Chapter 493: The Story of Quirinus Quirrell (End)
Chapter 493: The Story of Quirinus Quirrell (End)
Through a letter from the Minister of Magic, Quirrell successfully lured Dumbledore away from the school. He knew it was time to act, and he had never felt more prepared than he did at this moment.
The first obstacle guarding the Philosopher's Stone was Fluffy, Hagrid's three-headed dog. According to the information purchased by Hagrid and Quirrell themselves, all it took to put Fluffy to sleep was a bit of music.
With Fluffy easily taken care of, Quirrell breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the trapdoor and gazed down the dark tunnel, recalling the information he had acquired.
The second challenge was Sprout's devil's snare.
Without hesitation, Quirrell jumped into the tunnel. Just before landing, he cast a cushioning charm on himself, gently alighting upon the devil's snare.
The pesky plants, sensing their prey, began to stir.
Quirrell waved his wand, conjuring flames that quickly dispersed the devil's snare. Soon enough, he freed himself from the entangling vines.
How did "Sell Anything" come to know all these secrets?
Could it be that that person had already been here?
Was it all a plot by Dumbledore, disguising himself to lure me into a trap?
As Quirrell walked down the corridor, his mind was filled with questions. He could already hear the sounds of the third challenge—the flying keys. He needed to catch a rusted, door-shaped key.
Quirrell saw the keys dancing in the air, the flying brooms, and the locked door.
After attempting unlocking spells to no avail, he resignedly hopped onto a broom and took to the air, beginning his pursuit of the keys.
Diving into the thick of the flying keys, Quirrell frantically grabbed and scooped, but the keys, enchanted by Professor Flitwick, dodged far too quickly. It was enough to drive Quirrell mad with frustration.
A challenge he should have swiftly overcome took Quirrell a full half-hour to complete. Finally, he grasped a key and forced it into the keyhole, turning it to open the door to the fourth challenge—the wizard's chess.
Quirrell's skill in wizard's chess was mediocre at best.
However, he remained unfazed. The letter he received from "Sell Anything" included a guide to overcoming the chess challenge.
He didn't bother trying to figure it out himself and instead pulled out the strategy guide—the steps Albert had used to navigate the wizard's chess during his attempt. Following these instructions, he effortlessly passed through Professor McGonagall's giant chessboard.
"That money was well spent."
Quirrell muttered to himself as he gazed upon the fifth challenge he had set up.
The mountain troll wasn't particularly dangerous; its biggest issue was the stench it emitted. So, Quirrell cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself as a precaution.
Of course, Quirrell had his own insights on troll-handling, or else he wouldn't have chosen a troll as the fifth challenge.
In fact, when Dumbledore asked for his assistance, he had suggested borrowing a mountain troll from the giants to guard the object.
As Quirrell entered the room, he immediately waved his wand at the troll.
Bumps started appearing on the troll's head, and it began scratching its head frantically. Eventually, it started hitting its head with the club it held, causing a large lump to form, and in a comedic turn of events, it knocked itself out.
Having dealt with the troll, the next challenge was Snape's logical reasoning riddle.
Quirrell glanced at the contents of the parchment on the table and felt a headache coming on. He rarely dealt with logical reasoning, and he had no talent for it.
Figuring out the answer would likely consume a lot of time.
However, this time, Quirrell already knew the solution. He chose the smallest bottle, drank the potion inside, and then passed through the black flames to the final challenge set up by Dumbledore.
According to the information from "Sell Anything," Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone inside the Mirror of Erised. The best course of action was to take the mirror with him and figure out how to extract the stone later at his leisure.
But how could he blatantly carry away such a large mirror?
Moreover, Quirrell had spent so much time on this endeavor because he wanted the Philosopher's Stone, and he couldn't wait any longer.
In the Mirror of Erised, Quirrell saw himself with the Philosopher's Stone, possessing the power and status he deserved. Those who had once mocked him were now cowering at his feet.
"But where is the stone hidden?"
Quirrell rapped his knuckles on the mirror's frame, searching for a hidden compartment, but to no avail. He checked again and again, yet he couldn't find where Dumbledore had hidden the stone.
It was so close, yet so far. He would not tolerate failure, and neither would his master, Voldemort.
"What is this mirror? What is its function? Help me, Master!" Quirrell had no choice but to call upon the Dark Lord for assistance.
