The TRUTH About Polyjuice Potion | Harry Potter Theory

- ExpressVPN brings you today's video. Hey brother. Guys, today we're diving into a very strange, muddy, slimy section of the Wizarding World. Polyjuice

potion

. This is one of the most constant and active plot devices at play in the entire series and in Fantastic Beasts. That drives Ben crazy. And while they seem to cover a lot of ground with their transformations, there are still many unanswered questions. For example, what would happen if a child drank the

potion

, who had the hair of an adult, would they age into an adult or become a child version of that person? What if that person was an animagus, could you also transform while transformed?

Or what happens if you make

polyjuice

in Tonks? Would his Metamorphmagi abilities be at play? Or would you just discover that she almost always transforms, but you would only transform into the most basic version of her? And you would say: I don't even recognize you! Oh my god, guys. What are real Tonks like? But of course, there's the bigger question about Polyjuice Potion, which is, what kind of juice do they drink in the Wizarding World? I mean, they describe Polyjuice almost as if it had the same consistency as mud. But then, what is pumpkin juice like?

Is it more like pumpkin mud? (Gagging) Ugh! Also, now that I say it out loud, I'm not entirely sure if pumpkin juice is one of those magical things or just a British thing. Is anyone actually drinking pumpkin juice, nay, sludge? Mud juice. I mean, I guess at the end of the day, it's just a matter of viscosity. Psh, isn't it always like that? Anyway, as you can see, we have a lot of ground to cover today as we get to the bottom of how exactly Polyjuice Potion works. (upbeat music) ♪ Hey bro ♪ - Guys, before we continue, we have to give a big thank you to today's sponsor, ExpressVPN.

Alright, imagine you're making a nice cauldron or Poly Sludge in the bathroom. You don't want just anyone to show up and ask you what you're doing, right? I mean, that's probably true for most bathroom situations, but specifically for Poly Sludge. Either way, you don't want to be bothered. You would lock the door or use the bathroom being chased by an emotionally unstable ghost for maximum safety. So let me ask you this. Why would you connect to the Internet without taking the exact same measures? Because if you're browsing the Internet without ExpressVPN, that's exactly what you're doing.

I had worked for it, but I call it a solid analogy. Here's the thing, guys. Your ISP knows every website you visit and can sell that information to AD companies so they can use your data to target you. But ExpressVPN puts an end to this. It creates a secure encrypted tunnel between your device and the Internet, so no one can see anything you're doing. And I personally use ExpressVPN on all my devices, because it works on all my devices: phones, tablets, desktops, and even routers. Plus, it's incredibly easy to use. You open the app, press a button and you're safe.

So if you're like me and think your online activity is your business, head over to ExpressVPN.com/SCB. That will give you three months free. Again, that's ExpressVPN.com/SCB. ExpressVPN.com/SCB. Three months free. The link is in the description below. Polyjuice potion is first introduced to us in the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry, Ron and Hermione are secretly preparing a bit so they can transform into Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode, and trick Malfoy into confessing that he is, in fact, the heir of Slytherin. How thick can you get? That's what they say about pumpkin mud.

But since that moment, it has been increasing throughout history. I mean, it's the source of the big revealing plot twist at the end of Goblet of Fire, it's the source of all the deception in the Battle of the Seven Potters. Harry, Ron and Hermione also use it to break into both Gringotts and the Ministry. Malfoy uses it to have Crabbe and Goyle guard him when they were children. And even Newt takes a drink to get into the French Ministry of Magic. By the way, the worst plan ever created. I mean, the person you're impersonating figures it out immediately, and the effect will wear off anyway, and then you'll look like yourself inside a place where you're already a wanted man.

So, I don't know what you were thinking here, Newt. The fact is that they use it a lot. It wasn't even all the examples, but bonus points if you can list the ones I left out in the comments. But the thing about Polyjuice Potion is that it seems simple. Like drinking a potion, becoming someone else. That's all, right? And yet, there are many extremely strange, and sometimes quite dark, things to consider about this potion. We know, for example, that you need a little bit of the person you're going to transform into, and in the books they usually only use hair, but it can be anything.

You could get nails or dander, or worse. I have to imagine blood would be quite effective. That is, at last this is how it works in The Name of the Wind with the laws of sympathy, which says that the more similar two things are, the more powerful the sympathetic bond will be, which I only mention to remind you that The Name of the Wind Theories of wind will arrive in a couple of weeks. Then you should read The Name of the Wind. But the idea that you need hair, nails, skin, or blood conjures up in our Muggle brains the idea that it must be related to DNA, in terms of how

polyjuice

potion works.

