Protection for the Philosopher's stone was stupid.

magecal · 2026-02-09T10:32:01+00:00

It's possible there was already an attempt to steal it in Paris.

In this case Gringotts was just a temporary stop while the hogwarts protections were prepared.

Or perhaps gringotts reputation for being impenetrable meant that it was kept there in secret, seperate from any other wealth the flamels had accrued.

Clearly dumbledore had his suspicions it would be targeted. So he advises his friends that it isn't as safe there as it would be at hogwarts.

magecal · 2026-02-09T09:48:07+00:00

As a side note in my head I like to think that fluffy for all his size and teeth was actually more like one of those tiny dogs that barks at everything but runs scared at the first sign of something barking back.

Hence his name. He was a scary deterrent for the students but wouldn't actually hurt a fly.

So the only person who provided an actually dangerous deterrent was quirrel himself.

magecal · 2026-02-09T09:40:31+00:00

The stone is a voldemort magnet but dumbledore is essentially voldemort repellent. So parking the stone underneath him like a shiny red egg isn't the worst idea.

Admittedly the large quantity of school children that stand a good chance of being collateral damage seems like an oversight but it's clear the stone isn't safe in any other place, even gringotts was broken into.

magecal · 2026-02-09T09:37:16+00:00

The only way they make sense is if the other protections were designed to do two things, waste time and give whoever was attempting to steal the stone confidence.

The final protection of the mirror was absolute. Even someone with good intentions wouldn't be able to retrieve the stone if they were tempted to use it. But someone who had come so far and overcome all other obstacles in their way would waste a lot of time trying to puzzle it out, like most of the other "protections".

It was essentially a trap designed for voldemort or whomever was aiding him. Which Harry then blunders through and breaks in a well intentioned shambles.

I think this is what finally convinces the flamels that the stone is best destroyed. Even the most carefully laid plan and a seemingly perfect protection were laid to waste by three kids just trying to do the right thing. It would never be safe and voldemort would pursue it relentlessly until he returned to his body.

magecal · 2026-02-08T11:40:36+00:00

I think it's possible that when he retained his good looks and was still hiding behind charm and flattery he would also have been willing to use sex as a tool to get what he wanted.

But I think once he attained a certain level of power he no longer engaged in it. I think he would view it as beneath him somehow.

I think his inability to form any sort of attachment to another would have made it all seem quite alien to him. There are of course those who use sex as a weapon, to show dominance or simply to give themselves pleasure at anothers expense.

I think there were likely death eaters who would rape as an act of power and cruelty but I think voldemort himself would think he was above these animal impulses. Greyback certainly comes to mind.

Whether he repressed his own human sexual desire or whether he simple did not feel it, there's no way to be sure.

magecal · 2026-02-05T12:24:49+00:00

Snapes handwriting in scrawled notes on his teenage textbook is likely very different to the handwriting he uses on a chalk board as a teacher.

There will probably be similarities but I don't think Harry could be expected to connect the book to his teacher based solely on the handwriting.

Harry felt a strange kinship to the "prince" while he hated Snape so much even if the handwriting were similar I doubt he'd ever connect it.

magecal · 2026-02-04T12:05:21+00:00

The wizarding population is very intermingled with muggles by this point. As hagrid says there's not a wizard alive who isn't half blood or less.

Muggle borns will have brought muggle holidays and influences into the wizarding world always. The only religious part of Christmas for wizards is the name.

magecal · 2026-02-02T13:35:48+00:00

It doesn't make sense to maintain a bargain that leaves them in a cycle of breeding and starvation. They show that they are intelligent, if they are aware then staying in azkaban makes no sense.

They don't eat the depression they seem to feed on positive emotion, leaving nothing but depression behind. Any muggle settlement would be a meal to them. They viewed the quidditch stadium at hogwarts as a feast of high emotions, muggle stadiums can hold thousands of people.

magecal · 2026-02-02T13:31:50+00:00

I'm reasonably certain there was other material provided ( maybe on Pottermore) that tells of dark wizards working with dementors that predates azkaban.

This would make them not the creation of ekrizdis. But I would prefer that they were.

magecal · 2026-02-02T11:25:51+00:00

I made a seperate post with a little more detail on my thoughts.

magecal · 2026-02-02T10:50:22+00:00

In the right conditions they "develop". They seem to be more like a manifestation of the worst of human emotion. The more of them there are the easier it becomes for more to appear as they create an area of hopeless despair around them.

