3 Brilliant Tiny Seeds J.K. Rowling Planted In Book One

Badass new e-book cover!

I am once again re-reading good ol' Harry Potter, this time on my Kindle that magically remembers where I left off when I fall asleep mid-page! As HP fans, we all know that you notice new things upon each re-read. J.K. Rowling was a master seed planter, and boy did she ever plant a lot of seeds in the early books. They each grew into a tree later on and together form one huge, thick, complete-with-unicorns-and-centaurs plot forest by the end of the series. It's absolutely bonkers how clearly she knew where she was going with everything, and set up a lot of it straight away.

Naturally, there's a lot of the obvious, major stuff about Horcruxes, the prophecy, and Voldemort and Harry's relationship. But the more I re-read the series, the more I notice some of the smaller details, the smaller seeds that nonetheless grew into great big whomping willows. Here are the three brilliant, tiny seeds she planted just in Book One that I've caught this time:

!!!OBLIGATORY SPOILER ALERT IN CASE YOU'RE AS THICK AS CRABBE AND GOYLE AND DIDN'T REALIZE IT ALREADY!!!

1) Voldemort Never Dared Attack Hogwarts, So It's Totes Safe

"One o’ the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore’s the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn’t dare try takin’ the school, not jus’ then, anyway." - Hagrid.

In chapter four, upon first meeting Harry to inform him he's a wizard and gets to go to Hogwarts, Hagrid tells Harry the truth about the death of his parents. Obviously scared (and scarred, bazinga!) by this You-Know-Who guy, Hagrid assures Harry that he'll be safe at Hogwarts because Voldemort feared Dumbledore and never ever triple-dog-dared to attack it. 

And just to make sure the bowling pins have been properly set up for a thunderous strike, Hagrid and Hermione both reassure Harry after various brush-ins with Quirremort that he's safe as long as Dumbledore is around. Well, what happens in Books Six and Seven? Dumbledore dies and Voldemort gets brave and desperate enough to attack Hogwarts. It was planted right from the get-go. Damn it, Hermione and Hagrid, why did you have to jinx it!

2) Only A Dumbass Would Try To Rob Gringotts

"Yeh’d be mad ter try an’ rob it, I’ll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe – ’cept maybe Hogwarts." - Hagrid, again.

Only one chapter later, Hagrid is dropping more old-fashioned J.K. timebombs. Introducing Harry to Diagon Alley and his inherited wealth at Gringotts, Hagrid insists it's the most secure, impenetrable place in the wizarding world, aside from Hogwarts. Even if you do manage to somehow find and break into the right vault, there's so many traps and safeguards you'll never figure out how to leave and will be trapped there until you starve to death. Oh, and by the way, there are supposedly dragons guarding it. So don't be a dumbass and get any ideas, Harry. Well, I think we all know where this is going...
 

3) Dumbledore Will Still Be Around To Shoot The Breeze After Death

"After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure." - Dumbledore, aka not Hagrid.

At the end of the book, Dumbledore comforts Harry about Nicolas Flamel's impending death with this little nugget. But he's also talking about himself, albeit to us and not Harry. Surely, Dumbledore knows he'll be Flooflix and chillin' in a headmaster portrait whenever he finally kicks the bucket. But it's also a hint from J.K. that not only is Dumbledore going to die, but that there's something beyond death and Dumbledore will be there for Harry. 

Granted, it's left ambiguous whether their post-death chat was real—in some other plane of existence—or just in Harry's fevered, freshly de-Horcruxed head. But if you ask me, this is her plain-as-day clue it's real and, seeing as how Dumbledore is the most well-organized mind in the wizarding world, it's also her hint he's gonna bite the bullet but still exist in another form. She smart AF.