After all, these are always the most effective things a directive could collect at a crime scene to test your DNA to see if you've done it. Which at first glance seems cool, but then there are parts of the transformation that don't seem to have anything to do with DNA at all. For example, when Barty Crouch Junior transforms into Moody in Goblet of Fire, he also loses his leg and eye, just like the real Moody. But obviously, Moody's DNA didn't literally change when he lost those body parts, right? Like your hair, I can't say you're missing a limb.

Good? Good? What do you know? Observe and learn from people. (tape rewind) (bossa nova music) Actually, it seems like it's too far away. We're getting there. MMM. Almost, almost, almost. Better. I'm going to need a roll. But whether or not your hair knows you lost a limb. Obviously, this is part of how Polyjuice Potion works. In fact, it even seems to extend beyond the missing body parts. For example, when everyone transforms into Harry at the beginning of The Deathly Hallows, Ron says, he knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo. -I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo. - Now, I think Ron is just joking.

He doesn't actually believe Harry ever had the tattoo, but the joke is only funny if the tattoo had been there when they transformed. So Ron just doesn't have comedic timing, which is simply not true. I mean, have you seen the guy eat some chicken wings? Or that magicians hope the tattoos are part of the transformation, which is obviously not genetic or related to his DNA. Harry's scar also transfers to everyone. So maybe it's not genetic at all. It's just some kind of copy based on the physical appearance you get from drinking the potion, which sounds great, except Hermione also says: Harry, wow, you really have very bad vision. - Harry, your eyesight is really horrible. -Which means that his view is also transferred.

And that's not just the cosmetic change. Well. So this is what I think is happening. We know that the ability to be magical is transmitted genetically. And based solely on how the potion works, it appears that whatever gene carries the magic also keeps track of your current physical appearance. This idea also fits quite well with all the ingredients needed to make the potion. Each of these was not carefully chosen and represents the idea of ​​two identities coming together. To make Polyjuice Potion, you will first need lacewings. So that's putting things together, Knotgrass. Again, things are tied in a knot.

You need the Horn of a bicorn. So they are two horns that represent duality. Obviously you'll want to throw some leeches on it. They represent the absorption of one identity by another. Then there's Fluxweed, because of course you're literally constantly changing. And last but not least is the Boomslang aspect. A boom slang, if you don't know, it's a snake. Then you are wearing the shed skin of another being over your being. And I promise I'm not forcing any of those explanations either. They are all available in the Pottermore archives. There's also a brief but useful explanation of how the potion works, which states that you can change age, sex, or race, but not species.

And that clarifies some things, but definitely not all. However, it seems that if you are an adult and drink a child's polyjuice potion, you would become a child and vice versa. That's pretty simple, but let's get a little creative here. Let's say you're an adult. And you have another adult's hair from when I was a child. In that case, would you transform into its adult version or its child version? Well, based on how the potion seems to be working, I think you would surely become the child version of them. Which means that when the sample was taken is relevant, which means that if Moody had access to a sample of himself before losing his leg and eye, he could regrow his leg and eye for short periods of time. .

And let's face it, you know, he totally does. But I also think he's the kind of person who wouldn't do that because he doesn't want to think about the past. Constant surveillance. But that actually raises a strange and different point. Could you have a polyjuice potion for yourself? Actually yes, and the more I think about it, I'm sure you would transform into the younger version of yourself, at least for the duration of the potion. And if you don't agree, imagine this scenario. What if in The Prisoner of Azkaban, right before using the Time-Turner, Harry lost a limb, oh, but then they use the Time-Turner and go back in time?

And Harry steals a hair from the version of himself that still has the limb. He adds that hair to the potion. And in that scenario he would absolutely regrow the limb, right? Because a version of him still had it. And I don't see how that's any different from simply saving a sample of your younger self, except that in this case you're stealing it instead of saving it. But I'm sure your younger self will understand that it's for your own good. But man, if you had enough Polyjuice Potion and enough reserves of your younger self's hair or blood or whatever, I think you could continually remain in the younger version of your body, somewhat indefinitely.

I don't know why, but something about that seems very wrong. Would that count as a light form of immortality? I do not think. Maybe as a somewhat infinite use, but not really infinite. I guess you'd still be getting older. You just look younger. That is why they should be hydrated every day. Well. However, there is another side to the coin. If we were traveling down a very dark road, what would happen if you had the hair of a dead person? I agree that it is unethical in every way, but would it work? Good news, I don't think so.

