The Philosopher's Stone

• Type: Legendary Artefact, Alchemical Substance
• Owners: Nicolas Flamel, Albus Dumbledore (as temporary guardian)
• Maker: Nicolas Flamel

The Philosopher's Stone is described in the novel as a blood-red stone. When Harry Potter retrieves it from the Mirror of Erised, he notes that it is warm to the touch and seems to vibrate slightly. (PS17)

The Stone has two primary, legendary properties:

• Transmutation: It can transform any base metal into pure gold.
• Immortality: It can be used to create the Elixir of Life, a potion that extends the drinker's life. Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle Flamel used the Elixir to live for over six hundred years. (PS13)

The continuous use of the Elixir of Life is necessary to sustain one's life indefinitely; once consumption ceases, the user will die, as happened with the Flamels after the Stone's destruction.

The only known Philosopher's Stone was created by the noted alchemist Nicolas Flamel. For centuries, he and his wife lived peacefully thanks to the Elixir of Life. In 1991, Lord Voldemort, in a spectral form and desperate to regain power, began to hunt for the Stone. To protect it, Albus Dumbledore arranged for it to be moved from its vault (Vault 713) at Gringotts Wizarding Bank to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (PS5, PS8) At Hogwarts, the Stone was hidden at the end of a series of powerful enchantments, each created by a different professor to guard it:

1. A giant three-headed dog, Fluffy, guarding a trapdoor (Rubeus Hagrid).
2. A patch of Devil's Snare (Professor Sprout).
3. A chamber full of enchanted flying keys (Professor Flitwick).
4. A life-sized wizard's chess set (Professor McGonagall).
5. A mountain troll (devised by Professor Quirrell, but defeated by him prior to Harry's arrival).
6. A logic puzzle involving potions (Professor Snape).
7. The Mirror of Erised, which would only reveal the Stone to someone who wanted to find it, but not use it for personal gain (Albus Dumbledore). (PS16, PS17)

Believing Professor Snape was trying to steal the Stone for Voldemort, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger braved the protections. In the final chamber, Harry confronted Professor Quirrell, who was revealed to be sharing his body with Voldemort. Due to Dumbledore's enchantment, Harry was able to retrieve the Stone from the mirror while Quirrell could not. (PS17) Following the confrontation, Dumbledore and Flamel mutually agreed that the Stone posed too great a temptation and that it must be destroyed. (PS17)

The Philosopher's Stone is the central plot device, or MacGuffin, of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Its pursuit by Voldemort drives the main conflict of the story. The Stone introduces the critical theme of immortality, which becomes a cornerstone of Voldemort's character and motivations throughout the series, later explored through his creation of Horcruxes. The quest to protect the Stone serves as the first great adventure for the trio of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, solidifying their friendship and demonstrating their unique strengths and bravery. Dumbledore's final conversation with Harry about the Stone's destruction establishes a key philosophical idea of the series: that there are things far worse than death. (PS17)

• The concept of the philosopher's stone is based on a real-world legend in the tradition of alchemy. It was reputed to be a substance capable of turning lead into gold and creating an elixir of immortality. The historical Nicolas Flamel was a real French scribe who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist.
• For the American publication, the title of the first book was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. All instances of “Philosopher's Stone” within the text were also changed to “Sorcerer's Stone” to, according to the publisher, make it sound more appealing to a younger American audience.
• In the film adaptation, the Stone is depicted as a jagged, crystalline object with an internal glow, rather than the simple, smooth stone-like appearance implied by the book. (film)