Skip to main content

harry potter - Can you create more Polyjuice Potion using hair/clippings from your own transformed self?


If you were to take Polyjuice, then clip hair from yourself (so it would essentially be the hair of the person you transformed into), could you create more Polyjuice to transform into that person using that hair?



Answer




Barty Crouch Jr. kept Mad-Eye Moody alive in his trunk to find out information about Moody's behavior as well as have a continued supply of hair from him. This implies either that Barty Crouch Jr. is unaware that such a thing is possible, or that he knows it wouldn't be so he ensured he'd have a supply of hair that would actually work.



“Then I packed up Moody’s clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion.” - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35 (Veritaserum)




In addition, Barty Crouch Jr. does take hair from Moody, since the real Moody is shown to have some missing.



“His wooden leg was gone, the socket which should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing.” - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35 (Veritaserum)



Dumbledore explains that Barty Crouch Jr. needed to keep Moody close by so he could get hair from him to continue to make the Polyjuice Potion. If Barty Crouch Jr. could instead use his own hair after transforming, this would be an unnecessary risk to take.



“The impostor needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the Potion. You see his hair …’ Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk. ‘The impostor has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven?” - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35 (Veritaserum)



If he could have instead have locked Moody away elsewhere, keeping him at Hogwarts surrounded by skilled wizards like Dumbledore would be unneeded, and brings a higher risk of his plan being discovered.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more