History Literature / HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone

** We get an early hint of Harry not fearing death (not as much as Voldemort, at any rate) when he learns what kind of "life" a person who drinks unicorn blood has, and notes "Death's better, isn't it?"

** We get an early hint of Harry not fearing death (not as much as Voldemort, and any rate) when he learns what kind of "life" a person who drinks unicorn blood has, and notes "Death's better, isn't it?"

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:[[PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements Dumbledore had set up the Mirror of Erised so that only someone who wanted to retrieve the Stone, but NOT use it, could do so.]] It's often observed by critics of the novel that, based on the text, the Stone, and by extension the world, ''were never actually in danger [[NiceJobBreakingItHero but for Harry Potter and his friends attempting to protect it]]''.]]

** The Stone was completely protected until Harry rushed in to save the day, since [[spoiler:Quirrell]] couldn't get it out of the Mirror. Then, as soon as Harry looks at the thing, it drops into his pocket.

* AloneAmongFamilies: When Harry is dropped off at the station to get on the Hogwarts Express, he's the only one there all by himself.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The American edition actually kept the line in about Harry wanting to buy as many Mars Bars as he could eat, even though this was referencing the European version (closer to a Milky Way). However, at the time the book takes place ''and'' when it was printed, there was a candy bar called [[https://lerevdr.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/us-mars-bar.jpg?w=584 Mars]] available in the U.S.

* CannotCrossRunningWater: WordOfGod says Vernon Dursley moved his family to a shack on an island because he incorrectly thought wizards wouldn't be able to cross running water .

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment

* DidNotDieThatWay
** Harry lives thinking his parents died in a car crash for ten years, when it is revealed to him by Hagrid that they had in fact been murdered by Voldemort.

* DividedIntoDisaster: While doing work as punishment for getting caught late outside their dormitories, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Malfoy are sorted in two teams, with Neville and Malfoy (the former being bullied by the latter) in the same team.

* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness

* ExactWords

* GiveHimANormalLife: Dumbledore's stated reason for leaving Harry to the Dursleys is that growing up surrounded by the fame of being The Boy That Lived would twist him; better to have a semblance of normality before being introduced to that. While the abuse the Dursleys gave Harry was certainly not in the plan, at the very least it made Harry a HumbleHero who doesn't take his friends for granted.

* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday

** Harry and Hermione both inexplicably forget to put the invisibility cloak back on after delivering Norbert to Charlie's friends, landing them in detention. This mistake is especially out of character for the normally organised and reliable Hermione. Creator/JKRowling had them make this blunder in order to further the plot by having Harry encounter Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.

** Hagrid [[spoiler:takes Harry, Neville, Hermione and Malfoy into the Forbidden Forest to look for a Unicorn killer]] for detention. HarmfulToMinors does not begin to describe Hagrid. Then again, he didn't really know what to expect. Justified in-universe by Hagrid telling Malfoy that this is the sort of useful thing students do for detention instead of 'writing lines'.

* InvisibilityCloak: Harry gets the TropeNamer for Christmas [[spoiler:from his late father, via Dumbledore]].

* {{Jerkass}}:

** Severus Snape: On the general scope, he gives obscenely unfair advantage to his own student house (Slytherin) at every single opportunity, while ignoring their transgressions, while simultaneously jumping at any chance to punish students of other houses. [[ItsPersonal He even holds a special hatred for Harry]] because [[spoiler:his father saved his life.]]

** Hermione thrice uses the "Bluebell Flames" spell which creates bright blue, waterproof flames that can heat without burning -- in the first case Hermione, Harry, and Ron warm themselves with a jam jar full of such fire. However, apparently the spell will burn certain materials like clothing and plants, which is shown in the other two appearances.

* NationalAnimalStereotypes: The boa constrictor that Harry releases is portrayed as Brazilian, using the word [[GratuitousForeignLanguage "amigo"]]. It was pointed out the snake was born in captivity and had never been to Brazil, so it could be that amigo was all it "knew" about that South American country. It is unlikely to have been unintentional, as Rowling speaks Portuguese and lived in Portugal for a time.

