Cure for Boils
 | Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in:Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery &Hogwarts Legacy. |
Cure for Boils
Potion information
Side-effects
- "Being an effective remedy against pustules, hives, boils and many other scrofulous conditions. This is a robust potion of powerful character. Care should be taken when brewing. Prepared incorrectly this potion has been known to cause boils, rather than cure them..."
- —Zygmunt Budge,Book of Potions[src]
TheCure for Boils[5][1] (also known as simplyBoil Cure)[6] was apotion which removed boils, such as those produced by thePimple Jinx.[7] It was an elementary potion and the recipe could be found inMagical Drafts and Potions[2] andBook of Potions.[4]
If the potion was made successfully, there would be pink smoke raising from thecauldron.[1]
History[]
As this was a simple potion, it was one of the first ones learned atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students in theirfirst year brewed this potion inPotions class.[2][3]
1985-1986 school year[]
During the1984–1985 school year, Professor Severus Snape taught his first-yearPotions students how to concoct this particular brew.Jacob's sibling managed to successfully brew the potion, with their friendRowan Khanna praising their prowess and claiming that hardly anyone brewed this concoction correctly on their first try. Unbeknownst to the pair of them, however, the spitefulSlytherinMerula Snyde had egregiously sabotaged Jacob's sibling's Cure for Boils by coating their cauldron withBulbadox powder, which resulted in their concoction abruptly exploding. Seething with rage at their supposed incompetence, Snape confronted Jacob's sibling and cruelly deducted tenhouse points from them.[3]
1991-1992 school year[]
- "Idiot boy! I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"
- —Severus Snape lecturingNeville Longbottom for having failed to brew this potion correctly[src]
At the start of the1991–1992 school year on6 September1991, first-yearGryffindor andSlytherin students were tasked with the brewing of this potion in their very firstPotions lesson withPotions MasterProfessorSeverus Snape. During this lesson, he criticised almost everyone aside fromDraco Malfoy, andNeville Longbottom managed to meltSeamus Finnigan'scauldron, as he added theporcupine quills before taking the potion off thefire, which caused theclassroom to be filled with acrid green smoke and the failed potion to seep over the floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Snape ordered Seamus to take Neville to theHospital Wing, whose face was covered in nasty boils from his failed potion,vanished the spilt potion with a wave ofhis wand and spitefully deducted onehouse point fromHarry Potter for supposedly not having warned Neville beforehand.[2]
Brewing instructions[]
The Cure for Boils being brewed in a cauldron
According toMagical Drafts and Potions[]
Part 1[]
- Add 6snake fangs to the mortar.
- Crush into a fine powder using the pestle.
- Add 4 measures of the crushed fangs to yourcauldron.
- Heat the mixture to 250 for 10 seconds.
- Wave yourwand.
- Leave to brew and return in 33-45 minutes.[1]
Part 2[]
- Add 4horned slugs to your cauldron.
- Take the cauldron off the fire before adding the next ingredient.[2]
- Add 2porcupine quills to your cauldron.
- Stir 5 times, clockwise.
- Wave yourwand to complete the potion.[1]
According toBook of Potions[]
- Add crushed snake fangs to your cauldron and stir.
- Slice yourPungous Onions finely and place in cauldron, then heat the mixture.
- Add dried nettles.
- Add a dash ofFlobberworm Mucus and stir vigorously.
- Add a sprinkle of powderedginger root and stir vigorously again.
- Add pickledShrake spines.
- Stir gently, so as not to overexcite the Shrake spines.
- Add a glug of stewedhorned slugs.
- Addporcupine quills.
- Finally, wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion.[4]
Dangers[]
When brewing the potion, thecauldron had to be taken off thefire before adding theporcupine quills, or, asNeville Longbottom found out, the cauldron would melt and create a horrid odour, and if it came into contact with the skin, would cause the skin to erupt in vicious boils.[2]
Before brewing a Cure for Boils, coating a cauldron withBulbadox powder would make the cauldron explode.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
- In thevideo game adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the game features a different means of preparation from the canonical one, as featured in detail inPottermore. The non-canonical potion recipe is thus:
- Heat the cauldron until the potion turns red.
- Heat it again until turns green.
- PourFlobberworm Mucus until the potion turns pink.
- Heat again until it turns orange.
- Mix the driednettles until it turns green.
- Heat again until it turns blue.
- Mix crushedsnake fangs until the potion turns pink.
- MixPorcupine quills until the potion turns orange.
- Pour stewedhorned slugs until it turns turquoise.
- And last, heat the potion until it turns red. (continuing to heat until it turns pink turns the brew more effective)
- Harry Potter for Kinect features another alternative recipe, which is rather similar to a simplified version of the one from theHalf-Blood Prince game above:
- Stir the starting potion clockwise until the mixture turns from blue to red.
- Addflobberworm mucus until the potion turns pink.
- Sprinkle indried nettles into the potion turns green.
- Crushsnake fangs in mortar and pestle, then add to cauldron until pothe tion turns yellow.
- Addhorned slugs until the potion turns blue.
- Stir clockwise until the potion returns to red.
- The instructions to make this potion, as featured inPottermore, overlook the fact that the cauldron must be taken off the fire before adding theporcupine quills, as revealed inHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. They also omit the addition ofdried nettles to the brew.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes
- Pottermore
- HarryPotter.com(Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter for Kinect
- Wonderbook: Book of Potions
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Hogwarts Legacy(Mentioned only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑1.001.011.021.031.041.051.061.071.081.091.10Pottermore -Magical Drafts and Potions
- ↑2.02.12.22.32.42.52.62.7Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 (The Potions Master)
- ↑3.03.13.23.33.43.5Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 1, Chapter 2 (Welcome to Hogwarts) - Potions Lesson "Cure for Boils Potion"
- ↑4.004.014.024.034.044.054.064.074.084.09Wonderbook: Book of Potions
- ↑Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- ↑Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- ↑Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) - NDS version
