The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter

by Tere Stouffer

  Valerian

  Valerian (Aleriana officinalis) is derived from the Latin valere, meaning “to be healthy.” It is also known as garden heliptrope and tobacco root and has for centuries been used as a sleep aid. In fact, valerian tablets and teas are commonly sold as an herbal remedy for inducing sleep.

  In the wizarding world, valerian is used in the Draught of Living Death, which is appropriate, given valerian’s well-known soporific qualities.

  Wormwood

  Wormwood (Artemisia judaica) is a shrub in the aster family, the oil of which was used to make absinthe, a liqueur that is now illegal in some countries because of its toxicity.

  Found in Palestine, the wormwood plant appears often in the Bible, serving as a metaphor for sadness in several portions of the Old Testament. The New Testament references the plant in conjunction with God’s punishment of the Israelites.

  In the wizarding world, wormwood is used in the Draught of Living Death, perhaps because although it is lethal in large quantities, it can be taken in small amounts.

  Wormwood is also the name of the junior tempter in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. In the book, Wormwood’s Uncle Screwtape writes him a series of letters, in which he attempts to teach Wormwood how to become a professional devil, winning human hearts to “Our Father Below.” The name is meant to convey a disgusting, belly-crawling creature.

  Wizard-Only Plants and Herbs

  A few plants and herbs grow only in the wizarding world—no such varieties exist in Muggle gardens, plant stores, or herb shops. The following sections shed light on this unusual wizard-only vegetation.

  Abyssinian Shrivelfigs

  Abyssinian Shrivelfigs grow as a stalk that must be pruned from time to time. The figs themselves are skinned and used in a Shrinking Solution.

  Figs are, however, historically significant. Greek goddess Demeter was supposed to have introduced figs to humans (on the Roman side, the god Bacchus is given responsibility for the introduction of the fig), and the Greeks continued to think highly of this fruit—it was the primary training food of the first Olympians. After all, who needs meat and potatoes when you have figs?

  Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey both mention figs. Figs are also the most oft-mentioned fruit in the Bible. Recently, anthropologists discovered that figs are the oldest cultivated crop known to man, when several petrified figs were found in the Jordan Valley and evaluated for their age.

  Abyssinia is an older name for the country of Ethiopia but, ironically, Ethiopia’s main crops are coffee and grains, not figs. (Most of the world’s figs are grown in California and the Mediterranean.) And figs are a shrivelly sort of fruit, at least when they’re dried—dried figs are the most common form. Their shriveled skin actually looks a bit like a walnut’s shell, except that a fig is soft to the touch, not hard like a walnut.

  Today, figs are enjoyed primarily in gourmet recipes and, of course, in Fig Newtons.

  MAGIC TALE

  A few plants that exist only in the wizarding world are interesting twists on flowers we’ve all seen. Chances are, Rowling was well aware that plants and flowers are not the most interesting topic for younger readers and created amusing versions of ordinary garden flowers:• Bouncing Bulbs: Flowering bulbs such as crocus, tulips, and daffodils are the mainstay of most spring gardens. However, bouncing bulbs don’t just sit there looking pretty; they smack into your face when you’re not looking.

  • Fanged Geranium: Geraniums may be the most common flower known to suburbanites, and they couldn’t be more boring to kids. But a fanged geranium bites unsuspecting passersby with its sharp teeth.

  • + Honking Daffodils: Although it looks like the delicate flower that graces so many of the best gardens, this daffodil also honks, annoyingly and delightfully.

  Bubotubers

  This plant looks like a large slug with boils on it, which are filled with pus. The boils can be squeezed and the pus collected; when diluted, it’s used to treat severe acne. Undiluted, however, it can damage the skin, so when squeezing the boils, wizards wear dragon-skin gloves.

  Tuber is Latin for tumor, which makes sense. But bubo is Latin for horned owl, and that’s where we lose any probable translation, as the plant hardly resembles a tumor-filled horned owl.

