What potion causes a deep, deathlike sleep in the Harry Potter books?

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The Draught of Living Death causes a deep, deathlike sleep in the Harry Potter books.

The potion is a powerful sleeping draught associated with advanced potion-making. Its name indicates the dramatic effect: the drinker appears to be dead or almost dead, rather than merely becoming drowsy. The potion is discussed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince during Professor Slughorn’s first advanced Potions lesson.

Harry discovers that the annotated textbook once belonged to the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. The book’s notes help him prepare the potion successfully, allowing him to win Slughorn’s bottle of Felix Felicis, known as liquid luck.

The Draught of Living Death is not the same as Amortentia, which is a powerful love potion, or Felix Felicis, which temporarily brings unusually good fortune. Pepperup Potion treats the effects of a cold. These potions have different purposes even though all are studied at Hogwarts.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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