Doxycide

Doxycide
Potion information
Effect	Temporarily stunned Doxies so that the pests could be removed from a home
Characteristics	Black in colour Typically delivered as a spray
Difficulty level	Moderate
Known ingredients	Bundimun Ooze Streeler shells Dragon liver Hemlock essence Tormentil tincture Cowbane essence
Inventor(s)	Zygmunt Budge

"A potion of prodigious power, to repulse the vile Doxy. Students of my work may wonder why I chose to devote my genius to deterring these fairy-like nuisances. Suffice it to say that even hermits suffer from household pests. Hence I created this, a full-bodied venomous mixture, yet well-rounded."

— Zygmunt Budge, Book of Potions

Doxycide was a black-coloured, foul smelling potion used to spray Doxies. It paralysed them for a period of time, allowing the user to safely remove the Doxies without fear of being bitten. The recipe could be found in Book of Potions.

Recipe

Brewing instructions:

1. Juice the Bundimun. Add the Bundimun acid to the cauldron and stir quickly.
2. Grind the Streeler shells and add to cauldron.
3. Stir the potion then heat.
4. Add chopped dragon liver and stir vigorously.
5. Add a dash of hemlock essence and stir again.
6. Add a glug of cowbane essence and a dash of tormentil tincture.
7. Stir slowly then heat the cauldron.
8. Wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion.

History

A bottle of Doxycide

Zygmunt Budge developed a recipe for Doxycide to deal with the swarms of Doxys that inhabited Hermetray during autumn. His first attempt, rather than repelling the Doxys, made them red-hot and fiery, thus setting fire to both Budge's house and the island itself. Budge was forced to spend that night in the sea, breathing through a hollow stick. Budge perfected his Doxycide the following autumn, killing the entire swarm and allowing him to sweep their corpses into the sea.

During the 1986–1987 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Severus Snape taught his third-years how to concoct this particular brew in Potions class.

Due to an infestation of Doxies in the Slytherin Common Room during the 1987–1988 school year, Professor Snape tasked his fourth-years with brewing this concoction without consulting their notes to help them do so and instead rely upon their memory, with the Potions Master also issuing a stern warning for his class to not disappoint him, as dealing with Doxies had put him in a rather sour mood. Having finished brewing their own concoction, Jacob's sibling proceeded to write a note asking their secret crush if they returned their feelings. Having noticed this and misconstruing it as them consulting their notes despite his explicit instructions forbidding them to do so, a livid Snape confronted Jacob's sibling and swiftly snatched up their note, believing that the class should have the same advantage as they supposedly did. Despite the student's earnest protests, Snape, unaware what their message really contained, proceeded to read aloud their note to the entire class, much to Jacob's sibling's humiliation. After dismissing the class, Snape came to regret his actions and later called Jacob's sibling to the Potions Classroom under the pretext of enlisting their help to brew more Doxycide Potion. After brewing with them, Snape acknowledged that his reading aloud their note in class had prompted "idle chatter" among the student body, which he disclosed that he detested, as it could be especially cruel when it came to matters of the heart, thus indirectly apologising to Jacob's sibling for his earlier actions.

The Doxy Queen drowning in Doxycide

During the 1990–1991 school year, Jacob's sibling and their friends used Doxycide again to eradicate an infestation of doxies in Hogwarts Castle. They killed the Doxy Queen responsible for the infestation in the Prefects' Bathroom, by knocking her into bath water mixed with Doxycide, drowning her.

Molly with others in 12 Grimmauld Place using Doxycide

In the summer of 1995, Molly Weasley and the adolescents at 12 Grimmauld Place used it to remove Doxies from the draperies at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Fred and George Weasley used Doxycide to paralyse Doxies before pocketing them, intending to use their venom in the development of their Skiving Snackboxes.

Behind the scenes

• Doxycide has a very similar name to the real-world medication doxycycline, an antibiotic used to treat certain bacterial infections and parasites.
• In chapter 18 of year 7 of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Jacob's sibling decides it is best to douse the Doxy Queen in this potion by pouring it directly from a bottle over her. However, as the game itself shows, this is highly impractical, since the potion is administered as a spray, so it seems odd that the game would choose to depict Doxycide being used in this manner.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Pottermore
• Wonderbook: Book of Potions
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)