Restorative Draught

• Type: Potion
• Maker: Presumed to be Professor Snape, as the Hogwarts Potions master during the 1992-1993 school year.
• Key User: Madam Pomfrey

The physical appearance of the Restorative Draught, such as its colour or consistency, is not described in the original novels. Its primary and most critical ingredient is the mature Mandrake (or Mandragora). The potion can only be brewed once the Mandrakes are fully grown, having passed their dangerous and noisy adolescence.

The Restorative Draught is a very powerful healing potion used to reverse powerful curses and forms of Dark Magic. Its most famous application is reviving individuals who have been Petrified. The specific formulation used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Mandrake Restorative Draught, was the sole antidote for the Petrification caused by the gaze of a Basilisk. It is administered orally by a trained healer and effectively returns the victim to their original, living state, seemingly with no lasting side effects. Professor Sprout described the Mandrake itself as a “powerful restorative” used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state.

The Restorative Draught plays a crucial role in the resolution of the events of the 1992-1993 school year at Hogwarts. When the Chamber of Secrets was reopened, several inhabitants of the castle were Petrified after indirectly seeing the Basilisk. The victims included:

• Mrs. Norris (the cat)
• Colin Creevey
• Justin Finch-Fletchley
• Nearly Headless Nick
• Hermione Granger
• Penelope Clearwater

Upon the first attack, Albus Dumbledore and Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, immediately began the process of cultivating Mandrakes to maturity. This process took several months, during which the victims remained in their petrified state in the Hospital Wing. Professor Sprout monitored the Mandrakes' growth, noting that their increasing truculence was a sign they were nearing maturity. Near the end of the school year, after Harry Potter had defeated the Basilisk, Professor Sprout announced that the Mandrakes were finally ready. The potion was successfully brewed, and Madam Pomfrey administered the draught to all the victims. They were revived in time for the end-of-year feast, bringing the crisis to a happy conclusion.

The name is purely descriptive. “Restorative” means something that restores health or strength. “Draught” is an older term for a dose of liquid medicine. Thus, the name literally means “a dose of medicine that restores.”

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the revival of the petrified students, including Hermione Granger, is shown on-screen after Madam Pomfrey administers the potion (film).