Skip to main content

harry potter - What 50 rules did they break by making the polyjuice potion?


Hermione states that they are breaking about 50 school rules making the polyjuice potion. Do we know any of the rules being broken?



Answer



Although it's not clear what rules Hermione was referring to, we can see what rules they actually broke:



  • Entering the restricted section of the Library and, presumably making a potion that the Potions-Master considers too advanced




Snape said it was in a book called Moste Potente Potions and it’s bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library.’




  • Lying to a teacher in order to remove said book from the library



‘Er – Professor Lockhart?’ Hermione stammered. ‘I wanted to – to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading.’




  • Having boys in the girls' lavatory




Hermione had overridden Ron’s objections by pointing out that it was the last place anyone in their right minds would go, so they were guaranteed some privacy.




  • Stealing from Snape's private stash of potion ingredients



‘D’you realise how much we’re going to have to steal, Hermione? Shredded skin of Boomslang, that’s definitely not in the students’ cupboard. What’re we going to do, break into Snape’s private stores? I don’t know if this is a good idea …’





  • Leaving a fire unattended (except for a ghost)



‘Well, as the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days … I’d say it’d be ready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients.’




  • Causing an explosion in the Potions class




Harry ducked swiftly down behind his cauldron, pulled one of Fred’s Filibuster fireworks out of his pocket and gave it a quick prod with his wand. The firework began to fizz and sputter. Knowing he had only seconds, Harry straightened up, took aim, and lobbed it into the air; it landed right on target in Goyle’s cauldron.




  • Having a girl in the boy's dormitory



Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both. ‘Wake up,’ she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window. ‘Hermione – you’re not supposed to be in here,’ said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.




  • Drugging Crabbe and Goyle




‘How thick can you get?’ Ron whispered ecstatically, as Crabbe gleefully pointed out the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them. Grinning stupidly, they stuffed the cakes whole into their large mouths. For a moment, both of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they both keeled over backwards onto the floor.




  • Stealing their shoes



They also stole their shoes, because their own were far too small for Crabbe- and Goyle-sized feet.






  • Impersonating Crabbe and Goyle (obviously)




  • Stealing clothes





‘Good. And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry,’ Hermione said, holding up a small sack. ‘You’ll need bigger sizes once you’re Crabbe and Goyle.’





  • Sneaking into another house's common room



‘Oh yeah – pure-blood!’ said Malfoy, not listening, and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through it and Harry and Ron followed him.



My instinct says that doing certain spells without permission, removing dangerous books from the library, impersonating other pupils and sneaking into other houses' common rooms is probably what Hermione is driving it.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

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.

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

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...