  Devil’s Snare

  Devil’s Snare looks like several large snakes: the plant has huge tendrils that twist around your limbs and squeeze you to death. It dies in daylight, in dry conditions, and when exposed to fire. Devil’s snare is very much like the creature that attacked Frodo (in The Fellowship of the Ring) at the passageway inside Moria; what Tolkien described as “a host of snakes” that were trying to wrap their way around Frodo and strangle him.

  One can also think of Devil’s Snare like the Southern weed kudzu, which grows rampantly and multiplies so quickly that it squeezes out every other plant in its path.

  Gillyweed

  Gillyweed is another unattractive plant: it grows in long, green-gray, spaghetti-like tendrils about a quarter-inch in diameter. Gillyweed (translating loosely to “a weed that gives you gills”) sets you up for underwater travel: ingesting the plant allows you, for one hour, to breathe and swim like an amphibian. You sprout gills, grow webs between your fingers and toes, and can withstand the cold temperature of water.

  Gillyweed is, essentially, the wizard equivalent of Scuba equipment (which lets you breathe underwater) and a wet suit (which allows your body to withstand cold underwater temperature). Just think of all the money wizards save on Scuba gear rental!

  Sopophorous Bean

  Sopophorous bean is used in the Draught of Living Death. The word “soporific” is an SAT word that means “causing sleep”; it’s from the Latin spoor, meaning sleep. This makes sense, given that living death is a comalike state—a deep sleep.

  Venomous Tentacula

  This red plant has long feelers that seize you from behind when you’re least expecting it. You can, however, slap it away if you notice the feelers encircling you. The black, shriveled seeds (which are of unknown use) are a Class C Non-Tradeable Substance, which means if you try to sell them, you’d get in big trouble with the Ministry, buster.

  Tentacula is likely a play on “tentacle” and “Dracula,” the blood-sucking vampire. That the plant is red is an interesting twist on the healing powers of plants. Traditionally, any red plant was useful in treating “red” medical problems—that is, blood disorders, bloody injuries, and the like. But this particular red plant is itself out for blood, so to speak.

  Chapter 11

  Round About the Cauldron Go: Draughts and Potions

  In This Chapter • Gathering potion-making tools

  • Getting the lowdown on insects and creatures

  • Finding a list of common magical potions

  Magical potions—what we might think of as “witch’s brew”—give wizards the power to heal, kill, extract the truth, and produce a variety of other behaviors and emotions. Potions are produced in cauldrons, using mostly herbs and portions of insects or other creatures. This chapter shares the secrets of the most well-known potions, as well as some of the key ingredients that go into them.

  One more note before moving on to the ins and outs of potions: one of the reference books mentioned in Rowling’s novels is Moste Potente Potions, a book whose name is not meant to be difficult to pronounce, but instead recalls Middle English, spoken in the British Isles from 1066 C.E. to about 1550.

  KING’S ENGLISH

  The English language can be divided into three periods: Old English (approximately 450 C.E.-1066 C.E., a blend of Celtic and Old Norse languages; Middle English (1066-1550), with a strong Latin and French influence; and Modern English (1550-present). Although Old English is unreadable to an English speaker, Middle English can be understood, but reading it is slow going. For example, from Chaucer’s Tale of Melibeus: "and the moste parte of that companye have scorned these olde wise men.” Basically, to master Middle English, you talk with a lot of pomp and fluff, and you
add an "e” to the end of moste

  Basic Tools: Cauldrons, Flagons, Phials, and Scales

  Wizards—both those who are in training and those with experience— primarily use four tools to make potions:• A cauldron (also spelled “caldron”) is a large metal pot used to boil liquids (or, for that matter, to make Muggle stew or chili). It may be made of copper, brass, pewter, or silver, and, if charmed correctly, may be collapsible (easier for carrying) or self-stirring (no bits of lacewings burning to the bottom of the cauldron). For a brief history of cauldrons, see the “Cauldron Shop” section in Chapter 7.

