122 Fun Facts About Harry Potter Book 1 Trivia: Sorcerer's Stone

What is the name of caretaker Argus Filch's cat?

Mrs Norris is Argus Filch's scrawny, dust-coloured cat; she prowls the corridors and fetches the caretaker whenever she catches students breaking the rules.

Which publisher released Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the UK on 26 June 1997?

Bloomsbury published the book after editor Barry Cunningham backed it; chairman Nigel Newton's eight-year-old daughter Alice had loved the sample chapter.

How many hardback copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were in its first UK print run?

Only 500 hardbacks were printed in that first run, and that scarcity is why one copy fetched $471,000 at auction in 2021.

Roughly how much was the advance J.K. Rowling received for the first Harry Potter book?

£2,500 or £1,500, depending on the account: either way a tiny advance for a debut that has gone on to sell more than 120 million copies.

Between which cities was Rowling on the delayed 1990 train when the Harry Potter idea 'fell into her head'?

Manchester and London: the train was delayed for four hours and she had no working pen, so she simply sat and thought the story through before she could write a word of it.

Who painted the cover of the first UK edition?

Thomas Taylor painted the first UK cover, showing Harry beside the Hogwarts Express; Mary GrandPré did the American jackets and Cliff Wright the next two UK ones.

Which children's-choice award gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone a gold medal in 1997?

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize: adult judges drew up the shortlist, but classes of schoolchildren cast the deciding votes, and they put the unknown author's debut first.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has been published in which two ancient languages?

Latin and Ancient Greek: a retired classics teacher spent about a year on the Greek, which he calls the longest text written in the language since the 3rd century AD.

Which artist illustrated the full-colour edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone released in 2015?

Jim Kay illustrated the series as far as the fifth book, then stepped away in 2022 to look after his mental health, leaving another artist to finish the last two.

In the book, Harry lives with the Dursleys in which fictional English town?

Little Whinging is a fictional town in Surrey, south-west of London; cat-loving old Mrs Figg, two streets away, minds Harry each year while the Dursleys take Dudley out for his birthday.

What is the Dursleys' house number on Privet Drive?

The Dursleys live at number 4, Privet Drive, where Harry sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs until the Hogwarts letters start arriving.

On which birthday does Harry learn that he is a wizard?

His eleventh: just after midnight on 31 July, Hagrid tracks the fleeing Dursleys down and hands Harry the Hogwarts letter his uncle had been keeping from him.

What is the name of the snowy owl Hagrid gives Harry in Diagon Alley?

Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry as a birthday present on their trip to Diagon Alley; Harry finds her name in his school book A History of Magic.

The Leaky Cauldron, the pub that hides the entrance to Diagon Alley, stands on which real London street?

Charing Cross Road is famous for its bookshops, which is why Rowling made it the place where those in the know slip into a different world.

How many times must the brick behind the Leaky Cauldron be tapped to open the way to Diagon Alley?

Knockturn Alley, the seedy side street, runs diagonally off the main shopping street.

From which platform does the Hogwarts Express leave King's Cross?

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters is reached by walking through the barrier between platforms nine and ten; the real King's Cross marks it with a plaque and a half-vanished luggage trolley.

Which House does the Sorting Hat consider for Harry until he silently pleads against it?

Slytherin: Harry grips the edges of the stool thinking 'not Slytherin', and the Hat takes him at his word and sends him to Gryffindor instead.

Which position does Harry play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?

Seeker: Harry wins the place after Professor McGonagall sees him out-fly Draco Malfoy in his first flying lesson, making him the youngest House player in a century.

How many points does catching the Golden Snitch earn in Quidditch?

150 points go to the side that catches the Golden Snitch, and the catch ends the match, so that team nearly always wins.

How many players are on a Quidditch team?

7: three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper and one player who hunts the Snitch, and because play stops only when the Snitch is caught, a match can go on for ages.

Which magical object does Neville Longbottom's grandmother send him in his first year at Hogwarts?

The Remembrall is a glass ball full of white smoke that turns red when its holder has forgotten something, though it never says what.

Harry and Ron become friends with Hermione after saving her from what?

A troll: on Hallowe'en the boys knock out a twelve-foot mountain troll in the girls' toilets; Hermione lies to keep them out of trouble, and the three become friends.

