really odd topic: Polyjuice Potion: Gender?

[grey_wolf_c]

No: HPFGUIDX 42833

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "zoomphy" <zoomphy at y...> wrote:
> Is cross-gendered Polyjuicing possible? (I hope I wrote that right.)

Yes, it is possible: Crouch Jr.'s mother polyjuiced into him, and he 
intop her, to get him out of Azkaban, so canon demonstrates that 
cross-gender is possible.

><snip example>
> Is copulation possible? This is assuming Theo was willing to keep up 
> the charade (for curiosity's sake, of course). Is pregnancy possible? 
> According to the Harry Potter lexicon, Theo would only LOOK like 
> Erin. So I'm thinking no. 
>
> Say Theo made a polyjuice potion using one of Jude's fingernails, and 
> copulated with Erin, who was completely unaware of her lover's true 
> identity. And say she got pregnant. Would she be carrying Jude's 
> child, or Theo's child?
> 
> Sorry if this has been discussed, or if it seems a wee bit odd, but 
> it's been one of those days.
> 
> K.

There is a big problem with this sort of thing. Normally, this kind of 
magic (in other fantasy worlds) is illusion-based. That is, although 
you *look* like someone else, you're really the original person that 
looks (and feels to the other senses) differently, but it's like you're 
wearing heavy make-up. Most of the times (I've seen this in other 
books), this is stressed by the fact that the change is inmediate, and 
the *eyes are still the same the original had*. Unfortunately, neither 
of these thigs happen in the polyjuice potion: you *grow* into the 
person you turn into (notice how Harry had to loose his shoes and his 
clothes were broken), and the change is total. 

Thus, I'd better explore both possibilities, for the sake of 
completeness (since I can't decide which is the correct one):


Option A: ADN-transformation:
-----------------------------

If you turn into a clone of the original, copulating would be possible, 
and possibly getting pregnant would be, too. However, you would 
misscarriage within the hour, since the person you're polyjuicing into 
isn't pregnant herself, so you'd change into the non-pregnant version 
of her. A woman turning into a man could help another woman to become 
pregnant, too.

Speaking of which, and before anyone asks, I don't think that 
polyjuicing into a pregnant woman would make you pregnant, since the 
baby is a different person. Unless you happened to take tissue from the 
fetus, he/she wouldn't be included in the potion. (and if you include 
the tissue of the fetus, you'd probably die, since you won't have a 
mother around you to feed you, give you air, etc.)

In this case, however, if a man turns into another, has (unsafe) sex, 
and the woman involved becomes pregnant, the ADN would be the one of 
the person he has polyjuiced into. The same works for a woman that 
polyjuices into another woman (half of the ADN of the children is that 
of the woman you've polyjuiced into), although it would probably 
misscarriage, since they would have to be compatible for the fetus to 
survive.


Option B: Illusion Transformation
---------------------------------

If by polyjuicing you are still the same but the potion fools the 
senses to believe you're another person, turning from man into a woman 
means that copulating would still be possible, but there is no way you 
can become pregnant, since you're still, for biological purposes, a 
man. The same is true for a woman turning into a man.

In this case, however, polyjuicing into a pregnant woman would work, 
since you've only got to *look* pregnant, but (my guess is that) the 
pseudo-fetus wouldn't go into labor, although it might kick.

Finally, a man polyjuicing into another man or a woman into another 
woman, and becoming pregnant during the festrivities, you'd still be 
using your real ADN, not the one of the prerson you've polyjuiced into.

Disclaimer: All of the above is my own theory. There is no canon, and 
possibly will never be, to decide one way or the other, so in this case 
your opinion is as good as mine. Opinions and corrections welcomed. May 
contain traces of nuts.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf, who know understands why the potion belongs to the 
restricted section, and who hopes he's got all the technical English 
words correct.