  • Better known as a flask, a flagon is a container or bottle for beverages (usually alcoholic ones, in the Muggle world) that has a short or narrow neck and may have a handle, spout, or lid. A flagon also refers to what’s inside the bottle, so a “flagon of whiskey” is an actual amount, akin to a “pint of whiskey.” Rowling doesn’t discuss the actual uses of flagons in the wizarding world, but presumably, they hold ingredients for potions.

  • From the Latin phialia and the Greek phiale, phial is also vial in English: a small glass bottle, often used for storing medicines. Phials are used for storing prepared potions by inserting a stopper in the top of the bottle, sealing the contents for future use.

  • A scale is another word for a weighing balance, which was an old way to weigh objects. It works a bit like a seesaw. Place an object of known mass (say, one ounce) on one side of the scale, and another object of unknown mass on the other side of the scale. If the scale tips to the side of the unknown object, it weighs more than one ounce; if it tips to the side of the known object, the unknown object weighs less than one ounce. (Potions sometimes require precise amounts of ingredients, which would need to be of a certain weight or volume, as is the case when Muggles bake and need to get the exact amount of flour into the cake. On the other hand, as is the case with other types of Muggle cooking, potions sometimes require only “close-enough” amounts, like a pinch of rat’s tail.)

  In addition, knives and other cutting instruments are used to chop, grind, and grate ingredients.

  The herbs and insects/creatures that go into most potions can be found in an apothecary (see Chapter 7). The ingredients can also be grown or collected on your own, but buying them is certainly cleaner and easier. Ingredients can be bought individually or as part of potion-making kits.

  MAGIC TALE

  Besides Rowling’s novels, perhaps the best-known literary work depicting cauldrons is Shakespeare’s Scottish play, Macbeth. In Act IV, Scene I, witches throw into a cauldron ingredients that surely influenced Rowling: snake fillet, newt eye, frog toe, dog tongue, owl wing, lizard leg, dragon scale, wolf tooth, baboon blood, and so on! As these ingredients are tossed into a cauldron, three witches incant, "Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

  Insects and Other Creatures

  In the magical world, an unusual assortment of insects and parts of other creatures finds their way into potions, including the following slimy, scaly, slippery stuff (see Chapter 2 for more details on many of these creatures):• Scarab beetles: Used mashed-up or powdered, scarab beetles were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, where the beetles’ form was used on amulets. Also called a dung beetle because of what it feeds on. See the “Wit-Sharpening Potion” section later in this chapter for more on scarab beetles and the Egyptians.

  • Powdered horn of bicorn: The bicorn is a fabled beast, the gender equivalent of a chichevache: legend had long held that the chichevache feeds exclusively on “good women” and is, therefore, thin and meager-looking, because its food source is so scarce. (You see where this is going?) The bicorn, on the other hand, feeds only on “good and enduring husbands,” and is, therefore, nice and plump from all its available food source! Hmmm.

  • Shredded boomslang skin: A boomslang is a large, highly poisonous African snake that’s also called the tree snake. Its shredded skin is used in Polyjuice Potion.

  • Caterpillar: Caterpillars (the larval stage of butterflies and moths) are not generally seen as magical creatures; however, Rowling’s mention of caterpillars in potions may be a nod to Lewis Carroll’s giant caterpillar in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Caterpillars do end up in the Shrinking Solution (discussed later in this chapter) , which also calls Alice to mind.

  • Cockroach: I say, “good riddance.” Who could have a problem losing a few of the world’s cockroaches to a bubbling cauldron? On the other hand, keep in mind that potions often have to be ingested to work their magic, so maybe cockroaches aren’t so tenable.

  • Crocodile heart: In the Old Testament, a crocodile is seen in the same vein as a serpent (or snake), so think of a crocodile like a snake, which is a highly prized magical creature.

  • Lacewing flies: Also called lacewings, this beneficial insect has gauzy wings and voraciously eats aphids for dinner. Also called golden-eye flies and stink flies because of their odor.

