The Other Philosopher's Stone

As I mentioned before, someone "leaked" some teasers about Deathly Hallows.

One of them had to do with there being something other than gold, something hidden, in Harry's Gringotts vault. That's actually not such a big surprise. The interesting part is what the item could be, how it got there, and why it's there.

I'd already suggested that Harry somehow comes across another Philosopher's Stone. I mean, we have Dumbledore telling Harry, in PS/SS, that that "particular" stone was destroyed... the one belonging to Nicholas Flamel. Flamel was the only known maker of the stone. It doesn't mean he's the only person to have ever made one. It also doesn't mean he only made one.

I had also suggested that Harry finds this "new" stone in the locked Love Room of the Department of Mysteries. My reasoning was that the stone has also been a symbol of love and perfection, not just a way to make gold or gain immortality. The people who work at the DoM are called Unspeakables because they do not speak about the things they study or develop in their department. So, if they had access to a Philsopher's Stone they would be bound not to tell the wizarding public about it. I considered the possibility that Lily worked for the ministry, as an Unspeakable... in the so-called Love Room itself.

But after the supposed teaser leak I got to thinking again. What if the stone is actually in Harry's vault? How did it get there? Then I thought back....

If you go to www.jkrowling.com and find the cool items to add to your scrapbook, one of them is an exerpt of an early draft from PS/SS, from way back in 1991. In it, the trio talk about Nicholas Flamel, how he's known for making the Philosopher's Stone, and how he died because someone stole his stone, leaving the Flamels without enough Elixir of Life to keep them alive much longer (not long enough to make another one, at least). Then Harry tells Hermione and Ron about his and Hagrid's trip to Gringotts. Harry states that Hagrid removed the stone from Harry's vault (not vault 713) when Harry withdrew some of his gold. The trio go on to discuss how the stone got into Harry's vault. I believe it's Ron (of course) who suggests Harry's parents stole Flamel's stone. Harry doesn't take the suggestion well, since he equates stealing the stone with killing the Flamels... someone else had to have stolen it. Someone else had placed it in Harry's vault. Jo chose to abandon this plotline, opting instead for the Flamels to still be alive and to choose to let the stone be destroyed, to choose death instead of eternal life.

Now why did she take this route? It's not really a matter of whether the Flamels live, since they die in both versions. Jo decides to have Flamel choose death. It's best to remove Voldemort's temptation -- keeping Voldemort from the stone is worth dying for.

This still doesn't rule out the existance of another stone. It greatly decreases the chance that Nicholas Flamel had ever made more then one, though.

Now let's look at Lily and James. Lily is particularly good at potions (a major component of alchemy) and charms. James is particularly good at Transfiguration (another major component to alchemy, since it's one of alchemy's main goals). Could they have been advanced enough at such a young age to produce a Philosopher's Stone? Perhaps. But why would they even try to make one? James came from a wealthy family and inheritted lots of money from his parents, so they were in no need of more wealth... nor do they seem greedy. They apparently didn't have any Elixir of Life on hand when Voldemort came to call, nor do they seem to fear death. James faces Voldemort with courage and pride. Lily sacrifices herself, ultimately saving Harry from a Killing Curse. Here, protecting your family from Voldemort is worth dying for. Harry's what's worth making a Philosopher's Stone for -- the hope that he'd use it some day (not for gold or everlasting life but) to defeat Voldemort.

But what if Lily and James didn't work together to make a stone? As brilliant at magic as they must have been, they did die in their early 20's. Flamel was quite old when he finally succeeded in making the stone, and he had been trying for many years. Back to the idea that it could have been made over several years in the Department of Mysteries, perhaps with Lily's help (if she worked there). The Unspeakables wouldn't be allowed to tell the public they'd made one, so the general public would continue to give Flamel sole credit. So, how would it end up in Harry's vault? Like Harry says to Hermione and Ron in that old draft -- someone stole it and placed it in his vault. But who? If it's Lily and/or James we're stuck with the reality of them being thieves, and though that's not cool at least they didn't murder the Flamels. Perhaps helping Harry is worth stealing for....

This leaves a huge question still: why would James and Lily (or anyone, for that matter) provide Harry with a Philosopher's Stone when we figure that if it's there in the vault it would have to have been there for a very long time, probably before Voldemort attacked the Potters? Someone knew the prophesy... in it's entirety... and expected Harry to survive the attack.

