Observations on The Philosopher's Stone

I have begun the process of re-reading Harry Potter 1-6, so as to refresh my memory on the details, and gather as many clues as possible about the ending, before the release of Book 7.

Today I finished Book 1. Some interesting points I failed to notice before:

-When delivering baby Harry to the Dursleys on the night Voldemort was defeated, McGonagall asked if Dumbledore could do anything about his scar, and he replied, "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy." So far we haven't seen anything huge come from the scar - just the pain as a warning signal. Perhaps Book 7 unveils a deeper secret behind it.

-Lily and James were killed on Halloween; at Hogwarts, Quirrell (led by Voldemort) let the troll in on Halloween as well, looking to make a move on the Philosopher's Stone. Perhaps Voldemort has an affinity for October 31st, and perhaps the final battle between him and Harry will take place on October 31st - hence Deathly "Hallows"? (Thanks to Paresh for this one!)

-In his note, Dumbledore told Harry that James left his Invisibility Cloak with Dumbledore "before he died". It wasn't confiscated or given as a present, it was given for safe-keeping. Why would James do this at a time of great fear and terror when he could find it pretty useful himself? This also leads me to wonder, though pre-maturely since I haven't gotten to Book5 yet, but did Harry's parents know anything about the prophecy until the night they were killed? What was the purpose of giving away the Invisibility Cloak? We might learn something about this as Harry heads off to Godric's Hollow.

-When the Hogwarts ghosts are introduced, Nearly Headless Nick remarks that Peeves "is not really even a ghost". Well, then what is he? And why is so afraid of the Bloody Baron? And why is the Baron bloody in the first place? I suspect the Baron killed Peeves, though motive and weapon remain unclear, and their ghosts (or whatever Peeves is) linger on at Hogwarts for a reason. Perhaps Peeves is the link to Sirius's impending revival (yes, against popular belief I still maintain Sirius will make a comeback) - if Sirius is too proud to settle for being a ghost, as Nearly Headless Nick suggested in Book 5, maybe he'll come back in the same form of Peeves - though what he is exactly, we do not know.

-The first time Harry sees Snape is at the Head Table in the Great Hall, and when Snape turns to look at him, Harry's scar hurts for the first time at Hogwarts. Now, this could well have been caused by Quirrell looking at him since Quirrell was next to Snape. But when Harry met Quirrell in London before the start of the year, he felt no pain. Although at that time Quirrell did not have his turban and wasn't carrying Voldemort around in his head either. So it could have been caused by Quirrell/Voldemort, but this is never explained and could come in handy for the "Snape is Evil" brigade. I, myself, do not think Snape is evil but I am wary of him and unsure of how he'll exonerate himself of Dumbledore's death in Book 7.

-After Harry is sorted into Gryffindor, he begins to have nightmares in which he's wearing Quirrell's turban and it is trying to convince him to transfer to Slyetherin, while Malfoy and Snape laugh in the background and there are flashes of green light. Was Voldemort able to connect with Harry through his dreams this early in the game? Or was it just really a dream?

-And finally, something for those of us who hope that Dumbledore will make a Gandalf-like return. At the end of the book, Dumbledore remarks to Harry, "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." Let's hope Dumbledore and Sirius manage to come back and share their post-mortem adventure with us before the end of the series!