** The Stone was completely protected until Harry rushed in to save the day, since [[spoiler:Quirrell]] couldn't get it out of the Mirror. Then it drops into Harry's pocket as soon as he looks at the thing.
** [[spoiler:Quirrell]] easily figured out all the obstacles guarding the stone, but he couldn't get past Fluffy. Enter Hagrid, who tells a complete stranger [[spoiler:(in fact a disguised Quirrell)]] that Fluffy can be put to sleep by playing music to him.

** Dumbledore's defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald, as mentioned on the Headmaster's Chocolate Frog card, appears to be this at first. It ultimately gets subverted as we find out exactly what happened in the last book.

* PreMeeting

* PromotionNotPunishment: Harry's 'punishment' for reckless flying during the broomstick lesson is to be given a position on Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

* TemptingFate

* WhamLine

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Vernon Dursley begins to question his senses when he thinks he sees a cat doing things that cats aren't normally able to do, such as reading a map and eyeing him skeptically. He, of course, couldn't have known that that cat was the [[{{Animorphism}} Animagus]] Hogwarts professor Minerva [=McGonagall=].

* WritingLines: Defied. Draco ''thought'' he would have gotten this as detention for being caught out of bed, but he's sent to the Forbidden Forest to help Hagrid with "servant stuff". Hagrid scoffs when he complains, saying "Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out."
* YouExclamation: Harry has one when he confronts the villain seeking the Stone, albeit not on his own behalf: [[spoiler:Quirrell]].

* AdultFear: The fact that Voldemort killed Harry's parents ''right in front of him when he was a baby'' is about as fearful as a story can get.

* SomethingWeForgot: Hooray, Harry and Hermione got [[FluffyTheTerrible Norbert]] out of Hogwarts! Wait, where's [[spoiler:[[OhCrap Harry's Invisibility Cloak?]]]]

** The reason Dumbledore can't help Harry during the finale is that he is travelling to Paris via broom. There is never any suggestion again of wizards travelling long distances on broom, as later books reveal that all Hogwarts students learn to Apparate (i.e., teleport) as part of the school curriculum. Later books also introduce Portkeys (i.e., objects that teleport those who touch them between fixed places.)

In 2001, the [[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone film adaptation]] was released. Like its source material, the movie earned strong critical reception; it also ended up as the highest-grossing motion picture in the world released that year, and started [[Film/HarryPotter a series of films based on the books]]. Since FirstInstallmentWins, the plot of this book will be much more familiar to non-fans than any of the others.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness

In 2001, the [[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone film adaptation]] was released. Like its source material, the movie earned strong critical reception; it also ended up as the highest-grossing motion picture in the world released that year, and started [[Film/HarryPotter a series of films based on the books]]. Since FirstInstalmentWins, the plot of this book will be much more familiar to non-fans than any of the others.

''[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheReveal "Harry - yer a wizard."]]]]''

--> '''[=McGonagall=]''': He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it.

* AlreadyDoneForYou: The obstacle to the Stone [[spoiler:after the chess board is a troll. Harry and Hermione find it out cold with a bloody lump on its head.]].

--> '''Hermione''': Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this. ''Petrificus Totalis!''

* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness

** Molly Weasley is first shown helping Harry, whom she hardly knows, get onto Platform 9 3/4. Later, she scolds her children for treating him like an exhibit.

--> '''Ron''': You're mad!
--> '''Hermione''': You can't! You'll be expelled!
--> '''Harry''': SO WHAT? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or [[{{Foreshadowing}} turn it into a school for the Dark Arts]]! Losing points doesn't matter any more, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor win the house cup?

** The attempt to kill Harry by knocking him off his broom mid-Quidditch match is hard to take seriously after reading the following books, in which Harry gets successfully knocked out mid-flight several times and securing his landing is always rather trivial. For those keeping count, that means [[JerkJock Cormac McLaggen]] came closer to killing Harry than [[spoiler:Quirrell]] did. A point to note here is, though, that [[FridgeBrilliance it's the youngest Potter we see in the franchise, and he might have not perfected the art of flying at the time.]]

