Felix Felicis
| Basic Information | ||
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| Effects | Makes drinker lucky | |
| Characteristics | Molten gold in colour When in the cauldron, drops of the potion jump around like a fish |
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| Known Ingredients | Ashwinder egg Squill bulb Murtlap tentacles Tincture of Thyme Occamy Eggshell Powdered common rue Horseradish |
Overview
Felix Felicis, which can also be referred to as “Liquid Luck”, is a potion that can make whoever drinks it very lucky for a certain amount of time. It makes the drinker’s endeavours to become successful. However, any wrong step in the brewing can have catastrophic consequences.
Known side effects:Effects
Felix Felicis gave the drinker luck for a short while, which increased the likelihood that they would succeed in all they tried. One small vial would last roughly twelve hours, therefore the more of it a person consumed, the longer their good fortune would last. They experienced a "sensation of infinite opportunity" and a high degree of confidence as a result of this influence. This was achieved by providing the drinker with a positive path through the situation rather than by using physical force or giving them any special abilities.
One may argue that Felix Felicis gave the user the opportunity to become somewhat in tune with their own destiny by enlightening them about the necessary steps to follow in order to achieve their desired outcomes. A person inspired by the potion would probably be quite flexible in the face of any unforeseen shift. Felix could draw attention to the countless options in every circumstance, some of which would undoubtedly result in the intended outcome.
The 'coming down' phase occurred after Felix Felicis wore off. The user's confidence diminished throughout this period, and if they were not careful, unfortunate events could swiftly catch up with them.
Harry Potter felt that 'Felix' knew what it was doing when he took the potion, and that all he had to do was follow its inspiration, no matter how improbable the strategy appeared to be as a way to achieve his objective. In fact, it brought him into a surreal yet believable situation where he felt he knew just what to do. He also unintentionally achieved a few little side objectives along the road, such ending Ron Weasley's toxic connection with Lavender Brown and upending Ginny Weasley's union with Dean Thomas to give Harry a better shot with her.
Felix Felicis didn't provide the user any new abilities, but it appeared to be able to summon their greatest potential if necessary. Despite not been able to utilize Refilling Charms nonverbally in his prior classroom practice, Harry was able to do it now.
A small change to the potion made the drinker's luck go from good to bad. Professor Severus Snape maintained a bottle of this unfortunate Felix Felicis and purposefully left the security surrounding it loose so that anyone trying to take it would end up with bad luck rather than good luck because he knew how alluring it was to pupils.
Limitations
Hermione Granger noted that because Dumbledore's Army troops were unable to get around Draco Malfoy's usage of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, the potion was unable to increase the drinker's odds against extremely potent enchantments. Hermione also asserted that it would be pointless for Harry to use the potion to learn more about Draco's activities in the Room of Requirement because the Room was too strong for the potion to effectively penetrate.
As demonstrated by Harry Potter's experience when he encountered Peeves on his way back to the Gryffindor common room and was only just able to avoid him thanks to the potion's effects, the potion's potency appeared to diminish after a while.
Making the potion itself was also a contentious task because, according to Harry, making his own batch of Felix Felicis was "seriously complicated" even with the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making on hand. It can be assumed that the potion was rarely, if ever, successfully brewed, even by experienced potioneers, based on Hermione's reaction when Slughorn revealed its identity during their first Potions class and the fact that it was not advisable to imbibe it excessively. This makes Slughorn's ability to do so all the more remarkable.
Over-reliance on it might have resulted in dangerous overconfidence, giddiness, and recklessness, and overdosing was risky because it was extremely toxic in large quantities. The potion required a lot of effort and time to make, and if made wrong, it might be disastrous. Because of its effects, it was deemed a cheating instrument and was thus forbidden in academic exams and organized events like Quidditch.
Additionally, if the potion is allowed to sit for an extended period of time, it may become foetid and cause the drinker to experience wild adventures instead of the desired outcome.
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History
This potion was created in the 16th century by Zygmunt Budge, who called it "the crowning achievement of [his] career" and considered it his best effort to date.
To guarantee that she and her buddy Chiyo Kogawa would perform brilliantly at their tryouts to join the Toyohashi Tengu Quidditch team in the 19th century, Asuka utilized Felix Felicis. However, after observing that their performances greatly outstripped their typical capabilities, Chiyo recognized what her friend had done and felt embarrassed that Felix Felicis was the reason behind her success. As a result, she left the tryouts without disclosing that Asuka had cheated and obtained her spot among the Tengu by means of Felix Felicis.
According to Horace Slughorn, he used the potion twice throughout his life, once at the age of twenty-four and again at the age of fifty-seven, both of which produced ideal days.
Professor Slughorn awarded Harry Potter a little vial of Felix Felicis on September 2, 1996, for creating the finest Draught of Living Death in Potions (following his textbook's directions). Harry would be lucky for twelve hours with the bottle.
In order to boost Ron Weasley's confidence, Harry later pretended to add a small amount to his drink at breakfast before a Quidditch game. Hermione saw what Harry did, and thinking he had really put something in Ron's drink, she warned him not to drink. He ignored her and drank the pumpkin juice, and he proceeded to play a nearly flawless game. After the game, Hermione chastised Harry for his actions, and Harry told her and Ron that he had not given Ron the potion at all, and that Ron played that well on his own.
When Ron recommended it, Harry used the potion for the first time to retrieve a significant memory from Slughorn. At first, he was reluctant to use it because he wanted to use it to gain Ginny Weasley's love. He only took a tiny amount, around three hours' worth. On the way to Rubeus Hagrid's hut, Harry unintentionally forced Ginny Weasley's romance with Dean Thomas to dissolve and Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown to split up. In the fight against the Death Eaters during their invasion of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ron, Hermione Granger, and Ginny shared the second usage.
Harry proposed using some of the potion between its first and second uses to find out what Draco Malfoy was doing in the Room of Requirement, but Hermione said it would be a waste to spend it on a strong defensive place like the Room. The intricacy and time commitment of the potion proved to be too much for Harry, when Ron proposed that they brew some for themselves.
Credits/References
Written by Alessandro Vespucci and Desmond Gray
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.