[HPforGrownups] Protecting the Stone(wasRe:Elixir of Life)

[Tasukibeth1 at cs.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 74993


> KathyK says:
> 
> 
> How does Dumbledore know the Philosopher's Stone is in danger?
> 
<snip>

> Now here is where I really need help:  Was the Philosopher's Stone at 
> Gringott's to begin with?  Did Flamel move it there after an attempt 
> was made on it?  
> If the Stone was already at Gringott's, why was it there?  Clearly 
> Gringott's is quite safe (see discussion above), but wouldn't Flamel 
> need the stone to make the Elixir of Life every so often?  Plus, if 
> Flamel had so many means of guarding everything to do with the stone, 
> wouldn't it be safest with him?    
> 
> So now, what if the stone was not removed to Gringott's until after a 
> particularly clever attempt is made to get at Flamel?  Why would it 
> go there rather than directly to Dumbledore?  Did they initially 
> believe that the Stone would be perfectly safe in Gringott's as they 
> had no reason to believe otherwise?  Were they tipped off that 
> someone may try to rob the vault?  
> 
> 
> At first I entertained the notion that maybe no one knew that someone 
> was after the PS until after the attempted robbery at Gringott's, 
> that maybe Dumbledore's moving the stone was coincidence, something 
> he and Flamel had been planning.  Then I rolled my eyes at myself (a 
> difficult thing to do without a mirror in front of me) because that's 
> just ludicrous.  There's no way that Dumbledore set up all those 
> defenses at Hogwarts for the stone without some reason.  Plus, moving 
> the stone right before someone tries to steal it is WAY too big a 
> coincidence to swallow, even for gullible me.  
> I just threw that last bit in there to show you all that my mind is 
> going every which way with this topic.
> 

Beth replies:

The fact that the stone was removed from Gringotts mere hours before Quirrel 
tried to take it was at first, IMO, the biggest, fattest, most gaping plothole 
in the entire HP universe. I mean, If Lord Thingy is dead and there is no 
logical reason to believe that he is not, why all of the sudden efforts to 
protect the stone?  Has Thingy tried to get the stone in the past, which would set a 
precedent? And why was there a break-in merely hours after the stone was 
removed? If that is supposed to be a mere coincidence, I'll eat my book. It just 
didn't make sense to me. But after seeking answers - I hung out on the lexicon 
a lot, and seemed to find what I was looking for - here's what apparently 
happened (I haven't seen any canon to support this, but at this point, I will take 
the answer that makes most sense to me and call it a day):

Flamel has plenty of elixir to last him a while. Maybe he put some of it in 
the freezer, or preserved it in a pickle jar or something. It really doesn't 
matter. After taking an appropriate dosage, he put the stone in Gringotts so 
people wouldn't break into his house trying to steal it. The stone has been 
sitting in Gringotts, unbothered, for an unspecified time. Five, ten, twenty years, 
who knows.

One day, someone breaks into Flamels house looking for the stone. Flamel 
probably has no idea who tried to take it or why, but something about this robbery 
seems a little more...desperate and determIned, so Flamel sends a heads-up to 
DD, who agrees to protect the stone in a safer place. In everyone's mind, 
Hogwarts is completely safe (*cough*Sirius*cough*), since strangers are not 
allowed in, and you can't apperate onto the grounds. So DD takes the stone and puts 
it in the castle, having no clue that the thief is one of his own teachers.

So that's why the stone happened to be withdrawn the day of the break-in. DD 
was tipped off and told Hagrid to get it before the thief made a go for it. I 
don't think Voldy ever even crossed anyone's minds at this point in the story.

Beth in Sacramento
(now if someone could just tell me a satisfactory answer as to why the OoP 
spent all that time guarding the prophecy when they could have easily just blown 
up the stupid thing and called it a day j/k)


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