What does the Mirror of Erised show the person looking into it?

Their deepest desire: Harry, who never knew his family, sees his parents beside him, while Ron sees himself as Head Boy and Quidditch champion.

What does Dumbledore tell Harry he sees when he looks into the Mirror of Erised?

Himself holding a pair of socks: he says one can never have enough socks, though Harry suspects he is not telling the whole truth.

What is the name of the three-headed dog guarding the trapdoor on the third floor?

Fluffy is Hagrid's three-headed dog, bought from 'a Greek chappie' in a pub and lent to Dumbledore to guard the trapdoor on the third-floor corridor.

How do the trio get past the three-headed dog?

By playing music on a flute: the dog falls asleep at the first notes of the flute Hagrid whittled for Harry as a Christmas present.

What does Hagrid let slip to the stranger he wins a dragon egg from?

How to calm the guard dog: the hooded stranger keeps buying Hagrid drinks until he boasts that the three-headed beast is a piece of cake if you know the trick.

What is the baby dragon that hatches in Hagrid's hut called?

Norbert is the name Hagrid gives his Norwegian Ridgeback; when the dragon outgrows the hut, friends of Charlie Weasley collect him from the tallest tower and fly him abroad.

To which country is Hagrid's baby dragon sent?

Romania is where Ron's brother Charlie studies dragons; he agrees to take the hatchling once it grows too big to hide in Hagrid's hut.

Which magical creature warns Harry in the Forbidden Forest that Voldemort wants the Stone?

A centaur named Firenze: he rescues Harry from the hooded figure in the forest, and later joins the Hogwarts staff to teach Divination, for which his herd banishes him.

Which alchemist owns the Philosopher's Stone in the book?

Nicolas Flamel was a real Parisian scribe who died in 1418; his fame as the alchemist who made the Stone grew up only after his death, in books he never wrote.

Besides granting immortality through the Elixir of Life, what else can the Philosopher's Stone do?

Turn any metal into gold: because it offers endless gold and endless life, Dumbledore sees to it that the Stone is destroyed at the end of the book.

Which obstacle on the way to the Stone does Ron get the trio through?

A giant game of Wizard's Chess: Ron directs the game from a piece's square and lets the white queen strike him down so that Harry is free to checkmate the king.

Which plant does Hermione defeat on the way to the Stone?

Devil's Snare likes the dark and the damp, so when Hermione remembers her Herbology and sends a jet of bluebell flames at it, the plant shrinks back and lets the boys go.

Whose ten points at the end-of-year feast finally win Gryffindor the House Cup?

Neville Longbottom: Dumbledore rewards him for trying to stop his three friends, saying it takes just as much bravery to stand up to friends as to enemies.

Which teacher turns out to be hiding Voldemort under his turban?

Professor Quirrell, the stammering Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, carries Voldemort's face on the back of his head beneath the turban, and he was the one jinxing Harry's broom.

Why can't the villain touch Harry in the final confrontation?

His flesh burns on contact: Dumbledore explains that Harry's mother died to save him, and that her sacrifice left a protection his attacker could not bear to touch.

Which teacher mutters a counter-curse to keep Harry on his jinxed broom during a Quidditch match?

Snape was trying to save Harry while Hermione, sure he was the one doing the jinxing, set his robes alight; Dumbledore later says he hated being in debt to Harry's father.

Which studio in Hertfordshire was the production base for the first Harry Potter film?

Leavesden Studios: Warner Bros. later bought the site and opened its Studio Tour there, where visitors can walk through the Great Hall and other original sets.

Which actor was first offered Harry Potter's Potions master but chose Planet of the Apes instead?

Tim Roth meant to shoot both films, flying back and forth, but found the schedule overwhelming and chose to play an ape for Tim Burton; Alan Rickman took the part.

Which American star was barred from playing Hagrid by the British-and-Irish-only rule?

Robin Williams wanted the part, but the filmmakers kept to a British and Irish cast, and the role went to Scotland's Robbie Coltrane, one of the two actors Rowling wanted most.

Which castle and cathedral both stood in for Hogwarts in the first Harry Potter film?

Alnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral: Harry's first flying lesson was shot in Alnwick's grounds, on the spot where the castle now runs broomstick training for visitors.

