- Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic
- British Library
- 437字
- 2019-01-02 21:29:03
Potions Class
POTIONS IS ONE OF SEVERAL subjects compulsory for all Hogwarts students.
‘Double Potions with the Slytherins,’ said Ron. ‘Snape's Head of Slytherin house. They say he always favours them – we’ll be able to see if it's true.’
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
This book shows the image of a Potions master and his students. Ortus Sanitatis (Latin for ‘The Garden of Health’) is the first printed encyclopedia of natural history, featuring plants, animals, birds, fish and stones. In this image the Potions master is clutching a stick in his left hand, while his assistant is holding open a book of recipes. It's questionable how much attention some of the pupils are paying to their teacher!
Jacob Meydenbach, Ortus Sanitatis (Strasbourg, 1491)
BRITISH LIBRARY
DID YOU KNOW?
This woodcut engraving was coloured by hand. Woodcut is a form of printing where the artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood and then covers it in ink. The block is then pressed on to a piece of paper to reveal the image.
‘...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
ACTIVITY
POTION MAKING
The art of potion making can take several years to perfect. However, you can have a go at concocting some potions without attending a single Potions class.
TO MAKE A SWIRLING, IRIDESCENT POTION that you can drink, add a few drops of food colouring (any colour you like) to a glass of lemonade, add a little edible gold sparkle powder (for decorating cakes) and stir well. Let it settle and it will be a clear, coloured potion. But when you stir it, the gold will swirl around, making it look as though the potion is magical.
TO MAKE A COLOUR-CHANGING POTION, chop up some red cabbage and put it in a bowl. Next ask an adult to help you cover it with hot water and leave for 15 minutes. Then pour the mixture through a sieve and keep the liquid. You will be left with a purple potion. To change the colour, add lemon juice or vinegar to turn it red, or bicarbonate of soda to turn it green or blue. Put a spoonful of the original potion in a glass and watch it turn red as you top it up with lemonade. You can drink this – and it won’t even taste of cabbage!