Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

‘Yeh don’ know what yeh are?’ (Chapter 4, ‘The Keeper of the Keys’, p. 54) Hagrid was furious when he heard that the letter left with the Dursleys by Dumbledore had never been read to Harry. Who is Harry and why is his family so famous in the wizarding world?

Why does it take so long for Harry’s wand to choose him when he visits Ollivanders in Diagon Alley? What is special about his wand? Why does Ollivander say, ‘The wand chooses the wizard’ (Chapter 5, ‘Diagon Alley’, p. 92)?

When Harry first meets Malfoy at Madam Malkin’s in Diagon Alley (Chapter 5), he reminds him of Dudley. How are Dudley and Draco alike? How are they different?

The Sorting Hat sings a song at the start-of-term banquet (Chapter 7, ‘The Sorting Hat’, p. 125). What does it say about the members of the four houses at Hogwarts – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin? Harry thinks ‘Not Slytherin’ (p. 130) when he is being sorted. What does this tell you about him?

In Chapter 12, Harry is given an Invisibility Cloak. Why is the Cloak so important to Harry? How does he use it? If you could become invisible, what would you do and where would you go?

Discuss the importance of the Mirror of Erised and the meaning of its name. Dumbledore tells Harry: ‘It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts […] However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth.’ (Chapter 12, ‘The Mirror of Erised’, p. 229) What does he mean by this? What would you see if you looked in the mirror?

While finding their way to the Philosopher’s Stone in Chapter 16, ‘Through the Trapdoor’, what strengths do Harry, Ron and Hermione each contribute to solving the puzzles?

Were you surprised when Quirrell turned out to be the one who was after the Philosopher’s Stone? Was there anything earlier in the plot that led you to suspect him?

Dumbledore tells Harry to ‘Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.’ (Chapter 17, ‘The Man with Two Faces’, p. 320). What does he mean by that? Why is it important to name a thing that you fear?

What explanation does Dumbledore give Harry for the protection he received during Voldemort’s attack when he was a baby? What does he mean when he says: ‘… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever’ (Chapter 17, ‘The Man with Two Faces’, p. 321)? How does this protection keep Harry safe even in the most difficult circumstances?

Why does Dumbledore decide to place Harry with the Dursleys to grow up rather than with one of the wizard families? How does Harry’s experience with his relatives build his character? Harry moves between an unhappy life in Privet Drive and the magical world in Hogwarts. In what ways is his life in the two worlds different, and in what ways the same? How do you think Harry feels as he moves between one world and the other?

Many of the characters in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone have very memorable names. Discuss what some of the characters’ names tell us about their personalities. What do names like Voldemort and Draco Malfoy convey about these characters? What about Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape? And why does Harry Potter have a relatively ordinary name? Can you tell simply from a name what the character is going to be like?

How do the relationships between Harry, Ron and Hermione grow and change over the course of the book? Why do Harry and Ron so quickly become firm friends? Why do they dislike Hermione in the beginning? Discuss the point in Chapter 10, ‘Hallowe’en’, when their friendship is sealed. How are the three different and how are they alike? What qualities and strengths does each of them bring to the group?

Power and the use and misuse of it are big themes throughout the Harry Potter series. In Chapter 17, Quirrell, ‘The Man with Two Faces’, tells Harry: ‘There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.’ (p. 313) What do you think this means? Do you agree with this view? What examples do we see of this theory in the real world?

The wizarding sport Quidditch is a recurring source of fun in the series. What are the rules? Can you name all the positions? Discuss the different strengths of each player’s position and what this tells you about tackling challenges. What position would you like to play? How do Harry’s skills in catching the Golden Snitch relate to his skills in other conflicts and challenges?