General Potions Information

The key elements in potion making are timing, temperature, ingredients, stirring, and of course, magic.

There are a variety of tools used in potion making. Among them are: cauldrons, knives, ladles, mortar and pestle, scales, stirring implements, vials, and wands.

Cauldrons

Cauldrons are probably the first thing most witches, wizards and even muggles think of when they think of potion making. There are many different cauldrons of many different types, sizes, and enchantments. The size you use will usually be dependant upon what volume you are brewing while enchantments will simply make brewing a bit easier and the type of cauldron is dependant upon the type of potion being brewed.

Some of the more popular enchanted cauldrons are the self-stirring, collapsible, and lazy-wizard’s cauldrons. Though they can make brewing some of the more simple potions easier, one should use caution in using them as they have been known to fail.

Different metals have different magical properties. These properties can be exploited in potion brewing when using a particular type of cauldron. For example, brewing the Strengthening Solution in an iron cauldron will produce better results than brewing it in the standard pewter cauldron. Similarly, most potions requiring the use of a stone cauldron are usually very ancient and primal.

While the use of fancy cauldrons is permissible, they are general more for show than anything else. There are very few potions requiring the use of a gold cauldron. Most potions at the Hogwarts level and even beyond only require a standard pewter cauldron which is probably the most useful and versatile of all cauldrons. There are very few potions that cannot be effectively brewed in a pewter cauldron.

Other Tools of the Trade

The mortar and pestle are a paired set and are invaluable to the potions brewer. They are used together to grind and powder ingredients. They are most commonly made of stone or wood. The mortar is a rounded basin in which the ingredients are placed and the pestle is a rounded, blunt, dowel with which you grind or powder what is in the mortar.

Brewing Technique and Tips

Though it is not necessary, you should try to evenly cut and consistently grind your ingredients unless otherwise instructed to do so.

No one is exactly sure how stirring effects a potion, we only know that it does. Over the years, witches and wizards have experimented and perfected the stirring techniques of most of the potions we brew today. However, there is still a great deal of experimenting to be done.

It is better to naturally dry ingredients for potion use. However, if pressed for time, one can dry ingredients by magic as most potions are not too finicky.

In general, poisons and their antidotes are stirred in opposite directions. However it is not always the case. They also often have similar ingredients.

Oftentimes one might use an ingredient in a potion which, if it were used alone or in a different potion, it would have the opposite effect. No one is sure why this happens and aspiring potion brewers should be careful when experimenting in this area as using ingredients with properties opposite those you wish to exploit in the potion could be deadly.

Safety Concerns

General precautions should be taken when brewing potions: rate of stirring, knowing when, how much, and which ingredient to add, review your instructions before brewing and above all, remain focused on your brewing.

Specific Potions

The Draft of Peace is a calming potion, not a sleeping potion, unless you overdose because it can overcalm and induce sleep.

Even though they counteract the effects of one another, the swelling solution and deflating draft are not related. However, many times poisons and their antidotes share similar ingredients.

Love potions are quite easy to slip to an unsuspecting person as many are easily placed in drinks or even baked or cooked into food as they won’t lose their potency. Most of the time a person is completely unawares of being under the influence of a love potion. However, having said that, in cases where the person has fixated upon something other than another person, one will usually have a pretty good idea that something is wrong. Then again, the stronger the love potion, the more addled your reason can become. This is why love potions can be so dangerous however, they can be very unpredictable. So, they aren't as popular as one might suppose.

If you should suspect you've ingested a love potion, you may take an antidote without having an adverse effect. However, some antidotes or anti-love potions are more effective than others, depending on the type of love potion one has consumed. Therefore, it is usually helpful to know what potion was ingested. Consulting with a qualified mediwizard would be your best course of action.

Stronger love potions can be quite sweet to taste.