Sirius, Snape, and befuddlement draughts.

[Pat]

No: HPFGUIDX 113281

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "arienastera" 
<arienastera at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Page 383, OotP, American Version
> "Midnight came and went while Harry was reading and rereading a 
> passage about the uses of scurvy-grass, lovage, and sneezewort and 
> not taking in a word of it....
> 	*These plantes are moste efficacious in the inflaming of the 
> braine, and are therefore much used in Confusing and Befuddlement 
> Draughts, where the wizard is desirous of producing hot-headedness 
> and recklessness....*
> ... Hermione said Sirius was becoming reckless cooped up in 
> Grimmauld Place....
> 	*... moste efficacious in the inflaming of the braine, and 
> are therefore much used...*
> ... the *Daily Prophet* would think his brain was inflamed if they 
> found out that he knew what Voldemort was feeling...
> 	*... therefore much used in Confusing and Befuddlement 
> Draughts...*
> ... confusing was the word, all right; *why* did he know what 
> Voldemort was feeling?  What was this wierd connection between 
them, 
> which Dumbledore had never been able to explain satisfactorily?
> 	*... where the wizard is desirous...*
> ... how he would like to sleep...
> 	*... of producing hot-headedness...*
> ... It was warm and comfortable in his armchair before the fire..."
> 
> 
[snip]
> 
> Could Snape have given Sirius a potion to make him more reckless 
> than normal? 
[snipped]

> We all know that Snape tried his darndest to get Sirius in POA, so 
> whats stopping him now that he knows where Sirius is.  Even if 
Snape 
> knows he's innocent, he still hates him with a fiery passion.
> 
> 
> Thanks for listening to me,
> ArienAstera


Pat here:

That passage always struck me as more than just a page filler too--
plus I don't think JKR puts much of that in the book.  Especially 
when you think back to POA where Snape says that Harry and Hermione 
were under a Confundous Spell--sounds similar to the beffudlement 
one.

However, as much as Snape hates Sirius, I really don't think even he 
would stoop so low--well, I hope not anyway.  I'm not holding out 
for any redemption of Snape, but I think even he has some sense of 
ethics that would not allow him to give this potion to Sirius.

I was thinking that Kreacher could have gotten the potion from the 
Malfoys when he went to visit, but that didn't happen till after 
this particular passage.  The thing is, though, that Kreacher might 
have visited the Malfoys BEFORE Sirius told him to "Get out!" at 
Christmas.  Given Sirius's constant annoyance with Kreacher, it's 
possible that he told him the same thing when there was no one 
around to hear it.  If Kreacher had been visiting the Malfoys 
earlier, he could have been given the potion by Lucius.  (Remember 
also that in CoS, Lucius makes a reference to having some potions 
that he wouldn't want the MOM to find--when he and Draco are in 
Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley.)

All that being said, I really believe that it has a lot more to do 
with the way Sirius has spent the last 14 to 15 years of his life.  
There is nothing in any of the time that he spent in Azkaban or 
during the time that he has been in hiding since, that would lead to 
being an emotionally healthy human being.  Put those horrible 
experiences with his rather rash personality (as we witnessed in the 
Pensieve and in the recounting of his attempt to lure Snape into the 
Whomping Willow), and you have someone who is depressed and not 
emotionally balanced.

Oh, and one more thing.  If it were Snape feeding the potion to 
Sirius, I don't think he would continue with all the verbal barbs.  
I would think he'd want to appear to be on more friendly terms, so 
that he wouldn't be suspected of doing anything so blatant.

Pat, who also wouldn't want to be in the Black house, but agrees it 
would be a great Haunted House at Halloween.