OOTP: metamorphs, polyjuice & Sirius

laureng58 lauren58 at snet.net
Sun Sep 21 03:49:43 UTC 2003


No: HPFGUIDX 81231

I'm a new poster. I'm sorry if this has been brought up before, but 
I did try to search the various postings and couldn't find this 
particular topic. I hope someone has some thoughts about this:

I am currently reading for the third time (the 2nd time out loud to 
my son) and a question has been forming about the ways that wizards 
have of changing their appearances. In the chapter entitled "The 
Advance Guard," Harry witnesses Tonks changing her appearance at 
will and, upon her informing him that she is a Metamorphmagus, he 
asks if it is a skill that can be learned.  

"'Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid,' said 
Tonks. 'Metamorphmagi are really rare, they're born, not made. Most 
wizards need to use a wand or potions to change their appearance...'"

--page 52, US edition.

We already know about Polyjuice Potion. We have witnessed, 
in "Goblet of Fire," how Crouch, Jr. polyjuiced into Moody at his 
present age, with all scars, etc. I assume that this was because the 
hair taken from Moody was taken from him currently. If Junior had a 
ten-year old hair sample, would he transform into Moody as he was 
ten years ago?

That also made me think about Metamorphmagi and Polyjuice. Does 
Tonks have a "real" appearance?  I assume so, because she usually 
looks somewhat similar each time Harry sees her (heart-shaped face, 
short hair, etc.) So, if you pulled out one of Tonks' hairs and 
added it to polyjuice potion, would the drinker turn into Tonks as 
she normally looked, or as she appeared at the moment the hair was 
pulled? For example, if Tonks gave herself the big nose and the pink 
hair, and then pulled a hair sample and added to polyjuice potion, 
would the drinker turn into her replica with pink hair and big nose?

If the answer is "yes," it occurs to me that there was an easy way 
for Sirius to leave 12 Grimmauld Place on occasion: simply have 
Tonks change her appearance to something that wouldn't attract 
attention, pull several hair or fingernail samples, have Snape or 
someone concoct polyjuice potion, and let Sirius get out for an hour 
at a time. Given that the Order includes a renown ex-auror (Moody) 
and two people--Shacklebolt and Tonks--presently employed as aurors, 
I would think that this type of thing would have occurred to one of 
them.

Of course, I could be wrong in my thinking; nothing that JKR has 
said about either metamorphmagi or polyjuice potion would preclude 
her telling us later that this couldn't be done.  But, if I'm right, 
it could suggest that members of the Order either don't "think 
outside the box," don't think that Sirius can be of any real use if 
he is allowed out of 12 Grimmauld Place, or don't entirely trust him.

Anyway, I do think that, if I *am* right in my suspicions about how 
metamorpmagi and poyjuce potion be used together, it would be kind 
of cool.

Lauren






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