Basic Information
Usage	Produced the Elixir of Life and transformed any metal into pure gold
Manufactured	14th century or later

Overview

The Philosopher's Stone is a well-known milestone in alchemy. The ruby-red Stone possessed the power to transform any metal into pure gold and could also be used to create the Elixir of Life, a potion capable of granting immortality to the person who drank it. According to legend, the only Philosopher's Stone ever known to have existed was created by the well-known French alchemist Nicolas Flamel.

Failed attempts to create the Philosopher's Stone could instead produce a Failed Stone. Although it possessed many of the same abilities as the true Stone, a Failed Stone was exceptionally unpredictable and dangerous, making it a powerful object in its own right.

During the 1991–1992 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lord Voldemort sought to steal the Philosopher's Stone to get back on his mission after disappearing. His final attempt, which came dangerously close to succeeding, resulted in a skirmish over possession of the Stone. However, Voldemort was ultimately thwarted by eleven-year-old Harry Potter, preventing him from obtaining the Stone and delaying his return to power.

Creation

Creating a Philosopher's Stone was one of the most well-known achievements of alchemy, and alchemists had attempted for this honour for centuries. Critics of the legend surrounding the Deathly Hallows have suggested that Beedle the Bard, who lived around the 15th century, may have been inspired by the life-extending properties of the Philosopher's Stone when he created the story of the Resurrection Stone. In reality, however, the Resurrection Stone was itself a genuine artefact and possessed powers similar to those attributed to it in its legendary depiction.

Despite countless attempts throughout the ages, the only Philosopher's Stone known to have existed was created by the famed French alchemist Nicolas Flamel, sometime during the 14th century or later. Flamel used the Elixir of Life produced from the Stone to extend both his own lifespan and that of his wife, Perenelle, allowing the couple to live for more than six centuries.

While residing at Place Cachée in Paris in 1927, Flamel kept the Philosopher's Stone in a glass dome at the back of a shelf beside his phoenix book. The Stone remained visible when Flamel met Jacob Kowalski. In 1929, Auror Lou Ferme believed that acolytes of Gellert Grindelwald were planning to steal the Stone.

During Gilderoy Lockhart's time as a student at Hogwarts, he frequently boasted to anyone willing to listen about the many impressive feats he intended to accomplish. Among his ambitions was the creation of a Philosopher's Stone before he graduated from Hogwarts. Despite his claims, Lockhart never succeeded in creating one.

At some point before the 1990–1991 school year, the Philosopher's Stone was placed inside Vault 713, a high-security vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Protection for the stone

Before or during the 1990–1991 school year, Albus Dumbledore became concerned about the safety of the Philosopher's Stone at Gringotts, particularly as dark forces were growing stronger and might seek to obtain the Stone for their own purposes. Dumbledore invited Nicolas Flamel to Hogwarts under the pretence of asking him to give a lecture at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, using the opportunity to discuss the Stone's security with him. Flamel was initially unconvinced that the Stone required additional protection. However, after a student stole a Failed Stone that Flamel had brought for a demonstration, the resulting magical effects caused numerous objects throughout the castle to be temporarily transformed into gold, including the student herself. This incident convinced Flamel that the Philosopher's Stone required greater protection, and he accepted Dumbledore's offer to have it stored at Hogwarts.

In 1991, the Philosopher's Stone became the target of the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort. Voldemort intended to use the Elixir of Life to create a new body for his mangled soul after he had been disembodied during his failed attack on Godric's Hollow in 1981. It is still unknown how Voldemort learned of the Stone. Using the Hogwarts professor Quirinus Quirrell as his human host, Voldemort attempted to steal the Stone from Gringotts. By luck, however, Albus Dumbledore had arranged for Rubeus Hagrid to retrieve the Stone from Gringotts on the very morning of the attempted robbery, allowing it to be moved to Hogwarts and placed under the protections that Dumbledore had agreed upon with Flamel.