"Waste!"
Voldemort was displeased with Quirrell's incompetence. Gazing at the mirror, he said, "Dumbledore has cast a certain spell on the Mirror of Erised, hiding the Philosopher's Stone within."
"The Mirror of Erised shows the desires of one's heart, and you require assistance from another to retrieve objects from the mirror. A wizard who yearns for the Philosopher's Stone would be unable to take it from the mirror."
"But at this hour, where can I find someone else?!"
Quirinus was at his wits' end. He suddenly realized how reliable that fellow, 'Sell Anything,' had been with his advice.
If only he had listened to him from the start, he wouldn't have wasted so much time.
"Abandon your futile thoughts. What use is there in stealing the mirror?" Voldemort was highly displeased with Quirinus' incompetence.
Just as Quirinus prepared to package the entire mirror to take away, he heard footsteps not far off, and the famous Harry Potter appeared right before him.
Quirinus smiled, a wide grin spreading across his face. How fortunate that this foolish Potter believed it was Snape who wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
His performance had clearly been a success.
Of course, the fact that Snape didn't look like a good person helped a great deal as well.
Quirinus easily overpowered Harry, bringing him before the Mirror of Erised and incessantly bragging about his own exploits. He also longed to have someone to share these achievements with and relished seeing the look of disbelief on Potter's face.
After all, once he obtained the Philosopher's Stone, he wouldn't let this boy live another day.
If anyone was to blame, it was Potter himself for meddling in other people's business.
"What do you see?" Quirinus asked eagerly.
"I see myself winning the House Cup for Gryffindor," Harry replied, but another voice echoed in the room.
He was lying! "Tell me the truth. What did you really see?" Quirinus pointed his wand at Harry's head, nearly poking out his eyes.
"Let me speak with him... face to face..."
The Dark Lord was equally intrigued by Potter, who had defeated him, but this filled Quirinus with fear and unease.
Each time the Dark Lord expended energy, Quirinus' life force was significantly weakened.
While the unicorn blood had made Quirinus immortal, his life force continued to be drained, and he was merely existing, growing weaker by the day.
The Dark Lord truly lived up to his name, easily seeing through Harry's lie and locating where Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone—in Harry's pocket.
Although Quirinus didn't know how Dumbledore had managed this feat, he didn't care to find out. All that mattered was obtaining the Philosopher's Stone.
However, the Dark Lord did not immediately rush to claim the stone, instead attempting to entice Potter to pledge his allegiance, which undoubtedly failed.
Moreover, Harry Potter foolishly rushed into the black flames, an act so absurd it defied belief. Did he not know the danger those flames posed?
"Grab him, quickly!" Voldemort shrieked in anger.
Harry Potter could die, but he would not tolerate the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone along with him.
Quirinus, who had been prepared for this, immediately pounced, knocking Harry to the ground. Mounting him, he wrapped his hands around Harry's neck, ready to strangle the life out of this 'savior.' "My hands... my hands!" Quirinus cried out in terror as he noticed countless blisters forming wherever his skin touched Harry's, as if they were being burned, glowing a bright red.
"You fool, kill him with magic, quickly!"
Voldemort's shrill voice echoed in Quirinus' mind.
As Quirinus prepared to use magic to finish off Harry, the boy desperately tried to touch Quirinus' skin, causing him unbearable pain and preventing him from casting any spells.
If he could just kill Harry Potter, he would obtain the Philosopher's Stone, fulfilling his desires and gaining the power and status he craved. He was so close to success.
Quirinus struggled desperately to push Harry off him, but the intense pain threatened to overwhelm his sanity.
Finally, Quirinus felt someone pull the unconscious Harry Potter away from him.
Dumbledore... he had returned.
The moment Dumbledore appeared, Voldemort realized his defeat, and the fragmented soul escaped from Quirinus' body, fleeing into the distance and soon disappearing without a trace.
Voldemort's departure was like the final straw, and Quirinus' flickering life, sustained by the unicorn blood's curse, was about to be snuffed out.
Not even the immortal life granted by the unicorn blood could prevent death's approach.
Quirinus fell to the ground, staring in the direction where Voldemort had fled, his pupils reflecting Dumbledore's figure as he mouthed, "You bunch of liars!"
(End of Chapter)
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