Snape brewing Polyjuice Potion (was: Snape the spy)

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 18212

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., lea.macleod at g... wrote:
> 
> > > > > --- In HPforGrownups at y..., Magda Grantwich 
<mgrantwich at y...> 
> > > wrote about Snape´s task at the end of GoF:
> 
> > What if he made up a batch of potion using hair from the soul 
> > sucked 
> > > > Barty Crouch Jnr and then went to see Voldemort posing at his 
> > most 
> > > > loyal servant.
> > > 
> > > The problem is that very little time elapses between when they 
> > found 
> > > out that Barty Crouch has been sucked soul-less and when 
> Dumbledore 
> > > says to Snape "You know what you have to do."  Whatever it is, 
it 
> > has 
> > > to be something they have planned out in advance.  
> 
> 
> I find that an excellent idea (and far more subtle than Snape 
> transforming into Harry). It opens endless possibilities to how 
> the Snape-Voldemort-relationship will go on.
> 
> There´s two problems, though:
> 
> 1. Brewing the P.Potion takes four weeks, as we know from CoS. 
Unless 
> you suggest Snape always has some of it brewing somewhere in case 
> anyone wants to transform into someone else, it doesn´t seem a task 
he 
> will be able to accomplish in a time as short as that.
> 
> 2. If you take the P.Potion with hair from the "soul sucked" Barty 
C., 
> won´t you turn out to become just as "soul sucked" as he is?
> Or is the transformation entirely reserved to the outward likeness 
of 
> the other person?

I'm not saying that I find the whole polyjuice thing plausible with 
regard to Snape, but as to it taking weeks to brew - surely Barty 
Crouch would have some on standby to keep him transformed as Moody?  
It would be good enough, as the hair/part of whoever one wants to 
transform into is only added at the end.

Catherine