Quirinus Quirrell's Story (II)

"Master, I've already heard from the Goblin that Dumbledore indeed placed a valuable item in Vault 713!"

In the pitch-black room, Quirrell was reporting the latest intelligence to Voldemort: "According to the Goblin, Vault 713 is a vault for storing valuables. There is no key to the door, and no one except the Goblin can open the vault door and take the items inside."

The snake in front of Quirrell didn't react much, seemingly just a snake. He continued, "I've subdued the Goblin, but to break into Gringotts..."

"Quirrell, I've spent so much time and energy on you, not to listen to these excuses!" A hideous human face appeared above the snake's head— Voldemort's face. Every time Voldemort spoke to him like this, the life force possessed by him would be greatly reduced.

"I'm sorry, Master."

"What I need is for you to get the Philosopher's Stone as soon as possible, not your apology. I'm sure you have your own plans, right Quirrell!"

"Yes, Master, I already have a plan. The Goblin under the Imperius Curse will open the door to Vault 713 for me," Quirrell said in a low voice. "However, I haven't figured out how to get rid of the Gringotts Goblin after I get the Philosopher's Stone."

In truth, Quirrell was reluctant to break into Gringotts. Although Voldemort had promised that obtaining the Philosopher's Stone would restore his physical body and grant Quirrell the honor and status he deserved, Quirrell still lacked confidence in breaking into Gringotts, as he had never heard of a wizard successfully stealing from Gringotts.

Those thieves who had their eyes on Gringotts are all trapped in the vast underground labyrinth beneath Gringotts; that hellhole doesn't allow you to Apparition.

Quirrell thought he must be crazy, or Voldemort must be crazy, to have 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 Magic so that he could take the Philosopher's Stone out of Gringotts.

If I fail, I will suffer terrible punishment.

Quirrell couldn't imagine what would happen to him if he failed, just like those wizards who had been possessed by the Dark Lord.

Not long ago, Quirrell had captured a wizard from Knockturn Alley and had the Dark Lord possess him to teach him magic and magical skills. However, he witnessed firsthand how Voldemort subdued the wizard and how he died.

All of this terrified Quirrell; he found himself seemingly powerless to resist, for even though the Dark Lord appeared extremely weak, he remained powerful.

"If you just steal the Philosopher's Stone, those Goblin will be nothing to me once I am fully resurrected."

"I will succeed..." Quirrell said softly, just as a knock came from the kitchen window, interrupting Quirrell. He opened the window and took the letter from the owl; it was an invitation from Hogwarts School of Magic.

He quickly opened the letter and scanned its contents: Dumbledore was formally inviting him to Hogwarts, along with a familiar castle, colleagues, and the upcoming coursework.

Quirrell closed the letter, took a deep breath, and realized that the meeting with Dumbledore was undoubtedly an opportunity—an opportunity to betray the Dark Lord. If he handed the Dark Lord over to Dumbledore, he believed that the greatest wizard in history could absolutely...

Quirrell admitted he was somewhat persuaded by Voldemort, but that didn't mean he was a fool. On the contrary, Quirrell was very intelligent and had even served as Ravenclaw Prefect. Quirrell's magical talent was actually quite good; otherwise, he wouldn't have grown so rapidly under Voldemort's tutelage in just a few months. He had already mastered the Silent Spell, which he wasn't very familiar with before, and could even use some simple spells without a wand.

Quirrell is now considered an excellent wizard. He can be free if he betrays the Dark Lord!

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Quirrell immediately suppressed it.

He dared not have any extra thoughts in front of Voldemort, as the latter could easily see through his ideas.

"Dumbledore's invitation!" Quirrell said respectfully. "He invited me to the school to familiarize myself with my upcoming teaching career."

"You want to hand me over to Dumbledore," Voldemort said suddenly, staring at Quirrell's face. "You've learned spellcasting techniques and a great deal of Dark Magic from me, so you're planning to abandon me?"

"No, I didn't, Master!" Quirrell said in a panic.

"You're lying to me. That's what you were thinking just now. You wanted to hand me over to Dumbledore!" Voldemort's voice echoed in Quirrell's mind. "You wanted to get rid of me through Dumbledore. You approached me just to learn Dark Magic and spellcasting techniques from me, didn't you?"

"I don't mind that you did that, I don't mind, but do you think you can get rid of me?" Voldemort suddenly laughed. "In my current state, even Dumbledore can't kill me. He can't do anything to me, and he can't help you either."

"No, Master, I have never had the thought of betraying you, never." Quirrell bowed his head deeply and said very respectfully.

"I don't care! But remember, anyone who betrays me will pay the price!" Voldemort's voice echoed in Quirrell's ears.

The following day, Quirrell went to Hogwarts at the agreed time.

At the school gate, Quirrell saw Hagrid, the Hunting Grounds, waiting for him at the entrance.

Quirrell stepped forward, greeted Hagrid with a slight stutter, and shook his hand.

Hagrid took him to the Headmaster's Office, where Dumbledore chatted with him for a while about work matters, talked about the Fawley of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and personally showed Quirrell around Hogwarts, including his Defence Against the Dark Arts office and the classrooms he would use for classes.

"You should familiarize yourself with your work first. In a while, I might need your help with something," Dumbledore a smile.

"I am so glad to be able to help; it is my honor!"

"By the way, Professor McGonagall asked me to tell you that she hopes you can draft the books that will be used in the Defense Against the Dark Arts as soon as possible so that we can send admission notices to the students!"

"No—no problem, I'll hand over the necessary forms to Professor McGonagall very soon." Quirrell nodded, trying to appear reliable, but his actions were hardly convincing.

After watching Dumbledore leave, Quirrell closed the door to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office and carefully checked every corner of the room to make sure he wasn't being watched.

Honestly, that's highly unlikely.

Quirrell felt his disguise was very successful. He made himself appear to stutter and be nervous, and told Dumbledore about his terrible experiences during his travels, cleverly deceiving Dumbledore.