Changes: Potions (class)

Revision as of 13:05, 28 February 2016

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few... Who possess, the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."

— Professor Severus Snape's introduction of the subject^[src]

Potions is a core class and subject taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In this class, students learn the correct way to brew potions. They follow specific recipes and use various magical ingredients to create the potions, starting with simple ones and moving to more advanced ones as they progress in knowledge. A standard potions kit includes plant ingredients such as Belladonna and supplies such as glass phials and weighing scales.

The professor of this subject is referred to as a potions master. The potions master at Hogwarts for many years was Horace Slughorn and later Severus Snape. It is unknown if Professor Slughorn stayed as potions master or if someone else took over following the Second Wizarding War.

Class information

"When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level."

— Harry Potter on the very few people who were able to advance^[src]

Slughorn pottermore — AN.E.W.T.- level potions class

At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Potions is a required subject for students, from first year to fifth year. Potion recipes can be found in many books, including the books the students at Hogwarts use in their classes, but the intricacies of timing, ageing, stirring techniques, and bottling which are much more difficult to learn without the mentoring of the experienced masters. Certain ingredients can be found in the cupboard in the classroom, but others have to be bought before the start of the year at the apothecary. Around 1981, Severus Snape became the professor of Potions at Hogwarts; he served as the school's potions professor through 1996, when he was replaced by Horace Slughorn.

Severus-snape1 — Severus Snape, potions master

Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations are taken at the end of a student's fifth year; as such students are spent learning Ordinary Wizarding Level potions and possibly revisiting the past four years of lessons. As part of their Potions O.W.L., students must sit a written exam one of the questions asks to describe Polyjuice Potion and its purpose and after students must complete a practical exam. Professor Snape mentions that achieving a high mark at Ordinary Wizarding Level is difficult.,^[2] which was later demonstrated in 1996, when only twelve students reached the required level to advance to N.E.W.T.^[3]

When Severus Snape was the professor, students had to achieve an 'Outstanding' on their O.W.L. in order to take his advanced class. As Head of House, Professor Snape tended to favour students from Slytherin House more than other students, so Slytherins tended to do better than others at the subject. On the other hand however, Horace Slughorn was more lenient; Harry and Ron were both allowed to continue to the N.E.W.T. class with an 'Exceeds Expectations' O.W.L. He also does not grant Slytherins special treatments, thus having them lose their advantage in good classwork.^[3]

Location and time

Potions lessons take place in the Dungeons.^[4]

Classroom layout

The classroom used to be squared-sized, very large, with large tables and windows. In the corner resides a stone basin used to wash students' hands and ladles. From 1992-onwards, the classroom was of an oval shape and relatively smaller, with small work tables. In 1996, the classroom was extended, adding space for more work tables.

Lesson times

Year	Day	Period
First	Monday	first
	Wednesday	first
	Friday	first/second
Second	Monday	first
	Wednesday	third
	Friday	third
Third	Monday	fourth
	Tuesday	afternoon
	Thursday	third
	Friday	first
Fourth	Tuesday	third
Fourth	Friday	fourth/fifth
Fifth	Monday	second (last half)
Sixth	Monday	afternoon
Seventh	unknown	unknown

Curriculum

First year

"Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion."

— First year exam in 1992^[src]

File:Cure-for-boils.png

Cure for Boils

Aconite, bezoars, some basic details on preparation of the Draught of Living Death such as what would be created if powdered root of asphodel was added to an Infusion of Wormwood, and the difference between Monkshood and Wolfbane.
Types of Cauldrons
Types of Vials
Cure for Boils
Forgetfulness Potion
Antidote to Common Poisons
Herbicide Potion
Wideye Potion
Wiggenweld Potion
Collecting the ingredients for Wiggenweld Potion
The 12 uses of dragon blood
Potion Ingredients such as: Moly, Dittany, Flobberworm Mucus, Wiggentree bark, Asphodel, Puffapod spores, and Moondew

Second year

Wiggenweld Potion (not practically)
Sleeping Draught
Hair-Raising Potion
Swelling Solution
Girding Potion
Essay of Flobberworm Mucus uses in potions

Third year

Antidote-to-common-poisons — Antidote to Uncommon Poisons

Effects of Wiggenweld Potion
Antidote to Uncommon Poisons
Girding Potion
Confusing Concoction
Shrinking Solution
Undetectable Poisons
Potion Ingredients such as Fire Seed's, Billywig Stings, Chizpurfle Carapaces, Graphorn horn, Flying Seahorses, Doxy eggs, Dragonfly thoraxes, Fairy wings.

Fourth year

Fifth year

"I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting a important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions."

— Professor Snape regarding the Potions O.W.L.^[src]

Sixth and seventh years

" [...] These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after after completing your N.E.W.T.s."

— Professor Slughorn referring to the potions that will be covered in sixth and seventh year^[src]

Known professors

Swoopstikes (dates unknown)
Vindictus Viridian (dates unknown)
Horace Slughorn (first term, 1942-1981) (second term, 1996-?)
Severus Snape (1980-1996)

Required textbooks

Known O.W.L.s

Theodore Nott

Media

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Potions with Slughorn

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Behind the scenes

PotionsClass6 — Padma Patil, Dean Thomas, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Lavender Brown, Leanne and Seamus Finnigan in Potions class.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, many more students are shown to be in Harry's N.E.W.T. level Potions class than are mentioned in the book. The book specifically names Harry, Ron, and Hermione to be the only Gryffindors to have moved on to N.E.W.T. level, but the film shows Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Lavender Brown to be in the class as well. Katie Bell and Romilda Vane are also in the class in the film, although they are actually a seventh year and a fourth year student respectively. This was a glarring mistake on the director's part.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Severus Snape claims that there will be no "wand waving" in his class, though potion-making spells are always needed to complete the brewing process.

