Draught of Peace

Draught of Peace
Potion information
Effect	Relieves anxiety and agitation
Side-effects	Overdoing the ingredients can put the drinker into a deep sleep
Characteristics	Emits a light silver vapour
Difficulty level	Advanced
Known ingredients	Powdered moonstone Syrup of hellebore Powdered unicorn horn

The Draught of Peace is a potion which relieves anxiety and agitation. Its ingredients are powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, and powdered unicorn horn. It should be a turquoise blue when finished and simmered before being drunk.

History

This was the first potion that Severus Snape assigned to fifth year students in 1995. A lot of students did poorly, including Seamus Finnigan, Gregory Goyle, Neville Longbottom, and Ron Weasley. However, Professor Snape singled out Harry Potter, giving him alone a zero grade for the day's work by emptying out his cauldron for simply missing out the syrup of hellebore due to misreading the instructions.

Poppy Pomfrey later administered this potion to several fifth-year students suffering from anxiety and panic over the Ordinary Wizarding Levels.

Concoction

It is ironically a difficult potion to make, requiring that the brewer follow the directions carefully, because making a mistake can have drastic consequences. Adding too much of the ingredients, for instance, will put the drinker of the potion into a deep — and possibly irreversible — sleep.

The directions for making the potion are very detailed. Ingredients must be added in the exact order and amounts specified, and the potion needs to be stirred 7 times, both clockwise and anti-clockwise. Before the addition of the final ingredient, hellebore, the temperature of the flames must be lowered, and the potion allowed to simmer for seven minutes.

If brewed correctly, the potion will emit a silvery vapour, but the possible characteristics of a failed batch seem to be endless (everything from green sparks, dark grey steam, a sulfurous odour, a cement-like consistency, to a dangerous instability that will cause it to explode and set one's robes alight).

Brewing instructions

To brew the Draught of Peace, follow these steps:

1. Add powdered moonstone until the potion turns green.
2. Stir until the potion turns blue.
3. Add powdered moonstone until the potion turns purple.
4. Allow to simmer until the potion turns pink.
5. Add syrup of hellebore until the potion turns turquoise.
6. Allow to simmer until the potion turns purple.
7. Shake powdered porcupine quills vigorously until they are ready and then add until the potion turns red.
8. Stir until the potion turns orange.
9. Add more porcupine quills until the potion turns turquoise.
10. Allow to simmer till the potion turns purple.
11. Add powdered unicorn horn until the potion turns pink.
12. Stir until the potion turns red.
13. Allow to simmer until the potion turns purple.
14. Add more powdered moonstone until the potion turns grey.
15. Allow the potion to simmer until it turns orange.
16. Add more powdered porcupine quills until the potion turns white.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)