Professor Arsenius Jigger was born on January 3rd, 1792 in a wizarding village near Bournemouth, England. His father, Magnesius, came from a long line of potioneers, and his nine-times great grandfather, Mercurius Jigger, was the cofounder of the well-known Diagon Alley apothecary Slug & Jiggers. The apothecary was opened in 1207 with a long-time business associate, Honorius Slug. During Jigger’s lifetime, his uncle and then his cousin ran the store, and Arsenius and his family enjoyed a comfortable living owing to the perpetual success of the shop among witches and wizards throughout the United Kingdom. His mother, Sulpheria, came from a long magical line of alchemists and potioneers as well.

Arsenius had one brother and one sister, both of whom went to work for the Ministry upon their graduation from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Arsenius, the youngest of the three siblings, was the last to receive the owl inviting him to attend the prestigious school in 1803. During his time at Hogwarts, Arsenius excelled in defensive magic and charmwork, and despite what you might expect, never considered a career in potions. Upon his graduation, he began work for the Ministry on political matters, particularly surrounding upholding the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the persecution of those who sought to use magic to do harm to Muggle and non-magical beings.

After almost twenty-five years with the Ministry, Arsenius Jigger was invited back to Hogwarts to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts in 1835. As a professor, Jigger was well-liked for his honesty and the thoughtfulness with which he presented the class material. He was a strong advocate of foundational learning, wishing to give students a thorough understanding of the basics before taxing them with advanced material. Furthermore, his study sessions were well-known for the varied juices and (relatively) healthful snacks he would bring the students, which didn’t hurt his reputation among the students.

Jigger taught the Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for eight years before deciding to transition to traveling and writing full-time. His experience at the Ministry made him particularly anxious to emphasize the responsibility of witches and wizards as regards the use of their spells in a magical and non-magical world. Following his retirement from Hogwarts, he traveled to the Far East, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, taking notes on defensive magic and potions as he traversed the globe. First he wrote The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts, which is still used today by English-speaking students throughout the world as a primer in defensive magic.

Subsequently, Jigger worked on compiling and annotating his studies on potions and the art of potioneering. He initially intended on turning these notes over to his cousin, who still ran the apothecary shop in Diagon Alley. However, when his cousin expressed no desire to write or publish a book with Arsenius’ notes and observations, claiming that running Slug & Jiggers kept him entirely too busy as is, Jigger decided to go ahead and complete the book on his own. He titled the book Magical Drafts and Potions, and within it he sought to give students the basic knowledge they would need to become responsible potioneers and citizens not only of the United Kingdom, but of the entire magical world. His emphasis was on providing the building blocks of brewing potions onto which more advanced works and instruction would build.

The publication of both of these books gave Jigger enough money in royalties that he was free to work in a casual consulting capacity for the Ministry for the rest of his life. As they were frequently used as textbooks at Hogwarts, he often received queries from students while he still lived regarding particular defensive spells or techniques in potions. Jigger was well-known for his promptness and thoroughness in replying to such letters, which made him a favorite for many a student even following his retirement from public life

Arsenius Jigger never married, nor did he have any known children. When he reached an elderly age, he used his savings to travel further, this time for pleasure as well as for curiosity and study. His notes and observations on magic in its various forms worldwide provided a foundation for much contemporary education in various magical fields. He eventually retired to Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1870, and died there on January 3rd, 1892, on his one-hundredth birthday.

The following represents the third printing since Jigger’s original publication of Magical Drafts and Potions in 1856. Although the content remains the same, the editor has left footnotes to denote changes in legislation, theory, and other relevant content.