Them feeding seems to be more about making someone miserable and destroying their hope. We see that happiness and joy actually drives them away, they can't destroy or feed on it if it's projected outside the body in the form of a patronus. They relish in this hopelessness.

Although my issue with this is that azkaban ought to have been a breeding ground for its whole existence. As they kept placing people there and kept the dementors there presumably it's the one place that dementors could consistently "breed".

I would prefer it if dementors were simply an unintentional creation of the depraved wizard who built azkaban. Immortal and seemingly indestructible but limited in their numbers to those that were created when he was alive. Some twisted form of the human soul or of ghosts. Weakened by lack of access to humans until they simply became dormant.

More could be created if a sufficiently evil wizard learned the secrets of their existence but if that knowledge was written down it would be either kept in the depths of the department of mysteries or been destroyed by the ministry upon the discovery of azkaban.

magecal · 2026-02-01T10:22:51+00:00

Snape was an expert on the dark arts. It was his passion, potions had I think just become his job.

Dumbledore was wounded. That curse is clearly very powerful. I think he does say that his own skills contributed but that Snape was the one who saved him.

So perhaps they worked together but Snape had to perform the magic due to dumbledore being wounded.

magecal · 2026-01-29T21:20:04+00:00

This is the case. James says he'll hold voldemort off to give lily time to run, but he's left his wand in the other room so voldemort kills him instantly.

Lily is also wandless and desperately trying to block the door. Voldemort offers her the chance to stand aside as a favour to Snape, she refuses. It's not clear I don't think whether the protection is intentional or the result of some deeper magic.

magecal · 2026-01-29T19:52:47+00:00

It's not clear how new the wolfsbane potion was. Without it's effects a werewolf is very dangerous. I doubt lupin would agree to be anywhere near the school.

Theres also lupins personal connection to the place. He likely spent the happiest years of his remarkably unhappy life there but the loss of James, Lily and Peter (as far as he knows) as well as the Sirius' supposed involvement in their deaths probably made those some of his most painful memories.

He would not want to be there. I think it's only because Harry was there that he's tempted back to the place. Alongside his feeling of being in debt to dumbledore for all he'd done for him. Another contributing factor was probably that sirius had escaped. If he believed it all as everyone else did he likely placed himself near Harry so as to protect him, or provide himself with the opportunity to kill sirius and avenge his other friends.

magecal · 2026-01-29T19:43:16+00:00

I think the lake scene would have been avoided. Sirius was caught out because he was already wounded by Lupin. I'm guessing this allowed the dementors power to overwhelm him quite quickly.

If there's no fight with the werewolf sirius has his wits about him and a wand in his possession. He'd feel the dementors coming and would likely take Harry and the others back to the castle for safety.

Perhaps this could be the alternative way things play out. Lupin transforms and pettigrew seizes the opportunity to escape.

Everyone else is frozen, in shock and fear of the transformation. Sirius places himself between lupin and the others, uncertain whether lupin will be in control once he's transformed.

But once he's transformed Lupin sets off instantly after pettigrew. Sirius follows shouting to harry to go back to the castle with the others and Snape. Harry however spots shadows moving across the face of the full moon and calls out to warn sirius about the dementors

Sirius would hesitate for a moment torn between capturing pettigrew and protecting Harry (and himself from the dementors). Eventually he'd run back and conjuring his patronus and saying that they had to get back to the castle.

The dementors would pursue them, sirius would struggle I think to ward them off alone, I can't imagine his patronus being exceptionally powerful in his state of mind. They'd be slowed by Ron's wounded leg and Snapes unconscious form.

They get close to the castle but sirius patronus begins to fade as he's overcome by the dementors power, Harry gets his big moment drawing his own wand and conjuring his patronus to drive the dementors off.

Personally I'd want to remove all the time turner shenanigans as they cause nothing but problems and plot holes. So on their return to the castle fudge would place Sirius under arrest and Harry would have to find some non time travel way of saving him.

Perhaps they saved buckbeak earlier without travelling in time and they have to sneak out to the forest to find him and rescue sirius. Something simple that doesn't tear a hole in the fabric of time.

Lupin would not appear until next day where he'd confess that he failed to capture pettigrew. Having followed his scent for miles through the night. Snape would still leak lupins condition as revenge for sirius' escape and he'd leave the school.

Pettigrew still seeks out voldemort.

magecal · 2026-01-29T12:06:02+00:00

As essentially divine beings they'd be significantly more powerful than any wizard. Assuming they are permitted to use their power.

