Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. More specifically- we’re going to
be discussing an aspect of the famous book that you’ve probably never heard of.
We all grew up with the Philosopher’s Stone, and for my generation it was a childhood staple.
Privet Drive, Platform 9 ¾, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Magic- these were all pivotal elements
that painted a picture of a wizarding world that we all fell in love with. The Philosopher’s
Stone was the first Harry Potter book, which meant that, before being published, there
wasn’t really any proof of concept. JK Rowling had the imagination, but she didn’t yet
have the trust of a respected publisher, and so the wizarding world was restricted to her
mind, and her mind alone. Eventually the book was published and the rest of the world was
able to begin to appreciate her masterpiece, but, what many of you probably didn’t know,
is that the Philosopher’s Stone underwent many changes before the final product, the
one that hit the shelves, was released.
In fact, the plot for the Philosopher’s Stone was almost very drastically different,
and a page from a very early version of the book, written in 1991, was, many years ago,
uploaded to JK Rowling’s old website. This singular page contradicted many elements of
the book that we grew up with, and today, I want to introduce you to this very different
‘draft’ of the Philosopher’s Stone.
So this Flamel bloke found the Stone -” said Ron.
“No - he made it," said Harry, “He was an alchemist. Which means -"
“Someone who turns base metals into gold,” said Hermione. She had that old proving-I-know-more-than-everyone-else
look on her face, the other two noticed. “Of course. I read about this in 'Alchemy, Ancient
Art and Science' by Argo Pyrites.” “I missed that one myself,” muttered Ron.
“And of course it's some of the most difficult magic you can do. And you end up not just
with pure gold but also with a funny stone thing -"
“Which is what I’m on about,” said Harry, "The Philosopher’s Stone, yes. And it works
too. It kept Nicholas Flamel and his wife alive for about five hundred years.”
“What?” “I know,” said Harry. “But it's true.
He was spotted at the opera in Paris in 1762 and he was born back in 13 something.”
Ron whistled. “But he's dead now?” he asked.
“Of course,” said Harry. “Someone stole his Stone so he couldn't make any more Elixir
of Life, could he? It takes a while to make another Stone and by that time, I suppose,
he was just too old to live without his Elixir until a new Stone was ready. And now I’ll
tell you something else really weird that I haven't told you up to now - the Stone was
found in my parents' safe at Gringotts bank.” But instead of the interested noises Harry
had expected, Ron and Hermione simply stared at him.
“What?” said Harry. Ron cleared his throat, opened his mouth to
speak but shut it again. “What?” Harry said.
“Well, Harry,” said Hermione. “I mean...” “You mean what?”
He stared at them both as they shuffled their feet and tried not to look him in the eye.
“You don't think”, he said suddenly and angrily, “That my parents stole the Stone?”
“Um...” said Ron. “Look,” said Harry furiously, “That’s
like saying they murdered Flamel...” “Oh Harry, we never thought...”
“Not much, you didn't,” said Harry. “I don’t know how it got in there, but the
Stone wasn’t put there by them...” “Right,” said Ron quickly. "I’m sure
you're right.” “There must be an obvious explanation,"
said Hermione. Harry wasn't at all convinced that they meant
it, but at that moment the bell rang which put an end to the conversation.
What you just witnessed was a piece of unpublished history, and a transcript from a page that
could have altered the course of the rest of the story. In case you didn’t pick up
on all of the changes, the big ones are as follows:
First, Nicolas Flamel is already dead. Next, The Stone was kept in the Potter vault (not
vault 713). Next, The Stone was actually stolen from Flamel. And lastly, by implication, the
Stone appears to have been stolen by Lily and James Potter.
So, how could this have changed the course of history? Well- the possession of a magical
artefact that can result in immortality is certainly nothing to scoff at it, and I can’t
help but think that, in this reality, Voldemort’s main preoccupation would have been obtain
the stone from the Potters, not just kill Harry. I mean, who’s to say that the prophecy
would have even existed?
What do you guys think? Had you heard of this draft before? Let me know in the comment section
below
Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live