Author's comments

Chemistry was my least favourite subject at school, and I gave it up as soon as I could. Naturally, when I was trying to decide which subject Harry's arch-enemy, Severus Snape, should teach, it had to be the wizarding equivalent. This makes it all the stranger that I found Snape's introduction to his subject quite compelling ('I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death...'), apparently part of me found Potions quite as interesting as Snape did; and indeed I always enjoyed creating potions in the books, and researching ingredients for them. Many of the components of the various draughts and libations that Harry creates for Snape exist (or were once believed to exist) and have (or were believed to have) the properties I gave them. Dittany, for instance, really does have healing properties (it is an anti-inflammatory, although I would not advise Splinching yourself to test it); a bezoar really is a mass taken from the intestines of an animal, and it really was once believed that drinking water in which a bezoar was placed could cure you of poisoning.^[5]

Appearances

Notes and references

↑ Wands are needed to perform Potion-making spells and spells to analyse the ingridents of potions, like Specialis revelio.
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 9 (Half-blood Prince)
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
↑ Pottermore

Potions (class)

Potioneers
Arsenius Jigger · Baruffio · Bella Navarro · Bilius Finbok · Blossom Degrasse · Dai Ryusaki · Damocles Belby · Dorothy Sprottle · Erica Stainwright · Fatimah Lawang · Fleamont Potter · Gethsemane Prickle · Gilderoy Lockhart · Glossy · Glover Hipworth · Golpalott · Gregory the Smarmy · Gunhilda de Gorsemoor · Hector Dagworth-Granger · Hesper Starkey · Jalal Sehmi · J. Pippin · Laverne de Montmorency · Libatius Borage · Linfred of Stinchcombe · Mulpepper · Mundungus Fletcher · Nicolas Flamel · Phineas Bourne · Priya Treadwell · Quintia McQuoid · Regulus Moonshine · Rogue alchemist · Rubens Winikus · Sacharissa Tugwood · Skower · Tilden Toots · Dr Ubbly · Vindictus Viridian · Zenith Xeep · Zygmunt Budge
Potions at Hogwarts
Cauldron cupboard · Dungeon Five · Potions basement · Potions Classroom · Potions Club · Potions Staircase · Potion Master's office · Potions Storeroom
Professors	Bartholomew · Horace Slughorn · Severus Snape · Swoopstikes · Unnamed Professor (16th century) · Aesop Sharp (19th century) · Unnamed Professor (2021)
Textbooks	A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery · Advanced Potion-Making · Ingredient Encyclopedia · Magical Drafts and Potions · One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
Potions studied at Hogwarts
Ageing Potion · Amortentia · Antidotes · Antidote to Common Poisons · Antidote to garish pink blended poison · Antidote to Uncommon Poisons · Antidote to Veritaserum · Babbling Beverage · Befuddlement Draught · Calming Draught · Cheese-Based Potions · Confusing Concoction · Cough Potion · Cure for Boils · Deflating Draught · Doxycide · Draught of Living Death · Draught of Peace · Elixir to Induce Euphoria · Erumpent Potion · Essence of Insanity · Everlasting Elixirs · Felix Felicis · Fire Protection Potion · Forgetfulness Potion · The Famous French Method for the Bite of a Mad Dog · Garish pink blended poison · Garrotting Gas · Girding Potion · Hair-Raising Potion · Herbicide Potion · Hiccoughing Solution · Invigoration Draught · Laughing Potion · Mandrake Restorative Draught · Memory Potion · Pepperup Potion · Polyjuice Potion · Pompion Potion · Potion for Dreamless Sleep · Rat Tonic · Regerminating Potion · Scintillation Solution · Shrinking Solution · Skele-Gro · Strength Potion · Strengthening Solution · Swelling Solution · Undetectable Poisons · Veritaserum · Weedosoros · Wideye Potion · Wiggenweld Potion · Wit-Sharpening Potion · Wolfsbane Potion · Wound-Cleaning Potion

Wizarding education

The eleven schools
Beauxbatons · Castelobruxo · Durmstrang · Hogwarts · Ilvermorny · Koldovstoretz · Mahoutokoro · Uagadou
Specialised schools
Academy of Broom Flying · Charm School · Euro-Glyph School of Extraordinary Languages · Merge School of Under-Water Spellage · The Naaszcademy of Magizoology · Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts · Young Wizards Daycare Center

[1] Wands are needed to perform Potion-making spells and spells to analyse the ingridents of potions, like Specialis revelio.

[OotP-2] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[HBP9-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 9 (Half-blood Prince)

[PS-4] Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

[5] Pottermore

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 251: / Line 251: @@
 *''[[Harry Potter Trading Card Game]]'' {{Mention}}
 *''[[Pottermore]]''
+*[[Harry Potter: The Character Vault]]
 ==Notes and references==