Now, if it were just a matter of having a DNA sample, then I think it would work because DNA continues to exist long after death. But again, I don't think that's what he's referring to. Because again, like I said before, it seems much more like the potion is working off of whatever magical gene or identification marker is inside you. And there is no indication that your magic will continue to exist after your death. In fact, I would say it's quite the opposite. I mean, we literally see the magical part of people move on to the afterlife.

That's the part that seems like it can occasionally come back in the form of echoes or not move forward at all and come back as a ghost. Either way, they can't do magic anymore and their body is dead. Interestingly, it also seems that when you die any kind of curse on your immortal body also dies. For example, when Harry sees Dumbledore in Kings Cross, his hand is completely healed. Similarly, Sirius and Lupine appear younger, fuller, and more handsome, although neither of them really know that he is cursed. Well, I guess Lupine got bit by the werewolf, we'll talk about that in a minute.

But the point is that if the potion is copying the magic gene in the other person and that magic gene maintains any curse placed on that person, then it actually resolves all the warnings we have so far. Although, as I say this, I realize that Harry and Hermione become muggles when they enter Godric's Hollow. And they obviously don't have a magic gene. In which case I'm starting to think it's more soul-based, but it still works the same way because muggles would still have souls... Yeah, it still totally works. But then, the reason why Barty Crouch would lose his leg and eye when transforming into Moody is because those wounds are from curses and cannot be healed and are permanently affecting his mortal body.

It would also explain why everyone inherits poor vision.of Harry when they transform into him. Although that seems more genetic than aesthetic. In reality it would also mean that Harry's poor vision is caused by the same curse that left the scar on his forehead. And if you need more proof of that, let's go back to King's Cross, where Dumbledore and his completely healed hand are. Because guess what? Harry wakes up without a scar or glasses, because the curses died when he did. Side note, Dumbledore still has a crooked nose at Kings Cross because it's not a magical injury.

It's a normal Muggle wound from when his brother punched him in the nose at his sisters' funeral and Dumbledore never healed it because he privately believes he deserved it. Onwards. They still have a few more things to cover. For example, we know that Polyjuice Potion doesn't allow you to change species, but what happens if you say you become Lupin? Would you then also transform into the full moon? Honestly, it's a little hard to say because we just don't know enough about how the werewolf works because then the question is: Is Lupine still the same species? Because if he's not, then you might not be able to Polyjuice him without some sort of weird half-human-wolf situation happening, like what happened to Hermoine when he turned into a cat.

But this is just my personal opinion. I think it is more likely that Lupine is the same species and that the condition is more of a disease. And in that case, I think it would be okay to drink it because it's still you deep down and you're not a werewolf. Similarly, let's say you take a Polyjuice from James or Sirius, you won't gain the ability to transform into a deer or a dog because deep down you're still you, you just look like them. And the great example of this is when Harry breaks into the ministry and Polyjuices Rookwood but then has to conjure the Patronus out of him.

He's still the stag, even though he has Rookwood's body, he's still Harry underneath. And I actually think that's still true for an Animagus. If you took the hair of the deer or the dog while James or Sirius transformed and then put it in your polyjuice potion, I think you would still transform into their human forms because it's still just them underneath. And then there's Tonks, who is another complete stranger because she's a metamorphmagus and can already change her appearance at will. Then you would be transforming into someone who has transformation powers and it seems like that would align.

But I don't think you would get the powers, but I do think you would transform into whatever Tonks was the moment you took the hair, because his soul would still be keeping track of his current physical appearance. Really what Tonks should have been working on was transforming his face into other people's appearances. And then having people, Polyjuice that version of her so they could infiltrate things. Or I guess at that rate, you could do it yourself. Because she would already look like that, right? And she's already in auror- ​​Yeah, you know what? That seems safer. She-Tonks should have been doing a lot more.

But there's a lot of really weird magical science to pay attention to anyway. But I think we covered it all. Otherwise, let me know any other questions you have about Polyjuice Potion in the towel section below. Also big announcement, this Friday night, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. Um, we're bringing back trivia night. Right here on the main channel. Again, it's 6:00 p.m. ET this Friday night. Let's do trivia. We have prizes, some new products. It's going to be super fun. I hope to see you there. Also speaking of transforming into other animals, we have these vintage Super Carlin Brothers, Grizzly Eagle Shark t-shirts available at @supercarlinbrothers.store for just one more week, that's all.

When they leave, they leave. At the end of the week, that's it. You can't buy them anymore. So hurry up if you want to get one of these cool t-shirts. Guys, thanks as always for watching today's video. Don't forget to leave a like if you haven't already and subscribe so you don't miss any future Harry Potter action from us. If you want to see how Felix Felicis works, you can watch this video right here, but Ben until next time I'll see you in another life brother.