  • Leeches and leech juice: A leech is a worm that sucks on flesh and blood; leeches have a long (if dubious) medicinal history, so their inclusion in potions is to be expected.

  • Porcupine quills: Native Americans, especially the Lakota, have long used porcupine quills in decoration and consider the porcupine to have magical qualities.

  • Puffer-fish eyes: The puffer-fish (also spelled pufferfish and puffer fish) is also called blowfish and bubblefish, because it can blow up its body—and, thus, appear much larger—when threatened. Puffer-fish eyes are known in the Muggle world to be highly toxic.

  • Rat spleen and pickled rats’ brains: Rats are an important animal in the wizarding world because they are often kept as pets. It is, then, a bit surprising that rat parts are used in potions!

  • Salamander blood: Salamanders have a long association with dragons (given that they look like tiny dragons themselves). Salamander blood is used in a Strengthening Solution. Shelled salamander eggs can also be used to feed magical creatures.

  • Stewed horned slugs: Although “horned slugs” is not an official term used in the Muggle world, slugs do look like they have small horns, so the term does not likely refer to a magical creature but to the lowly garden slug. And what better way to get rid of them than to add them to your favorite magical brew?

  • Crushed snake fangs: Snake fangs would be difficult to procure, unless the snake were already dead. But snakes and serpents are among the most magical of all creatures, so it makes sense that snake fangs would be highly prized for their magical qualities.

  • Unicorn horn and tail: The highly magical horn and tail of this magical creature are occasionally used in potions, because removing either a horn or tail from a unicorn will not kill it. The blood of a unicorn, on the other hand, is never used in potions. Unicorn blood has great power, in that it will keep you alive even if you are seconds from death, but you will lead a cursed life from that moment on.

  Common Draughts, Potions, and Antidotes

  The final section of this chapter lists the common potions you’ll find in the wizarding world, most of which clean something, cure some ailment, or cause wizards to behave in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. Each of the following sections describes the purpose of the potion, lists its ingredients (if known), and discusses any additional mythological, Biblical, or literary background.

  KING’S ENGLISH

  Draught is a British way to spell "draft,” but both are pronounced the same way. From the Middle English word for drawing or pulling (like pulling an oar), the word has numerous meanings. But in the magical world, a draught is a drink or potion (most likely, a nasty-tasting one) that treats or prevents some terrible malady.

  Aging Potion

  Muggles spend billions of dollars on creams, injections, and surgery to make a person appear younger. Even in fairy tales, witches and hags make themselves appear much younger (and beautiful), but never intentionally age themselves. So fixated are we, in fact, on making ourselves younger and in promoting youth that the term “ageism” was coin
ed in the late 1960s, and has now come into common usage in the English language: an action indicating or portrayal that assumes a person is lesser because of age.

  Yet this wizarding potion does the opposite, temporarily aging the potion drinker, either ever-so-slightly (say, by a few weeks or months) or a great deal (years or decades). An Age Line spell, however, can block an Aging Potion, so that no one is fooled by the new, older age.

  This potion would get a lot of mileage in the Muggle world among 8-year-olds who really want to go on that roller-coaster ride and 20-year-olds who really want to go into that bar. Of course, one would expect powerful anti-aging spells (including the Age Line spell) at both types of locations.

  Amortentia

  From the Latin amor (love) and tentamen (attempt or effort), Amortentia is a powerful love potion, one that’s described as “most dangerous and powerful.” The potion doesn’t actually create love, but instead causes the taker to be strongly attracted to, and perhaps even obsessed with, a particular witch or wizard. Both Muggles and wizards can fall under the spell of Amortentia.

  The danger of all love potions is that they eventually wear off, leaving the affected person no longer moony over his or her love object—much like a crush in the Muggle world. And even while the potion is in effect, the couple is not really in a relationship, because the one affected by Amortentia is completely befuddled by his or her infatuation. This potion, then, creates more of a temporary crush or infatuation than anything resembling true love. Not even wizards can create that!