[HPforGrownups] HBP - Draught of Living Death Potion??

[rebecca]

No: HPFGUIDX 153298

"honeykissed246" said :

>I was wondering (being fairly new to posting) has anyone thought
> that the lake that Dumbledore and Harry went to in order to retrieve
> the Horcrux was actually filled with the Draught of Living Death.
>
<snip>

>Why did the inferi
> attempt to pull Harry into the lake but not Dumbledore?  I am not
> sure if Dumbledore actually drank the "water" or (if I can remember
> correctly) he drank a little and got splashed with it.
>
> I also noticed that all the potions that JKR have mentioned in her
> books have played a pivotal role later on in the series.  So
> Slughorn used the Felix potion (we seen it used), amortenia (sp),
> the love potion we seen it and of course the Polyjuice potion and we
> have seen that a few times.  Slughorn also introduces us to the
> Draught of Living Death but we haven't actually "seen it yet" UNLESS
> that is what the lake was and what has affected Dumbledore.

<snip>

rebecca:

Welcome to the group!  :)

First, your observation about the Inferi attempting to pull Harry into the 
lake instead of Dumbledore is a very astute one, and not one I'd considered. 
That said, one could ponder the possibilities that if Dumbledore was not 
necessarily "alive" at the point when this occurred that perhaps they 
wouldn't attack him or simply that he wasn't the one who disturbed the lake. 
Still, it's thought provoking and I'm glad you brought it up.

One item to consider for the potion DD drank is the Draught of Peace 
mentioned in OoP. That potion is concocted with hellebore and moonstone. 
Hellebore, while poisonous, is sometimes called the "Christmas Rose" because 
some varieties resemble roses and the plant is known to be violently 
narcotic, with the effects similiar to digitalis. When it is taken by mouth, 
it is said to be highly acidic and "burns." (One might need a drink after 
that, hm?) The symptoms of hellebore posioning might ring a bell:

"....slow, irregular pulse, weakness, labored breathing, irregular heart 
beat, convulsions, respiratory failure and nervous system disturbances such 
as delirium, convulsions and even death due to respiratory collapse"

Moonstone supposedly has many connotations surrounding its use in legend and 
lore, most notably as a "dream stone" (India, where it's from originally and 
where it is considered by some to be sacred) and as a talisman for fertility 
(primarly Arab, according to the ICGA) . Wiccans and new age followers 
believe it balanced the emotions, but also emphasize it enhances divination 
abilities and intuition. Moonstone in ancient times was thought to allow for 
one to "read the future", and interesting thing since it's been speculated 
here that perhaps the potion was a liquified "memory."  (Carol, where are 
you? :))  Could be the potion was enabling Dumbledore to see a future that 
he didn't quite like at all.

Thus there are things to ponder as last we saw Dumbledore's portrait,  he/it 
was sleeping :)  Have we seen the same warning  about  "irreversible sleep" 
applied to the Draught of Living Death?

rebecca