot that runs through several chapters of that fic, that some Muggle-raised students were having trouble in Potions because they didn't realize they were supposed to project their magic into their brewing, so all they got was an inert mix of ingredients.

Muggles cannot come back as ghosts, and the wisest witches and wizards choose not to. It is those with 'unfinished business', whether in the form of fear, guilt, regrets or overt attachment to the material world who refuse to move on to the next dimension.

Whereas Headmasters remaining as portraits and meddling forever in the affairs of the school is something entirely different.

The idea of fitness to carry the sword is echoed in the sword of Gryffindor's return to worthy members of its true owner's house.

So Severus was not a true Slytherin, just a Gryffindor in disguise? I doubt he'd agree.

I know I've read at least one novel-length fanfic that dealt with conception while the partners were polyjuiced into opposite genders; I forget the details though.

(Maybe my subconscious wanted to forget. :-))

Yes, I've read the "Pet Project" and I think that it's take on potion (and pretty much everything else) is brilliant.
It's just bother's me that JKR will say things like "magical ability" affect the potions but then never bother to explain how or why.

Shame she stopped carefully selecting things after first few books.

Poor Hermione had to be dumbed down to match the story and the plotting capabilities of her author. :-(

... may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours.

You know, I was going to come out all charging about how this is yet another Rowling retcon. I've always thought that the 'one hour' limit of Polyjuice was a hard solid fact in the earlier books, and that the kids using Polyjuice all over the place in DH, with absolutely no mention of taking pains to avoid the deadline, was another flaw in the final novel, Rowling just didn't care about the details any more.

But I see in CoS when Hermione first mentions the potion:

"It wears off after a while," said Hermione, waving her hand.

"After a while". Not the specific 'one hour' limit I'd thought was the rule.

Maybe Crouch!Moody's taking it every hour was just erring on the side of caution.

Was the 'one hour limit' actually mentioned anywhere in the earlier books as absolute fact?

I think the one hour comes from GOF, with Dumbles claiming Barty *had* to take the potion every hour, on the hour. I'll check again in the evening. Of course, in retrospect he knew roughly how often he had seen 'Moody' drinking from his hip-flask, and he saw when he transformed back, so he may have estimated the one hour from what he remembered.

Still, DH is inconsistent, because according to Hermione they were using the Polyjuice Potion from Moody's stock, yet early in the book - for example in the 7P battle or the Ministry invasion it only works for about an hour yet later it works for however long the plot demands.

OK. in COS chapter 12, just when they are about to take the potion Hermione says "... once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves."

And in GOF chapter 35 Albus says "But I think in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done... on the hour ... every hour. ... We shall see."

Definitely contradicted by the new info.

Oh, thank you very much Oryx! I thought I'd done my homework, but I should have kept looking - through CoS at least.

Okay, so DH - with the kids using Polyjuice all over the play with nary a mention of time limits - and certainly some things taking more than an hour - contradicted the earlier canon. One of the many errors in Rowling's sorry final HP novel.

I'm not sure where I stand on Pottermore's 'canonicity'. Hmmm. It's 'published', I guess, and one step further than an author just publishing her musings on her own personal web site (which isn't canon). This is material 'published' to her readers. I suppose it's canon? So the new info is canon and consistent with DH but breaks those earlier quotes you found. So the 'brokenness' has shifted from DH to CoS and GoF, then. Hey, I can live with that. :-)

Thank you again!

I could buy Hermione not knowing that there's a stronger, longer lasting Polyjuice.
But we are supposed to see Dumbledore as close to all-knowing, so why does he think it only last for a hour?

If she wanted to use a "no limits" Polyjuice in DH she could have added a line about somebody perfecting / changing it.
But this destroys the "facts" of WW and it's never mentioned.

Which still leaves the question of who brewed this improved Polyjuice in DH and when, given that the potion Moody provided them with was the one-hour version, and if they did brew more without mentioning it - why was there only one dose left after they spent a month at Shell Cottage?

Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur, which in some legends must be drawn from a stone by the rightful king.

