Philosopher's Stone
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The Philosopher's Stone is a magical object, long persued by medieval alchemists, that grants the the ability to turn metals into gold and create an Elixir of Life that could greatly extend the drinker's life.
Nicolas Flamel, a well known alchemist, owned the only Philosopher's Stone in existence by 1991. Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, drank enough Elixir to live for over six hundred years (PS13).
The Stone was kept in Safe 713 at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, from where Rubeus Hagrid retrieved it on the Headmaster's orders in order to keep it safe at Hogwarts (PS5).
Lord Voldemort, following his failed assault of Godric's Hollow, was greatly weakened. He plotted to possess the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher on Harry Potter's first year, Quirinus Quirrell, in order to steal the Stone from Gringotts. Luckily, Hagrid had been there earlier that very day, and the attempt was thus foiled (PS8).
After retrieving the Stone from Gringotts, Dumbledore kept it at Hogwarts, using several magical obstacles with varying degrees of complexity to guard the pathway to the Stone; each step was designed by one of the main staff members. It was kept underneath a trapdoor on the third floor corridor, with the trapdoor guarded by the huge three-headed canine Fluffy (one of Hagrid's pet creatures).
Beneath it, a large Devil's Snare awaited trespassers (Pomona Sprout's obstacle). This was followed by a room with broomsticks and hundreds of flying keys bewitched by Professor Flitwick, only one of which opened the lock to the next chamber. In it, there was a human-sized Wizard Chess board in which the players must take part as pieces, clearly bearing the signature of Minerva McGonagall.
The following room had a huge mountain troll, a species of magical creature with which Quirrell was specially skilled. Then came a room with seven potion bottles and a riddle. Needless to say, it was the work of Severus Snape:
Two of us will help you, whichever you will find, One among us seven will let you move ahead, Another will transport the drinker back instead, Two among our numbers hold only nettle wine, Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: Firstly, however slyly the poison tries to hide You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend; Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; Fourth, the second left and the second on the right Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
The last obstacle, designed by Dumbledore himself, was the Mirror of Erised. Only someone who wished to find the Stone for unselfish reasons could see its location in the Mirror.
The Trio's Attempt
Convinced that Snape is after the Stone, Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger set out to find it themselves, hoping to thwart their teacher's plans. They get past Fluffy, using a tip Hagrid accidentally let slip (PS16): the dog sleeps as soon as it hears music.
Harry plays Hagrid's flute, causing the creature to drift off. The three students also notice that someone has left a harp nearby, and fear they may be too late. When faced with the Devil's Snare, Hemione remembers their Herbology lessons, and lights a fire to make the plant shrink away. Harry's Seeker talents come in handy when he has to catch the flying key. Ron's amazing ability when it comes to chess (PS13) is also crucial; he has to stay behind, however, so that the other two can win the game.
Hermione figures out Snape's riddle, but only one person is able to proceed (PS16). When Harry enters the room where the Mirror is kept, he faces not Snape, but Quirrell, who is puzzling over the last obstacle. He has the face of Voldemort on the back of his head, however, and the Dark Lord correctly guesses that Harry sees something that Quirrell does not in the Mirror.
When the teacher tries to touch Harry, however, his skin began to blister and boil. The boy instinctively touches Quirrell's face, making it impossible for the teacher do to anything. Harry faints, and wakes up in the hospital wing three days later with Albus Dumbledore by his side. The Headmaster assures him that everything is secure, and that the Stone will be destroyed (PS17).
This article has to be revised, because it needs some help with tenses, structure, and general coherency.
