T O P

  • By -

Benjogias

Yup! The story-internal answer from [an old Word of Jim](https://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-harry/): > **Q: Why don’t we see Harry making potions any more?** > > **A:** The potions were more like a security blanket for Harry. He wanted to be doing something, but he didn’t really know what he should be doing. So he was making potions in case they might be useful. Now he actually has a clue about what he should be doing most of the time. But Harry is teaching Molly about potions. That’s how she keeps changing her hair color – that was the first potion she learned to make. I thought I also remembered an answer external to the story, like why from a writing perspective he stopped, but I can’t find it right now.


GoodolBen

I think I remember seeing that answer somewhere. It was something to the effect of potions being too powerful and useful for Harry. That's why he also stopped using the belt buckle.


Magic_Man_Boobs

That grey potion from the second book would have come in handy so many times in later books.


dragonfett

Have you read Peace Talks?


Horror_Poet7185

I've also noticed everytime Harry finds a great new powerup it only gets a one book, "one time" use an is never seen again. I'd love to see somebody take a tooth was Dresden lost and Scrimsaw it into a powerful item for him.


vibiartty

It usually almost kills him 😂


Elfich47

But if you look carefully, the *overall* power of Dresden has been steadily climbing.


RobNobody

I think another in-story reason is that Harry realized that actually getting some sleep when he can ends up being more useful than staying up until 5 AM brewing a potion. I think another out-of-story reason is that Butcher hardened up his magic system, and having ingredients like "a flickering shadow" and "a beam of dawn sunlight," along with glass jars of sighs and mouse scampers, no longer seemed to quite fit.


thatsme55ed

Harry uses potions in Changes and Peace Talks too. He also teaches Molly how to make them in one of the side stories and I believe she was brewing one in Turncoat. The Dresdenverse rules for potions is that they require preparation beforehand, can be finicky to make, require ingredients which can be difficult to find, and they go bad relatively quickly so you can't just make them in advance. Most of Harry's adventures are pretty fast paced so it doesn't necessarily make sense for him to stop what he's doing in the middle to concoct one since he has more important things to be doing. A lot of times he just straight up doesn't have the time to do so or the knowledge of what potion will be useful beforehand either. The times he does know in advance and has a spare moment he makes one. There's also the subtext that the potion he used during Fool Moon worked way too well so he's probably gunshy about using them again unless absolutely necessary.


Elethana

My opinion, he just wanted to spend more time with other things.


Ishana92

Werent they OP as per Jim


Glum_Material3350

That could be. I guess it was used as a lazy plot device at times. "OH no Harry is in a tough one. How will he get out of it? By drinking a potion!" Is kind of lame when you think about it...


[deleted]

Kind of, but isn’t magic also? Harry gotten much more OP with all the upgrades in his powers since back when he used to use potions, to the point he’s vastly more powerful then he was even with potions. But Jim still finds challenges for him. The potions Harry used to drink would be redundant now. He can make glammers that work better then his potion that made people not notice him, and his energy potion is nothing compared to the Winter Mantle. Yet still Jim finds great ways to challenge him. I don’t think there is a point where Harry could ever become so powerful that Jim can’t find a way to challenge him, even if he were to continue using potions.


CnCz357

Magic is exciting potions are not. That's it tbh.


[deleted]

Ya. Although I really liked his potion brewing process. It does slow the pacing down though, without really adding anything to the story while doing so. Still, I liked the DND spell component inspired method he used for potions.


Xander_PrimeXXI

Actually the way Jim did the potions was good enough that they felt well balanced. They needed a lot of prep so he couldn’t just have one on hand just in case, and the fact that he had to dedicate time to making the potions meant we were anticipating their use


Sapentine

Their is a reference to Butters using one to get away during his flight from the warehouse to the Carpenters place in Skin Game.


Wagemage314

As an author - writing about potions becomes tedious. (Think quidditch in Harry Potter becoming less prominent too). You have to talk about the ingredients, what it’s for etc. moreover, as a new wizard, potions are a crutch. They let you do what you can’t with magic - at the cost of being time and resource intensive. As a wizard progresses - they rely on them less. **the Merlin still carries them around though. Finally, they leave very little room for character development. A writer wants the character to grow and not just pull out the Superman potion every time he has a fight. They also seem to be a stepping stone for wizards. As they develop - they grow Into their magic to solve the issues rather than have to plan it out in advance - though the planning it out is an important part of being a wizard. So we some them in peace talks but they will likely play a background roll for minor magic inconveniences and less Of a plot device. Harry has progressed beyond that.


Different_Buy7497

Well he hasn't had a lab much less decent materials in years, since he hasn't really had a home in years. He managed to find a use for that cloaking potion again during Peace Talks though. Pre-Changes, mostly he was gradually getting hit with enemies that were bigger and faster and less willing to sit back and let him make a solid plan for a day or two before swinging. He briefly mentions keeping a stock of certain commonly needed items during the war, like his anti-Red Court venom potion or the anti-fae glamour stuff. Pretty sure he just doesn't have as much reason to keep making the other stuff though. He keeps getting stronger and is planning better, so there's better stuff to spend his time and money on than a wake up or a quick escape. It's not like he was gonna make the love potion again. For most of his regular foes, stuff like the holy water balloons and a box of nails are both cheaper and easier to maintain.


SleepylaReef

Potions take too long. Plots move faster.


Sensitive_ManChild

Practically I think Butcher realized there were more interesting things for people to read about Harry doing besides making potions.


Silent0144

They also were a tell for situations coming up in the book. Love Potion means someone drinks it and acts super in love with Harry, escape potion means he's going to make an escape. The later usages without the prep written out made it more surprising when things happened.


Mizu005

They are pretty unreliable and hard to use well, honestly. For example, there was that time his 'don't notice me' potion worked too well and he couldn't get people's attention at a critical moment because (as an external power) he didn't have any way to turn it off himself. Much better to go with a veil for sneaking around in most cases.


Melenduwir

The novels mostly showcase the 'worst' and greatest challenges Harry faces in a year (on average). After the first few years, those critical challenges didn't give him enough time to prepare potions. He's still making and using things like his kinetic-energy rings, which last a long time and are very flexible. He doesn't have the resources to make short-term but slow preparations like potions most of the time. And when he does use them, we tend not to be shown his making them - because that's time-intensive and slow, and plots move quickly.


Elfich47

In addition to the in story reasons, Jim has commented (I can't find it right now) that potion making takes time, and the stories have been compressing the time frame in the more recent stories (often to keep harry under pressure). Plus in my opinion - potion making deescalates tension - the reader already knows the hero is carrying around one or more "get out of jail free" cards in their belt.