J.K. Rowling's writing is so vivid and breathtaking that it's easy to overlook the many plot holes in works like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but let's face it: like any author, she's a human being, and humans can't think of everything. Even with years of preparation, connecting the dots and mapping out which wizard is related to which muggle, it's pretty much impossible. Rowling has certainly built an impressive world notwithstanding.
Naturally, it's still fun to mull over the many plot holes in the universe, particularly in the first installment, as we ponder over how the series might have been under different circumstances.
There's A Day Missing
Most fans know all about "the missing day," the first plot hole in Sorcerer's Stone. Hagrid delivers little Harry to the Dursleys with the aid of Sirius Black's motorbike the evening of November 1, a full day after the events that led to his parents' demise at the hands of Lord Voldemort. If Hagrid picked Harry up on Halloween after those fateful events, what did they do during that lost day?
As cute as it is to picture baby Harry in Hagrid's hut while the half-giant eats rock cakes and mourns James and Lily while cuddling little Harry, it's just not described at all.
The Weasleys Shouldn't Be Poor
It makes no sense for the Weasley family, which is full of capable witches and wizards, to be poor when they have magic. They're definitely never hungry, as Molly ensures, but why not use magic for anything else they need, including home repairs and renovation? There really shouldn't be any need for money when you can use charms to turn literal globs of dirt into anything you want.
If Dumbledore can conjure drinks out of thin air to whop the Dursleys with them in the head during Harry's final goodbye to his aunt, uncle, and cousin, why can't anything else needed, from clothing to medicine, also manifest magically at the hands of these adept wizards?
The Wizarding Economy Makes No Sense
Aside from the fact that money should be useless for wizards and there shouldn't be poverty in their world, their entire economy is filled with holes. Goblins have complete disdain for wizards, yet they are entrusted with wizard money, and plenty of dark objects that would otherwise be confiscated are allowed to be kept at Gringotts.
Costs also make no sense, from trolley wares to Quidditch World Cup goods to the items the wizards use every day. Fans have pointed out that a wizard's wand costs 7 Galleons while a strand of unicorn hair costs 10, which makes zero sense since many wands have unicorn horns stored within their cores.
How Snape Guards The Sorcerer's Stone Is Ignored In The Movie
In the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the trio is informed that Snape could not be hunting the Sorcerer's Stone since he was entrusted with keeping it safe, but it's never revealed how he was involved with the stone's protection, which only made him appear more suspicious.
Fans who've read the books know that Snape implemented an intricate potions test into the many trials the kids had to face in order to obtain the stone, and including this fantastic Hermione scene in the film would have easily solved this plot hole, not to mention demonstrated Hermione's cleverness far more than the Devil's Snare trap had done.
The Stone's Protection Was A Joke
The fact that three first-year students were able to pass all of Hogwarts' teachers' tests to access the Sorcerer's Stone proves two things: Dumbledore didn't offer nearly enough protection for the stone, and Hogwarts teachers aren't nearly as impressive as they appear.
Years of experience teaching everyone from Harry's parents to their friends to dealing with the Chamber of Secrets and Grindelwald should have prepared Dumbledore for the possibility that students could best his series of traps.
Sure, Dumbledore's final obstacle, the Mirror of Erised, offered more protection for the stone than any other, but why not hinder the would-be thief with more difficult tasks before reaching it?
There Have Definitely Been Bad, Non-Slytherin Wizards
When Hagrid told Harry "there wasn't a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," he was terribly wrong, and while that's been demonstrated to viewers and readers, the tendency to demonize Slytherins really hasn't. In fact, the house still gets a bad rap even though Peter Pettigrew, one of the worst followers of You-Know-Who, came from Gryffindor.
The fact that Merlin was a Slytherin often escapes many fans' knowledge, as does the fact that the house points system sets wizards up for unnecessary rivalry that pits wizards against one another from an early age. Rowling remedies this a bit with the Cursed Child play, but it's not explained well in the books.
There Are No Core Subjects At Hogwarts
Many fans have pointed out that while Harry, Hermione and Ron learn all about how to do magic, we never witness them learning how to do math, write an essay or learn the history of the muggle world, outside of Muggle Studies. Wouldn't the young witches and wizards be ill prepared for life alongside muggles without these skills?
Sure, much of algebra and trigonometry can be solved via magic, but there are still plenty of careers that wizards might enter that would require higher maths and sciences, like healers. Wizards who work for the Ministry should definitely have a stronger grasp of muggle history, too.
Quidditch Is Rigged And Doesn't Require Parental Permission
What kind of game ends when someone gets the golden snitch, which lands you an automatic 150 points? It's one of the most ludicrous ideas for a sport, not only because of that obvious flaw but because of the gaping plot hole it creates. Quidditch is a dangerous sport that often ends in harm, especially for Harry Potter, yet parents aren't required to give permission to play.
Later in the series when Harry is denied access to Hogsmeade on this ridiculous technicality (another silly plot hole), we realize just how strange and outrageous this detail actually is. Harry's life risked via Quidditch was fine, but visiting a candy shop needed a guardian's permission.
The Sorcerer's Stone Didn't Need To Be Kept At All
Knowing what we know now about Dumbledore's grand plan, it almost makes the Sorcerer's Stone look like bait for Voldemort. It wasn't enough to dangle Harry Potter's presence at Hogwarts as an incentive for the Dark Lord to make his reappearance, so why not add the stone for extra temptation? Add to that the fact that Dumbledore had a really shady teacher who worked with trolls who coincidentally found a troll in the dungeon and it really looks like a setup to set events in motion.
Later when Dumbledore says the stone will be destroyed, it feels like one of those adventures that just turns out to be a dream in the end - all for nothing. Why not just destroy it in the first place rather than risk the school and its students?
Owls Delivering Mail
As cute and magical as it is to have Owl Post, it really makes zero sense and sheds light on a glaringly obvious plot hole: why not send mail magically? Patronuses are obviously sent magically, and given how not only slow but also risky Owl Post can be, why aren't they sent in a similar fashion?
The obvious hole is even more apparent when we look at how quickly people can travel to see one another. Between the Floo Network, Portkeys and Apparition, people in the world of Harry Potter can literally deliver messages in person faster than they can send letters tied to some owl's leg.