** Hagrid [[spoiler:takes Harry, Ron (only in the film), Neville (in the book), Hermione and Malfoy into the Forbidden Forest to look for a Unicorn killer]] for detention. HarmfulToMinors does not begin to describe Hagrid. Then again, he didn't really know what to expect. Justified in-universe by Hagrid telling Malfoy that this is the sort of useful thing students do for detention instead of 'writing lines'.

* SanitySlippage: Vernon Dursley slowly starts to lose his grip on things as more and more Hogwarts acceptance letters arrive for Harry Potter, nailing up the mail lot, tossing letters in the fireplace and eventually taking the whole family to a deserted island in the middle of a terrible storm in the hopes of getting away. In the film, you can even see that his normally carefully-maintained hair now looks wild.

* CannotCrossRunningWater: Belief in this principle is why the Dursleys take Harry to a shack in the middle of the sea in their attempt to escape the wizarding world.

** Hermione says "What an idiot" word-for-word when Harry goes flying after Draco and the Remembrall.
** Vernon insults magic and threatens Harry in front of Hagrid, a half-giant with super-strength, who happens to be from the wizarding world. It's a good thing Hagrid isn't malicious, or Vernon would've probably ended up with a broken neck, or worse.
** In the film the trio chooses to visit Hagrid at night to talk about the Philosopher's Stone, which results in them getting caught and punished with detention and the loss of massive amounts of house points. Why couldn't they have gone to see him during the day, and if they had to go see him at night, why didn't they use the invisibility cloak? The book has a lesser case of this, with Harry and Hermione getting caught after [[FailedASpotCheck leaving the invisibility cloak]] on the top of a tower after giving Norbert to Charlie's friends, which was something that needed to be done discreetly.

** Vernon insults magic and threatens Harry in front of Hagrid, ''a half-giant with super-strength,'' who happens to be ''from the wizarding world''. It's a good thing Hagrid isn't malicious, or Vernon would've probably ended up with a broken neck, or ''worse''.
** In the film the trio choose to visit Hagrid at night to talk about the Philosopher's Stone, which results in them getting caught and punished with detention and the loss of massive amounts of house points. Why couldn't they have gone to see him during the day, and if they had to go see him at night, why didn't they use the invisibility cloak? The book has a lesser case of this, with Harry and Hermione getting caught after [[FailedASpotCheck leaving the invisibility cloak]] on the top of a tower after giving Norbert to Charlie's friends, which was something that needed to be done discreetly.

''[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheReveal Harry - yer a wizard.]]]]''

* TurnOutLikeHisFather: The Dursleys do not want Harry to follow in the path of his parents: weird, liberal, and wizardy.

* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: [[spoiler:Voldemort claims Harry's parents "died begging [him] for mercy" …]] and then, when Harry angrily asserts he's lying, casually admits he fabricated that story.

** The attempt to kill Harry by knocking him off his broom mid-Quidditch match is hard to take seriously after reading the following books, in which Harry gets successfully knocked out mid-flight several times and securing his landing is always rather trivial. For those keeping count, that means [[JerkJock Cormac McLaggen]] came closer to killing Harry than [[spoiler:Quirrell]] did. A point to note here is, though, that [[FridgeBrilliance it's the youngest Potter we see in the franchise, and he might have not perfected the art of flying at the time of Quirrell's attack]].

* NotAfraidToDie: [[spoiler:Nicolas Flamel and his wife -- when the Philosopher's Stone is destroyed, they can no longer keep making the Elixir of Life indefinitely and so their immortality will eventually end and both will pass away. However, this doesn't bother them at all, with Dumbledore stating that for them, it'll be "like going to bed after a very long day."]]

* ToughActToFollow: In-universe, Ron sees his five eldest brothers -- former Head Boy Bill, former Gryffindor Quidditch captain Charlie, new prefect Percy, and popular {{Class Clown}}s Fred and George -- as this for him.