Talk:Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Polyjuice Potion

Effect duration
In CS, Hermione says "When we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before the effects wear off." Hermione being Hermione, at this stage in her development, we have to assume that she is effectively quoting from Moste Potente Potions, and so that is the duration of effect for a potion brewed by the book, which is also how Hermione makes potions, strictly by the book. So how to explain the varying duration of the effects in the story? Sometimes, it seems to work for an hour, sometimes much longer.

The short answer is, we can't. There is nothing that allows for a different duration of effect on the potion. One editor suggested that duration is a function of how well the potion is brewed; there is quite literally nothing in the books to suggest this, and it leaves the question open of how a single batch of potion - Moody's stock, which the Trio were using after they took over the house at Grimmauld Place - could have differing duration of effect when used at the opening of book 7, and later at the Ministry of Magic. The only answer we have is that the author made the duration last as long as necessary for the story. Chazz (talk) 16:12, 2 May 2018 (UTC)