Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

***Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone*** is a 2001 British fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus. It was theatrically released in the United States on November 16, 2001.

## Plot

Late one night, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, deliver an orphaned infant wizard named Harry Potter to his Muggle aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, his only living relatives.

Ten years later, just before Harry's eleventh birthday, owls begin delivering letters addressed to him. When the abusive Dursleys adamantly refuse to allow Harry to open any and flee to an island hut, Hagrid arrives to personally deliver Harry's letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. Hagrid also reveals that Harry's parents, James and Lily, were killed by a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. The killing curse that Voldemort had cast towards Harry rebounded, destroying Voldemort's body and giving Harry his lightning-bolt scar. Hagrid then takes Harry to Diagon Alley for school supplies and gives him a pet snowy owl whom he names Hedwig. Harry buys a wand that is connected to Voldemort's own wand.

At King's Cross station, Harry boards the Hogwarts Express train, and meets fellow students Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger during the journey. Arriving at Hogwarts, Harry also meets Draco Malfoy, who is from a wealthy wizard family; the two immediately form a rivalry. The students assemble in the Great Hall where the Sorting Hat sorts the first-years into four respective houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Harry is placed into Gryffindor alongside Ron and Hermione, while Draco is placed into Slytherin, a house noted for dark wizards.

As he studies magic, Harry learns more about his parents and Voldemort, and his natural talent for broomstick flying gets him recruited for Gryffindor's Quidditch team as the youngest Seeker in a century. While returning to the Gryffindor common room, the staircases change paths, leading Harry, Ron and Hermione to the third floor, which is forbidden to students. There they discover a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy. On Halloween, Ron insults Hermione after she shows off in Charms class; upset, she spends the entire afternoon crying in the girls' bathroom. That evening, a giant marauding troll enters it, but Harry and Ron save Hermione, and the three make up and become close friends after Hermione takes the blame for the incident by claiming she went looking for the troll.

The trio discover that Fluffy is guarding the philosopher's stone, a magical object that can turn metal into gold and produce an immortality elixir. Harry suspects that Potions teacher and head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape, wants the stone to return Voldemort to physical form. When Hagrid accidentally reveals that music puts Fluffy asleep, Harry, Ron and Hermione decide to find the stone before Snape. Fluffy is already asleep, but the trio face other barriers, including a deadly plant called Devil's Snare, a room filled with aggressive flying keys, and a giant chess game that knocks out Ron.

After overcoming the barriers, Harry encounters Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell who wants the stone; Snape had figured it out and had been protecting Harry. Quirrell removes his turban to reveal a weakened Voldemort living on the back of his head. Dumbledore's protective enchantment places the stone in Harry's possession. Voldemort attempts to bargain the stone from Harry in exchange for resurrecting his parents, but Harry sees through his trick and refuses. Quirrell attempts to kill Harry. When Harry touches Quirrell's skin, it burns Quirrell, reducing him to ashes. Voldemort's soul rises from the pile and escapes, knocking out Harry as it passes through him.

Harry recovers in the school infirmary. Dumbledore tells him the stone has been destroyed to prevent misuse, and that Ron and Hermione are safe. He also reveals how Harry defeated Quirrell: when Lily died to save Harry, a love-based protection against Voldemort was placed on him. At the end-of-school-year feast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are rewarded extra house points for their heroism, tying Gryffindor for first place with Slytherin; Dumbledore then awards ten points to their housemate Neville Longbottom for having had the courage to stand up to the trio, granting Gryffindor the House Cup. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer, happy to finally have a real home at Hogwarts.

## Cast

**Daniel Radcliffe** as Harry Potter

**Rupert Grint** as Ron Weasley

**Emma Watson** as Hermione Granger

**John Cleese** as Nearly Headless Nick

**Robbie Coltrane** as Rubeus Hagrid

**Warwick Davis** as Filius Flitwick

**Richard Griffiths** as Vernon Dursley

**Richard Harris** as Albus Dumbledore

**Ian Hart** as Quirinus Quirrell

**John Hurt** as Mr. Ollivander

**Alan Rickman** as Severus Snape

**Fiona Shaw** as Petunia Dursley

**Maggie Smith** as Minerva McGonagall

**Julie Walters** as Molly Weasley

**Tom Felton** as Draco Malfoy

**Harry Melling** as Dudley Dursley