Philosopher's Stone for me."
"Me? Get the Philosopher's Stone? From Dumbledore?"
"If you succeed in getting the Philosopher's Stone for me and I revive, I will grant you supreme glory."
...
London, Diagon Alley.
The Leaky Cauldron.
Quirinus Quirrell sat alone in the corner of the pub, a glass of butterbeer in front of him, untouched, his mind filled with a surge of memories.
At this time, apart from him, only Tom, the owner of The Leaky Cauldronbehind the bar, was slowly wiping greasy glasses.
Quirinus was dressed in a black Wizard's robe, with a thick turban wrapped around his head, clutching a letter in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed. He exuded an aura that warned people to stay away, and combined with the dim lighting in the pub, he looked incredibly gloomy.
After a long while, Quirinus sighed, drained the butterbeer in front of him, then tore open the envelope and took out the letter.
This letter was from Hogwarts, Britain's only and best school of magic, and it was a reply regarding his application for the position of Professorof Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As expected, the application was approved. From today onwards, Quirinus would be the annual consumable for Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the most tragic one at that, the kind that turns to ash.
Although he successfully took up the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Quirinus's face did not show any joy; instead, it grew even more solemn.
Taking up the position of Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts was not Quirinus's original intention. He had no choice, with Lord Voldemortlooming over him, he was completely out of his control. Moreover, he had already applied before he became Quirrell.
Quirinus knew why Lord Voldemortwanted him to apply for this position.
Firstly, it was for the boy who had defeated him, the Boy Who Lived, the little boy who had reduced the Dark Lord to a rat in the sewers, the Savior, Harry Potter. He wanted to see him up close.
He wanted to figure out why his Killing Curse had failed and rebounded off him, and incidentally, kill him to prove that Lord Voldemort was still powerful.
Secondly, it was because he had heard a rumor from who knows where that the greatest alchemical work created by Nicolas Flamel, the greatest Alchemist in a thousand years, the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant immortality and turn lead into gold, would be brought to Hogwarts for safekeeping by Dumbledore. The noseless Dark Lord was determined to get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone.
Quirinus Quirrell was an unlucky fellow. Instead of being a perfectly good Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, he insisted on resigning to travel the world, and directly stumbled upon Lord Voldemort's hiding place. Even if the Dark Lord was weak, he was still the Dark Lord. And so, he was directly made into a temporary Horcrux.
Quirinus was extremely anxious and overwhelmed. In his previous life, he was just an ordinary office worker, and suddenly experiencing such unbelievable things was truly difficult to accept immediately.
Fortunately, when he transmigrated, it was right after he had been possessed by Lord Voldemort and assigned to apply for the annual consumable position. Luckily, after the possession, the noseless monster also fell into a deep sleep, giving him some time to accept reality.
But it had been over a month since he transmigrated, and during that time, he had been tormented by Lord Voldemort several times, which was truly unbearable.
Now, his life was on a countdown. He could clearly feel the noseless monster perched on his head, plundering his life. Quirinus's body was weakening day by day, not just his life force, but his magicwas also being absorbed, but he was helpless to stop it.
Now, there were only two paths before him: one was to obediently follow the noseless monster's bidding and then be eliminated by Harry Potter at the end of his first year, and the other was to find a way to save himself.
The former Professor Quirinus Quirrell, after being possessed, had thought of seeking help from Dumbledore, the greatest White Wizard of the twentieth century, but Lord Voldemort had cast a spell on him, preventing him from mentioning his existence to anyone, and Lord Voldemort even had the ability to take over his body at any time.
So, could he attract the attention of old Dumbledore through some unusually different behavior?
After all, he had worked as a Professorunder him for several years and was relatively familiar. Could he attract old Dumbledore's attention and thus resolve his crisis, as Dumbledore was the only person Lord Voldemortfeared?
For example, acting timid as a mouse, stuttering, being covered in garlic, or perhaps, by having poor teaching quality to incur old Dumbledore's displeasure, and then...
