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Bubbling purple cauldron on an apothecary table with a grimoire, colored vials, and dried herbs
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Potions & Magical Ingredients

Veritaserum forces the truth in 3 drops, the Bezoar saves Ron in Book 6, and the Draught of Living Death opens Snape's first lesson. Test your knowledge of Hogwarts potions.

10

Questions

2

Minutes

Tip: Use keys 1-4 to answer quickly

The 10 quiz questions

Question 1 : Which potion forces the drinker to tell the whole truth?

Possible answers:

  • Amortentia
  • Felix Felicis
  • Polyjuice Potion
  • Veritaserum

Explanation: Veritaserum. Three drops are enough for a full confession. Its use in interrogation is strictly regulated by the Ministry, Umbridge tries to use it on Harry in Book 5, but Snape claims his stocks are empty. Colourless, odourless, looks like water.

Question 2 : Which powerful potion plunges the drinker into sleep so deep they appear dead?

Possible answers:

  • Draught of Peace
  • The Draught of Living Death
  • Wit-Sharpening Potion
  • Babbling Beverage

Explanation: The Draught of Living Death. Extremely advanced, it requires asphodel root and wormwood infusion, the very first question Snape asks Harry in Book 1! Harry brews it brilliantly in Book 6 thanks to the Half-Blood Prince''s book.

Question 3 : Which universal antidote, a stone found in a goat's stomach, saves Ron's life in Book 6?

Possible answers:

  • A phoenix tear
  • A Bicorn horn
  • A Bezoar
  • A phoenix feather

Explanation: A Bezoar. Harry remembers it from Snape''s very first lesson ("A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons"). He shoves it into Ron''s mouth after he drinks poisoned mead.

Question 4 : Which potion cures a cold by making smoke come out of the drinker's ears?

Possible answers:

  • Regenerative Tonic
  • Mandrake Restorative Draught
  • Elixir to Induce Euphoria
  • Pepperup Potion

Explanation: Pepperup Potion. Madam Pomfrey dispenses it by the vat every winter at Hogwarts. Amusing side effect: your ears steam for a few hours, but the cold clears almost instantly.

Question 5 : Which potion lets Lupin keep his human mind during his werewolf transformation?

Possible answers:

  • Moontamer Potion
  • The Wolfsbane Potion
  • Silver Draught
  • Veritaserum

Explanation: The Wolfsbane Potion. Invented by Damocles Belby, extremely complex to brew. In Book 3, Snape prepares it for Lupin, ironic given their past animosity. It must be drunk during the week leading up to the full moon, without sugar, which would nullify its effect.

Question 6 : Which blue potion allows deep, dreamless sleep?

Possible answers:

  • Dreamless Sleep Potion
  • Night Calm Draught
  • Soothing Elixir
  • Hermes's Sleeper

Explanation: Dreamless Sleep Potion. Very useful after emotional shock or trauma. Madam Pomfrey gives it to Harry after each episode where he sees Cedric dead, Dumbledore dead, or suffers the nightmares caused by his connection with Voldemort.

Question 7 : Who replaces Snape as Potions professor in Book 6?

Possible answers:

  • Pomona Sprout
  • Horace Slughorn
  • Aurora Sinistra
  • Rubeus Hagrid

Explanation: Horace Slughorn. Former Potions master, rotund and sociable, he taught Tom Riddle himself. He hides a crucial memory about Horcruxes that Harry has to extract from him using Felix Felicis. He founds the "Slug Club" for students destined for greatness.

Question 8 : What is the potions textbook used at Hogwarts, written by Arsenius Jigger?

Possible answers:

  • The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
  • Magical Drafts and Potions
  • The Standard Book of Spells
  • Magical Herbology

Explanation: "Magical Drafts and Potions". Snape''s old copy is annotated with recipe corrections and invented spells, and becomes the "Half-Blood Prince''s" book, the source of Harry''s triumphs in Potions in Book 6 and all the revealed secrets about Snape''s student years.

Question 9 : Which rare, expensive ingredient must you steal from Snape's storeroom to brew Polyjuice Potion?

Possible answers:

  • Salamander tail
  • Dragon's blood
  • Sphinx claw
  • Bicorn horn

Explanation: Powdered Bicorn horn. Hermione also steals Boomslang skin. In Book 2, the trio plans a distraction during Snape''s class with a firework set off by Hermione, Harry uses the chaos to raid the storeroom.

Question 10 : Which potion from living roots is needed to un-petrify the students in Book 2?

Possible answers:

  • Scurvygrass Draught
  • Mandrake Restorative Draught
  • Wideye Potion
  • Essence of Dittany

Explanation: Mandrake Restorative Draught. Mandrakes are baby-human-shaped plants whose cries can kill, you must harvest them with earmuffs. Grown in Sprout''s greenhouses, they mature by year''s end, just in time for Madam Pomfrey to cure Hermione and the other petrified students.

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