Plot Oversight in PS/SS?

[suehpfan1]

No: HPFGUIDX 138884

Derek:
In other words, if Quirrell had somehow managed to use his troll
 diversion successfully at Halloween, and had gotten past the
protections then instead of later in the school year, the Stone
just wouldn't have been there?

Geoff:
This passage, on re-reading, raises a number of questions. First, for 
whom were the protections set up? Was Dumbledore expecting the Trio 
to get through them on their own? Their individual and combined 
talents got them through in the end but was this the result he wanted 
or expected?

The other thought which came to me was, if Quirrell had got to the 
dungeon through the various obstacles, why were some of them still 
apparently intact? The troll was knocked out and the key had been 
used but the chess game and the potion bottles seemed to be intact. 
Was the chess game magically "programmed" to reset itself? If 
Quirrell had solved the logic problem, how is it that there was still 
some of the liquid in the little bottle which we are told that Harry 
drained at one gulp?

Sue(hpfan):
I have always thought the troll at Halloween was a diversion to "see" 
what was guarding the stone and that DD decided after that point he 
had better add something to the collection to make the stone nearly 
impossible to get to.  Clearly, he believed someone could get through 
the others and access the stone. (Clearly to me becuase he added it 
later and as a brilliant mind he figured what the troll was for, as 
did Snape, the night it was released).

As far as the potion goes, there was very little left in the bottle 
that Harry drained in one gulp. Harry describes it as "barely one 
swallow." (US pb 286) I alwasy thought that was because Quirrel had 
already taken enough to get himself through. I am also pretty 
confident that the chess set did indeed get up and re-set itself.

I have always wondered about whether DD knew the trio would try to 
get to the stone.   I think now, after reading HBP, DD would have 
done his best to keep them out and then let the cards fall where they 
would.  I don't think he intended Harry to try and get to the stone 
or face Voldemort.  We know that DD's fatal flaw is his trust in 
people, he evidently continued to trust Quirrel long after Snape had 
stopped trusting him.  We know now that they were very close, DD 
would have known Snape's suspicions and probably told him to wait and 
see, that perhaps Quirrel would come around.  He did not seem to know 
about the whole Voldehead problem.

I am currently re-reading PS/SS to see if I can find anything 
interesting there in regard to Horcruxes and it seems like an 
entirely different book now that I know what I know about the 
relationship between Snape and Dumbledore (not that I presume to know 
the whole truth until this whole series is done, although I'm leaning 
to the loyal-to-DD!Snape side).

Sue(hpfan) who appologizes for rambling, thought I was going to write 
something short and sweet.