- "I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses....I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death."
- — Professor Snape during Harry Potter's first Potions class[src]
Potions is a class taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In this class, students learn how to brew potions, following specific recipes and using various magical ingredients to create their potions, starting with simple ones and moving to more advanced ones as they progress in knowledge. A standard potions kit includes plant ingredients such as Belladonna and supplies such as glass phials. Potions lessons take place in the Hogwarts dungeons.
Class Information
Severus Snape, Professor of Potions.
Potions is a required subject for first year students. Around 1981, Severus Snape became the professor of Potions at the school, and was still teaching at the school through 1996, when he was replaced by Horace Slughorn.
Potion recipes can be found in many books, including the books the students at Hogwarts use in their classes, but the professors teach the intricacies of timing, aging, stirring techniques, and bottling that would be much more difficult to learn without the mentoring of the experienced masters.
Horace Slughorn
When Severus Snape was the professor, students had to achieve an "O" in their O.W.L. to be able to take his advanced class. Because Professor Snape tended to favor students from Slytherin House more than other students, Slytherins tended to do better than others at the subject.
On the other hand, Horace Slughorn was much more lenient; Harry and Ron were both allowed to resume the class with only an "Exceeds Expectations" O.W.L.