[HPforGrownups] Moody/Crouch/Imperio Q Re: Chapter 34 Summary

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 14245

Margaret Dean wrote:

> It makes me wonder about the effects of using a Polyjuice Potion
> long-term, and how much of the false "Moody" actually =was= Moody and
> not an act.  Harry and Ron only stayed in Crabbe and Goyle form for an
> hour.  What would have happened if they'd kept it up?  Would they
> start "being" Crabbe and Goyle in more than just outward form?

Excellent question. In PoA, Sirius mentions that not only did his
knowledge of his innocence help him against the dementors, but that when
he was in dog form, his emotions were less human, harder for the
dementors to perceive. So I got the impression that it's a little more
complicated being an animagus than simply having an animal form--your
mind works a bit differently.

Thus, I would have thought spending a length of time in animal form
would affect your thinking---but here's Pettigrew, twelve years as a rat
under his belt, effortlessly picking up where he left off as a human.

Polyjuice Potion is similar to the animagus magic in that it actually,
physically, transforms you--it's not an illusion. I presume it
transforms the internals, too, or Crouch/Moody would not have been able
to use the fake leg and eye. So it transforms the brain--so *does* it
affect one's thinking if used for a long time? Evidently transformation
to an animagus does not, although I'd guess it transforms the internals,
too.

Hmmm.

--Amanda


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