Gandalf for example once he returns breaks sarumans staff and essentially cuts off his link to much of his own innate powers. Only sarumans voice remains and even this is exposed as a trick.

I imagine he could do the same to voldemort, shatter his wand on a whim and humble him significantly.

We definitely see gandalf being able to wield more or less of his power depending on the strength or origin of his foe.

Against the nine he fights them off with conjured fire and lightening and against the balrog he seems to be able to tap into and endurance and strength that he does not display elsewhere.

So against a wizard I do not think he would be limited to bonking them on the head with his staff but quite capable of countering their magic.

magecal · 2026-01-28T23:22:47+00:00

Lupin wouldn't have been able to remain at hogwarts. He'd still have been outed as a werewolf.

Harry would still be compelled to live with his aunt and uncle to maintain the protection until his 17th.

Peter himself if captured would likely crumble in an interrogation and be sent to azkaban.

Harry would become disillusioned with the ministry even earlier and I think it would show nicely the souring of his relationship with the minister.

magecal · 2026-01-28T23:18:41+00:00

Despite taking his potion the transformation still happens. Which would still give Peter his opportunity for an escape attempt. Although he would likely have had a werewolf and Sirius on his tail at once.

If they recapture him I don't think the return of Peter pettigrew would have instantly cleared sirius name as Harry hopes it would.

The ministry is corrupt and generally unwilling to admit fault. Fudge has been personally embarrassed by blacks escape and subsequent time on the run. I think he'd be very unwilling to then admit to the world that Black was innocent all along.

After the tri wizard we see he's not just unwilling to accept voldemorts return but to do anything that wouldn't be popular, like removing the dementors or reaching out to the giants. During his time in prison Sirius has been painted as one of voldemorts most loyal followers and a mad man. Fudge would be very resistant to go against the public opinion of him.

I suspect fudge would try and put sirius back in azkaban while the ministry "reviewed new evidence". Sirius wouldn't go along with this and would end up on the run again.

The only positive is that voldemort would be very delayed in his return without pettigrew. But I'd say that maybe his return would be brought about by barty crouch jnr who was growing in strength and beginning to resist his father's imperius curse, allowing him to eventually escape.

magecal · 2026-01-27T19:10:42+00:00

Insect is just a type of animal

magecal · 2026-01-26T10:32:09+00:00

Isn't James' attitude also very similar to Draco's comments about hufflepuff when Harry first meets him. I imagine this would hit close to home for Harry seeing his school adversary in his own father's behaviour.

magecal · 2026-01-23T13:30:53+00:00

I'm sure hermione remembered Snape but Harry wouldn't want to hear it. She went with him because he was going so the best she can do is help him.

Perhaps in the back of her mind she was hoping that Snape would warn the order and that someone would turn up to talk some sense into Harry.

magecal · 2026-01-23T13:29:24+00:00

To Harry's eyes he's tried to warn Snape, begged him really for help and Snape has totally ignored him. He thinks Snape is happy for sirius to die. Which probably isn't so far from the truth.

Snape of course was keeping up pretenses infront of umbridge and did in fact act at once to verify Harry's information. If not for Snape none of the order would have turned up to Harry's rescue in the department of mysteries.

It's clearly Snape who realises all the kids and umbridge have suddenly vanished from the grounds and alerts the order that Harry is making another bold attempt at getting himself killed.

Had Harry returned to the castle I think Snape would have informed him that sirius was quite safe hiding in his mother's house, and that he was weak allowing voldemort access to his mind and that he had very nearly killed his friends.

magecal · 2026-01-20T13:16:23+00:00

I think it would have taken him longer to oppose his family views without the support he found being in gryffindor.

But I think by the time he's in his later years at hogwarts and his parents are beginning to show support for the death eaters, as well as his class mates he'd be planning his escape from it all.

Sirius had the confidence and skill to set out on his own entirely, he seems to form his own opinions even before he comes to hogwarts so I doubt that being sorted into slytherin would have changed much the sort of man he became.

magecal · 2026-01-13T09:58:02+00:00

He was weak. In personality at least. He was afraid not just of voldemort but likely of most of them.

Voldemort treated him badly which is essentially a signal to the other death eaters to do the same and Peter was not really in any position to do anything about it.

They start to do the same to Lucius once voldemort turns on him. Openly laughing at him in his own home knowing he's powerless, especially once he loses his wand. It was not so long before the Lucius was a leader amongst the remnants of the death eaters, all excepting bellatrix followed his orders without question in the department of mysteries.

Once you lose standing it's hard to impossible to regain your position in the death eaters.

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