Which London building stood in for Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the first Harry Potter film?

Australia House: the first film shot the goblins' marble hall on location there, but by the last film, when the trio flee the bank on a dragon, the banking hall was a studio-built set.

Which real steam locomotive played the Hogwarts Express in the films?

Taw Valley had been repainted to promote the books but the director rejected it as too modern.

Who composed the score of the first Harry Potter film, including the owl-named theme heard throughout the series?

John Williams scored only the first three films, but the main theme he wrote for this one, kept because 'everyone seemed to like it', recurs through the whole series.

Which actor plays Professor Flitwick in the first Harry Potter film?

Warwick Davis: the Willow star also plays a goblin bank teller, while Griphook's body on screen belongs to Verne Troyer, dubbed with Davis's voice.

Which Monty Python member plays Nearly Headless Nick?

John Cleese plays the Gryffindor ghost Nearly Headless Nick, whose head hangs by a strip of skin after a botched beheading; he reprised the role in Chamber of Secrets.

Which Irish actor played Dumbledore in the first Harry Potter film?

Richard Harris meant to turn the part down until his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again; Michael Gambon took over after Harris died in 2002.

Which 2001 film was box-office runner-up to Harry Potter?

The Fellowship of the Ring: the boy wizard won at the box office by roughly $100 million, but Middle-earth won at the Oscars, taking four while Potter left with none.

Where did the first Harry Potter film hold its world premiere on 4 November 2001?

Odeon Leicester Square, London: the cinema was dressed up as Hogwarts for the night, and thousands of fans, some of them in wizard costume, gathered to watch the stars arrive.

Where did the BBC's 2003 Big Read survey of favourite books place the first Harry Potter?

The Big Read ranked Philosopher's Stone 22nd, while Goblet of Fire reached number 5; The Lord of the Rings took the top spot.

What is J.K. Rowling's real first name, printed on the copyright page of early British Harry Potter copies?

Joanne Rowling is her real name; her publisher asked for initials so that boys would not be put off by a woman author, and she borrowed the K from her grandmother Kathleen.

Which Harry Potter actress was found by casting agents through her Oxford theatre teacher?

Emma Watson: she had only acted in school plays, was nine at her first audition, and went through more than five interviews before winning the part of Hermione.

Who plays Professor McGonagall in the first Harry Potter film?

Maggie Smith plays Professor McGonagall, the stern Transfiguration teacher who heads Gryffindor; Rowling said she and Robbie Coltrane were the two actors she wanted most of all.

Which director reportedly wanted the first Harry Potter film to be animated, with Haley Joel Osment voicing Harry?

Steven Spielberg left the project and next directed A.I. Artificial Intelligence; he later said a Potter film would have been like 'shooting ducks in a barrel', a slam dunk.

Which actor won his Harry Potter role with a rap video?

Rupert Grint: he made the tape after seeing a television report about the open casting, reckoning he was perfect for Ron Weasley because he had ginger hair.

Which Diagon Alley shop sells Harry his wand?

Ollivanders, 'Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC', sells Harry a holly and phoenix-feather wand whose twin core sits in the wand that gave him his scar.

Which piece does Harry replace on the giant board that guards the way to the Stone?

A bishop: Hermione stands in for a castle beside him, and once the white queen has been lured away Harry is free to checkmate the king.

Which Harry Potter actor first auditioned for both Harry and Ron?

Tom Felton had not read the books when he auditioned for Harry and then Ron; cast instead as Draco Malfoy, he has said he is grateful he missed the lead.

Why does the films' Harry Potter have blue eyes, unlike the books' Harry?

Green contact lenses were too painful: Daniel Radcliffe tried them for the first film and found them excruciating, so Rowling agreed that Harry could keep the actor's blue eyes.

Which famous church turned down the chance to be Hogwarts because of Harry Potter's 'pagan' theme?

Canterbury Cathedral declined, a spokesperson said, out of concern over the story's 'pagan' theme, so the filmmakers took Hogwarts to other English cathedrals instead.

In which Berkshire town was the real Privet Drive street filmed?

Picket Post Close in Martins Heron, Bracknell, played Privet Drive in the first film; a cheaper studio set replaced it for the sequels.

