Stone Defenses WAS Re: [HPforGrownups] Re: We live stereotypes

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 57910

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" 
<bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
>
> This Challenge as a protection is very common in the magical 
world. For example, it is common to let Sphinx guard treasures, 
but a Sphinx guards them with a riddle as we saw when Harry 
encountered the Sphinx in the GoF maze. So why would you have 
a guard/protection that would willingly allow a potential thief 
access to the treasure? Why? Because that's how magic minds 
think. This type of protection. protection by challenge or riddle, 
has a long history in lore, fable, myth, legend,
> fantasy, etc....

I think Steve is on the right track here. The purpose of the 
challenges is to prove the mettle of anyone who seeks the 
Stone. Anyone  possessing the common touch (to get the secret 
of how to pass Fluffy from Hagrid), courage, coolness under 
pressure, physical and mental agility, sacrifice, luck, logic and 
self-denial has the right to achieve the Stone.  Physical maturity 
has nothing to do with it. Neither does magical prowess.  
Indiana Jones, with his bullwhip, torch and pistol, could have 
managed perfectly well. 


The sheer danger of the obstacles is beside the point, and 
except for the Mirror itself, probably illusory. Fluffy doesn't tear 
Snape's leg off, after all, and we don't know if there was really 
poison in *any* of the bottles.

Dumbledore couldn't have known *when* Harry would go after 
the Stone. He may have thought it would be much later, when 
Harry had grown  powerful enough to face Voldemort (who would 
have been trapped by his vision of immortality if he had looked 
into the Mirror.) Harry's intuition that Snape would be going after 
the stone that night had no basis in logic, besides being 
erroneous. Authorial machinations aside , it can only have arisen 
from the subconscious link between Harry's mind and 
Voldemort's.

Pippin