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

[brewpub44]

No: HPFGUIDX 35436

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "dicentra_spectabilis_alba" <bonnie at n...> 
wrote:
> 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:

Hi, I like your list, but would like to make a couple of comments if 
you don't mind.

> 
> 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.

Let's assume that it is a coincidence. Perhaps DD doesn't think Harry 
will be too interested, Harry will be too overwhelmed with what is 
going on that he won't pay attention.

> 
> 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.

First, there's nothing in PS that I see to elude that DD expected 
Quirrell. And let's look at the coincidence in the other direction: 
DD knows the stone was stolen the same day as Hagrid's retrieval. So 
it is very likely the thief witnessed Hagrid somewhere in the 
vicinity. Then the theft occurs but ... no stone. Any wizard paying 
attention to current (or not-so-current) events knows Hagrid is DD's 
right-hand man; AND that DD is Nicolas Flamel's friend. Put two and 
two together, and ... the Stone is at Hogwarts. Now Dumbledore knows 
that the thief suspects it is at Hogwarts, so he beefs up security.

He uses all the professors to make various traps and such, hoping 
that no one has all the skills necessary to defeat every trap. But, 
after Harry and his friends start to show talent and initiative, he 
has a bright idea. He knows how Lily protected Harry. So, yes, he 
puts Harry into play as a further security measure. 

I'm not sure exactly when he starts to do that, I suspect it's after 
the incident with the troll. I believe DD has been watching Harry 
very closely, and knows the kids are already on the trail. But the 
troll incident makes him believe the trio are also quite competent 
and capable of defending themselves. So at this point he decides to 
give Harry his invisibility cloak. If you notice, they aren't really 
anywhere towards solving much of anything until this moment. They've 
encounted Fluffy, true, totally by accident (although as I write this 
I consider it possible that someone tricked the moving staircase into 
dumping them on the forbidden floor).

Anyway, he puts Harry on the trail. Now the rest of your list makes 
perfect sense, and I wouldn't adjust it a bit.

A Barkeep in Diagon Alley

> 
> 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 :)