Potions Prologue

Since I set myself the goal (in my most recent blog post) of starting a draft to the introduction of my Potions textbook by the end of the week, I was sufficiently motivated to put something together. So without further ado, here’s a draft of what may be the Prologue to the book.

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You may be wondering why Potions is a core subject in a school of magic. Isn’t Potions just similar to the Muggle study of Chemistry? Shouldn’t learning how to cast spells be sufficient to cover the needs of any young wizard or witch? Why should I learn Potions?

These are excellent questions.

While Potions shares many similarities to Chemistry, it also includes the use of magical ingredients in addition to the “natural” ingredients used by Muggles. Furthermore, the use of potions has proved significantly more efficacious when used to change the internal structures of living things. Casting a healing spell may “fix” the superficial external parts of an injury, but living beings are very complex internally. Healing the internal parts that we cannot observe with the naked eye is very difficult. Without a detailed understanding of the tiny world of atoms and molecules, a spell could easily go awry and cause even more damage. That is why Potions are prevalent in the Healing Arts.

Think about what you need to cast a successful magic spell. Remember that magic is the manipulation of matter and energy, powered by your wand and your mental focus. While the wand is the instrument used to channel and direct the energy, it is your mental focus and imagination that initiates or creates the spell. The incantation helps to focus the spell’s action, but it need not be verbally spoken. Similarly, moving your wand using particular hand actions helps to focus the action, but the source of working the spell is your concentration and ability to visualize what you want the spell to do.

If you wanted to move an object with the Locomotor spell, you need to fix your mind on the object’s movement as you cast the spell. If you cannot imagine the object’s movement in your mind, your spell will fail even if you utter the correct incantation and flick your wand in the right direction. When you cast Aguamenti you are drawing unseen water vapor from your surroundings and condensing it in a particular location. You don’t need to understand the molecular structure of water to be successful – the imagining of liquid water, which you are very familiar with, appearing in a particular location, is all that you need to do in your mind. On the other hand, creating water in a parched environment is much more challenging and requires advanced magical understanding.

Apparition is dangerous if you are not familiar with your destination because your imagination may transport you to a different location that “looks” similar to what you held in your mind’s eye. And if that location is too far away, it may draw far too much energy to move your own weight in the blink of an eye. Remember that the energy required to magically move objects is still dependent on the mass of the object, the distance moved, and the time taken. (Muggles study this in Physics.) You may deplete your own energy with very serious consequences.

True Transfiguration is particularly challenging. What you have learned at an introductory level is to reshape the transfigured object so that it externally resembles a different object. But this transformation is only temporary because most spellcasters only imagine the externality of the object that is seen, while paying little attention to the unseen internal parts that may be crucial to sustaining the object’s long-term structure or behavior. The more complex the objects, the more difficult the transfiguration, and the effects are often only temporary. If the internal structure is not also appropriately transfigured, after some time the object will likely revert back to its original structure, deform in some other way or fall apart to dust.

The Polyjuice Potion is now well-known due to recent events in the magical world. Preparation and use of this potion outside of class is strictly prohibited. You should have no reason to impersonate someone else. However, the Polyjuice Potion illustrates an important point. You could cast a transfiguration spell on yourself to change your appearance to mimic another, but it is highly unlikely you will get all the details exactly right. Without the right bone and muscular structure, you are likely to walk and move differently. You would not have the same smell, nor would you sound like the one you are impersonating. It is almost impossible to mimic both the internal and external, without a solid understanding of the particularities of the unseen internal structure. Thus, Polyjuice Potion is more effective, but its effects are still temporary in the current published formulation.

The study of Potions is not just about mixing different substances together in your cauldron for a whiz and a bang. Potions is a subtle Art. A student who masters not just the techniques for preparing potions, but strives to understand the Theory of Potions, will lay a foundation for casting spells of great power. Understanding the internal workings of Chemistry, and being able to imagine the movement and structures of the building blocks of matter (atoms and molecules), will yield magic most powerful – one that knits together internal and external structures into a unified whole. With a thorough understanding of Chemistry you could cast a spell to create water even in the most parched environment.

While Muggles do not possess magic, their study of the Sciences has allowed them to manipulate matter and energy creatively and powerfully. If only our magic did not interfere with the workings of Muggle electricity, we would be able to take advantage of their numerous creations. But if we learned their Chemistry, we could not only rival their creations but surpass them. The “technology” of the Muggles has made them lazy. So-called “machines” do their work and even thinking for them. We, however, will learn Chemistry to strengthen the creativity of our minds and allow us to focus our mental energy and power to work the most sublime magic.

While you may find the potion recipes of greatest interest initially, I urge you to persevere through the Theory parts of this book. Therein lies the secret to powerful magic. Anyone can read and follow a recipe, but those who wish to tread the path of greatness must understand the fundamental secrets behind the mixtures of different substances – the essence of Potions.