91
votes
Accepted
Why does everyone in Harry Potter make a giant cauldron of potion?
It's quite possible that some recipes don't divide well. Have you ever tried to halve a recipe that calls for 1 egg? It can be done, but it's a bit annoying and cannot be done without physically ...
- 1,242
88
votes
Accepted
Who was the student that previously brewed a potion of sufficient quality to claim the Felix Felicis?
Almost certainly Snape
The Harry Potter Wikia has an article for the student aptly named Unidentified Potions student. In it, it identifies Tom Riddle, Snape and Lily as possible candidates.
This ...
- 144k
50
votes
Accepted
What was wrong with Hermione's Polyjuice potion in CoS?
It was simply the use of cat hair instead of human hair.
As Professor Snape says to his class, potion-making is a subtle science and exact art. Changing even a little thing can cause the effects of a ...
- 106k
45
votes
Accepted
If Wolfsbane is to be taken a week in advance, why does it matter that Lupin hadn't taken it on the night of the full moon?
The first quote you cite is a bit vague. At face value it could seem to mean that the potion need only been taken once during the week in order for it to be effective. However, it could be that the ...
- 45k
39
votes
Who was the student that previously brewed a potion of sufficient quality to claim the Felix Felicis?
Apparently the movie and book represent alternate realities, because this never happened in the book. However, if it would have happened in the book, we can venture a guess that Snape would have been ...
- 45k
22
votes
Why does everyone in Harry Potter make a giant cauldron of potion?
As alluded to in comments, I suspect that the reduced error from scale may also play into it. Some of the ingredients added to the potions are fairly small amounts, and we see in the books that small ...
- 233k
18
votes
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In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, how does Hermione recognise Veritaserum?
Lacking color and odor is distinctive, and she had information to deduce it.
First of all, being colorless and odorless does help identify the potion - it eliminates all potions that have either a ...
- 106k
14
votes
How do injuries work with Polyjuice Potion?
Lets take the account of Moody and Barty Crouch Jr and use it as an example/reference.
Barty is using polyjuice potion all year long, with no apparent change in weight or hair.
below, apparently
...
- 66.4k
13
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Did Snape teach any of the potions techniques that he invented to any of his students?
Not that We Know of
There doesn't seem to be anything indicating Snape taught the techniques from his copy of Advanced Potion Making. However I would disagree that we have proof Snape invented/...
- 201
11
votes
What was wrong with Hermione's Polyjuice potion in CoS?
The use of cat hairs meant that she didn't transform back after one hour.
Others have made this point but I thought I'd add an answer with the relevant quotations from the books.
There was nothing ...
- 62k
11
votes
Accepted
Online post/short story, about potions that give you different powers
Big huge thanks to Stackstuck's comment about the story.
I remember something like this. It was pills, not potions. Unfortunately, I don't have a link to it and I'm not 100% sure of the author. So ...
- 301
10
votes
Why didn't Dumbledore, or Harry, just summon animals to drink the Emerald Potion?
There are a few problems with doing that.
First and foremost, I think that both Harry and Dumbledore would've seen that as cruel and cowardly.
It's also unclear what limits there are on summoning ...
10
votes
Accepted
Would someone be able to use Felix Felicis to make MORE Felix Felicis?
The books don't mention specific categories of limitations for Felix Felicis. In this answer I discussed at length what Felix Felicis actually can and can't do. In short, it seems to primarily give ...
- 45k
10
votes
Why does everyone in Harry Potter make a giant cauldron of potion?
In some few cases the potion will be the result of reducing through boiling for a long time. This is somewhat like maple syrup. You boil it for a long time to concentrate the non-water ingredients, as ...
- 585
10
votes
Why does everyone in Harry Potter make a giant cauldron of potion?
Magic in Harry Potter is quite often rather symbolic in how it works. I think that, when it comes to potions, this means that the size of the batch matters; like, if you're adding 7 pinches of dried ...
