Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
These notes were taken as I reread the first Harry Potter book and serve as my commentary and musings on the first Harry Potter book by J. K. Rowling. Some things are here because I personally found them interesting. Some are here because I think they might become important later. There are even a few theories sprinkled in here. Some comments are things that are perfectly obvious to anyone reading the book, while others might not be so. These are also spoilers for the first five Harry Potter books and speculation for the other two, so be warned!
Chapter One
Dumbledore wears a watch with twelve hands but no numbers. It has little planets alongside the edge instead. We find out in the second book that the Weasleys have a clock like this with each hand attuned to a Weasley with an update on his or her status. This watch seems to be another of these devices, for Dumbledore knows that Hagrid is late by looking at it. To whom are the other eleven hands attuned? Was James one of them? I am deducing that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew are not choices, or else Dumbledore would have known what really transpired that fateful night.
Petunia and Lily had not met up in several years. Petunia did know that Lily was married, albeit to a man she considered good for nothing, and that they had a son named Harry. The book also says that the Dursleys had everything they wanted. These things bring a few thoughts to mind. First, Petunia and Lily did keep in some sort of contact, most likely through letters. Petunia and Lily hadn't met in several years, yet Petunia knew about her nephew. Second, Petunia is most likely the elder sister. If the Dursleys had everything they could have wanted, that implies either Vernon or Petunia entered their marriage with lots of money or that Vernon had been working long enough to accumulate enough money to allow them to buy some luxury items. For some reason, I don't think the Evans or Dursley family was rolling in money. On the other hand, Vernon seems to have a position of some importance at Grunnings. It takes time to work one's way up the corporate ladder that far, and Vernon's not the type to be one of the young, inspired types who seem to sneak up the ladder quicker than most. From this, we can safely assume that Vernon, at least, is older than Lily.
But how can we know how old Lily is? I am basing her age off an interview I once read with J.K. Rowling. It was given around the time Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released. Someone asked how old Snape was, and Rowling said he was 35 or 36. Lily was in Snape's year. Since Harry is 14 in Goblet of Fire, we can say that Lily was 21 or 22 when Harry was born, making her 22 or 23 when she died. So, unless Vernon wanted to marry someone that was close to ten years younger than he is, I would say that Petunia has to be at least older than 23 in this chapter.
McGonagall believes Hagrid's heart is in the right place, but that he has a tendency to be careless.
McGonagall says that Hagrid's the one who told her that Dumbledore would be showing up at 4 Privet Drive eventually. We know that Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow the previous evening (Oct. 31). Hagrid is the one who pulled Harry out of the wreckage of the house. The only person he ever mentions encountering between that time and delivering the child to Dumbledore is Sirius Black, from whom he borrowed the motorcycle. Since McGonagall has been on location since Vernon went to work that morning, this would indicate she met up with Hagrid the previous evening. Before Voldemort's attack, there would be no reason for Dumbledore to show up at the Dursleys to the best of our knowledge. This would mean she and Hagrid had to have talked after the attack, but yet she didn't seem to know Hagrid had the baby. She seemed shocked to hear that Hagrid was bringing Harry. So where was Harry when Hagrid and McGonagall spoke, and why did it take Hagrid and Dumbledore that long to show up at the Dursleys? Whatever they were doing, it seemed to have put them out of touch with the rest of the Wizarding World, since neither of them had heard anything about Sirius's arrest. When exactly did that arrest happen? I might come back and fix this part upon rereading Prisoner of Azkaban.
Wonder what happened to Sirius's motorcycle? Did Hagrid destroy it after Sirius's arrest? Or is it still around somewhere?
Chapter Two
Harry proposes staying home alone when Mrs. Figg can't watch him. Petunia's response, "And come back and find the house in ruins?" (hardcover p. 23) Is she afraid Harry will blow up her house, or that Voldemort will do so coming for Harry? I'm assuming she read the letter Dumbledore left, and that the story of what happened to him and his parents was in that letter. And if she's afraid of Voldemort coming, what does she think she could do to stop him?
Harry has done magic without a wand. He has grown his hair back overnight, shrunk a sweater he hated to hand puppet size, apparated from the ground to a roof when being chased by Dudley's gang, and made glass disappear from the snake's exhibit at the zoo. Hagrid doesn't seem to think this is uncommon and can be done when a young wizard is scared or angry. This could come in handy someday if Harry's wand is taken from him and he is facing Voldemort. Might even be a part of what happened when Voldemort tried to kill Harry as an infant. I am not counting Harry's Parselmouth ability, since this doesn't seem to require a wand to begin with. Neither does shapeshifting, for that matter.
