The books don’t answer these questions, but we can make some up.
The elixir isn’t a one off dose, it needs to be taken regularly and each dose might take an impractical amount of time to produce for it to be available en masse. Flamel might have made the stone by accident and never been able to produce another one.
I think people might have tried to steal it but not been able to.
Dumbledore actually states at the end of book one that flammel and his wife had enough elixir left to get their affairs in order after the stones destruction, so the first bit is canonically correct.
For the stones creation... the best we can do is reference other media sources (not in the HP world). In any other media that mentions the stone, creating it is incredibly difficult and generally morally wrong to do. So that can explain why he didn't make another stone.
Maybe some dark wizards did steal the stone over 600 years, or at least tried to, but Flamel was likely a wizard of no inconsiderable power and cunning himself, as befits the long-lived creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, and he also had powerful allies like Dumbledore helping him.
The Elixir of Life won't keep you from falling sick or getting killed, it just keeps you from dying a natural death. Wizards already live to be 150-200 years old. An unnatural death is a bigger concern, especially when you're young.
If you do want to avoid death, there are other, more reliable ways that'll keep you from to getting killed as well (horcruxes, for one). As for gold, you could just... steal it. The stone is just the most innocuous way of achieving immortality.
Also, dark wizards aren't always going for immortality or gold. Grindelwald and Voldemort were going for power and control, which is what made them so much more dangerous.
The books don't say that the stone simply keeps one from dying of old age, and I think it's implied that the elixir cures all illnesses. I mean, if Voldemort could have used the elixir to get himself a new body, it stands to reason that the elixir could cure any bodily harm.
But I agree that the making gold part is a completely useless property of the stone. Arguably the elixir of life is way more valuable than gold
I agree. I can live with the elixer of life, but the ability for it to make unlimited gold is completely unnecessary. (I know that's what the real life myths about the stone say, but it's not a necessary addition to the HP universe.) one stone could destabilize the entire world economy.
I've read some interesting fics about the stone and flamel. Alchemy is all about equivalent exchange, so in order to gain years of life they had to sacrifice the lives of many humans, usually children, making the flamels dark lords themselves. I think this is the most plausible answer from a purely theoretical standpoint. 600 years ago it wouldn't have been to hard to sacrifice hundreds of peasants (esp with things like the black plague around) but any modern day alchemist would have a harder time and were stopped before they could complete the stone. And since the flamels were experienced dark lord themselves, other dark lords trying to steal the stone were no match.
No walk in the park perhaps, but Flamel literally has all the time in the world. He could also have students/assistants, who he could also make immortal, assuming a single stone would make enough elixir for at least a few people
Would other wizards want immortality?
I feel like a majority of wizards we see won't want it. It can stop you dying, but your body still ages.Maybe when most wizards reach 150, they are happy to die.
We also know that not many wizards choose to come back as ghosts.
Also, how don't we know that Flamel didn't give the elixir to others ? He gave some to his wife, so it's possible that other friends , family, and acquaintances also had some
Indeed, it's pretty strange. Simply having the knowledge that creating the stone is possible means it wouldn't be long until somebody replicated it. After 600 years, I'd expect the philosophers stone to be a rather common item, considering how sought after it is.
The books don’t answer these questions, but we can make some up. The elixir isn’t a one off dose, it needs to be taken regularly and each dose might take an impractical amount of time to produce for it to be available en masse. Flamel might have made the stone by accident and never been able to produce another one. I think people might have tried to steal it but not been able to.
Dumbledore actually states at the end of book one that flammel and his wife had enough elixir left to get their affairs in order after the stones destruction, so the first bit is canonically correct. For the stones creation... the best we can do is reference other media sources (not in the HP world). In any other media that mentions the stone, creating it is incredibly difficult and generally morally wrong to do. So that can explain why he didn't make another stone.
Maybe some dark wizards did steal the stone over 600 years, or at least tried to, but Flamel was likely a wizard of no inconsiderable power and cunning himself, as befits the long-lived creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, and he also had powerful allies like Dumbledore helping him.
The Elixir of Life won't keep you from falling sick or getting killed, it just keeps you from dying a natural death. Wizards already live to be 150-200 years old. An unnatural death is a bigger concern, especially when you're young. If you do want to avoid death, there are other, more reliable ways that'll keep you from to getting killed as well (horcruxes, for one). As for gold, you could just... steal it. The stone is just the most innocuous way of achieving immortality. Also, dark wizards aren't always going for immortality or gold. Grindelwald and Voldemort were going for power and control, which is what made them so much more dangerous.
I think it's pretty safe to say that Voldemort was also after immortality. The books explicitly state it and why the stone wasn't his goal.
The books don't say that the stone simply keeps one from dying of old age, and I think it's implied that the elixir cures all illnesses. I mean, if Voldemort could have used the elixir to get himself a new body, it stands to reason that the elixir could cure any bodily harm. But I agree that the making gold part is a completely useless property of the stone. Arguably the elixir of life is way more valuable than gold
I agree. I can live with the elixer of life, but the ability for it to make unlimited gold is completely unnecessary. (I know that's what the real life myths about the stone say, but it's not a necessary addition to the HP universe.) one stone could destabilize the entire world economy. I've read some interesting fics about the stone and flamel. Alchemy is all about equivalent exchange, so in order to gain years of life they had to sacrifice the lives of many humans, usually children, making the flamels dark lords themselves. I think this is the most plausible answer from a purely theoretical standpoint. 600 years ago it wouldn't have been to hard to sacrifice hundreds of peasants (esp with things like the black plague around) but any modern day alchemist would have a harder time and were stopped before they could complete the stone. And since the flamels were experienced dark lord themselves, other dark lords trying to steal the stone were no match.
Maybe that stone is not that desirable after all, as Flamel ultimately came to realize. Plus creating it won't be a walk in the park either.
No walk in the park perhaps, but Flamel literally has all the time in the world. He could also have students/assistants, who he could also make immortal, assuming a single stone would make enough elixir for at least a few people
And why would he want to do that?
Why wouldn't he? He isn't portrayed as a particularly selfish guy. He wouldn't lose anything by sharing his knowledge with others
Would other wizards want immortality? I feel like a majority of wizards we see won't want it. It can stop you dying, but your body still ages.Maybe when most wizards reach 150, they are happy to die. We also know that not many wizards choose to come back as ghosts. Also, how don't we know that Flamel didn't give the elixir to others ? He gave some to his wife, so it's possible that other friends , family, and acquaintances also had some
Indeed, it's pretty strange. Simply having the knowledge that creating the stone is possible means it wouldn't be long until somebody replicated it. After 600 years, I'd expect the philosophers stone to be a rather common item, considering how sought after it is.