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Chapter 338: The Story of Quirinus Quirrell (Part II)
Chapter 338: The Story of Quirinus Quirrell (Part II)
"Master, I have obtained information from the goblin. Dumbledore truly keeps a valuable item in Vault 713 in Gringotts Wizarding Bank!"
In a pitch-black room, Quirinus Quirrell, or simply Quirrell, was reporting the latest intelligence to Lord Voldemort, "According to the goblin, Vault 713 is used to store precious items. The door has no key, and aside from goblins, no one can open it and retrieve its contents."
The snake before Quirrell, which was Voldemort's current form, did not show much reaction, as if it were just an ordinary snake. Quirrell continued, "I have the goblin under my control, but as for infiltrating Gringotts..."
"Quirrell, I have spent so much time and energy on you, and I did not do so to listen to your excuses!" A sinister human face appeared on the snake's head—it was Voldemort's face. Every time Voldemort manifested himself in this way, the life force of the being he possessed would be significantly reduced.
"I apologize, Master."
"What I need is for you to obtain the Sorcerer's Stone as soon as possible, not your apologies. I believe you must have a plan of your own, Quirrell!"
"Yes, Master, I do have a plan. The goblin under the control of the Imperius Curse will open the door to Vault 713 for me." Quirrell said in a low voice, "However, I have not yet figured out how to escape the goblins' pursuit after stealing the stone."
In truth, Quirrell was rather reluctant to break into Gringotts. Although Voldemort had promised him that he would receive the glory and status he deserved once he regained his body with the help of the stone, Quirrell still lacked confidence in the endeavor. He had never heard of a wizard successfully pulling off a heist at Gringotts.
Those thieves who had targeted Gringotts in the past all ended up trapped in the massive underground maze beneath it—a place where one could not even Disapparate.
Quirrell thought he must be crazy, or Voldemort must be, to come up with the idea of robbing Gringotts. However, he also knew that the Dark Lord had taught him those spellcasting techniques and powerful Dark Arts for the purpose of bringing the stone out of Gringotts.
Should he fail, he would face a terrible punishment.
Quirrell dared not imagine what would become of him if he failed, just like those wizards whom Voldemort had possessed before.
Not long ago, Quirrell had captured a wizard from the alley and allowed Voldemort to possess him to teach Quirrell magic and spellcasting techniques. However, he had witnessed firsthand how Voldemort had subjugated and eventually killed the wizard.
All of this sent shivers down Quirrell's spine. He felt that he had no power to resist, even though Voldemort appeared to be very weak; he was still formidable.
"Just steal the stone, and once I am fully resurrected, those goblins will be of no concern."
"I wi-will..." Quirrell mumbled, but his words were interrupted by a tapping sound on the kitchen window. He opened the window and took the owl that had brought him a letter—an invitation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He quickly opened the letter and scanned its contents: Headmaster Dumbledore was formally inviting him to Hogwarts to familiarize himself with the castle, his colleagues, and the upcoming teaching curriculum.
Quirrell closed the letter and took a deep breath. Meeting Dumbledore was undoubtedly an opportunity—a chance to betray the Dark Lord. If he handed Voldemort over to Dumbledore, he believed that the greatest wizard of all time would surely be able to...
Quirrell admitted that he had been somewhat persuaded by Voldemort, but that did not make him a fool. On the contrary, Quirrell was intelligent, and he had even served as the Ravenclaw prefect. His magical talent was not bad; otherwise, he would not have progressed so rapidly under Voldemort's tutelage in just a few months. He had mastered the art of wandless magic and could even perform simple spells without the aid of a wand.
The current Quirrell could be considered an excellent wizard, and he would be free if he betrayed the Dark Lord! As soon as this thought emerged in his mind, Quirrell immediately suppressed it.
He dared not have any extraneous thoughts in front of Voldemort, as the latter could easily see through him.
"An invitation from Dumbledore!" Quirrell said respectfully, "He has invited me to the school to familiarize myself with my upcoming teaching position."
"You want to hand me over to Dumbledore." Voldemort fixed his gaze on Quirrell's face and said, "You have learned spellcasting techniques and a great deal of Dark Arts from me, so now you plan to abandon me?"
"No, never, Master!" Quirrell said in a panic.
"You're lying. You are lying to me. That's exactly what you were thinking. You want to hand me over to Dumbledore!" Voldemort's voice echoed in Quirrell's mind, "You want to use Dumbledore to get rid of me, don't you? You only got close to me to learn the Dark Arts and spellcasting techniques."
"I don't mind if you do that. I really don't mind. But do you think you can get rid of me so easily?" Voldemort suddenly laughed, "In my current state, even Dumbledore cannot kill me. He has no way to deal with me, and he cannot help you either."
"No, Master, I have never had any thoughts of betrayal, never." Quirrell lowered his head deeply and said respectfully.
"I don't care! But remember, those who betray me will always pay the price!" Voldemort's voice reverberated in Quirrell's ears.
The next day, Quirrell set off for Hogwarts as agreed upon.
At the school's entrance, he met Hagrid, the gamekeeper, who was waiting for him at the door.
Quirrell walked up to him and greeted Hagrid with a slight stutter in his voice, and they shook hands.
Hagrid took him to meet Headmaster Dumbledore, who chatted with him about work-related matters and the benefits of being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Dumbledore then personally gave Quirrell a tour of Hogwarts, including his Defense Against the Dark Arts office and the classroom he would use for future lessons.
"Familiarize yourself with your work first. Later on, I may need your help with something." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I am h-happy to be of a-assistance. It would be my h-honor!"
"By the way, Professor McGonagall asked me to tell you that she hopes you will finalize the list of books required for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class as soon as possible, so that the students can be sent their school supplies list."
"Th-that's n-no problem. I'll submit the l-list to Professor McGonagall very s-soon." Quirrell nodded, wanting to appear reliable, but his actions lacked conviction.
After seeing Dumbledore off, Quirrell closed the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and carefully inspected every corner of the room to make sure he was not being watched.
To be honest, this was not very likely.
Quirrell felt that his disguise was quite successful. He always made himself seem a bit nervous and stuttered when he spoke, and he had also shared some fabricated stories about his unfortunate encounters during his travels with Dumbledore, cleverly misleading the headmaster.
(End of Chapter)
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