- 543
9
votes
Accepted
A short story involving time travel induced by a potion/tablet/medicine
There have been quite a few stories on that theme, but given the early twentieth century English setting, you may be thinking of "The New Accelerator", a 1901 short story by H. G. Wells, ...
- 169k
8
votes
Where did Hogwarts store all the cauldrons?
This may answer some parts of your question.
All cauldrons are enchanted to make them lighter to carry, as they are
most commonly made of pewter or iron. Modern inventions include the
self-...
- 189
8
votes
Accepted
How is it possible to turn a human into an Ood?
As is perhaps usual in Doctor Who, we are not given much of an explanation as to how the transformation works. Ood Sigma simply refers to the concoction as :
SIGMA: Ood-graft suspended in a ...
- 118k
8
votes
Did Snape teach any of the potions techniques that he invented to any of his students?
I can't give completely canon evidence, but I think it's very possible he might do. In earlier books he writes down instructions on the board for them to work from.
Once Snape had turned his back on ...
- 2,592
7
votes
Accepted
Can the Felix Felicis substitute as a rape drug?
No.
Felis Felicitus makes you lucky. The Harry Potter novels don't fully explore what that means, but Larry Niven's Ringworld did, in the person of Teela Brown. (Granted this was kind of retconned ...
- 17.9k
6
votes
Do eclipses have an effect on the efficacy of potions?
There doesn’t seem to be any magic said to be affected by eclipses.
There’s absolutely no mention of what effect an eclipse would have on any type of magic in the books. The word “eclipse” only is ...
- 106k
6
votes
Accepted
Where did Hogwarts store all the cauldrons?
Possibly their cauldrons were stored in the Potions classroom.
It seems like, at least some of the time, students leave their cauldron in the Potions classroom. They take them back after each school ...
- 106k
6
votes
Can the Felix Felicis substitute as a rape drug?
Logically - No.
You cannot push luck to force something out of someone. Using luck, Harry convinced Slughorn to disclose his memory using logic and shame, there was no forcing involved. Slughorn felt ...
- 13k
6
votes
What was wrong with Hermione's Polyjuice potion in CoS?
The potion is complicated and can go awry. For example, when Hermione brewed Polyjuice in her second year, she intended to take the form of Millicent Bulstrode, but she mistook a cat's hair for ...
- 524
6
votes
If Wolfsbane is to be taken a week in advance, why does it matter that Lupin hadn't taken it on the night of the full moon?
The week includes the first full moon day.
To transform safely, Lupin has to take the Wolfsbane Potion every day in the week preceding the full moon. Presumably if he misses a day of taking the ...
- 106k
5
votes
Why did Hermione smell grass in the Amortentia?
It's not about grass, it's about freshly mown grass.
Hermione loves all things neat and tidy and perfect. She meticulously organises, plans, sorts and colour-codes things - that is who she is.
...
- 16.3k
5
votes
In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, how does Hermione recognise Veritaserum?
It might have other properties that make it identifiable.
Being colourless and odourless means it's virtually undetectable if added to someone's food or drink. However, the potion itself (as ...
- 1,116
5
votes
Accepted
How would the bite of a venomous non-magical snake be treated in the Wizarding World?
There are venom antidote potions.
Snape, the Potions professor at Hogwarts, assigns his class to write an essay on the various types of venom antidotes. His class covers potions, so the venom ...
- 106k
4
votes
Accepted
Was Slughorn using the directions found in the potions textbook?
Slughorn probably didn't know about the modifications.
When Harry uses the modified textbook, Slughorn presumes it's Harry's natural skills, not something to do with making the potion a different way.
...
- 106k
4
votes
How do injuries work with Polyjuice Potion?
One must recall that Polyjuice potion requires part of the person being imitated, e.g a strand of hair, just before being drunk. I would presume that this part 'encodes' (magically or otherwise) the ...
- 41
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible