![]() " The Basilisk kills people by looking at them. Gilderoy Lockhart once confused the effects of Petrification with those of the Transmogrifian Torture however, the truth of his claims were extremely dubious. The Full Body-Bind Curse was only temporary and could be lifted easily, while the Hardening Charm turned an object to literal stone. Petrification should not be confused with the Full Body-Bind Curse or the Hardening Charm. ![]() The antidote to Petrification was the Mandrake Restorative Draught, a highly potent healing potion made from Stewed Mandrakes. A Petrified ghost would turn a dark smoky grey and could only be moved using air currents. It may have taken careful examination to discern if a victim was Petrified. Victims of Petrification were completely paralysed and unresponsive. The second opening in 1992 led to the Petrification of students Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater, along with the cat Mrs Norris and the ghost Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. The first opening in 1943 resulted in the Petrification of three Muggle-born students, and the death of one, Myrtle Warren. Ironically, petrify is fluid enough to cover a number of situations!Įxample: Fast-moving, mineral-rich underground waters are necessary for wood to petrify.Įxample: The sound of the vacuum always manages to petrify my dog in fright.Įxample: An accident on the highway had caused the flow of traffic to petrify.During the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Chamber of Secrets was opened twice, and in both cases the Serpent of Slytherin was released and attacked the Muggle-born student body. ![]() Cold temperatures can petrify water into icicles, and an absorbing television show can virtually petrify you on the couch so can a well-cast "Petrificus Totalus" spell from an accomplished wizard like Hermione. ![]() While this specific usage of petrify is perhaps the most common, the word can really be used to describe anything that stiffens or solidifies something. Although this meaning is often used to describe a reaction to fear, anything that is extremely unexpected can petrify someone in their tracks. If you've ever been unlucky enough to have been paralyzed with fear, you've unfortunately experienced firsthand this meaning of petrify. In this sense, a person often becomes "hardened" or shocked into stillness by a surprising or incredible event. However, in everyday conversation, you're much more likely to hear petrify used figuratively. In essence, this is a form of fossilization, a way in which dead organisms become preserved through natural means. Such fossilized wood represents the scientific meaning of petrify: in geology and biology, the term is used to describe the process by which any organic matter is hardened or replaced by inorganic material such as silica or calcium. In this way, what was once soft and living becomes rigid and inert. That's because these objects have actually become stone - with enough time and under the right conditions, their organic matter gets swept away by underground water and replaced with hard, often brightly colored minerals. Petrified wood has the shape and structure of a tree trunk, but feels as hard and smooth as polished stone. If you've ever visited an earth sciences museum or studied geology in school, you may have been lucky enough to have seen wood that has been petrified.
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