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harry potter - Was the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone really that well protected?


The Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) stone was moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts because Dumbledore wanted the stone to be better protected. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone however, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, three 11 year-olds, manage to get through seven magical obstacles designed to protect the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone.



If it was possible for three first year kids to get through the obstacles, then how was the Stone well protected at at all. Did Dumbledore really expect that the teachers' defenses would work against Voldemort?



Answer



Let's step through all the obstacles.




  1. Idiot Test


    The door was locked and required Alohomora.




  2. Fluffy



    This giant, three-headed dog fiercely guarded the trapdoor leading into the actual chamber. I suppose that it would be possible to fight your way past it, but it was such a confined space and the dog was so big that it would be nearly impossible. Even for someone like Voldemort, I suspect that it would be difficult to kill Fluffy without waking up the whole castle or alerting the staff to his presence. The gang (Harry, Ron, Hermione) was able to get past Fluffy because they knew that music would put Fluffy to sleep.




  3. Devil's Snare


    Designed to kill anyone who landed in it, the Devil's Snare was a very clever means of thwarting thieves. One can't fight their way out of it, they have to use a spell. Knowing that Devil's Snare doesn't like heat probably isn't common knowledge in the wizarding community. But due to the fact the Hermione pays attention in herbology, the group can move on.




  4. Key Room


    Filled with flying keys, this room will stop anyone from advancing that can't find the key to the door. Good thing that the group had a quidditch prodigy with them to help them catch the key.





  5. Giant Chess Set


    The only way to move on here is to checkmate the enemy king. Because Ron managed to win against the chess set, it is safe to assume that the other side was not really playing to win, but rather seeking to divide any groups that had made it this far. Or Ron is really good at chess.




  6. Troll room


    In all honesty this isn't a very good obstacle. If you already got past Fluffy then the troll shouldn't be that big of a problem. This is probably by professor Quirrell's design because he wanted to eventually steal the stone for his master. Although if it wasn't already knocked out then Harry and Hermione would've had quite a problem on their hands.




  7. Potion Room



    Containing seven unlabeled potions, this room represents one of the hardest challenges to thieves:



    "Brilliant. This isn't magic — it's logic — a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here for ever." -Hermione



    So Snape's puzzle tests something that none of the others do: that you can logically work through situations. This obstacle also divides groups up because there is only enough potion to take one person through the fire (It is unknown whether Quirrell drank half the potion or it refilled itself, in either case it was still a small vial). Because Hermione was there Harry was able to go on (not that he wouldn't be able to solve it on his own, but it certainly have taken a while).




  8. The Mirror of Erised


    One of Dumbledoe's more brilliant ideas, as he puts it, is to not allow anyone who wants to use the stone to have it. The only way to get the stone is to see yourself possessing it in the mirror. This is what makes the stone very, very well protected. Anyone that wanted to use the stone for their own purposes simply couldn't have it.





Conclusion


The stone is in fact very well protected. The group had a very specific set of skills that allowed them to advance as far as they did, and because Harry had no selfish intentions, was granted the stone.


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