Chapter Four
Voldemort started looking for followers twenty years ago, according to Hagrid. This would place it nine years before Harry was born.
Hagrid's reasons for people to join Voldemort: out of fear or to gain power.
Hogwarts was one of the only safe places left in the wizarding world during the last war.
James and Lily were Head Boy and Head Girl.
Hagrid says James and Lily were close to Dumbledore.
Some of the best witches and wizards of that time period were killed by Voldemort. Family names mentioned in connection with this are McKinnon, Bones, and Prewett. Rowling has been quoted as saying that Susan Bones of Hufflepuff, who is in Harry's year, is a relative of this Bones family. I believe she said Susan was their granddaughter. Does this mean Susan will become more important in later books?
Hagrid is the one who pulled Harry out of the ruins of his house, on Dumbledore's orders.
Vernon knows all about Petunia's "dark" secret. He has known about it since the first page. I find this interesting. Here is a man that hates anything out of the ordinary, but yet he was willing to stay with Petunia when she told him about it. She also had to know Vernon well enough when she told him that he hated things out of the ordinary perhaps more than she does, but she still chose to tell him anyway, knowing she could have lost him then. Although no one thinks about this that much, I think this shows just how deeply Vernon and Petunia really do love each other.
When Voldemort disappeared after confronting Harry, some who had been on his side came back after coming out of trances, according to Hagrid. Were these Imperious Curse victims?
When I was reading this, I got to thinking. We hear about the Muggle-born witches and wizards, and we hear about how important it is to not reveal the existence of the wizarding world to Muggles. The only Muggle family we ever really get to see is the Dursleys, who are atypical even for Muggles. It just makes me wonder if there has ever been a Muggle family who wanted to blab about the wizarding world. Like, for instance, an opportunistic parent sells his or her knowledge to a tabloid or convinces his or her child to show his or her powers. I know the Ministry of Magic is fond of putting Memory Charms on Muggles, but it would seem hard to do that to parents. I'd like to know what they tell Muggle parents to convince them that their child's powers are best kept secret.
Hagrid was expelled in his third year, for reasons we discover in the second book. Dumbledore is the one who let him stay on as Gamekeeper. I have my own theory that Dumbledore also trained Hagrid in magic on the sly. Hagrid's admitted that he still has the pieces of his wand, and it's a pretty safe bet to say he hides them in his umbrella.
Chapter Five
Hagrid says he flew to find Harry. Did he take a broomstick? I have a problem picturing Hagrid on a broomstick, although there's no reason why he shouldn't have one. The movie gives the impression that he Apparated, but it'd be hard for a wizard expelled in his third year to gain an Apparating license. Maybe he still has Sirius's motorcycle.
People wanted Dumbledore to be the Minister of Magic, but he refused to leave Hogwarts. Fudge got the job instead. Hagrid thinks Fudge is a bungler, and says that Fudge sends Dumbledore owls every morning for advice. I do wonder, though, what happened to the last Minister of Magic? When did he or she die? Was it during the last war with Voldemort? Who was the last Minister of Magic? I really wonder if it was James Potter, although he would've been kind of young for the position.
The Ministry of Magic's main job is to make sure Muggles don't find out about the wizarding community.
Quirrell was able to shake Harry's hand in the Leaky Cauldron. In my handwritten notes, I wonder how this is possible now but not later on in the book? This question is answered later on in my notes.
Harry and Draco meet for the very first time in Madam Malkin's shop. I found this conversation fascinating. Here is Draco, raised in a Death Eater family. One would think that he has been raised to not offer very much information about himself, to play his cards close to the vest, as it were. I can see Lucius Malfoy being a paranoid and teaching Draco to be the same. But Draco proves himself to be a chatterbox with a boy he doesn't even know. Yes, he was trying to draw Harry out, but he gave up quite a bit about himself in the process. In a way, this is probably the one scene where Draco doesn't act completely like a Malfoy, but a normal kid who gives somewhat of himself to see if he has anything in common with another boy. Maybe searching for a friend, or as close to a friend as someone like Draco can understand.
Hagrid knows Voldemort once went to Hogwarts. Somehow, I don't think he ever found out that Voldemort's the git that got him expelled.
Lily's wand was good for Charm work, and James's was good for Transfiguration. We know that James ended up being an Animagus which, in my mind, is the ultimate in Transfiguration. What, if anything, does Lily's wand say about her? And what does Harry's say about him? What is it good at, besides being the twin of Voldemort's and being connected to Fawkes the phoenix?
Not only does Mr. Ollivander confirm that wand pieces can be used, but also seems to suspect that Hagrid has used his when he's not supposed to.
A quote from Hagrid that just struck me, "I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard." (hardcover p. 86)
Chapter Six
Books that Harry is in: Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.
