A Simple Solution: Polyjuice Potion and Tonks
An original editorial by Whitney
On a recent rereading of
Order of the Phoenix, I could not help but notice that Tonks holds a distinctive position in
the Order: her abilities as a Metamorphmagus are uniquely suited for espionage, allowing her to blend in with any crowd and
serve virtually any purpose the Order could require. A polyjuice potion containing the hair of Nymphadora Tonks would,
theoretically, give any member of the Order this advantage as well. Why have they ignored this opportunity?
Given the little we know about Polyjuice Potions, one of four things could result from using Tonkss hair (or toenails):
1. The drinker gains the full abilities of a Metamorphmagus while under the influence of the potion. This seems
unlikely, but it would be highly useful.
2. The drinker assumes the shape that Tonks was in at the time the hair was taken. This seems the most plausible to me
because a cutting of hair would capture a moment of a persons appearance, therefore the Polyjuice Potion would reflect
that.
3. The drinkers appearance mirrors that of Tonks, and every time she changes her appearance while the drinker is
assuming her shape they change to reflect her, rather like the principle behind the coins Harry uses to alert the DA. This
seems like the most far-fetched to me, but it is still a possibility.
4. The drinker assumes the natural shape which Tonks would have if she did not morph her appearance in any way. We do
not even know if Metamorphmagi have natural shapes, kind of like boggarts, but it is a possibility.
Some of you by this time probably see what I am getting at: any of the four possible outcomes of a Tonks Polyjuice could
have allowed Sirius to leave Grimmauld Place. Think about it. If any of the scenarios with the exception of number 3 were
true, Tonks and Sirius could simply look like two completely separate people and both serve the Order without being detected.
This brings up another issue. Is it possible to take a Polyjuice Potion of someone of the opposite sex? We have seen the
potion in action in books two and four (an even book pattern, anyone?) but we have never seen a switch of sexes. Would it
have been possible for Sirius to assume the shape of Tonks, or would it have gone horribly wrong like Hermiones attempted
cross-species switch in CoS?
Assuming it would have been safe and possible for Sirius to take a Polyjuice Potion of Tonks, why didnt he? Cooping him up
obviously did no good, so why let a member of the Order sit around uselessly when they needed all of the help they could get?
There could be several reasons for not allowing this:
A. Polyjuice Potions are a Dark Art and Dumbledore refuses to stoop to that level. We have no proof that the potion is
not evil in nature. The book its in is restricted and the only people we have ever seen use it are a Death Eater and some
kids too young to know the difference.
B. Voldemort can detect an imposter through Legilimency, so his disguise would be useless. This is not a very plausible
excuse because Im sure the Order could find a job which did not require direct run-ins with the Dark Lord.
C. They (Dumbledore or JKR) simply did not think of the possibility of using a Polyjuice Potion to get Sirius out of
the house.
D. There were other reasons for keeping Sirius inside, and lack of disguise was just a front.
All of this raises a lot of questions about the intent of the Order and/or their aptitude at espionage. Even if a Tonks
Polyjuice would not work, they certainly could have used someones hair to get poor Sirius out of the house, and the fact
that he was cooped up to the point of ultimate desperation suggests either underlying motives or a severe lack of
creativity on the part of the Order. Meanwhile, I believe that if they are not already doing so the Order should look into
using Tonkss condition to their advantage in the books to come.
I would love to hear what other people think about this topic, and I may be reached at lemuridae at hotmail dot com.
4/04/05
Posted by: Sharon
.jpg "LEGO Harry Potter"){kind=small}
