[HPforGrownups] The Trio and Polyjuice Potion

[Sherry Garfio]

No: HPFGUIDX 47870

Eric Oppen wrote:
> <snip> If Professor Snape had caught Hermione
> swiping supplies from _his personal stores,_ she'd have been in a ton of
> trouble---I don't think Professor D'dore would _expel_ her, particularly
> since she's normally so well-behaved, but at the least, she'd have had a
> great deal of explaining to do---and I _don't_ think that a twelve-year-old
> girl could get out of that without implicating Ron and Harry, who were
> _already_ in deep kimchee over the Flying Ford Anglia.  Twelve-year-old
> girls are not known, at least by me, for their extreme fortitude under
> serious adult cross-examination.

Oh, I don't know, she did pretty well after the troll incident in PS/SS...

<more snippage>
> If Polyjuice Potion depends on something that's
> expensive---well, Harry _has_ money at Gringott's, and AFWK nobody in
> particular to oversee how he spends it; he contemplates buying a fancy new
> broom at the beginning of CoS, but decides against it on his own.  He
> doesn't think "well, I'd love to buy it, but my guardians would pitch a
> fit/refuse to allow it."

You know, I've always been very impressed with how Harry handles his money. 
After a *very* limited "kid in a candy store" episode on the train in PS/SS,
he's been pretty responsible.  How does an 11-year-old (or 12, 13, or 14-year
old) boy who's never had anything cool, who's never even had an allowance, who
suddenly finds himself dripping in Galleons, learn to manage money, in a
currency he'd never heard of before?  Is this just another example of how
incredibly well-adjusted he's turned out in spite of his abusive upbringing?

<even more snippage>
> You know...if I were their Potions professor, and had found out about the
> Polyjuice Incident after the fact, I'd take lots of points off Gryffindor
> for stealing the ingredients, as well as a detention apiece featuring much
> ripping of strips off them for taking such a stupid chance...but, at the
> same time, I'd be very proud of Hermione for managing such an advanced
> potion.  And when I went to a Potions Conference, I'd brag her up a little.
> "You think _your_ students are good?  One of _my_ students, at only twelve
> years old and her second year, successfully brewed Polyjuice Potion!  Beat
> that!  NYAAAH!"

You know, somebody brought up the question earlier of Polyjuice Potion and
personality before, and a thought occurred to me later.  Polyjuice Potion is
indeed a very complicated potion.  What if, *properly* brewed by an
*experienced* wizard, it does confer the target person's personality on the
drinker?  Maybe Hermione got it just good enough, but she needed to stir it
counterclockwise or sit on the west side of the cauldron or something, so they
got only the physical effect.  Crouch got it "just right," so he got Moody's
personality as well.  Just a thought.

Off topic, I *totally* fail to see *why* they did the thing with the voices in
this scene in TMTMNBN.  It wasn't in the book, it makes sense that they would
take on the target's vocal chords along with the rest of their physical
appearacne, and it just added a technical complication and robbed those two
actors (whoever they are) of having a real scene in a very successful film.  Do
they think we're so thick we can't figure out who's who?  <end off-topic rant
mode>

Sherry


=====
"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."

      -Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

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