Dumbledore was a Gryffindor, as were all the Weasleys.
When Draco's offer offer of friendship is spurned on the train, he tells Harry he'd better be politer or he'd go the way of his parents. He also threatened that things could happen if Harry hung out with the Weasleys and/or Hagrid.
Lucius claimed his family had been bewitched into helping Voldemort. Arthur never believed it. Arthur's a smart man.
The Hogwarts Express conductor is male. There is also an elderly woman who is in charge of the sweets cart. Will we ever find out more about these two, or are they truly nothing more than a train conductor and a stewardess equivalent?One way into Hogwarts is by boat. There is a tunnel that goes under Hogwarts that opens up into an underground harbor. How well guarded is this entrance? Could this ever be considered a weak spot in Hogwarts's defenses?
Chapter Seven
Peeves seems to be treading a fine line with the ghosts. They were discussing whether they should give him a second chance. The Fat Friar was in support of it. What did Peeves do to get them all riled up so? Must have been bad, even for Peeves.
This chapter has a blooper. It is stated that there are only three students left to be Sorted: Dean Thomas, Lisa Turpin, and Ron Weasley. Yet, after Ron is Sorted, a Blaise Zabini is Sorted into Slytherin. It did not specify that there were only three more until Ron, just said three more in general.
Another kid that is Sorted has the last name of Nott. Relation to the Death Eater Nott? If so, we can be pretty sure this kid ended up in Slytherin.
It is "common knowledge" that Snape knows a lot about the Dark Arts and that he dearly wants the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position.
The Bloody Baron is the only one who can control Peeves.
Harry's dream his first night at Hogwarts told him he must transfer to Slytherin because it was his destiny. He dreamt he was wearing Quirrell's turban, and it was the turban telling him this. It got heavier and heavier, and he saw both Draco and Snape. The latter laughed Voldemort's laugh, and then Harry saw the green light.
Could this whole dream have been brought on by something having to do with the failed curse? The Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin. Harry refused. Ever since then, Harry has been concerned that he was put into the wrong house. Perhaps this dream was simply brought on by the events of the day and his scar hurting. Maybe it means something more.
Chapter Eight
Flitwick was very excited to see Harry in his class. Is part of that reason perhaps due to Lily having been good with charm work?
Interestingly enough, Snape only took off one point from Gryffindor each time someone irked him the first day of Potions class. Considering Snape's hatred of Harry and his effort to single Harry out and make him look stupid, taking off only one point a time is pretty mild for Snape. Was this his way of breaking them in easy?
Hagrid refers to Filch as "that old git"
Gringotts break-in is mentioned again. Thinking about the break-in made me think about the goblins and what would happen if they chose to side with Voldemort in the upcoming war. All of a sudden, many wizards would have their assets frozen or perhaps even lose all their money. I'd be curious to know if they chose a side in the last war, or if the Gringotts goblins are truly like Switzerland and always remain neutral.
Chapter Nine
Charlie Weasley was good enough to have played Quidditch for England, according to Oliver.
Chapter Twelve
The Weasley twins enchanted snowballs to follow Quirrell around and hit him on the back of his turban. Sure, they did get in trouble with the school, but how many people can more or less get away with repeatedly hitting Voldemort? 8)
Filch and Snape seem to be pretty close associates. When Snape was injured by Fluffy, Filch was the one who tended him. Snape had Filch on the alert for nocturnal wanderers and had Filch tell him if there were any. Snape seems to trust Filch quite a bit.
Lily had dark red hair and Harry's bright green eyes. James was tall, thin, wore glasses, and had black hair that stuck up every which way.
Took a quote from Dumbledore about the Mirror of Erised. Thought the choice of the word "prepared" was intriguing. "If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared." (hardcover p. 214)
Dumbledore claims he sees himself holding a pair of socks when he looks into the mirror. Harry doesn't think he's telling the truth. So what does Dumbledore really see?
Chapter Thirteen
Second mention of this in the book: Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in 1945 and is the discoverer of the twelve uses of dragon's blood. Will these two things become more important in upcoming books. I find it somewhat interesting that Grindelwald's defeat seems to come right at the end of World War II. But I don't think the first war against Voldemort corresponded to a world event.
Couple of Snape quotes to Quirrell. "You don't want me as your enemy." "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie." (hardcover p. 226) With lines like that, Snape's going to have a tough time convincing Voldemort he's still on his side.
Chapter Fifteen
House points are recorded and displayed on giant hourglasses.
Draco shows fear at the thought of werewolves. He believes they live in the Forbidden Forest.
Werewolves are not fast enough to catch a unicorn. Little is.