*facepalms*

Excalibur was not the sword in the freakin' stone. It just really annoys me when people make that mistake for some reason. :P

I would say blame that '60s Disney cartoon version, but apparently the Prose Lancelot also makes them one and the same, and we can't blame Disney for that. So it's probably just a rarer variant that got popular because Disney picked it for simplicity's sake.

You can change age, sex and race by taking the Polyjuice Potion, but not species.
Well, you can only partially change species I guess.

their knowledge and outlook remains at the level it had attained during life, so that old resentments (for instance, at having an incompletely severed neck)
You're kidding. Nick was upset about this while he was still alive?
This is complete rubbish. The ghosts clearly do gain knowledge after they are dead. What about the deathday party chapter, for example? How else would Nick even know the students' names?

I won't even start on the loathsomeness of the other two bits. Just trying to make the good guys and bad guys black and white again.

Every time she opens her mouth she makes it worse. (cries)

Edited 2012-11-23 06:28 (UTC)

/Yeah, they are dirty liars or, like always, a wizard did it./

So, Muggles can’t see dementors and they can’t see ghosts either? Is there anything that Muggles can do to protect themselves from the supernatural, other than their superior technology which is never acknowledged in the series?

/the fact that rumours of its existence persisted for so long reveals that Slytherin spoke of its creation and that others believed him/

And yet somehow the other Founders never found out about it and didn’t know that he had created it?

/Btw, If Slytherin have been "always evil" why did the others made Hogwarts with him?/

Because they were apparently poor, innocent lambs who were tricked and used by the evil Slytherin and it was only when he started protesting about Muggle-born students that their eyes finally opened and they broke free of Slytherin’s brainwashing of them. Or something.

/When it was finished, Ragnuk coveted it so much that he pretended that Gryffindor had stolen it from him, and sent minions to steal it back./

I agree; this does sound forced. Why couldn’t Ragnuk just create a sword identical to the one that he had made for Godric? And how could he pretend that Godric had stolen it from him? Did nobody else know about the arrangement that he had made with Godric? Did Godric come to him in secret?

/This was the foundation for the false legend of Gryffindor's theft that persists, in some sections of the goblin community, to this day./

Because heaven forbid that the goblins be right about anything. Or that *Griphook* be right about anything, since if that were true, then Harry and Co. would look more culpable for trying to cheat him.

/In the days before the International Statute of Secrecy, when wizards mingled freely with Muggles, they would use swords to defend themselves just as often as wands./

So...how come Bellatrix Lestrange and Morfin Gaunt used knives long after the International Statute of Secrecy was set up?

Oh, I wouldn't let Harry off the hook just yet! Even if Griphook were objectively wrong (and I'm not buying JKR's anti-goblin retcon propaganda), there's no reason to believe he knows that. Harry doesn't know either. So Harry still plans to and does cheat someone he believes may have a valid claim.

Even if the goblins' claim had no validity at all, Harry still makes an agreement he has no intention of keeping. That's wrong, any way you cut it. It's certainly not hero behaviour. But he never gets called on it, and now the author is retconning to protect him.

Why is she trying to strip all the complexity away? People have different perspectives, no-one has a monopoly on the truth, no-one is perfect. She actually wrote some of that, hinting at a more complex, adult world - the goblin concept of ownership was one - but now she seems to want everything more black and white.

BTW, this story on Pottermore - where is this supposed to come from? Godric Griffindor? Or perhaps his Doge? His heirs?

Edited 2012-11-23 21:53 (UTC)

Not to mention that IF Goblins were claiming Godric STOLE the Sword (as opposed to the different way goblins view ownership) then WHY did the Goblin Sword Maker put Godric's NAME on the Sword? All before it was stolen? I suppose the claim is then that Godric put his own name on the sword with magic? Or that he went to an entirely different armorer to ask him to put the name on it?

BTW - hope this is okay to mention on here - anyone looking for a fan fic with great 'goblin culture'. There are 2 currently out (WIPs) where Harry was raised by goblins. Both are very good. "Harry Amidst the Vaults of Stone" by NothingPretentious and "Harry Crow" by robst.