After all, Professor Quirrell had always been a very talented and handsome young Ravenclaw. Would he be afraid of things like Vampires? Such a sudden and drastic change should be able to attract the attention of certain people.
Although Quirinus hadn't read much of the Harry Potter books, and learned more through movies and TV shows, Professor Quirrell had done all of these things, and in the end, still couldn't escape death.
"It's come to this, I can only save myself. There's not much time left for me." Quirinus slowly exhaled, stood up, and went straight upstairs to The Leaky Cauldron's guest rooms. He had booked a room there for a month.
Back in the room, Quirinus plopped down on the bed and pulled out his wand: 9 inches long, alder wood, Unicorn tail hair.
Gently stroking the wand, Quirinussighed softly. magic, something unattainable in his previous life, now flowed within him. If there were no survival crisis, Quirinus would definitely want to wander and explore the ocean of magic, not for power, but simply for the magic itself.
Having merged with Professor Quirrell's soul, Quirinus seamlessly accepted everything about Professor Quirrell, including his magic and knowledge.
It must be said, he was indeed an excellent graduate of Ravenclaw. Professor Quirrell's theoretical knowledge was extremely rich, even if his practical skills were a bit lacking, but he was still stronger than many people and had even studied some Dark Arts.
If it weren't for Lord Voldemort, Professor Quirrell would surely have been a good Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
With a gentle wave of his wand, "Lumos!" A bright glow emanated from the tip of the wand. Quirinus watched the magical light with a hint of fascination. magic was the driving force behind Quirinus's struggle for self-preservation and survival.
...
The next day at noon, Quirinus, dressed in a neat black Wizard's robe, with a turban wrapped around his head and a pointed Wizard's hat, came downstairs to The Leaky Cauldronlobby. Since he had decided to stop pretending, there was naturally no strong smell of garlic on him, but the turban was still necessary.
Quirinus walked to the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron, grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, stepped into the fireplace, tossed the Floo powder, and softly called out "Hogwarts." Instantly, a cluster of emerald green flames enveloped him, and his figure vanished.
A dizzying sensation, Quirinus could feel himself moving at high speed. Outside the flames, scenes flashed by: a dimly lit living room, a spacious study, and finally, he appeared in a brightly lit room.
As the flames dissipated, Quirinuslightly patted the dust off himself and then calmly stepped out of the fireplace. As he emerged, he saw Professor McGonagall sitting behind her desk. Professor McGonagall was a serious-faced old Witch, but those who knew her well knew that she was a gentle and emotional person.
Seeing Quirinus emerge from the fireplace, Professor McGonagall's stern face broke into a smile. She then stood up and walked towards Quirinus,
"Welcome back to Hogwarts, Professor Quirrell! I truly didn't expect you to apply for the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Artsposition after your travels. This year, Albus finally won't have to worry about where to find a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor to teach the students."
"Professor McGonagall, it's a pleasure to see you again! I'm also very happy to be back at Hogwarts. This place is my home!" Quirinus smiled and nodded.
"Filius will be very happy. You are an excellent graduate of Ravenclaw, and you can work together again. Please, sit down." Professor McGonagallmotioned for Quirinus to sit in front of her desk, then poured him a cup of coffee.
"It's my honor to continue working with my former teachers. Of course, not just Professor Flitwick, but also you, Professor McGonagall. You are the best Transfiguration master. Although I have graduated, I still hope to learn more from you in Transfiguration." Quirinus said with a smile.
"Call me Minerva. Your Transfigurationgrades were excellent before too. Of course, I mean, welcome." Professor McGonagall was beaming.
"By the way, your future office will be next to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the third floor of the Castle. Your old office has been given to Professor Burbage, who is the new Professor of Muggle Studies after you resigned." Professor McGonagall said seriously,
"Also, you need to decide on the textbooks for Defense Against the Dark Arts as soon as possible. Once you've decided, I need to send the book list to the students."
"Okay, Minerva, let's continue using the current textbook, 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection'. It's a great book, and it's what I studied before, so it'll be easy to teach." Quirinus nodded.