There is a good chance that Dumbledore told Lily and James the complete prophesy (after Snape warned Dumbledore that the Potters were the chosen target). This would allow Lily and James to prepare for the possibility of attack, in the event that their Secret Keeper spilled the secret. This would help explain why James could have the forethought to send his Invisibility Cloak to Dumbledore, expecting Harry to survive and eventually attend Hogwarts. Dumbledore said he and Harry were the only ones who knew the full contents of the prophesy, but he must mean that no one else alive as of OotP knows the full contents... and he could yet be wrong.

Whoever placed the stone in Harry's vault (if one was placed in there before the attack) would have to have known Harry would survive the attack... or at least expected him to.

The only candidates I can think of for expecting Harry's survival and planning for his training would be: Lily, James, Dumbledore, Snape (if he heard the entire prophesy), and whoever worked in the Hall of Prophesy and labeled the prophesy orb.

Speak not the number....

I have (so far) found two references to 666 in the HP series. JKR isn't obvious about it, and she doesn't have to be....

But before I get to the examples, I want to state that 666 is a symbol of the ultimate apostasy -- it's the point at which one abandons their beliefs or their cause and takes up the opposing beliefs or cause. Without getting too deep into discussions about Satan, let's just think of 666 as the ultimate in human imperfection. It's the number for the physical world. We could say it's symbolic of all the foibles of mankind.

The first I found is in PS/SS, when Hermione reads about Nicholas Flamel to find out he is 665 years old... as of the previous year. That means in 1991 Nicholas Flamel is to turn 666. Dumbledore says he had a discussion with Flamel and that they decided it would be best to destroy the stone. Perhaps Dumbledore pointed out to Nicholas just how old he would be when his next birthday rolled around? I don't know how long it took for the Flamels to get their affairs in order (how much elixir they had remaining), but Nicholas Flamel probably died at the age of 666....

The second time I noticed a 666 reference it was much more subtle, in HBP. Harry is making Draught of Living Death in an attempt to win the vial of Felix Felicis, and using the HBP's potion notes, he's adding a clockwise stir after every 7th counterclockwise turn. He does this 7 back, 1 forward stirring technique three consecutive times before Slughorn tells the class to stop working. 7-1 = 6, 7-1 = 6, 7-1 = 6. That's a hidden 666.

In the first case, Flamel does the right thing and either destroys the stone or allows Dumbledore to destroy it. This was a difficult decision on the part of the Flamels, particularly Nicholas, since he made the stone. Dumbledore talks about Flamel as a friend and alchemy partner who might have made poor decisions in the past (choosing things that he didn't need, like immortality and material wealth). Here 666 seems to be symbolic of covetousness and greed, even the desire to prolong life beyond a natural lifespan. However, Nicholas finally realized the truth of it and conceeded to Dumbledore. I wish we could have heard Dumbledore's and Nicholas Flamel's "discussion".

Much the same could be said of the second senario: Harry wants the Felix Felicis (a dubious potion in itself) and will do whatever it takes to get it. Hermione considers it cheating and is concerned about the book, in general. We have to question whether the number is good or bad. For one thing, counterclockwise is generally considered "sinister" (both literally and figuratively), and clockwise is good, even "lucky". So adding a "lucky" stir after 7 sinister ones...this is good, right? And Harry uses the Felix Felicis as a means to a good end, right?

On a side note: If Harry had continued the Prince's directions to make the Draught of Living Death there would be this string of 6's. Are these potions instructions actually a "dark" way of making the draught? Would it be the same potion, or would it have "dark" properties and perhaps act more like a poison? Don't know, but it's something to consider, since Severus studied the Dark Arts so intently....

It's odd that two instances of the number 666 should lead to such positive outcomes. Flamel gives up the stone, giving in to old age and death. Harry uses the Felix Felicis to help his noble cause (regardless of tactics). Of course, we're brought back to what Dumbledore says... that it's the choices one makes, not their abilities. It also gives us insight into why Dumbledore gives people second (or more) chances to choose the "right" path. The temptations can be quite, well...tempting.

It looks as though, in the Potterverse, the number 666 is neither evil nor good, but just a symbol of human weakness.

Has anyone found other references to 666?