Yes re: the house elves! I hated how they were always just treated as another way that Hermione was too nerdy/girly/emotional/over the top to be believed. I still am not really sure that the rest of the wizarding world will come to see that the treatment of house elves is problematic, tho'. I remember getting annoyed @ the house elf thing several books back, & someone on the DWJ mailing list (which I unsubbed from ages ago b/c the ppl on it were annoying) said that they thought Rowling would have a clever plan to show that Hermione was right & that Rowling wasn't just making a dumb analogy to slavery w/o thinking about its real implications, & I was dubious, & I still am.

I think the stone was lost in the forest? Can't remember exactly. :P