Why the Polyjuice Potion is the most effective wizard concoction in Harry Potter

Ever wondered what the most effective potion is in Harry Potter? Well, we believe it is the Polyjuice Potion and we’re here to tell you why that is.

Of all of the potions, and even magic, in Harry Potter, the Polyjuice Potion is perhaps the workhorse. It allows Harry, Hermione, and Ron to gather information about the Chamber of Secrets, it allows a Death Eater to pose as a Hogwarts teacher for an entire school year and it also allows entry into the Ministry of Magic itself for the lead trio in the Deathly Hallows.

Yet, unlike Horcruxes or other soul-destroying magic, Polyjuice Potion doesn’t have this side effect of damaging one’s very being; although as Hermione found out, it can have feline related mishaps should one use the wrong hair!

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Nonetheless, the Polyjuice potion, which can be created by even relatively inexperienced wizards, as seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and can also be produced on an industrial scale given that Professor Snape is known to possess all the ingredients required to produce one.

What is impressive, or even worrying about the Polyjuice Potion, is it seems to be able to breach areas nowhere else can. As seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with Barty Crouch Jr’s escapades posing as Professor Moody. Even a place like Hogwarts, so long considered the safest place in the Wizard world, can be infiltrated by said potion.

As Dumbledore in the Goblet of Fire said about Barty Crouch Jr’s scheme, it had “simplicity,” but also “brilliance”. So given the dangerous nature of Polyjuice potion what is to stop a rogue wizard from using it for serious malice, say posing as the Minister of Magic?

Technically, Polyjuice potion is supposed to be prohibited for ordinary students. As Hermione states in the Chamber of Secrets, the “recipe” is located in a text called “Moste Potente Potions,” which is in the infamous “Restricted Section of the Library” at Hogwarts. However, Hermione manages to flatter Professor Lockhart into giving her his assent to access it. Once the “recipe” is known it could quickly become common knowledge.

However, the Polyjuice Potion does still have a few requirements, as Hermione exclaims in the Chamber of Secrets, Polyjuice “is the most complicated potion I have ever seen.” It requires “lacewing flies,” “leeches,” “fluxweed” and “knotgrass,” as well as “powdered horn of a bicorn” and “shredded skin of a boomslang.”

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Despite, the strange nature of the concoction, the fact that Harry, Hermione, and Ron are able to set up a fairly streamlined Polyjuice brewing pipeline in a Hogwarts bathroom is perhaps a testament to the potion’s effectiveness. However, they are not able to improve on the potions foul flavor which is described as being “like overcooked cabbage”. This is one problem for the potion users, one might be able to stomach such a sensation once in a while, but it would be difficult to use repeatedly unless a more pleasurable flavor could be substituted or at least mask the worst of the “cabbage.”

There was one other big drawback to using Polyjuice potion that it is only effective for a relatively short period of time; as Dumbledore notes in the Goblet of Fire, an imposter would need to maintain extracts of “hair” from their victim. This presents a problem that one would need to have the victim’s confidence as if anyone will have auror protection the Minister of Magic.

Yet lesser, but still important, bureaucrats and ministers can be successfully posed as. Harry, Hermione, and Ron proved this in the Deathly Hallows when they posed as ministry figures. Had the trio had more sinister motives they could have caused considerable havoc. Ministry figures such as Bertha Jorkin’s are known to vanish (see murdered by Death-eaters) from time to time. There is nothing to stop a malicious dark wizard impersonating a powerful wizard politician or civil servant.

It is important to add, Polyjuice potion can be used for both bad and good. There is no reason, theoretically, why one could not impersonate Voldemort himself and convince the Death Eaters to be friendly to Muggles instead of trying to murder them. However, in practice, it would be hard to get a “hair” from Voldemort considering that he is a) bald, something many fans have pointed out b) is extremely homicidal.

Polyjuice potion is an example that the most effective wizarding weapons do not always need to be elder wands or philosopher’s stones. After all, It managed to fool Dumbledore,  perhaps the wisest wizard of all time.

What do you think? Is Polyjuice Potion the most effective wizard concoction in Harry Potter? Share your thoughts with a comment below.