Draco's apparent modus operandi: If something happens to him he doesn't like, and he is powerless to change it himself, he will threaten the person with his father.
The centaurs keep saying, "Mars is bright tonight!" Cryptic words and so far unexplained. Mars is probably being used symbolically. Mars is the Roman (?) god of war, and its color has been compared to the color of blood.
It's funny to see Draco run away in fear from something his father has sworn to serve. I hope Draco remembers his first reaction to the face of true evil and what it is capable of when it comes time for him to make that choice, but he is such a Daddy's Boy and wants his approval so badly that Draco will probably choose poorly.
I think this chapter will serve to be very important later. The centaurs say they can read the future in the heavens. Going with the Mars symbolism, it seems to me Ronan really is giving Hagrid an answer to his question. War is coming, evil is very close to hand. Saying Mars is unusually bright says the latter thing to me. Same with the quote about the forest hiding many secrets. One secret is what we discover in this book, and another is the spider in the second book. I wonder what else lurks out there?
Going on with this, I think the centaurs have foreseen the forthcoming war. Other dark creatures lurk in the forest that have not yet been revealed to us. Firenze got in deep trouble for rescuing Harry, being accused of setting himself against the heavens. The others are afraid of getting involved, of interfering. They probably have foreseen that it will come down to Harry and Voldemort, and they might be afraid of taking any action that would alter the outcome. Maybe they have even foreseen Harry's death, perhaps dying to save everyone else. Firenze, on the other hand, may end up being a valuable ally, since he has sworn to set himself against the dark things of the forest.
Perhaps the most haunting part of this chapter was Firenze discussing the effects of unicorn blood. This part was almost identical to the movie. When I saw this scene played out on the screen, it seemed almost prophetic. It made me wonder what would happen if one drank the blood of a unicorn someone else had slain, or drank it unknowingly. I had this vision of a potential scene where Harry is on the verge of death and Ron or Hermione somehow get their hands on unicorn blood and give it to him to drink. Would Harry then be living a cursed life?
Ronan also says that the innocent are always the first victims. Is this foreshadowing Cedric, perhaps?
Harry is wondering at the end of this chapter if his death at Voldemort's hands is written in the stars.
Chapter Sixteen
Harry's head hurt him so bad in the forest he was brought to his knees. The pain persisted in a milder form all the way through exams.
I have to wonder what the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct has to say.
"If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side!" (p. 270 hardcover) Is something going on here? Harry dreams of someone wanting him to turn to the Dark Side. He keeps having pains in his scar. And now he comes out with this on his own.
The chess scene may also become important later on. Not for chess itself, but because of Ron. I can see Ron being a general in the upcoming war. At one point in this scene, Ron also says that he must be taken so that Harry can win the game. He says some sacrifices must be made. I hope this isn't indicative of Ron's death, especially since I think Ron and Hermione will end up together. It could also just be another way of showing Ron's suitability to being a general, since generals have to look to the bigger picture.
Chapter Seventeen
Throughout this book, Quirrell seemed to be in ascendancy, but reporting everything to Voldemort. Using this line of reasoning, Quirrell would've reported to Voldemort everything Snape said to him. Voldemort knows Snape was trying to protect Harry the whole time. This could bode ill for Snape in the future.
Voldemort's revealed face: chalk white, with glaring read eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. (p. 293 hardcover)
Freaky religious parallels: "I have form only when I can share another's body...but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds...Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks." (p. 293 hardcover) Has no form, but has power when others open themselves to him. Drinking of blood also has religious significance. Random thought: Is Voldemort supposed to symbolize the Antichrist?
Going back to something earlier in these notes: Voldemort did give Harry the chance to join him before he tried to kill him.
Voldemort says Lily needn't have died. Sounds like he only killed her because she was in his way. James died in a courageous fight.
Theory on Quirrell touching Harry. When Quirrell first met Harry, he hadn't attempted to steal the Stone from Gringotts yet, so Voldemort was not yet with him constantly. At the end of the book, he could no longer touch Harry, but that's because Voldemort was now with him. This might be obvious, but it took me a bit to grasp this.
Dumbledore did seem to be setting Harry up to go after the Stone. He sent back the Invisibility Cloak with that note. Harry is partly right in his reasoning why, but I don't think it's simply because Dumbledore thought Harry had the right to face Voldemort.
Hagrid made Harry a photo album of his parents by sending off to all his parents' friends for pictures. I'd like to know who else called themselves friends of James and/or Lily besides Sirius and Lupin.
Goyle is almost as stupid as he is mean.
Original notes copyrighted December 10, 2002 by Kelly M. Grosskreutz..
Last modified July 31, 2003.
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