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I understand that there is a similar question about this, but I would like to phrase this in a different way.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone there is a series of tests that someone attempting to get to the stone must pass. There is the locked door, Fluffy, Devil's Snare, the key room, the chess room, and the potion room. However, most of these tests could have been much better implemented.

For example, why a giant game of chess? It is made clear that if they didn't play the game, the stone statues wouldn't let them cross, but this is not very efficient. Lord Voldemort is a very smart wizard and would be able to win a simple game of chess. Instead, it could have been just an army of stone statues that attacked whoever came close.

Since the enchantments were made by Hogwarts teachers, if someone needed access, they would never actually do the tests, rather the professors would simply undo the enchantment to let (let's say) Dumbledore through.

Therefore, it seems pretty crappy to have these obstacles have a way around them. Why not just put it in a room with no doors that only Fawkes can apparate into? Then only Dumbledore would be able to get in with side-along-apparition.

Is Dumbledore intending Harry to fight Voldemort? Is there some reason someone, who was not well liked by the staff might need it who wasn't evil? They seem to be taking unnecessary risk. So, is there an actual reason? Or was it just a plot device?

Edit: As I said, I am aware of the similar question. That question asked IF the Stone was well protected. I am asking, rather, WHY was it NOT well protected? Why was there ANY possibility to bypass the protection? Why were there tests that could be passed, instead of obstacles that could not be circumvented?

Gallifreyan
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EvSunWoodard
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  • I'm voting to close. Although you've said that this isn't a dupe, I'm not seeing any good reason that your question isn't a duplicate. Many of the points you've raised have been dealt with in the linked question. – Valorum Jun 27 '16 at 18:12
  • Look at the linked duplicate. Now look at it's top two answers. Now, tell me where it discusses possible reasons for such poor defenses. They don't. Every answer is debating how good the defenses are, now why the defenses were erected in the way that they were. – EvSunWoodard Jun 27 '16 at 18:16
  • This is also dealt with in the dupe. The purpose of the defences isn't to act as an impassable barrier the intruder (as if such a thing were possible against a wizard as powerful as Voldemort), it's to slow them down, divide them and potentially kill them until the big guns (the senior teachers and Dumbledore) get there. "if Dumbledore was in Hogwarts when the intrusion started, then an intruder would have no chance of getting through every chambers before Dumbledore arrived." – Valorum Jun 27 '16 at 18:20
  • In fairness though, if you made the edit into the main thrust of the question, it would stop being a dupe of this and would instead be a dupe of this. – Valorum Jun 27 '16 at 18:23
  • Perhaps they touched on it, but it wasn't the focus of the discussion. The subtlety is clearly lost on you, but it is worth noting. Besides, I find that answer to be not viable, as Dumbledore did NOT get there in a timely manner, nor did the rest of the teachers. In fact, there is no indication that an alarm was triggered, because the rest of the professors SHOULD have gotten there before Dumbledore, since he was away and they were on campus. I would like to discuss these issues, which are NOT the topic of discussion on the similar thread. – EvSunWoodard Jun 27 '16 at 18:25
  • Those would actually be a pretty good question on its own; "Why did Dumbledore take so long to get to the Stone room?" – Valorum Jun 27 '16 at 18:28
  • If you feel that we've been over-eager in closing, you have some choices; editing the question will automatically put it into the review queue. You can also raise the issue on Meta or try to get a concensus in the chatroom to get it opened again. – Valorum Jun 27 '16 at 18:29
  • I suppose the second thread linked does make mine superfluous. I will begrudgingly let this close. Thanks for the input. – EvSunWoodard Jun 27 '16 at 18:31
  • It was never so poorly protected -- it was just that Ron was a very good wizard chess player. – Mr Pie Feb 26 '18 at 07:53

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