The Philosopher's Stone was placed within a specially protected chamber at Hogwarts and guarded by a series of seven enchantments and obstacles provided by the school's professors. Professor Sprout protected the chamber with a web of Devil's Snare, while Professor Filius Flitwick enchanted a set of Winged Keys. Professor Minerva McGonagall provided a life-sized game of Wizard's Chess that she had transfigured and animated. Professor Quirrell supplied a mountain troll, while Professor Severus Snape devised a complex potion riddle. Mirror of Erised was at the end of the series of obstacles, which had been enchanted by Albus Dumbledore to conceal and protect the Stone. Rubeus Hagrid's three-headed dog, Fluffy, guarded the trapdoor through which the chamber could be accessed.

To prevent students from encountering Fluffy or attempting to pass the other dangerous obstacles, Dumbledore forbade all students from entering the third-floor corridor. Harry Potter and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, thought someone was attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone. They however believed that the would-be thief was Hogwarts' Potions Master, Severus Snape. It was based on conversations they had overheard without knowing the full context, as well as Snape's intimidating personality and hostile behavior towards Harry.

Determined to protect the Stone, Harry and his friends went through the various obstacles guarding it. Despite their young age, the three displayed remarkable courage, intelligence, and resourcefulness as they overcame the protections one after another. Eventually, Harry was forced to confront Quirinus Quirrell alone and the weakened Lord Voldemort himself. During the final confrontation, Quirrell lost his life, while Voldemort once again lost his grip on the physical world and was forced into a disembodied state.

After the Philosopher's Stone had been secured, Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel discussed what should ultimately be done with it. They agreed that the safest course of action was to destroy the Stone, thereby preventing anyone from ever attempting to use its powers for their own purposes.

Before its destruction, Flamel ensured that he and his wife, Perenelle, retained enough Elixir of Life to put their affairs in order. The couple accepted that their lives would eventually come to an end and were content with that fate after having lived for more than six centuries.

When Harry learned that Flamel and Perenelle would eventually die as a consequence of the Stone's destruction, he regarded this as a terrible price to pay. Dumbledore reassured the young wizard that, after living for more than 600 years, their deaths would be peaceful and natural, comparing the experience to "going to bed after a very, very long day".

Aftermath

After Voldemort’s attempt to obtain the Stone failed, he concluded that Dumbledore would destroy it rather than allow it to be used by someone else. He therefore abandoned his plans to recover the Stone and began waiting for another way to restore his physical body. His interest in the Stone was limited to using the Elixir of Life to regain a body; he had no intention of relying on the Stone and Elixir indefinitely to maintain his immortality.

In 1995, when Dumbledore’s Army first gathered at the Hog’s Head Inn, Neville Longbottom mistakenly called it the “Philological Stone” while mentioning Harry’s earlier accomplishments.

During the Calamity that affected the wizarding world in the late 2010s, the Philosopher’s Stone appeared as a Foundable. It was protected by a Wizard’s Chess piece Confoundable, which members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to destroy using the Bombardment Spell. Once the piece was destroyed, the Stone was released and returned to its original time.

Nature

The Stone had the ability to transform any metal into pure gold. It was also used to create the Elixir of Life, which extended the lifespan of anyone who drank it and protected them from death caused by old age. Regular use of the Elixir could ultimately make a person immortal.

However, this form of immortality had significant limitations. Once a person had reached their natural lifespan, they became completely reliant on the Stone and Elixir to remain alive. The Elixir prevented death but did not stop the ageing process, meaning that someone who lived for several centuries could become physically frail and aged. It also offered no protection against death from other causes, such as being killed. Descriptions of the Stone in older alchemical texts varied, with some identifying it as red and others as white. Both colours held significance in traditional accounts of alchemy and were often given symbolic interpretations.

A passage in Advanced Potion-Making claimed that the Philosopher’s Stone was believed to greatly increase its user's understanding of alchemy, to the point where almost anything could supposedly be achieved.

Credits/References

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Written by Dione Carrington
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.