Which character was cast, filmed, and then cut entirely from the first Harry Potter film?

Peeves the poltergeist was played by Rik Mayall, who recalled that the child actors kept getting the giggles whenever he performed; every one of his scenes was cut.

Who is the Hogwarts librarian who chases Harry out of the library?

Madam Pince, the librarian, is a thin, irritable woman 'like an underfed vulture' who shoos Harry out when he cannot say what he is looking for.

Who plays Professor Quirrell in the film?

Ian Hart plays the stammering Professor Quirrell and also supplied the voice of Voldemort's face beneath the turban; Richard Bremmer played Voldemort's body in the flashback.

J.K. Rowling was asked to play which role in the first film of her novels but turned it down?

Lily Potter: the filmmakers asked Rowling to appear in the Mirror of Erised scene, but she said she was not cut out to be an actress, even one who only had to stand there and wave.

Which comedian met Chris Columbus about playing Molly Weasley but was turned away by the British-only rule?

Rosie O'Donnell told a British film site in 2000 that she had been talking to the director about the part, but the all-British casting rule sent it to Julie Walters instead.

What does Hagrid give Dudley Dursley when he loses his temper in the hut on the rock?

A pig's tail: Hagrid says he meant to turn Dudley into a whole pig, but the spell fell short, cast by an expelled wizard who is not really supposed to do magic at all.

Judianna Makovsky's Quidditch kit paired preppie sweaters with legwear borrowed from which sport?

Makovsky gave the Quidditch kit preppie sweaters, 19th-century fencing breeches and arm guards, after judging the robes on the American cover 'a mess'.

Which effects company animated Norbert, Hagrid's baby dragon, in the first film?

Rhythm & Hues animated the baby dragon Norbert; ILM built Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell's head, and Sony Pictures Imageworks handled the Quidditch match.

Roughly how many special effects shots does the first Harry Potter film contain?

The first film has nearly 600 special effects shots, from the Quidditch match to the troll in the girls' toilets, spread across several effects houses including ILM.

The first Harry Potter film earned three Oscar nominations: Original Score, Costume Design and which other?

Art Direction, for Stuart Craig's sets and Stephenie McMillan's set decoration; the film won none of the three, but Craig went on to design all eight films.

Which animal's tail does Hagrid give Harry Potter's cousin Dudley after Uncle Vernon insults Dumbledore?

A pig's tail is what Hagrid's umbrella produces, and Dudley later needs a surgeon to have it removed.

On a zoo trip, Harry Potter chats with which animal just before the glass of its enclosure vanishes?

A boa constrictor slithers out of the reptile house, thanking Harry and announcing that it is off to Brazil.

Which sleeping place at the Dursleys' appears in the address on Harry Potter's first Hogwarts letter?

Cupboard under the stairs is written on the envelope, which so alarms Uncle Vernon that he moves Harry into Dudley's second bedroom.

What profession do both of Hermione Granger's non-magical parents share in the Harry Potter books?

Dentists, both of them: Rowling has said the Grangers are somewhat bemused by their odd daughter but proud of her all the same.

How does Harry Potter end up catching the Golden Snitch to win his very first Quidditch match?

He nearly swallows it, running into the ball as he dives for the pitch once his jinxed broom stops trying to buck him off.

Which creature's blood does a hooded figure drink in the Forbidden Forest to keep Voldemort alive?

Unicorn blood will keep a drinker alive even an inch from death, but only as a cursed half-life.

Which newspaper gave children's books their own bestseller list after Sorcerer's Stone lingered near the top?

The New York Times made the split under pressure from rival publishers, who were eager to see their own books placed higher.

Which anonymous Christmas present reaches Harry Potter with a note saying it once belonged to his father?

An Invisibility Cloak arrives with the advice to "use it well", and Dumbledore later admits that he was the one who sent it.

Hermione Granger annoys Ron Weasley by correcting the way he says which spell in Charms class?

Wingardium Leviosa works first for Hermione, who becomes the first in Professor Flitwick's class to levitate her feather after Ron dares her to show him.

What does Albus Dumbledore claim to be holding in his own reflection in the Mirror of Erised?

A pair of socks is all the headmaster admits to seeing when Harry asks him, an answer Harry suspects is not the truth.

