Antidote to Common Poisons

• Type: Antidote; Potion
• Known Ingredients:
  • Bezoar
  • Standard Ingredient
  • Powdered Graphorn horn (video game)
  • Dried Billywig stings (video game)
• Characteristics: A turquoise-coloured liquid.

The Antidote to Common Poisons is a simple but essential potion that counteracts the effects of ordinary poisons and venoms. As its name suggests, it is effective against common magical ailments, such as the venom from a Doxy bite or the sting of a Billywig. It is considered a fundamental potion in a witch or wizard's education and is part of the standard first-year Potions curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Bezoar, a stone taken from the stomach of a goat, is a key ingredient and can also function as a standalone antidote for many of the same poisons. Despite the efficacy of a raw Bezoar, learning to brew the full potion is still a required skill for young witches and wizards.

The Antidote to Common Poisons is featured primarily within the context of Harry Potter's education at Hogwarts.

• In Harry's first ever Potions lesson, Professor Severus Snape quizzes him on this potion's ingredients, specifically asking what he would get if he added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood (the Draught of Living Death), and where he would find a Bezoar. This line of questioning was intended to humiliate Harry, who was unable to answer.
• The potion and its instructions are listed in the first-year textbook, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger.
• During his Potions Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) exam in his fifth year, Harry is tasked with brewing an Antidote to Common Poisons. Under the pressure of the exam and the watchful eye of Professor Tofty, he forgets to add the crucial Bezoar and loses marks, though he still manages to pass the exam.

The name is self-descriptive. An antidote is a medicine given to counteract a particular poison, derived from the Greek antidoton (“given against”). Common poisons refers to its limitation to non-exotic and less powerful venoms and toxins.

• In the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone video game, brewing the Antidote to Common Poisons is a key task. Its ingredients in the game include powdered Graphorn horn and dried Billywig stings. It is referred to as the Wiggenweld Potion in some contexts of the game, which in canon is a separate healing potion. (video game)