|
|
Wizarding
World
Chambers of the Philosopher's Stone "We
must be miles under the school."
Atlas of Hogwarts: The Chambers of the Philosopher's Stone Located deep
underneath Hogwarts, this series of chambers and passages was used to conceal
the Philosopher's Stone (a.k.a.
the Sorcerer's Stone) and protect it from would-be thieves. Dumbledore
placed the Stone there in August of 1991. Then McGonagall,
Sprout,
Snape,
and Quirrell added
various protections. To top it off, Hagrid
provided a giant, vicious,
three-headed
dog to guard the trap door entrance on the third floor.
Devil's Snare
chamber
Passageway
Chamber
of the Keys
Enchanted Chess
Board
Troll
Chamber
Chamber
of the Seven Potions
The potions are a logic puzzle. On a roll of paper next to the potions is this riddle: Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,That indicates that of the seven bottles, three are poison, two are wine, one will get a person safely through the black fire, and one will get a person back through the purple. This puzzle is particularly ingenious because many very clever wizards have no sense of logic at all, which would mean that they would be stuck in that chamber, unable to go forward or back.
The
Chamber of the Stone
"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. My brain surprises even me sometimes..." (Albus Dumbledore)Timeline - The Philosopher's Stone 600 years ago Nicolas Flamel creates a Philosopher's Stone, one of the most wondrous and powerful magical items ever. His is the only such stone ever known to have been created (or at least the only one still in existence in the twentieth century), although many alchemists have tried over the centuries. Flamel uses the Stone to grant himself and his wife immortality. early 1900s Albus Dumbledore works with Flamel on various alchemical projects. The two men remain close friends and partners. mid 1900s The Stone is kept in high-security vault number 713 in Gringotts. 1990-spring 1991 Professor Quirrell, on a sabbatical from Hogwarts where he is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, encounters the disembodied Voldemort in the forests of Albania. Quirrell is overcome and becomes a sevant of Voldemort. The Dark Lord decides to try to get the Philosopher's Stone from Nicolas Flamel to gain true immortality. July 31, 1991 Hagrid removes the stone from Vault 713 to bring it to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore is making arrangements for its safekeeping. At Voldemort's direction, Quirrell attempts to steal the Stone from Vault 713. The attempt fails, since Hagrid has removed the Stone earlier in the day. August, 1991 Dumbledore places the Stone inside a chamber far beneath Hogwarts. Elaborate protections are set up to guard the Stone. October 31, 1991 Quirrell makes an attempt to get past the three-headed dog, after letting a troll loose in the dungeons as a diversion. He fails because Snape suspects what he is up to and goes to the trap door room to head him off. Snape is bitten by the three-headed dog. end of December, 1991 Harry Potter discovers the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore removes it from the room in which it was stored and places the Stone into it. The Mirror is set up in the last chamber as an additional safeguard. evening of June 4, 1992 Quirrell, whose body is now inhabited by Voldemort, bypasses the three-headed dog and the other protections, only to find himself stymied by the Mirror of Erised. Harry Potter, Hemione Granger, and Ron Weasley follow him down. Harry confronts Quirrell and Voldemort and inadvertantly retrieves the Stone. Voldeomort nearly gets the Stone, but is defeated when Quirrell cannot touch Harry's skin because of ancient magic. June 5 or 6 Dumbledore has a "little chat" with Nicolas Flamel and the Stone is destroyed. |