Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, chapter five ‘The Dementor’;
“They headed down to
breakfast, where Mr Weasley was reading the front page of The Daily Prophet
with a furrowed brow, and Mrs Weasley
was telling Hermione and Ginny about a Love Potion she’d made as a young girl.
All three of them were rather giggly.”
Urgh. Considering that
Love Potions are now regarded in the HP fandom as the magical equivalent of a
date-r*pe drug, this scene comes across as very
unpleasant. It’s especially weird to see the normally highly moral Hermione
getting all giggly over this.I mean, I’m sure JK
Rowling didn’t intend for Love Potions to later have so many issues surrounding
them when she wrote this little bit in the third book, but (with hindsight)
this joke seems very misguided. Love Potions were the reason for Voldemort’s
conception, as well as making untold numbers of people (including Ron Weasley)
to act outside their nature, violating issues of consent.I can imagine Ron
looking back on this at the end of his sixth year, and feeling very
uncomfortable.As a side note, Hermione
seems perfectly comfortable about Ron seeing her getting giggly over this.
Maybe Hermione’s crush on Ron wasn’t really developed at this point, so it’s
possible that she’s wasn’t bothered about him seeing her giggling over a love
potion story.For some time now, my headcanon regarding “love potions” is that they are a very broad category. The infatuation-inducing kind are just a narrow subset.
On the more adult side of the spectrum, you have wizard!Viagra and similar products plus the wizard versions of things one might buy to “spice up the old relationship.”
There might also be potions designed to temporarily improve one’s attractiveness or confidence.
My favorite is still Aphrodite’s Destiny (from the fic of the same name). It is supposed to reveal to the drinker the identity of their soulmate.
Hmm. Interesting hypothesis. I think that probably makes more sense; after all, it seems unlikely that the moral Mrs Weasley would be giggling with two young girls about the magical equivalent of a date-rape drug.
Like much of anything else, it’s all in how it’s used. Wizard!Viagra for an older warlock who is indulging his wife? Absolutely.
Let’s say Ecstasy. MDMA is known ‘round as a party drug, for the hallucinogenic effects (and makes Raves and House parties much more fun, so I am told.)
But the same drug is used for PTSD therapy by some doctors. (And if it’s proven effective, I’m all on board that train! It’s still in FDA studies, the sods.) It’s also used by some psychotherapists for helping with severe anxiety and other neurotypical issues. (My cousin used X for about 2 months after her father died. I honestly can’t blame her at all after she witnessed it, and her (then boyfriend, now husband) doing CPR for 30+ minutes on him waiting on the ambulance to get there.)
What about flunitrazepam?
For someone with severe insomnia, it’s a useful medication. Used for nefarious means, it’s a date r*** drug.
So in regards to all of this…. I think that Molly, in the earlier era, was thinking more innocently and it’s only later that the dark side of such a product can crop up (especially in regards to consent issues that are now forefront and mandatory.)
It’s all in how it’s used and used with others.
Just something I noticed…
Published
Headcanonsandmore 