The Entire Skirmish in-the Entire Underground Chambers

**Voldemort**: "*Don't be a fool. Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents.... They died begging me for mercy...*"
**Harry Potter**: "*LIAR!*"
**Voldemort**: "*How touching... I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave.... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you.... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.*"
**Harry Potter**: "*NEVER!*"
— Voldemort demanding Harry Potter give him the stone[src]

This **skirmish** was a battle that took place on ***4 June*** 1992, during Lord Voldemort's attempt to use Quirinus Quirrell to steal the Philosopher's Stone. It was also Voldemort's second attempt on Harry Potter's life.

## Part of

### Location

Underground Chambers, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland

### Cause

Voldemort looking for a means to return to full strength

### Result

* The Philosopher's Stone was saved
* Lord Voldemort's return to power was delayed

Combatants| * Hermione Granger
* Ronald Weasley
* Albus Dumbledore

Casualties| * Ronald Weasley was injured
* Harry Potter was rendered unconscious for three days

During Harry, Ron, and Hermione's time in the chambers they battled through a set of obstacles that most eleven-year-old children would find near impossible, but succeeded anyway. In the last chamber, Harry defeated Voldemort and kept the stone safe, with Quirrell dying in the process.

## History

### Battle through the chambers

#### Fluffy (Rubeus Hagrid's obstacle)

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 File:Fluffy1.jpg  Fluffy was a giant three-headed dog, and Rubeus Hagrid's contribution to the protections put in place for the Philosopher's Stone. In 1992, Quirinus Quirrell enchanted a harp to put Fluffy to sleep while he searched for the Stone; when the music stopped, Fluffy awoke. Before they were able to slip through the trap door Fluffy was guarding.
Quirrell found out how to get past Fluffy earlier that year by enticing Hagrid into a card game, offering a dragon egg as the stake, and getting him drunk enough to disclose the secret of how to pacify the otherwise vicious dog. After the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed, Hagrid released Fluffy into the Forbidden Forest.

#### Devil's Snare (Pomona Sprout's obstacle)

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 File:Lumos-Solem.gif
The second obstacle within the Chambers was ***Pomona Sprout***'s Devil's Snare, placed seemingly to soften a deadfall through the trapdoor guarded by Fluffy. However, Devil's Snare was known for strangling its victims to death, and increasing its force of constriction at signs of struggle.

After landing on the Devil's Snare Hermione Granger panicked briefly, before Harry Potter reminded her to light a fire. Hermione just barely managed to save Harry, Ron Weasley, and herself from death by strangulation. She did this by burning the plant with ***Lumos Solem***.

#### Winged keys (Filius Flitwick's obstacle)

**Hermione Granger**: "*These birds... they can't be here just for decoration.*"
**Harry Potter**: "*They're not birds! They're keys! Winged keys — look carefully. So that must mean... Yes — look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!*"
— Hermione and Harry when they entered the chamber of winged keys[src]

 File:B1C16M1.jpg
The third of the Chambers contained several brooms and was filled with Winged Keys, provided by Professor ***Filius Flitwick***, which, at a distance, appeared to be birds. There was a locked door at the end of the room which was impervious to the Unlocking Charm, and could only be opened by identifying and catching the one key among the "flock" that would fit the door's lock.

 File:Harry-Potter and the winged-keys PS.png
Ron Weasley cleverly deduced that the key that would open the locked door must be an old one, to match the old lock on the door. The only old key was readily identifiable, as Quirinus Quirrell had just used it and bent one of its wings. As soon as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione took off on brooms to catch the winged key, the rest of the keys scattered to make the correct one more difficult to identify again. Harry was, however, able to retrieve the necessary key, which was described as old-fashioned and silver, with bright blue wings, by employing his skills as a ***Seeker***.

#### Human Chess Game (Minerva McGonagall's obstacle)

> That's chess! You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!
>
> Ron bravely sacrificing himself on the Chess board, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 File:B1C16M2 Chessboard Chamber.png
The fourth obstacle was Minerva McGonagall's — a giant Wizard's Chess set. Ron took command of the black side, with himself, Harry, and Hermione replacing missing pieces, in order to defeat the obstacle and be allowed to pass. They then proceeded to play an impressive game but which was particularly brutal even by the normal standards of Wizard's Chess.

