Draught

• Type: Potion; Magical Concoction
• Owners: Not applicable (A general category of item)
• Maker: Various Potioneers and students of Potions

A draught is a type of liquid magical preparation that must be drunk to take effect. The term is largely used synonymously with the word potion within the wizarding world, often appearing in the names of specific concoctions or in textbooks like Magical Draughts and Potions. The physical appearance of a draught varies immensely depending on its ingredients and intended purpose. There is no single characteristic appearance. For example, the Draught of Peace is noted to emit a light, silvery vapor, while other draughts may be of any color, viscosity, or texture. Their creation is the primary subject of the Potions discipline taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The fundamental property of any draught is to bestow a specific, temporary magical effect upon the person who consumes it. The method of use is ingestion. The range of effects is vast and can be categorized broadly:

• Mental and Emotional Alteration: Draughts can be used to alter one's state of mind, such as the Confusing Draught which causes bewilderment, or the Draught of Peace, which calms anxiety and soothes agitation.
• Physical Alteration: Some draughts directly affect the physical body, like the Shrinking Draught (also called a Shrinking Solution), which causes the drinker to shrink in size.
• Potent Sleep or Unconsciousness: The most powerful sleeping potions are referred to as draughts, most notably the Draught of Living Death, which puts the drinker into a death-like slumber.
• Remedial Effects: While not explicitly named as draughts in the text, many healing potions fall under this general category.

Brewing draughts is a precise art that requires careful adherence to recipes, correct handling of often-dangerous ingredients, and specific stirring techniques and cauldron temperatures.

Throughout Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts, several specific concoctions referred to as “draughts” are brewed in Potions class or used by the characters.

• Confusing Draught: In their second year, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger brew a simple version of this draught (referred to as a Confusing Concoction by Hermione Granger) and bake it into cakes to incapacitate Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, allowing Harry and Ron to use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate them.
• Shrinking Draught: This is a key lesson in third-year Potions with Professor Snape. Neville Longbottom successfully brews one that works on his toad, Trevor, though only after receiving help from Hermione.
• Draught of Peace: A notoriously difficult potion assigned in the fifth year. It requires precise brewing to avoid side effects like irreversible comas. Harry must brew one during his Potions O.W.L. practical exam under the intimidating gaze of Professor Snape.
• Draught of Living Death: A highly advanced and dangerous potion, introduced in the sixth-year Potions class by Professor Horace Slughorn. Using handwritten notes from the Half-Blood Prince's textbook, Harry brews a perfect sample and wins a bottle of Felix Felicis as a prize.

Draughts, as a subset of Potions, are a fundamental element of the magical world's practical arts and play a significant role in the series. They represent a form of magic that requires patience, precision, and knowledge rather than just wand-waving and force of will. The successful brewing of the Draught of Living Death is a major turning point in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Felix Felicis Harry wins is instrumental in his efforts to retrieve a crucial memory from Professor Slughorn concerning Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. The Draught of Peace and Shrinking Draught serve to illustrate the difficulty of Potions as a subject, Harry's developing skills, Hermione Granger's academic prowess, and the constant tension in Professor Snape's classroom.

The word “draught” (pronounced 'draft') derives from the Old English dragán, meaning “to draw” or “to pull.” It evolved to mean “a thing drunk” or “a single act of drinking,” which directly corresponds to its use in the series as a drinkable magical concoction. In modern English, it retains this meaning, distinguishing it from “potion,” which can have broader, more mythical connotations.