raywest

Question: After the incident at the zoo, on Dudley's birthday, Harry is restricted to his cupboard until after the summer holidays start (see beginning of Chapter Three). If Dudley's birthday is before the holidays, then why does Mrs. Figg normally watch Harry that day (except this year)? Any year when Dudley's birthday was not on a weekend, Harry could have simply gone to school as usual.

Answer: Harry has already experienced a few magical incidents, as children from Muggle families usually do. For example, changing a teacher's wig hair to a blue color. If Dudley's birthday is on a school day, his parents probably don't want the risk of a problem at school. It's easier to make Harry stay with Mrs. Figg all day.

Answer: As I recall, Mrs. Figg had broken her leg so she was unable to watch Harry. The Dursleys were then forced to take Harry to the zoo for Dudley's birthday.

raywest

That is not the question. The question is why she has been watching Harry every other year, except for this time (due to her injury). If Dudley's birthday happens before the summer holidays begin, why has she been watching Harry during the years when Dudley's birthday is a school day? Harry could have just gone to school.

Thank you for clarifying as your original question was rather confusing. I was assuming that Dudley's birthdays were not celebrated on an actual school day, but later on the weekends and that is why Mrs. Figg watched Harry. I don't think Dudley would be staying home from school every year on his B-Day.

raywest

Question: Why did Professor Quirrell really have the garlic in his classroom? I know that some people thought he was afraid of a vampire who wanted revenge. Since he was serving Voldemort, however, it seems that a vampire would not be a serious concern for him.

Answer: At that point, Voldemort had little to no power and was reliant on Quirrell to protect him, not the other way around. No one knew Voldemort still existed, and Quirrell wanted to ensure his safety until he was restored to corporeal form. He may have believed garlic would be an added protection but more likely it was just for show and to create a sense of drama to enhance his phony persona.

raywest

This is purely speculation but could it also be considered that the garlic and story about having had an argument with a vampire are all a ruse to cover his quirky behaviour following his meeting with Voldemort? As in, people started the rumour, so he plays on it to make it more believable and give him a better cover story?

Ssiscool

Question: What did Harry and his friends come across when they were trying to escape from Filch?

Answer: Presumably you are referring to when the trio come upon "Fluffy," the three-headed dog, that is kept in the restricted area of the castle. Inside the room there is a magical self-playing harp that keeps "Fluffy" asleep when it's playing. Hermione also noticed Fluffy was lying atop a floor hatch, which leads to where the Philosopher's Stone is hidden.

raywest

Answer: In addition to raywest I will add that at this point in the book, the Harp isn't playing and Fluffy is awake. It is also not known at this point that music puts Fluffy to sleep.

Ssiscool

True, although the question only relates to what the trio came across while evading Filch, not about knowing what any particular object is or does. (I just added an explanation as an aside.) However, I'm not sure now the harp had been installed yet when they first found Fluffy, so it was probably about the floor hatch.

raywest

Question: I heard that Quirrell was the muggle studies teacher before this year. So after he took defense against the dark arts, why not give muggle studies to Arthur Weasley?

Answer: Mr. Weasley was fascinated by Muggles but he was not an expert. His knowledge in that subject was somewhat sketchy and based on erroneous assumptions. He frequently got many details wrong. He usually relied on Harry for explanations.

raywest

Answer: Even with his fondness for Muggles, Arthur may not have wanted to be a teacher. And even if he did, another possibility is that he doesn't have the necessary educational requirements (i.e. O.W.L./N.E.W.T. passing grades in certain subjects) or enough teaching experience.

Cubs Fan

Question: The night when Harry is given to the Dursleys takes place in 1981. McGonagall and Dumbledore each say something about "for eleven years", so they are referring to the year 1970. What happened that year? I know from the sixth book that Voldemort had been around and gathering followers since way before then; he had some followers when he was 28 and he visited Hogwarts to apply for teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Answer: Although Voldemort had been gathering followers for decades, he had done so quietly, slowly building his Death Eater army. The "eleven years" being mentioned refers to the period during which the Dark Lord actively attempted to conquer the wizard world.

raywest

Question: Why did Snape have Filch treat his wounds from the three-headed dog? Why not go to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing, considering that Snape wasn't really doing anything wrong after all?

Answer: I think Snape wanted to keep what happened quiet while he investigated Professor Quirrell, and Madam Pomfrey was more likely to inform Professor Dumbledore. Filch, who would consider Snape something of a kindred spirit, would not feel a need to report it to anyone, particularly if Snape asked him to say nothing about it.

raywest

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