In Pomona's impression, Quirrell had been a Ravenclaw boy who enjoyed traveling and pressing wildflower specimens, as quick-witted and harmless as a squirrel.
During his years as a student, he had suffered no small amount of mockery because of his shyness and nervousness.
Fortunately, he had been a Ravenclaw and had lived in the wizarding world after Voldemort's departure, so his life had not been as miserable as Severus's.
The Dark Lord had been powerful—clever, learned, and immensely strong. After his first death, many of the magical restrictions he had placed had been lifted, though not all of them. The most famous was the Dark Mark.
Even after Harry defeated Voldemort a second time, some people believed he had not truly "died."
By then, because of the curse the Dark Lord had placed on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, no one wanted to apply for the job except Quirrell and Gilderoy Lockhart.
Quirrell's grades had been good, though he had leaned toward theory and lacked practical ability. Compared with Lockhart, he at least had some genuine substance, so Albus chose him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Like Severus Snape, he had been bullied at school. Now Severus was someone no one dared provoke, and he had always been Hogwarts's substitute Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Having become the "full-time teacher," Quirrell wanted to show Snape who was boss.
Like all those insignificant people who wanted the entire world to see them in a new light, he deliberately sought out everything left behind by Dark wizards.
Half of it had been out of curiosity, and half to prove his worth. He had imagined becoming a "vampire hunter," a "dragon slayer," or "the one who captured Voldemort." Perhaps he could even learn some very