Polyjuice P Potion

The Polyjuice Potion was a potion that allowed the drinker to assume the form of someone else. It was a highly complicated, challenging, and time-consuming potion. Polyjuice Potion was so complicated that even adult witches and wizards struggled to brew it correctly.The potion was so incredibly advanced that it had two separate parts, each part had contained steps. When its brewing was complete, the potion had to stew for a month before usage.
==Overview==
While it could account for both age and gender, Polyjuice Potion could not be used for a human to take an animal form, nor could it be used on non-humans or half-humans.Notably, the Polyjuice Potion was used many times in the events leading up to, and during, the Second Wizarding War (and possibly the First Wizarding War, although there were no documented instances of it). The potion also played a crucial role for Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in their second and fourth years.
==Ingredients==
===Part 1===
Fluxweed.png|Fluxweed
Knotgrass.png|Knotgrass
Lacewing-flies-lrg.png|Lacewing flies
Leeches-lrg.png|Leeches
===Part 2===
Bicorn-horn-lrg.png|Horn of Bicorn
Skin of Boomslang.png|Boomslang skin
Hair-lrg.png|Piece of person you're turning into (usually hair)
==Brewing instructions==
===Preparation===
Independent of its actual brewing process, the Polyjuice Potion required a good deal of preparation prior to making it. For example, the lacewing flies must be stewed for twenty-one days prior to making the potion, and only fluxweed picked during a full moon is acceptable. The total process took approximately one month to complete.
====Part 1, step one====
#Add 3 measures of fluxweed to the cauldron (must have been picked on a full moon).
#Add 2 bundles of knotgrass to the cauldron.
#Stir 4 times, clockwise.
#Wave your wand then let potion brew for 80 minutes (for a Pewter Cauldron. A Brass Cauldron will only require 68, and a copper one only 60.
====Part 1, step two====
#Add 4 leeches to the cauldron.
#Add 2 scoops of lacewing flies to the mortar, crush to a fine paste, then add 2 measures of the crushed lacewings to the cauldron.
#Heat for 30 seconds on a low heat.
#Wave your wand to complete this stage of the potion.
====Part 2, step one====
#Add 3 measures of boomslang skin to the cauldron.
#Add 1 measure of bicorn horn to the mortar, crush to a fine powder, then add one measure of the crushed horn to the cauldron.
#Heat for 20 seconds at a high temperature.
#Wave your wand then let potion brew for 24 hours (for a Pewter Cauldron. A Brass Cauldron will only require 1224 minutes, and a copper one only 18 hours).
====Part 2, step two====
#Add 1 additional scoop of lacewings to the cauldron.
#Stir 3 times, counter-clockwise.
#Split potion into multiple doses, if desired, then add the pieces of the person you wish to become.
#Wave your wand to complete the potion.
==Description==
===Physical appearance===
A piece of the person who was to be imitated — usually hair, but toenail clippings, dandruff, or worse could be used — was needed for the transformation; apparently, the person must be alive when the piece was taken, as Barty Crouch Jnr kept Alastor Moody alive to continue harvesting his hair.
Before this final ingredient was added, Polyjuice looked like thick, dark mud that bubbles slowly. When the piece of the person to be imitated was added, the potion changed colour; it seemed to react according to the nature of the person to be imitated, once even described as the 'essence' of the person.
===Effects===
In addition, congenital conditions of the person would apparently be replicated: Harry Potter did not need to use his spectacles to see clearly for the hour he was transformed into Gregory Goyle.
The potion was complicated and could go awry. For example, when Hermione brewed Polyjuice in her second year, she intended to take the form of Millicent Bulstrode, but she mistook her cat's hair for Millicent's. The resulting potion caused Hermione to partially transform into a cat, complete with ears and a tail. As the Polyjuice Potion could not be used to successfully transform into an animal, Hermione's change did not reverse after an hour. She went to the Hospital Wing and did not recover until after the winter holidays.
Likewise, the potion was not designed to be used by a non-human or half-breed, as Remus Lupin informed the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. Presumably, it was likely that it could not be used to transform into a half-breed either.
==Known uses==
===Search for the Heir of Slytherin===
In their second year, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger came to suspect that Draco Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin. To investigate this, Hermione suggested the use of Polyjuice Potion to enable them to take on the form of Slytherin students and question Malfoy.
Masterminding the effort, Hermione obtained the advanced potion's recipe (by getting Professor Lockhart to sign a note authorising her to borrow the book Moste Potente Potions from the library's Restricted Section), pilfered two of the rarer ingredients from Snape's cupboards, and undertook the complex and lengthy brewing of the base Polyjuice Potion.
She also directed how the trio were to acquire the final ingredients — hair from their targets — as well as clothing to complete the disguise. Ultimately, however, though Harry and Ron successfully assumed the appearances of Goyle and Crabbe respectively, Hermione's own attempt to take on the guise of Millicent Bulstrode went awry when Hermione used a cat hair that she had mistaken for Millicent's hair from a hair brush.
