



No detailed description is given of the death of Harry’s parents. Not a scar, no visible sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some sort of protection forever.” Violent Content He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. … She was trying to protect you.” Later, Dumbledore says, “Your mother died to save you. The message is clear about the effects of this kind of love: Voldemort says, “I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight … but your mother needn’t have died. Harry’s parents loved him unconditionally, even sacrificially. More important, Ron proves himself to be such a good friend to Harry that he is willing to sacrifice his playing piece (and get knocked unconscious in the process) so that Harry can go on to find the stone. Two positive things here: first, Harry recognizes that Ron is more gifted than he at chess, so he defers to Ron as the wiser partner. Unraveling the Sorcerer’s Stone mystery, Harry, Ron and Hermione find themselves involved in a life-sized chess game, in which they become playing pieces. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there.” For those who take but do not earn must pay dearly in their turn. Positive ElementsĪt the wizards’ bank, Harry reads on the door the following warning against greed: “Enter stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed. Of course, Harry wins, but Voldemort is not defeated forever. He enlists the help of one Hogwarts professor, and in the end, Harry meets both of them in hand-to-hand combat. Voldemort, who lost most of his power in the battle with Harry’s parents, is desperate to find the stone and use it for his own evil purposes. The Sorcerer’s Stone has the power to turn things to gold and to give immortality to humans. Everyone in the wizard world knows more about Harry’s family and his story than he does, so a great deal of the book is about Harry growing into his heritage.īy far the most important happening of Harry’s first year is unraveling the mystery of the Sorcerer’s Stone and coming face to face with Voldemort. Harry’s life as a Hogwarts “first-year” is more interesting than that of most attendees, because he is already famous for surviving the attack of the evil Lord Voldemort, who tried to kill him as an infant. Among Harry’s first-year adventures are making new friends (Hagrid, Ron and Hermione), standing up to the torments of school bully Draco Malfoy, and becoming the star player on his Quidditch team (the favored sport in the magical world). After being raised in the miserably unfair home of his Uncle Vernon Dursley, Harry practically begins life anew when he discovers that he is a wizard and is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
