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If someone were to take Tonks's hair, as she is a Metamorphmagus, does that mean that they can change their appearance just like her, as Polyjuice Potion copies all of the attributes of the person you are transforming into, or would they only be able to turn into Tonks (with her regular hair and features)?

Bradley Hewitt
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  • I don't think they would get the ability to do that. That would also mean, that someone who uses Harrys hair get the ability to speak Parsel. Thus I would assume they only get the current look of Tonk, but can't further alter their looks like a metamorphmagus. – Tom Jan 16 '19 at 14:00
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    Signs point to no, see related https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/147674/can-polyjuice-potion-remove-magic – Kai Jan 16 '19 at 14:03
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    Possible duplicate of What would happen if you used the hair of a metamorphmagus in Polyjuice potion? proposed dupe-target suggests you'd only have access to current target form – Jenayah Jan 16 '19 at 14:04
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    @Valorum I don't agree that this is a duplicate. The other question asks what appearance would be used. It doesn't ask whether the actual ability to change appearance is also granted to the person who took Polyjuice Potion. – Anthony Grist Jan 16 '19 at 14:08
  • I don't think it's a duplicate. The discussion there is about what the potion turns you into when using the hair of a metamorphmagus; the discussion here is about whether the potion gives you the powers of a metamorphmagus. – Alex Jan 16 '19 at 14:08
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    Whilst the target is focused on what form would the person take the actual question asked is "What would happen?" which encompasses "Would you gain their abilities?" – TheLethalCarrot Jan 16 '19 at 14:16
  • @TheLethalCarrot I don't think the actual question is "What would happen?" In fact, that would be Too Broad (or Unclear What You're Asking), as it covers infinite possibilities of what would happen to someone upon taking the potion. Rather, that is just a title being used to express the question of "What would happen vis-a-vis the details specified in the body of the question?", where the question is focused on what form the potion would give you, not what abilities the potion would give you. – Alex Jan 16 '19 at 14:20
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    @TheLethalCarrot A question is more than just its title. "What would happen?" is very broad (arguably even too broad), but the OP of that other question appears to have clarified that by "What would happen?" they actually mean "What would happen to the taker's appearance?" We would have to edit that question to expand its scope, which while not invalidating the existing answers would make them only partial - rather than full - ones, and I'm not convinced that's any better than edits that just outright invalidate answers. – Anthony Grist Jan 16 '19 at 14:24
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    @AnthonyGrist - Any answer on one would be an answer for the other. I fail to see how these are two separate questions. Do we ultimately need two questions about the (hypothetical) effects of polyjuiced metamorphmagi? – Valorum Jan 16 '19 at 14:25
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    @Valorum They're asking about different aspects of the transformation; one asks what appearance of the metamorphmagus would be used (their natural appearance before the power developed or the appearance they had at the point of transformation via Polyjuice) and the other asks whether transforming using the hair of a metamorphmagus also allows you to change your appearance at will. Those aren't the same question, and the answer I'd write (in fact was in the process of writing) to the latter would make absolutely no sense on the former in its current form. – Anthony Grist Jan 16 '19 at 14:31
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    @AnthonyGrist The answer to "What form would you take?" is answered by "Do you get the powers?" because getting their powers means you can change your form which answers both. – TheLethalCarrot Jan 16 '19 at 14:33
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    @TheLethalCarrot You could get the powers after transforming into the original person, or you could get the powers after transforming into the person's current appearance. You could also not get the powers after transforming into the original person, or you could not get the powers after transforming into thee current appearance. Thus, knowing whether you get the powers does not answer what appearance the potion would give you. (And if it did then that question should be a duplicate of this question.) – Alex Jan 16 '19 at 14:38
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    @TheLethalCarrot Whether or not you can change your form after transforming, you will have an initial form immediately after you have transformed. The other question seems (to me) to be focusing on what that initial form is: "Do they turn into the form that the magus had at the time, or to the original way that the magus looked before their form started shifting?" – Anthony Grist Jan 16 '19 at 14:38
  • I would be happy to expand the scope of the other question, so it reads something along the lines of "What initial form would you take when transforming (original appearance of the metamorphmagus vs. appearance at the time of transforming)? Would you also be able to change your appearance at will while transformed?" if there's an established policy that we're okay with edits that expand the scope of questions (turning full answers into partial ones). – Anthony Grist Jan 16 '19 at 14:41
  • @AnthonyGrist I don't think adding to someone's question should be a go-to option. I don't think it's fair to make someone ask something they didn't actually ask. Theoretically, someone could post a new question asking both points, and we could close both existing questions as duplicates of that. (But if someone would have posted such a question I might have commented "What makes you think these two points are dependent on each other?") – Alex Jan 16 '19 at 14:51
  • @AnthonyGrist - And while elements of that are arguable, the reality is that there's likely to be no conclusive answer to either question. So what we're arguing about is whether we should have a second question about something where the answers to the first are basically "*dunno, probably this"*. Are you genuinely expecting the answers to this one to be any more conclusive? – Valorum Jan 16 '19 at 15:10

3 Answers3

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No. In the books it is clearly stated that you can't become a metamorphmagus, you have to be born as one.

‘Well, you’ll have to learn the hard way, I’m afraid,’ said Tonks. ‘Metamorphmagi are really rare, they’re born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand, or potions, to change their appareance’

Excerpt: Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 3 (The Advance Guard)

Thus, in my opinion, there's no way to adquire the metamorphagi powers, even if only temporarily.

IloneSP
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  • I think you may have misunderstood the question, it's not that you become one it's that using Polyjuice you might be able to use their powers. – TheLethalCarrot Nov 05 '19 at 10:07
  • Isn't using metamorphmagus powers esentially becoming a metamorphmagus? Even if it is for a brief period of time. – IloneSP Nov 05 '19 at 10:07
  • To me I'd say there's a slight but significant difference between the two. However, it'd be worth [edit]ing in the relevant quotes to back this up if possible. – TheLethalCarrot Nov 05 '19 at 10:09
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They probably wouldn't be able to change into the Metamorphmagus at all, because Polyjuice Potion is only made for complete human transformation. So if the transformation was successful the person who took the potion would not be able to use the Metamorphmagus powers.

TheLethalCarrot
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McKenzie
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WE DO NOT KNOW

Unless JKR (or some other authorized HP universe property — book or film) says otherwise. Everything else is just speculation.


Speculation

In my opinion, NO, since Polyjuice Potion is for “appearance” only:

It enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person
Pottermore: Polyjuice Potion

Looking like another person is wholly different beast than obtaining another person’s magic.

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Dúthomhas
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