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Albus Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would return.

He knew that the Philosopher's Stone could be used to help in his return.

So why did he allow the stone to continue existing, both in the years before Harry's First year at Hogwarts, and even more importantly, during the year after Voldemort tried to steal it from the bank?,

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    I know this is old, but I just wanted to point out that Dumbledore probably didn't go out and try to exterminate the unicorns either. Just because something can help the bad guy doesn't mean it should be destroyed.
    – DaaaahWhoosh
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 20:25
  • Because he's a schmuck
    – Valorum
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 21:38

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There have been many reports of the Philosopher’s Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover.

Philosopher's Stone - page 161 - UK Hardcover - chapter 13, Nicholas Flamel

The stone didn't belong to Dumbledore. It wasn't his prerogative to destroy it alone. I think by having it placed in the Gringotts vault, Nicolas Flamel agreed to have the stone protected (presumably from Voldemort) by Dumbledore.

At the end of Philosopher's Stone Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel decided together that destroying the stone was for the best.

‘Oh, you know about Nicolas?’ said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. ‘You did do the thing properly, didn’t you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat and agreed it’s all for the best.’

Philosopher's Stone - page 215 - UK Hardcover - chapter 17, The Man With Two Faces

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  • But... if they were such great friends, why wouldn't/couldn't Dumbledore convince Flamell to do this earlier?
    – Silver Fox
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 4:13
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    Because that would mean that Flamel would have to die? I think that would definitely be a choice for Flamel to make and not something Dumbledore should impose upon him.
    – Dason
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 5:07
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    Dumbledore has a habit of putting off these sorts of things...
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 7:20
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    @SilverFox - hpcompanion.com/ps/psessay I thought this essay was interesting. Harry is quoted as saying, "He’s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don’t think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It’s almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could…” – Harry Potter (PS, chapter 17, The Man With Two Faces)
    – Slytherincess
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 14:06
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    Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card talks about “his work on alchemy with his partner Nicholas Flamel”, which suggests that he's worked on the Stone, but then as Dumbledore is only about 150 years old but Flamel 665 years old, Flamel must have had a stone much before Dumbledore was born.
    – b_jonas
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 19:43

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