"Yeah. Do we assume that's by design or he's just that thoughtless?"

"It's hard to imagine how he could have arranged that."

"I mean the fact that it's findable by lost first years."

"It's hard to imagine why he would arrange that."

"To make it even more tempting to Quirrell?"

"That seems... silly."

"Might be Quirrell would feel challenged or something, I don't actually know. My point is that if he made it look terribly easy to go through on purpose then things change from if they are in fact easy because he's just that incompetent."

"It is terribly easy to go through as far as it takes to get to the giant student-eating dog," says Muninn. "I'm with Victor here on the degree of faith in Dumbledore's competence that inspires."

"So if he is in fact that incompetent we can probably find and get the Stone."

"Or get eaten by a giant dog or murdered by an animate statue or lit on fire by magical traps or impaled by a pit full of spikes," says Muninn. "The giant dog can't be the only thing in there."

"That was a general 'we,' not necessarily us in particular. What I mean is that this doesn't look designed to prevent anyone clever or powerful from going through. Maybe the Stone isn't there, even, and that's just a distraction."

"If so, it's a really stupid distraction."

He shrugs. "What do you think it is?"

"Either a really stupid distraction or a really stupid way to guard a priceless magical artifact!"

"If it's the former—well, there's nothing we can do about it, particularly, except hope other kids don't get eaten?"

Wing-shrug.

"I think regardless of anything else we might want to spread word around that it's extremely dangerous to go there and even being caught by Filch is better—but that might make other kids curious enough to want to go see what the fuss is all about..."

"Probably will. And then they go get eaten by the dog."

Sigh. "So do we just ignore it?"

"Got a better idea?"

"I dunno, it just feels like letting the crazy attempted murderer run around freely in the school trying to find the most important artefact in the world isn't such a good idea and also I really really want that rock."

"What are you gonna do, steal it yourself?"

"Don't think so, but I'm gonna take alchemy when I'm old enough, and I'm gonna ask Snape about Quirrell, and I'm gonna make Quirrell's life difficult."

"...make his life difficult how."

"Mess around in class, set his robe on fire, I dunno."