The Polyjuice Potion
chapter twelve of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry checks in with the Sorting Hat, meets Fawkes, and briefly chats with Dumbledore; then, after Christmas dinner, Harry and Ron take Polyjuice Potion and find out Malfoy isn’t the heir of Slytherin. Hermione also takes Polyjuice, but is accidentally transformed into a partial cat.
“It’s a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day…. He’s really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage.”
(by Laura Freeman)
“I,” said Percy, drawing himself up, “am a prefect. Nothing’s about to attack me.
(by Ani Bester)
“And Father won’t tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either….”
(by Elspethelf)
Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.
(by gerre)
“M-Millicent Bulstrode must have a cat! And the p-potion isn’t supposed to be used for animal transformations!”
(by Bhanesidhe)
about the chapter
It’s amazing to me how something about the Heir of Slytherin has induced almost a mania within Hermione, to the point where she’s willing to break dozens of rules in the process of solving the problem. Perhaps it’s because she takes such pride in being the best in her class, and Malfoy and the Heir seem determined to knock her down to a lower status, or simply a deeply ingrained sense of justice (or likely a combination of these and many other emotions). But it’s interesting to watch her transform into this fiery, passionate person, and it’s really the first glimpse we get into who she is deep inside.
The Wizarding World
Polyjuice Potion (like the Invisibility Cloak, or Animagi) is one of those things that makes me wonder how anyone ever manages to keep any order at all in the Wizarding World. Sure, it’s hard to brew – but no matter how gifted of a witch Hermione might be, the fact remains that she’s able to manage the potion when she’s twelve. Surely there are hundreds, if not thousands, of former N.E.W.T. Potions students around the country who could do the same thing? It’s pretty amazing, when you think about how easy it is for a witch or wizard to really wreak a lot of havoc. No wonder the Ministry seems to employ half the wizarding population of Britain; that’s what’s needed to find ways of keeping everyone in check!
Something to Remember
So the Malfoys have a secret chamber under their drawing room floor. It’s a room that’s good for more than just hiding Dark items, and we’ll see it come up again at some point.
The Final Word
(When asked, “If you got the chance to make a Polyjuice Potion, who would you be and why? And what would you do in the hour time limit?”“I’d like to be Tony Blair for an hour. I’d call a press conference and announce all the policies I’d like to implement!”–J.K. Rowling, March 2004
As to the comment abotu keeping order – I’m amazed at how incompetent the Ministry is. Look at Gringotts – they weren’t fooled by Polyjuice or anything like that, and even with all the resources at their command AND a goblin with them, the Trio barely made it out. Would it really be asking too much to install such a fountain in the Ministry and other high-security places? Again, the Ministry seems way too confident in its impenetrability.
hpboy13 said this on April 23, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Hagrid is very fervent in his attempt to defend Harry from the suspicion of having opened the Chamber. This is not only because they are friends. We’ll learn why later in the book.
Don’t you just love George and Fred? “Make way for the heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through…” They are the best!
Kim said this on April 28, 2009 at 7:19 am
Sorry, I forgot to mention this in my comment above. When I listened to this chapter it kind of reminded me of the way the trio handles things in book 7. I don’t want to say more here, but maybe some of you have felt the same.
Kim said this on April 28, 2009 at 7:27 am
Regarding the polyjuice potion, don’t forget it wears off after an hour, you must have a part of someone you are changing into, and is difficult to make – it probably uses hard to get and/or expensive ingredients. Plus, it is not something potions class would teach until 6th year. A lot of students do not take potions after O.W.L.’s, since you need to have an O for Snape’s N.E.W.T. class and an E for Slughorn’s. The book was in the restricted section – not the most easily accessible, even for advanced students. No wonder Madame Pince looked suspicious Hermione wanted the book.
The wizarding world is at peace, so I am not surprised if few wizards bother with it, especially if you can alter (even if you can’t duplicate someone else exactly) your appearance with transfiguration?
Pam said this on August 12, 2009 at 10:08 am
In regards to keeping order in the wizarding world…I’m inclined to believe that a lot of it is based on trust. The wizard population in Britain is pretty small (I think someone said something about 10-15 thousand?) so there’s a strong sense of community. But then Voldemort came and stirred things up, and suddenly you didn’t know who you could trust.That’s why Gringotts is so secure compared to the Ministry: goblins don’t trust anyone, but wizards trust each other (well, before Voldemort anyway).
Phoebe said this on August 17, 2009 at 7:22 am
I wonder , given how hard it is to brew Polyjuice Potion, how on earth Barty Crouch Jr. was able to continually drink it for a year! How much of this stuff did he bring witrh him? A vat? I mean you do need to drink it every hour, right? And it takes a month to brew….
grrreg said this on September 11, 2009 at 2:14 am
Hermione is passionate about justice which is a great trait in an oveeracheiver like herself. I think it shows that although she is the best in her class that does not stop her from wanting others to acheive just as much as she has. This is so unlike most people, espcially Syltherins, in so many ways it’s no wonder she gets obsessed with stopping his heir.
grrreg said this on September 11, 2009 at 2:20 am
grrreg,
Book 4 says outright how Barty Jr was able to keep making it. He stole the ingredients from Snape and held Mad Eye Moody captive and took his hair for the potion. He nearly got caught on several occasions stealing ingredients from Snape.
rilian said this on September 26, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Kim, it’s never occurred to me to make the link between what happened to Hagrid, and his strong defence of Harry. It seems so obvious now it’s been pointed out! I’ll read that bit with more interest in the future.
Caitlin said this on November 20, 2009 at 5:55 pm
On Hermione, I believe one reason she is so bent on stoping Slytherin’s heir is because she is a muggle-born and this is an attack on muggle-borns directly. This is the first book where prejudice against muggle-borns is introduced. Hermione’s passion shows how much she cares about equality. It also shows her bravery in not shrinking away from a horrifing prospect of being harmed or killed just because of who she is.
Nell said this on January 12, 2010 at 4:30 pm
It’s interesting that Hedwig delivers Harry’s Christmas note from the Dursleys. Do you think Aunt Petunia & Uncle Vernon sent it with her directly, or did she pick it up somewhere at a Muggle post-sorting facility? How would it be addressed?
I also love how close Ron & Harry (disguised as Crabbe & Goyle) come to catching Percy in a romantic rendevous with Penelope Clearwater. We learn a bit later that Miss Clearwater is the Ravenclaw girl who was emerging from the entrance to the dungeons as the boys head off to find the Slytherin common room, and moments later they find Percy emerging from a side room. So Percy does have a bit of a wild streak…
Andrea said this on February 13, 2010 at 10:56 am
on their way to the slythern commmon room malfoy forgets the password to their common room before remembering apparently that its pureblood neville’s not the only one who forgets passwords btw im not surprised thats their password
seekerbillpotter said this on April 18, 2010 at 2:33 pm
RE seekerbillpotter: I think Malfoy is just being an arrogant little punk there. I always read that line from him with sarcasm.
Chelsea said this on April 24, 2010 at 7:13 pm