==List of Polyjuice transformations==
Disguised individual 	Assumed identity	Date 	Flavour/Appearance 	Reason
Harry Potter 	Gregory Goyle 	1992 	The potion tasted like "overcooked cabbage" to Harry and looked like "bogies", according to Hermione. 	To get into the Slytherin common room to spy on Draco Malfoy.
Ron Weasley 	Vincent Crabbe 	1992 	The potion was the colour of murky brown. Tasted like bogies. 	To get into the Slytherin common room to spy on Draco Malfoy.
Hermione Granger 	Humanoid cat 	1992 	It turned a sick sort of yellow. 	To get into the Slytherin common room to spy on Draco Malfoy, but the hair sample Hermione obtained belonged to Millicent Bulstrode's cat instead of Millicent Bulstrode herself.
Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Mundungus Fletcher, Fleur Delacour, Fred Weasley and George Weasley	Harry Potter 	27 July 1997 	The potion was a "clear, bright gold" in colour and appeared "much tastier" than both Crabbe's and Goyle's.	To transport Harry Potter safely from 4 Privet Drive to The Burrow.
Hermione Granger 	Muggle woman 	24 December 1997	 	To safely navigate Godric's Hollow.
Harry Potter 	Muggle man 	24 December 1997	 	To safely navigate Godric's Hollow.
==Media==
File:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Seven Harrys (2010) HD|The Seven Potters
==Etymology==
The name "Polyjuice" probably comes from the Greek poly, meaning "many". This is supported by the fact that in the Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese translations, it is called, respectively, "multijugos" and "polissuco", both literally meaning "multi juice".
==Behind the scenes==
*The various adaptations of the series add multiple ingredients not present in the canonical potion recipe, such as Sal Ammoniac, Mercury and Mars, cherries and even urine. Notably, however, the instructions given in the Perfect Potions game in the The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes include only those ingredients originally given in the novel.
*In , ingredients such as pulverised Sal Ammoniac, crude Antimony and Salpeter are listed in Moste Potente Potions as those required to brew it. These ingredients, however, are not mentioned under J. K. Rowling's thoughts for the Polyjuice Potion on the Wizarding World website.
*Primum ens Melissae is created during the process of brewing this potion.
*Despite its difficulty of brewing and overall rareness of its ingredients, Polyjuice Potion is used and mentioned quite a few times. The Trio uses it numerous times, particularly in , as do members of the Order of the Phoenix. Barty Crouch Jnr was also able to use the Polyjuice Potion for an entire year despite the lengthy brewing process. By the end of the series, almost every single main or supporting character has used it at least once.
*While previous evidence seemed to suggest that the effects of a single dose last for an hour or longer if a larger dose is used, The Wizarding World website indicates that the length of the effect is based entirely on the quality of brewing, ranging anywhere from ten minutes to twelve hours. - New from J. K. Rowling - Chapter 12, Moment 2 - Polyjuice Potion
*In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron comments "I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo" after transforming into Harry and observing his bare chest, suggesting that the Polyjuice Potion is capable of replicating cosmetic changes made to a person's body. It is possible, however, that Ron was simply being facetious.
*In the film adaptions in which Polyjuice Potion is used:
**In the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, , and , Polyjuice Potion does not cause the drinker's voice to change as well as their appearance. This was most likely done deliberately by the filmmakers to avoid confusing the audience due to the change in appearance. However, Barty Crouch Jnr's voice changes to Moody's in . However, it is possible he could have just been imitating Moody's voice, or also that by drinking excessively it causes an effect on the voice. However, the latter seems to be more possible as Crouch was still speaking in Moody's voice even as he revealed his true identity. Even so, in the Chamber of Secrets book, that Harry, Ron and Hermione's voices changed after taking it. It also seemed like it was very painful when Crouch changed back (presumably because he was constantly drinking it over the year). Also in the book Crouch was exposed because he forgot to take potion, while in the film he ran out of potion.
**In , before the Battle of the Seven Potters, Alastor Moody warns the people taking the potion that it tastes like "goblin piss", suggesting the flavour does not change according to the person intended to be imitated, and that it instead tastes disgusting in the course of the film series. Indeed, in , Severus Snape sniffed the opening of Moody's hip flask and was able to discern it was Polyjuice Potion right away.
**In , Harry and Hermione do not disguise themselves with Polyjuice Potion for their trip to Godric's Hollow on 24 December, 1997.
**In , Harry does not use the Polyjuice Potion to change into a red haired Muggle boy for Bill and Fleur's wedding; instead, he stays himself.
**Polyjuice Potion also returns in wherein it is used in the same manner as it was in the first game. However, in this game Polyjuice Potion can be found in all cauldrons during free-play, and is unlocked after completing the first level of , "The Seven Potters".
===Author's comments===
*"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."
==Appearances==
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*The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes
*The Art of Harry Potter Mini Book of Graphic Design
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==Notes and references==
Category:Regular Human Transfigurations
Category:The Entire Plot to Open at The Chamber-Of Secrets
Category:Polyjuice P Potion
Category:Potions