Mirror images

[rubyxkelly]

No: HPFGUIDX 95669

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Barry Arrowsmith <arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
> This a re-vamp of a post I made last year with additions and a few 
> modifications. First time around there were no firm conclusions 
> reached; not many this time either, but it may give somebody else 
> encouragement to come up with something new.
OK. I (Kat a.k.a. KAT/rxk) have added a ittle bit-with much snippage, please excuse.
> 
> Suppose for example he had  wanted to know what had happened to his 
> parents?
> 
> But Harry looks in the mirror and sees a motley collection of folk, 
> fronted by his parents. There's not  much indication if he's looking at 
> representatives of both families or only one, but the Evans's are at 
> least represented - there's a scattering of green eyes among the crowd. 
(SNIP) 
> Depressingly, once again Harry doesn't ask the obvious questions - "Who 
>   are all these people?" would have been nice, might have cleared up a 
> few problems.
(SNIP)
I don't have the book handy, but weren't the people described as trailing out from behind BOTH of Harry's parents, implying that they are relatives from BOTH sides? Of course, since Harry's desire is for a large, warm family, we don't know how accurate that pictured group is, nor if it merely deicts what Harry imagines that family to be. Also, doesn't he already know how his parents died? 
(SNIP)
> Noses were prominent among the crowd. Hmm. Petunia and 
> James have noses worthy of mention, but there again so does Snape.
(SNIP)
And Dumbledore, as well! In fact, the descriptions of Dumbledore and Snape have an awful lot in common-both being tall, thin, hook-nosed, long-haired, and with a great deal of emphasis of the eyes (Dumbledore's being "warm/sparkly" and Snapes' being "cold/glittery". I wonder if they're related...after all, Snape could probably be Dumbledore's great-great-grandfather/uncle, considering the age difference...).

> "I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of > my more brilliant ideas, and 
> between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who
> wanted to *find* the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to 
> get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking 
> Elixir of Life.
(SNIP) 
> Pause a moment, wasn't that was Quirrell wanted?
(SNIP)
> He had no intention of using it - "I see the Stone...I'm presenting it 
> to my master...but where is it?"> 
(SNIP)
> The really important protection was DD's. And it couldn't have been the 
> spell he tells Harry about otherwise Quirrell would have got the Stone. 

KAT/rxk
But Quirrel DID want the stone to use it to benefit himself-by giving it to LV, he expected to be greatly rewarded; perhaps through the riches it might create or even some of the elixer. Hence, his motives would not be "pure", whereas Harry's were to keep the Stone safe. regardless of his own safety OR that of R&H. Even an 11-year-old would be able to grasp the implications of such an object falling into the possession of LV.
It seems obvious, though, that there were other safegaurds...otherwise Dmbledore & co. wouldn't have arrived to find H/R/H.
My guess would be that a good deal of the set-up around the mirror was, in fact, a trap to find whomever was after it. 
However, I don't really think we can expect JKR to spill the beans in the 1st book; if Dumbledore doesn't withold everything from Harry, what's the point in writing any further ones?
And SPEAKING of things Harry has found out-why did he never report the conversation regarding Lucius Malfoy's secret stash of banned Dark Arts paraphenalia that Harry overheard in the shop in Knockturn Alley?
Kat/rxk