Doubts & Discussions about HP book Series - Page 5

Possible..😆..but i think Snape was merely talking about use of veritaserum on students by teachers just as use of certain punishments on students by teachers are not allowed.. but yes, there certainly is a possibility..since nothing has been mentioned about the side effects of the potion we can certainly take the liberty to assume.. i for one strictly prefer to go by things mentioned in the books..since nothing has been mentioned about side effects of Veritaserum, i am assuming that they are pretty safe & the only reason that the liberal usage of this potion is restricted is due to the effects of the potion - it compels the person to tell the truth irrespective of his willingness , so it can be considered as a cruel act & hence the restriction..however, as far as ministry trials are concerned, i think the very same potion becomes a boon & i see no reason for such restrictions..

Sorry i didnt get u.. preciouse ?

Possible.. but again we dont know for sure..and if we are assuming things then i dont see any harm in assuming that the Ministry of Magic ( or even Dumbledore) can afford to invest few drops of Veritaserum during investigation since this particular potion was also present in Snape's office at Hogwarts which Umbridge made liberal use of, the following year, during her time at Hogwarts..moreover, Harry's trial was more than just an investigation of 5 minutes , the Ministry was coming after Harry with all its might.. even the Order ( Including Dumbledore ) was tensed about it.. Harry too was positively nervous b4 the trial but i didnt see anyone even trying to console Harry that he has absolutely nothing to worry about since truth can be easily uncovered in the magical world instead whenever anyone (including Hermoine) tried to console Harry , it was all based on assumptions & possibilities (like us muggles) which made Harry even more nervous..Moreover, the trial which should have been just a matter of seconds did extend beyond just 5 mins and during all this time, i couldnt help but keep thinking , 'how unnecessary it all was'..

Yes real courts dont use polygraph tests as the sole basis of judgement & for a good reason too, they are highly unreliable, hence it can be used as only a contributing evidence..but we are talking about the magical "truth telling potion" here ..the only known means of countering it is with an antidote otherwise the results are 100% reliable & can be used as a sole basis of judgement..

Now coming to influencial wizards like Malfoy who escaped the trial by using contacts..now THERE !.. that is exactly what I am talking about.. if things like veritaserum were used in the initial stages itself as a customary judicial procedure such things too could have been avoided..but that's just about influential Malfoy , what about not-so influencial convicted death eaters like Igor Karkoraff, y wasn't this potion used during his trial?.. the trial could have been wrapped up quickly & satisfactorily with this potion..

Yes in the flashback , karkaroff was already convicted & summoned for giving information..but is there any evidence that the truth telling potion was used on him during conviction or more importantly on other death eaters who escaped conviction ?.. besides, i was talking about use of the potion in the judiciary system for effective judgements and that includes conviction as well as acquisition of information.. so u dont think veritaserum could have helped in any way while seeking info from the convicted death eaters?..

Now coming to next point raised here, veritaserum will make the person say what he believes is the truth which may not be a fact after all, I myself had raised this point before in this thread & presented a counter argument.. feel free to go through previous pages..

This problem is especially troublesome if the person is under imperious curse.. but then again as has been pointed out multiple times in the book , a person under imperious curse can be well spotted..the curse leaves its mark..eyes go blank & stuff like that..so if that is the case then administration of veritaserum could be waited till the effect of the curse wears off.. but other than imperious curse there happens to be no such predicament wherein use of veritaserum could be questioned..