Dumbledore (Was:Could the Stone have been Not Destroyed?)

[dicentra_spectabilis_alba]

No: HPFGUIDX 35408

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Kyli Wayment" <k_wayment at h...> wrote:
> 
> >>I
> >>mean, why would Dumbledore
> >>even _let_ HRH go down to get the stone?
> 
> Andrew wrote:
> 
> >Ermm...'let'?  IIRC, this particular escapade was done against the
>will of 
> >Prof
> >D.  After all, where in canon does it state the he
> >*specifically*  *permitted* this?
> 
> I agree that Prof D didn't *specifally* *permit* that Harry go after
the 
> Stone, but in canon, it says (Ch. 17 SS/PS, page 302 US edition)
"...I think 
> he sort of wanted to give me a chance....I reckon he had a pretty
good idea 
> that were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught
us enough 
> to help. I don't think it was an accident that he let me find out
how the 
> mirror worked....."
>   So, that may mean exactly what comes to the brain, but, if yout
hink about 
> it, it kind of sounds like Dumbledore *knew* the Stone would be gone
after 
> by Voldemort, so he practically told Harry that he could get it.
>   I don't know.... This is just a thought that has been on my mind
for a 
> while, and I could be completely wrong about Dumbledore, not that I'm 
> judging, but, like I said, that thought has been on my mind lately.
It could 
> go either way.
>   
Dumbledore not only knew Harry would go after the stone, he set the
whole thing up so that Harry *could*. This is why, I believe:

1. It cannot be a coincidence that Harry was with Hagrid when he
recovered the stone. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to collect Harry and get
the stone at the same time.

2. It is also no coincidence that the stone was retrieved the day
Quirrell broke into Gringotts. Dumbledore must have known what had
happened to Quirrell in Albania and what Voldemort was up to. He
brought the stone to Hogwarts to protect it, yes, but he also knew
Voldemort would follow it. Perfect opportunity to let Harry confront him.

3. As has been mentioned, the Mirror of Erised was the only real
protection the stone had. Quirrell and Voldemort would have no problem
getting through the other kinds of "protection" surrounding the stone
(though it did slow them down some). The mirror was kind of a monkey
trap--you can't pull your hand out until you let go of the fruit--that
Voldemort could never foil.

4. Dumbledore gave Harry the Cloak of Invisibility for Christmas,
telling him to "use it wisely." What could that mean except "go
roaming about the school after hours to figure out this mystery"? 

5. It's therefore no coincidence that Harry found the Mirror of
Erised. After Dumbledore tells Harry how the mirror works, he says
"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you
not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will
now be prepared." At the time, Harry probably thought the last
sentence meant that he wouldn't waste away in front of it, but I think
he was referring to the confrontation with Voldemort. (And, by the
way, the stone was probably in the mirror the whole time (even before
Christmas?), "unprotected" by the other spells.)

6. Some have suggested, with reason, that the tests required the
cooperation of all three to pass and were deliberately set up this
way. The only test that didn't have this quality was the troll, which
Dumbledore knew would have been defeated by Quirrell before Harry met
up with it.

7. That the test was ultimately meant for Harry alone is shown in
Snape's potions test. Only one person can make it through to the
mirror. Dumbledore counted on that one person being Harry. (If no one
was meant to get to the stone, ALL the vials would contain poison.)

8. Dumbledore was counting on Harry to figure out where the stone was
and who was after it. When Harry asks him later about the fate of
Nicolas Flamel, he brightens up: "Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said
Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You *did* do the thing
properly, didn't you?" The "thing" was the mystery Dumbledore had set
up for Harry.

9. It's possible that Dumbledore was not fooled in the least by the
fake MoM message, instead understanding that Quirrell was making his
move. He "leaves" Hogwarts, but he probably doesn't go far. (He tells
Harry that he makes it as far as London, but I wonder...) As Hermione
later recounts "we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore
when we met him in the entrance hall--he already knew--he just said,
'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."

10. Ron then asks, "D'you think he meant you to do it? Sending you
your father's cloak and everything?" Harry responds (after Hermione's
obligatory horrified reaction), "I think he sort of wanted to give me
a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here,
you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and
instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't
think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked.
It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I
could...." I don't think this is Harry?s personal interpretation. I
think this is JKR's message to the reader.

I wondered what would possess Dumbledore to not only allow, but to
arrange for, a first-year student to confront Voldemort (weak, yes,
but Quirrell wasn't). He must have known that Quirrell wouldn't be
able to touch Harry because the spell that protected him against AK in
the first place was still working. But as he says, "I feared I might
be too late.... For one terrible moment there, I was afraid [the
effort to keep Quirrell off you had killed you]." Ah well, I guess
that there is no reward without risk. But what a risk!

--Dicentra, who's always glad to enlighten the masses :)