'Vaults of Stone' is the better fic with a good look at how being raised among goblins makes for a much different Harry and some especially good and interesting 'rites of passage' as Harry grows up. Sometimes 'Harry Crow' is a little too Harry Stu for me, but I still enjoy the characterizations of the goblins in it.

That was actually my point.

The very fact that the Goblins put his name on it means that they expected him to keep it all of HIS life. Therefore the only way to say it was stolen is because they have a different idea of property. That it should have been returned to the Goblins after his death.

In other words, JKRs NEW version doesn't jive.

in goblin culture, the ruler does not work less than the others, but more skillfully

You know the goblins are evil because they value work.

But seriously, if she intended all along for the goblins to have been making their claim to the sword up, why did she not have Hermione whip a copy of Documents in English Wizarding and Goblin Law from 475 to 1850 out of her beaded handbag and retort that the contract says no such thing? Or something else that's, you know, in the actual book. As it is, there's no reason to believe that "the 'copyright' stays with the maker and you're just leasing the rights to the sword" isn't an entirely valid goblin principle. It's like Rowling didn't realize while writing it that she forgot to put in something that would make Griphook look like a liar so Harry would look at least semi-justified in not even trying to cut a better deal ("we'll give it back in a year and a day" or something) rather than just stealing the sword, because she assumed that of course Harry was in the right, so whatever he did must be right, and who needs supporting details?

If Slytherin told others about the Chamber, why on earth should anyone assume that he himself put up that statue rather than, say, his great-great-grandkids? And snakes celebrating Parseltongue (and the actual giant snake he had - maybe they were actually fancy medieval caution signs! - and possibly various philosophical or religious concepts represented symbolically, but never mind...) don't sound any more grandiose to me than Rowena's moving staircases showing off how clever she was, or Godric's fancy sword with huge jewels and his name engraved in the hilt which he apparently carried around with him, if he was using it to defend himself against Muggles. Or expected to do so. Carvings of snakes hidden underground won't kill anyone, but carrying as sword around so anyone who looks at you is reminded that you could slice and dice them is noble and snake carvings are a sign of bad character. Right.

You know the goblins are evil because they value work.

It really is a theme, isn't it?
Although, mind you, aren't Hufflepuffs known for work too? And they're not evil, just irrelevant (maybe a bit comical).
Perhaps the goblins are evilly ambitious for valuing quality work?

Not evil - lower class. Gryffindor aristos don't work, except for war.

disagreements sprung up early around the teaching of the Dark Arts

Is that new? As far as I recall, it was over the admission of Muggle-borns and halfbloods. I don't remember Slytherin being more Dark-friendly than the others.

No other founder left behind them a gigantic statue of themselves or draped the school in emblems of their own personal powers (the snakes carved around the Chamber of Secrets being a reference to Slytherin’s powers as a Parselmouth

Isn't there a statue of Ravenclaw in her tower? And a griffin on the Head's office door. And the fact that R & G have towers while the other two are relegated to the lower floors.

Do they need to cast magic in the potion somehow?

Maybe. I think there's reference to stirring some potions with a wand.

Moreover, only a Parselmouth would be able to enter the Chamber. This, he knew, would keep out all three founders and every other member of staff.

Why? There are Parselmouths not related to SS. And even Ron could mimic it well enough to sneak in.

Is that new? As far as I recall, it was over the admission of Muggle-borns and halfbloods. I don't remember Slytherin being more Dark-friendly than the others.

We also have the official Charms textbook defining Dark Arts to include all aggressive magic, including the mildest of jinxes. Since I doubt there was ever a time when dueling spells were not taught, and Godric was supposed to have been a known duelist, then obviously the Dark Arts have always been part of Hogwarts culture.

Yes, and Gryffindors have apparently always claimed that THEY never use 'dark arts' - even when using jinxes, hexes, etc. It's only 'dark' if THEY are not the ones doing it. Apparently no one has ever agreed on what is dark and what isn't.

Actually, I think that is the only consistent definition of 'dark arts' we've ever seen, isn't it? Magic not being performed by a Griffindor? Perhaps we should just accept that that's all it means. So Durmstrang students are Dark Arts practicioners by definition, as are those from Beaubaxtons ...

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