‘As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.’
Professor Snape — Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
We all know that Harry became a dab hand at Potions with a little help from the Half-Blood Prince; this was a fictional example of the handing down of knowledge over the centuries when it comes to mystical brews. Potions have been made for thousands of years – associated with bubbling pots and mysterious ingredients, they have been brewed to make medicines, drugs and poisons.
Alchemists dabbled a lot in potions, as well as making the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, which could reportedly transform base metal into gold and held the key to everlasting life. Potions can even be concocted to conjure different weather events. Their use in the community was well established, which has been proven by the medical books handed down through history, advocating their use.
Medieval apothecaries greatly contributed to the development of medical science; it is an art still practised to some extent in the pharmacies of today. Snape made Potions sound scary (he would, wouldn’t he?), but it’s also a fascinating subject.