3 Problems With Professor Snape’s Trap to Protect the Sorcerer’s Stone

Why is Professor Severus Snape’s trap to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone useless? What’s wrong with it?

What’s wrong with Professor Severus Snape’s trap to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone?

The Philosopher’s Stone is a magical artifact that is said to be capable of granting its user immortality. This is why many, including Dark Lord Voldemort, want to get their hands on this item.

How to Protect the Sorcerer’s Stone?

This is why Albus Dumbledore (the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) decided to hide the aforementioned object in Hogwarts.

Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore tried to keep the Philosopher’s Stone safe, but the traps he asked the teachers to put up were basically useless

He and some of the school teachers put up traps that were meant to protect it from potential thieves. But these traps, including Professor Snape’s trap, were pretty much useless.

Who Is Professor Snape?

Severus Snape is the potions teacher in Hogwarts. He’s also the head of Slytherin house. His trap to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone consisted of a riddle, several potions, and a ring of fire.

If you want to get past the ring of fire, you will have to solve a riddle. Solving the riddle will tell you which potion to drink so you can walk right through the ring of fire without being hurt.

What’s Wrong With Professor Snape’s trap?

First, why did he leave the riddle there for just anyone to find? Why didn’t he just keep it with him or hide it elsewhere?

Professor Snape could have done a lot more to keep the Sorcerer’s Stone safe. For instance, what about ensuring that all the potions bottles were filled with poison or anything else that could incapacitate potential thieves until they could be apprehended?

No, really, what’s the point of leaving the riddle there? It’s like Severus Snape’s just asking for the artifact in question to be stolen.

Useless Riddle?

Furthermore, why did he even bother with a riddle in the first place? He could have just left the bottles there and let the potential thieves figure it out for themselves. Why did he bother leaving clues?

Potions and Poisons

Alternatively, even if he did leave the riddle there, all the bottles could have just contained poison or at least something which could incapacitate any intruder so that Snape and the other teachers could apprehend this person before said intruder could get to the Philosopher’s Stone.

Does Snape Want the Sorcerer’s Stone to Be stolen?

Seriously, why didn’t he do something like that or just anything at all that doesn’t seem so useless and pointless?

If the traps to protect the Philosopher’s Stone weren’t so useless, then Harry, Hermione, and Ron wouldn’t have been able to easily get past them

With the way this trap is, one would think that Snape was practically making things way too easy, both for Professor Quirinus Quirrell (the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who was being possessed by Voldemort), who was really intent on stealing this magical artifact, and for the trio (Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger), who thought it was a very good idea to go and try to protect said item.

Your Thoughts and Opinions

So, what about you? What do you think? Do you think that Snape’s trap could have been quite capable of keeping this object safe if it had been improved and used correctly?

Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by clapping this post or by leaving a comment below.

*Notes:

• Pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above
• Text was added to the Snape pic using Canva

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