Veritaserum

> "*It is Veritaserum - a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear*"
> ― Severus Snape explaining the potion's power to Harry Potter[source]
>
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**Veritaserum** is a powerful truth serum. The potion effectively forces the drinker to answer any questions put to them truthfully, though there are certain methods of resistance. Use of this potion is strictly controlled by the British Ministry of Magic.

## History

Veritaserum was used on Barty Crouch Jr in June of 1995, when Albus Dumbledore discovered that Crouch was disguised as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor Moody. Severus Snape also threatened Harry Potter with it earlier that year because he suspected that Harry had been stealing supplies from his storeroom necessary to brew the Polyjuice Potion. This was prior to the discovery that Barty Crouch Jr was in fact the one who had been stealing the ingredients to keep up his disguise as Alastor Moody.

Dolores Umbridge attempted to use Veritaserum on Harry the following year, but to no effect. In actuality, Snape had presented her with a fake potion, and Harry only pretended to drink it, instead dumping it in one of her plants while she was occupied. Umbridge later asked for more Veritaserum after Harry broke into her office to contact Sirius Black, but Snape said it would take a month to make more. Instead, he suggested she use poisons on Harry if the situation were very grave. Snape also taunted her about using the entire bottle during one dosage rather than using the necessary three drops. As a result, Dolores suspended Snape and tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. However, Hermione Granger, who was also present, intervened and pretended to tell Umbridge the truth, thus sparing Harry from the curse.

At the beginning of the 1995–1996 school year, Horace Slughorn, the Potions Master, brewed Veritaserum as an example of the type of potion they should be able to make after completing their N.E.W.T.S. Later, Harry suggested using it on Slughorn to collect a memory. Dumbledore discouraged this idea since he knew that Slughorn would not be fooled easily and could resist the potion with an antidote. Additionally, Dumbledore did not want to use force or coercion on the Potions Master, as betraying his trust in such a way would most likely result in his memory never been collected by Harry.

In 1996, the Rosenfeld case fell apart after the Veritaserum used was accused of being tainted.

In 1997, Rita Skeeter used Veritaserum on Bathilda Bagshot while interviewing her for Albus Dumbledore's biography.

## Nature

Veritaserum is clear, colourless, and odourless and is almost indistinguishable from water. According to Severus Snape, the potion must mature for a full lunar phase, and is quite difficult to produce; it is something Horace Slughorn expects his students to be able to produce once they finished their N.E.W.T.-level Potions. It can be mixed with pretty much any drink, and three drops are a sufficient dose to make the drinker "spill out his innermost secrets". Thus, the potion forces the drinker to tell the complete truth to any question put to him/her, according to what the drinker perceives as true.

### Limitations

For the same reasons Muggles do not use polygraph tests in court, Veritaserum is no more reliable than its Muggle counterpart. Since some wizards and witches can resist its effects while others cannot, Veritaserum is "unfair and unreliable to use at a trial" and would be difficult to use as definite proof of guilt or innocence.

Another problem is that the victim states what only they believe to be true, so the victim's sanity and perception of reality are also factors in during interrogations. Therefore, while the drinker's answers are sincere, they are not necessarily true. This is the main reason why Barty Crouch Jr's testimony was only partially credible, as some of his answers were true in his mind, but known to be false by his interrogators; Cornelius Fudge believed that Crouch being a "raving lunatic" was a mitigating factor on the Veritaserum's full effectiveness, thus chose not to believe half of it. However, despite Crouch's sociopathic tendencies, his grip on reality and testimony was just.

Using Veritaserum on a student was strictly forbidden, at least in Hogwarts, a prohibition that Severus Snape considered "regrettable."

### Resistance

Despite being the most powerful truth serum in existence, it can still be resisted through different methods, including the taking of its antidote and Occlumency.

## Etymology

The name comes from the latin *veritas*, meaning "truth," and the Latin *serum* which means "fluid" or "liquid."