What is the name of Ron Weasley's pet rat, later unmasked as the wizard Peter Pettigrew in disguise?

Scabbers shows rare courage on the first Hogwarts Express ride, attacking one of Draco Malfoy's friends as they try to steal Harry's sweets.

Which broomstick does Harry Potter receive in his first year so that he can play Quidditch for Gryffindor?

Nimbus 2000 it is, delivered with a note from Professor McGonagall after the rule barring first-years from owning broomsticks is waived for Harry.

Which creatures run Gringotts, the wizarding bank where Harry Potter rides a cart down to his family vault?

Goblins run the bank and speak a language of their own, known as Gobbledegook.

Which two friends flank Draco Malfoy when he visits Harry Potter's compartment on the Hogwarts Express?

Crabbe and Goyle back Malfoy as he tries to coerce Harry into an alliance, which fails partly because he bad-mouths the Weasley family.

Which sweets does Harry Potter buy on the Hogwarts Express that come with a collectible Famous Wizard card?

Chocolate Frogs each hide a card, and Harry's haul on the train includes one showing Albus Dumbledore.

On which night of the year did Voldemort kill Harry Potter's parents and lose his own powers?

Halloween it was, and the following night Dumbledore left the orphaned baby on the Dursleys' doorstep with a letter for his aunt.

Which pet does Neville Longbottom lose on the Hogwarts Express, with Hermione Granger joining the search?

A toad named Trevor is the missing pet, and the search for him is how Hermione first meets Harry and Ron.

Into which animal can Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher in Harry Potter, turn herself?

A cat is her other shape: she is first seen in that form on Privet Drive, apparently studying a map, before Dumbledore arrives and she changes back.

Where does the Sorcerer's Stone turn up after Harry Potter looks into the Mirror of Erised?

In his own pocket: the enchantment hands the Stone only to someone who wants to find it but has no wish to use it.

What does Albus Dumbledore tell Harry Potter in the hospital wing has become of the Sorcerer's Stone?

It has been destroyed, which means its maker and his wife will die, though they have enough time left to put their affairs in order.

Which Gryffindor Quidditch captain teaches Harry Potter the rules of the sport before his first match?

Oliver Wood explains the rules in a private evening session, then has the whole team practising three evenings a week.

Whose portrait guards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower in Sorcerer's Stone, opening only for the right password?

The Fat Lady lets the new first-years in on their first night once prefect Percy Weasley gives the password, Caput Draconis.

What is the name of Hagrid's boarhound, who bolts when a hooded figure appears in the Forbidden Forest?

Fang runs off with Draco Malfoy, leaving Harry to face the figure alone during a late-night detention with Hagrid.

Which Hogwarts subject is taught by Professor Binns, a ghost who seems not to have noticed his own death?

History of Magic is his subject, and the soporific Binns is the only ghost on the Hogwarts teaching staff.

In which wizarding publication does Harry Potter find a clipping about the Gringotts break-in while visiting Hagrid?

The Daily Prophet story leads Harry to conclude that the burgled vault is the very one Hagrid emptied on their trip to Diagon Alley.

How do first-years, led by Hagrid, make the last leg of their journey to Hogwarts in Harry Potter?

By boat across the lake is the newcomers' route: small boats carry them over from Hogsmeade Station, where the train stops.

What does Harry Potter chase on a broomstick in one of the chambers guarding the Sorcerer's Stone?

Enchanted keys fill the chamber, flying about like a flock of birds, and Harry catches the right one with help from Ron and Hermione.

Which obstacle before the Sorcerer's Stone does Hermione Granger say would leave many great wizards stuck forever?

A logic puzzle tests reasoning rather than magical power, and once Hermione cracks it only one person can go on, so Harry continues alone.

Which gold coin tops the wizarding currency in Harry Potter, ranking above the silver Sickle and bronze Knut?

Galleon is the name: wizards use no paper money at all, and Harry finds mounds of the gold coins in his family vault.

What does Ron Weasley see himself wearing in the Mirror of Erised while holding the Quidditch Cup?

A Head Boy's badge gleams on Ron's reflection, while Harry, looking into the same glass, sees a crowd of his own lost relations.

Which Hogwarts teacher gives Harry Potter's class its first flying lesson and referees Quidditch matches?

