McGonagall, Harry and the Ginger Newts/Potions (long)

[arcum42]

No: HPFGUIDX 82700

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Jane Starr <jane_starr at y...>
wrote:
> --- Kirstini <kirst_inn at y...> wrote:
<snip>
> 
> I will never believe (unless JKR says so) that McG
> would do anything as underhanded as feed trojan-horse
> calming potions to her students, and anyway, if she
> did they'd have the intended effect first time.  She
> is nothing if not efficient.
> 
Also, potions effects generally have some relation to the ingredients,
and ginger is a stimulant, and would not be appropriate with a calming
potion (chamomile tea would be much more suitable). However, from GoF,
we have canon of ginger being an ingredient in another potion,
specifically a wit sharpening potion (Ch. 27 - Padfoot Returns, they
slice up ginger root for it). Having a wit-sharpening potion baked in
the biscuits makes perfect sense in context of the times she offers
them, too...

--Arcum