Top 10 Hidden Details in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

More than a few people have portrayed Voldemort over the years. The actor who played he-who-must-not-be-named in a flashback scene was Richard Bremmer. Although his body was seen onscreen, the man behind Voldemort's face and voice in the first film was Ian Hart. This resulted in the two actors receiving separate recognition in the credits. While Hart is listed as Voldemort, Bremmer is credited as he-who-must-not-be-named. In our opinion, the latter actor got the better part of the deal. How cool would it be to have he-who-must-not-be-named as a role on your acting resume?

When Hermione shows Harry a Quidditch award James Potter earned, we can spot two very interesting Easter Eggs. The name M.G. McGonagall and the year 1971 appear under the Gryffindor quidditch trophy. Since McGonagall was a professor at that time, this could mean that she had a relative that was good at the sport. Next to this mysterious McGonagall is a plaque for special services to Hogwarts. That distinction was once awarded to Tom Riddle, A.K.A. Voldemort. Seeing an award given to Riddle behind James Potter’s distinction was a nice visual cue that Voldemort was lurking in a Potter’s shadow until it was time for him to come back.

Shortly after arriving at Hogwarts, Harry is told about the houses. He learns Slytherin’s house color is green, their animal symbol is a serpent and the students are stereotyped as being evil. It turns out that these characteristics are heavily foreshadowed early in the film. When Harry goes to the zoo, we see a bunch of students in green coming out of the reptile house. The movie then cuts to a snake that is being tormented by Dudley. Is it just a coincidence that we see a bunch of kids in green right before a serpent is treated cruelly? Or were the filmmakers trying to subconsciously warn us about Slytherin from the very beginning?

During the main trio’s quest to reach the Sorcerer's Stone, they fall into a dangerous plant called the Devil's Snare. Its vines quickly wrap around Harry, Hermione and Ron. But it turns out that our eyes were deceiving us the whole time. According to Insight Editions “Harry Potter Film Vault Collection”, the actors were actually wrapped in practical vines first. After they looked trapped, puppeteers removed the tendrils that surrounded each member of the trio. To solidify the effect, the footage of the vines wrapping around the actors is played in reverse. The seamless combination of film tricks and practical effects made the Devil’s Snare into an iconic obstacle.

The personalities of the main trio perfectly balance each other out. Ron is the carefree friend who isn’t overly concerned with small details or his appearance. On the opposite end, Hermione is a perfectionist who strives for excellence. And since Harry can slack off but also get serious, his personality falls somewhere in the middle between his two best friends. All these traits were once reflected in their clothes. When the trio is walking alongside Hagrid, Hermione’s scarf is done perfectly, Ron's didn’t bother tying his at all and Harry's is halfway done. This was another incredible visual cue that occasionally comes back with other accessories like ties. After seeing it once, you’ll be looking for this pattern every time the trio shows up.

Neville gets a remembrall pretty early on in the film. The magical sphere’s smoke turns red if he forgets something. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to help Neville much. But you don't need to be as smart as Dumbledore or read minds like Voldemort to figure out what the student forgot. During the scene where Neville gets the remembrall, he's the only student we can see who isn't wearing his school robes. It seems like someone pointed out his mistake because he is wearing robes in the very next scene. Although his uniform slip doesn't seem to get him in trouble with any professors, he should probably keep his remembrall on him at all times just in case.

After Harry stumbles on the Mirror of Erised, the camera lingers on an assortment of words etched into the object. Although the statement looks like gibberish, it's actually a mirror image of an English sentence without punctuation and with some of the letters slightly moved around. The reflected statement reads “I show not your face but your heart’s desire”. This detail perfectly sums up why the mirror shows Harry’s lost parents and gives Ron a bright vision of the future. Unfortunately, the phrase doesn’t exactly explain how the sorcerer’s stone got in the magical object. Maybe there’s another reverse sentence that describes how that’s possible on the other side of the mirror.

Muggles tend to miss a lot of the hints that magical things exist in their world. But to be fair, magic isn’t always easy to spot. A perfect example comes when Harry and Hagrid travel to London for school supplies. As they approach a seemingly ordinary building, a previously blank sign is suddenly covered with the Leaky Cauldron logo. When they open the door, they see a ton of witches and wizards. The magical world has definitely perfected the art of hiding in plain sight. So maybe there’s still a chance we could accidentally stumble upon something like a wand shop on our way to the store.

One of the first things Snape says to Harry is packed with deeper meaning. The asphodel is a lily that was historically planted on graves. Although Snape doesn’t say it openly in the first movie, he was close with Harry’s deceased mother Lily when they were kids. Snape also mentions a plant that symbolizes absence called wormwood. The professor could combine it with asphodel and other ingredients to make a potion that causes a deep sleep called the draught of living death. Snape’s phrase expresses remorse for Lily’s passing, his continued grief over her absence and hints that either he or Lily are in a state of slumber they can never awake from. That’s a heavy and tragic statement for the first day of class.

Before we accio our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Each of Fluffy’s Heads Had Their Own Personality
According to the “Harry Potter Film Vault Collection,” Each Head Looked & Moved Differently

Harry's Scar Hurts When Quirrell Is Facing Away From Him
All Because Voldemort Is Hanging On the Back of the Professor’s Head

“Harry Potter Film Vault Collection” Said an Animatronic Rat Was Used on the Train, Except for the Spell
Even Though the Rat Was Real Here, Did the Fact Scabbers Was Actually Pettigrew Cause Ron’s Spell to Fail?

Harry Follows the Snitch, But Oliver Loses Track During the Quidditch Lesson
This Proved the Boy Who Lived Was a Born Seeker

Watson Had False Teeth in the Final Scene Meant to Mirror Her Book Counterpart
Insight Editions “Harry Potter Film Vault Collection” Confirmed This Dental Detail

Hermione walks in on her friends enjoying some Wizard’s chess around Christmastime. During their game, we see Ron use his queen to take Harry’s knight. Although we don’t know if Mr. Weasley won the game with that move, the same tactic comes into play later on. Ron assumes the role of the knight in a real game of Wizard’s chess. He’s able to set his friends up for victory by letting his knight get taken by the opposing team’s queen. Although this tactic was life-threatening, it allowed Harry to stop Voldemort from completing his evil plans. We don’t want to think about where the wizarding world would be if Ron hadn’t used this chess move at Christmas.