 File:Ron sacrifice.gif
The most lethal player was the White Queen, which personally took out at least three of the black pieces and nearly won the game in white's favour. In the end, Ron sacrificed himself to the white Queen to allow Harry to checkmate the opposing King. In the end, Ron sacrificed himself to allow Harry to capture the opposing King.

### Mirror of Erised (Albus Dumbledore's obstacle) and the attack

**Harry Potter**: "*You!*"
**Quirinus Quirrell**: "*Me, I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter.*"
**Harry Potter**: "*But I thought — Snape —*"
**Quirinus Quirrell**: "*Severus? Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?*"
— Harry Potter discovering Professor Quirrell in the seventh chamber[src]

 File:Quirrell and Harry by the Mirror of Erised.png
Harry, then arrived at the obstacle of Albus Dumbledore — the Mirror of Erised. Standing there was Quirinus Quirrell. Harry was shocked — he had expected Snape. Quirrell explained that he tried to kill Harry, while Snape tried to save him. He said that *he* let the troll in on Hallowe'en. He then tied up Harry and tried to figure out how to get the Stone. Voldemort told him to "*Use the boy"*, so Quirrell summoned Harry to tell him what he saw in the Mirror. Harry lied and said it was himself winning the House Cup. Being an accomplished Legilimens, Voldemort was not fooled and told Quirrell to allow him to speak to Harry. Quirrell unravelled his turban to reveal the red-eyed and snake-like face of Tom Marvolo Riddle.

 File:Harry sees himself with Philosopher's Stone in Mirror of Erised.gif
With a snip of his finger, Quirrell conjures a burst of fire between Harry and the door, blocking the only way out. After Harry refuses to join Voldemort, After Harry's refusal to join the Dark Lord, Voldemort ordered Quirrell to kill him, but because of Lily Evans' loving sacrifice ten years earlier, Quirrell couldn't touch him without experiencing debilitating levels of pain, and having his flesh burn. Around that moment, Harry fell unconscious due to his injuries and the pain in his scar. Unfortunately, the body Quirrell and Voldemort were both sharing manifested in burns during his fight with Harry due to the protective charm Harry's mother left in his skin when she died for him. Quirrell tries to strangle Harry, when Harry touches his hand, it burns and crumbles into dust. Harry then placed his hands by kills Quirrell by pressing both hands on the professor Quirrell's face, causing him to disintegrate into dust at Harry's feet, causing him to crumble into pieces, forcing Voldemort to dispossess his body.

Voldemort orders Quirrell to kill him. After Voldemort fled, Albus Dumbledore descended into the chambers. After reaching the Philosopher Stone's chamber he found Harry unconscious and rushed to his aid. If Dumbledore had arrived any later Harry would have died.

### Aftermath

#### End of first year

**Harry Potter**: "*But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.*"
— Dumbledore and Harry discussing the power of love[src]

 File:B1C17M2 Harry's first Hospital Wing stay.png
Three days later, Harry woke up in the hospital wing to find Dumbledore standing before him. Dumbledore explained that the Stone had been destroyed and ***Nicolas Flamel*** would die. He, then, explained the reason Voldemort, and by extension Quirrell, couldn't touch him.

## Behind the scenes

* There were a lot of differences in the Chambers between the books, films and video games, shown in the following table:

 **Devil's Snare** | The three are grabbed by the Devil's Snare; Hermione defeats it with ***Bluebell flames***.
 **Winged Keys** | Harry, Ron and Hermione catch the key.
 **Chessboard Chamber** | Harry is a bishop, Hermione is a rook, Ron is a knight and is injured after sacrificing the Knight in order to win.
 **Mirror of Erised antechamber** | Not seen.
 **Mirror of Erised chamber** | Harry struggles against Quirrell and Voldemort, but passes out before Quirrell dies.

## Appearances

* *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (film) (First Known Appearance)

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (film), Chapter 17
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (film), Chapter 16
3. ↑ Accio Quote!