Draught of Living Death

Draught of Living Death
Potion information
Effect	Causes the drinker to fall into a deep, death-like slumber
Characteristics	Clear as water when completed
Difficulty level	Advanced
Known ingredients	Crushed Snake Fangs Moondew Wormwood Asphodel Valerian roots Sopophorous bean Sloth brain

"I dare to say that one drop would kill us all."

— Horace Slughorn on Harry Potter's potion.

The Draught of Living Death is an extremely powerful sleeping draught, sending the drinker into a deathly slumber.

Concoction

The ingredients needed are wormwood, asphodel, valerian roots, Sloth brain, and the juice of a sopophorous bean (which, according to the Half-Blood Prince, should be crushed with the dull edge of a silver knife to get more juice from it).

The potion should resemble a smooth, black currant-coloured liquid at the halfway stage; it should then turn a light shade of lilac, then clear as water, after you stir the potion counter-clockwise seven times. However, stirring the potion counter-clockwise seven times and clockwise once, as directed by the Half-Blood Prince, had apparently a much stronger effect.

Notable Examples

The Wiggenweld Potion is capable of reversing the effects of the Draught. The Hag Leticia Somnolens used the Draught in an attempt to kill a princess who made her jealous. A prince who placed Wiggenweld Potion on his lips revived the princess with a kiss.

Behind the scenes

• The Draught of Living Death is briefly mentioned in First Year, Potions students do not create it until Sixth Year. The potion was never really used or demonstrated in either case.
• In the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Severus Snape calls this potion "the Draught of the Living Dead".
• In the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Horace Slughorn tested Harry Potter's Draught of Living Death by placing a leaf into it, which disintegrated, showing the potion was much more than satisfactory.
  • Slughorn also states in the film that Harry's potion was 'so perfect', that one drop "would kill us all". However, the potion's intended use is as a sleeping draught, not poison, although Slughorn was most likely speaking metaphorically.
• It is most likely based off of the potion Juliet Capulet used to fake her death in the Muggle story Romeo and Juliet, although actual chemical analogues to this potion do actually exist.
• The story of the princess was based on Sleeping Beauty.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Mentioned in deleted scene)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes

Notes and references

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