Madam Hooch has to abandon that first lesson to take an injured Neville Longbottom to the hospital wing, which is when Harry's talent comes to light.

Albus Dumbledore tells Harry Potter that 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great' what?

Adventure is the word, spoken at Harry's bedside in the hospital wing after the headmaster arrives just in time to save him.

Which actor narrates the UK audiobook of the first Harry Potter novel, while Jim Dale reads the American one?

Stephen Fry reads the British edition, and in 2020 he also read its fourth chapter for Harry Potter at Home, a Spotify podcast of celebrity readings.

In which country was J. K. Rowling teaching English at night while working on Harry Potter by day?

Portugal was the place: Rowling moved to Porto in 1991 to teach English as a foreign language at night, which left her days free to write.

To which city did J. K. Rowling move with her young daughter and a Harry Potter draft in her suitcase?

Edinburgh became home in late 1993, when she planned to stay with her sister only until Christmas, and she often wrote in its cafés.

Which breed of dragon hatches from the illegal egg Hagrid nurtures in his wooden hut in Sorcerer's Stone?

Norwegian Ridgeback is the breed, and once Draco Malfoy has spied it through the window, Ron's brother Charlie arranges for friends to take it away.

From which tree is Harry Potter's wand made, its phoenix-feather core a twin of the one in Voldemort's wand?

Holly is the wand that finally sends up sparks, after Harry has tried many others in the shop of a wandmaker who remembers every one he has sold.

Which wizard, named only in passing in Sorcerer's Stone, lends Hagrid a flying motorbike?

Sirius Black's bike carries baby Harry to Privet Drive, and its owner gets only this brief mention two books before he becomes the title character of Prisoner of Azkaban.

In which Diagon Alley shop does Harry Potter first meet Draco Malfoy, before either boy has reached Hogwarts?

Madam Malkin's robe shop is where the two are fitted side by side, and Harry leaves before they have even exchanged names.

From which Hogwarts tower do Harry Potter and Hermione Granger send Hagrid's baby dragon to safety?

Astronomy Tower is the handover point, and on the way back down the caretaker, Argus Filch, catches them both out of bed.

What does Grunnings make, the firm where Harry Potter's uncle Vernon Dursley works as a director?

Drills are the product, one of the very first things the book reveals, before Harry himself has even been mentioned.

The Hogwarts motto in Harry Potter, 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus', warns you never to do what?

Tickle a sleeping dragon is the thing to avoid, sound advice at a school whose gamekeeper hatches one in his wooden hut.

In which West Country village were Harry Potter's parents living when Voldemort came to kill them?

Godric's Hollow takes its name from Godric Gryffindor, the Hogwarts founder, and was once home to Albus Dumbledore as well.

Which dark wizard's 1945 defeat is credited to Albus Dumbledore on a collectible card in Sorcerer's Stone?

Grindelwald is named on the same card that credits Dumbledore with discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood.

Which American artist drew the cover and chapter illustrations for the first US edition of Sorcerer's Stone?

Mary GrandPré at first turned the job down because of her schedule, then went on to illustrate the American editions of all the later books too.

Which children's editor accepted the first Harry Potter book after an agent spent a year trying to sell it?

Barry Cunningham also believed boys preferred books by male authors, which is why the cover carries initials rather than a woman's first name.

Which language received the eightieth translation of the first Harry Potter book, published in 2017?

Scots, in its Lowland form, was number eighty on a list that had stood at sixty-seven languages less than a decade earlier.

What does Sorcerer's Stone call the silver, lighter-like gadget Albus Dumbledore clicks twelve times on Privet Drive?

A Put-Outer is its name in the opening chapter; later books call the same light-stealing gadget, Dumbledore's own invention, the Deluminator.

Which neighbour usually minds Harry Potter for the Dursleys but has broken her leg on the day of the zoo trip?

Mrs Figg being laid up is the only reason Harry gets to go at all, since the Dursleys can find nobody else to take him.

Which Hogwarts teacher in Harry Potter is head of Hufflepuff House, as Filius Flitwick is of Ravenclaw?

Professor Sprout teaches Herbology, and she is among the staff whose enchantments help to guard the Stone beneath the trapdoor.