Mandrake and Polyjuice Questions

[erisedstraeh2002 <erisedstraeh2002@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49049

I originally asked:

> So could mandrake juice work on Crouch Sr.'s bone?  Could you pour 
> mandrake juice on the bone and return his body to its original 
> state?  Would its original state be alive or dead?  

Now me (again):

After thinking about this a bit more, I think if in fact Crouch Sr.'s 
bone could be restored back to his body, I think his body would have 
to be dead.  If mandrake juice could be used to restore a cursed 
person who had died back to life, presumably Moaning Myrtle would 
have been able to return from the dead after seeing the Basilisk.

Kelly L. wrote:

> I've also wondered about Polyjuice Potion--if you die while 
> Polyjuiced, like Mrs. Crouch, do you revert to your original form 
> after an hour passes, or do you remain in the assumed form 
> forever?  If Mrs. Crouch was exhumed at Azkaban, would they find 
> her body or a copy of her son's?  

Me again:

I had assumed that since polyjuice potion needed to be drunk once per 
hour to keep the transformation going, once one stopped drinking it, 
one would return back to one's own self, even if one were dead.  This 
would suggest that the body buried at Azkaban, if exhumed, would look 
like Mrs. Crouch.  However, I've often wondered why Crouch Sr. never 
went to pick up the body.  It seems rather risky to leave the body at 
Azkaban if in fact an hour after Mrs. Crouch's death, it would stop 
looking like Barty Jr.  Also, was it realistic to presume that the 
burial would take place within an hour after Mrs. Crouch's death?  
Given these mysteries, it would make more sense that if you die while 
under polyjuice, you don't change back to your own self.

~Phyllis
wishing all HPfGU-ers a very happy new year!