"Master, I, I today..."
The door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office was shut tight. Quirrell had taken off his turban and was trembling nervously, looking as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
"I told you, this isn't your fault."
The pale face on the back of his head gently reassured him, "Now that you've become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, you must fulfill your duties to the best of your ability, without holding back. You mustn't leave the slightest opening for Dumbledore to notice anything amiss."
"Remember, the ultimate goal is to get our hands on the Philosopher's Stone. The process doesn't matter in the slightest, whether it's breaking into Gringotts or cursing Dark wizards... Once you've brought me the Philosopher's Stone and helped me regain my body, you'll receive honors and rewards beyond your imagination..."
Under his comfort and encouragement, Quirrell seemed to relax considerably. "I'll live up to your expectations, Master!"
"That's my good servant."
Knock, knock, knock.
"Professor Quirrell, are you there? I have a question I'd like to ask you..."
The office door was suddenly knocked on, and a young voice came indistinctly from the other side. Quirrell nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly waved his wand, making the turban cover Voldemort's face again. "What should I do, Master?"
"Obviously, act like a professor, explain it to him, and then send him on his way," Voldemort said impatiently. "Do I have to teach you even that?"
"Y-yes..."
Quirrell raised his wand and tapped it, opening the office door. After seeing the student outside, he forced a smile. "Ah, Mr. K, K. What can I do for you?"
"Professor,"
Avada closed the door behind him and placed a sheet of parchment on the desk. "I was previewing the second-year textbook and came across an interesting spell called the 'Confundus Charm.' It's somewhere between a jinx and an ordinary charm. It can throw the target's senses out of alignment and produce some unusual effects..."
"Y-yes, that's right," Quirrell said with an awkward laugh.
"Then I studied the spell more closely and found that there seemed to be room for improvement. After that, I went to the library and looked up information on spells similar to the Confundus Charm. Taking the Memory Charm and some simple illusions into account, I came up with this..."
He pushed the parchment across the desk to Quirrell. "Based on my deductions, if the Confundus Charm were improved as far as it could go along these lines, it seems it would produce an extremely terrifying... No, I should say, an extremely unusual effect. But you said in class that some jinxes could gradually become Dark Magic as they were developed further, so I wanted to ask you about it."
"Very well, let me see..."
Quirrell picked up the parchment and began reading it, somewhat distractedly. Meanwhile, Avada took the opportunity to activate Occlumency and feverishly analyze the structure of Voldemort's mutated mental energy.
To analyze this mass of mental energy, I need to examine it in four stages: first the mental structure of an ordinary person, then the damage caused by Dark Magic, followed by mutations caused by certain magical transformations, and finally the damage from splitting the soul... I'll have to peel back each layer, one by one, to fully analyze the entire structure.
The basic framework is still the human mind. That hasn't changed. Memory, thought, and emotion are all still there, but the emotional part has been severely damaged, especially the positive emotions... His thought processes have also suffered some damage.
I don't have many samples of mental energy corrupted by Dark Magic, so I'll need to spend more time on that part...
This structure is very similar to Professor Baker's. It must be a mutation caused by splitting the soul... But it's more complex, and more unstable. What else would you expect from someone who split his soul into seven pieces?
My earlier guess was wrong. His mental structure has nothing in common with a ghost. That leaves me with even fewer samples...
Damn, there's too much information. Even after taking the Wit-Sharpening Potion I bought in Diagon Alley, my brain still can't keep up. My memory and calculations are falling short, and I probably won't have time to analyze the Diadem or study talent optimization now...
While Avada feverishly analyzed the mental structure, Quirrell stared at the parchment he'd brought and broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't help it. The contents were simply astonishing...
"What's wrong, Quirrell?"
Voldemort's voice sounded directly in his mind. "I can sense that you're quite surprised. What did that student show you?"
"M-Master, look..."
Quirrell shakily shared his vision with Voldemort. "This second-year student independently developed the rudiments of the Imperius Curse!"
That was right. What Avada had used to attract Quirrell's attention was the result he'd obtained from the Diadem last school year: the rudiments of the Imperius Curse. He'd rearranged it, taking the principles of the Confundus Charm, the Memory Charm, and some other illusions, and piecing them together to disguise it as something he'd developed from second-year material. In other words, he'd put the cart before the horse.
"Oh?"
Voldemort immediately grew interested and began carefully reading the paper through Quirrell's eyes. When Avada noticed Voldemort's mental energy changing dramatically, he maintained Occlumency tensely, struggled to control his expression, and took the opportunity to memorize more of the dynamic sample...
"Interesting. Very interesting..."
"Quirrell, let me take control of your body for a while."
"Y-yes, Master."
Quirrell suddenly looked up at Avada. His expression was no longer tense. Instead, he wore an air of calm confidence. "Can you tell me how you came up with this idea?"
Damn it!
The instant Quirrell looked up, Avada stopped analyzing and activated Occlumency with all his might!
Why has Voldemort taken over in person?! Was my paper really that interesting?!
At first, he'd only meant to pique Quirrell's interest, so he wouldn't reject him and Avada could have more time to observe Voldemort's mental energy. Now it seemed he hadn't gauged the right level of "interest."
"Ahem."
Avada straightened up, adopting the attitude he'd have for defending a thesis. "Well, while studying the Confundus Charm, I discovered..."
As Avada spoke, Quirrell—or rather, Voldemort—listened attentively, occasionally asking questions at key points, which Avada then explained. For a moment, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom truly became a thesis defense. Aside from the fact that both the adviser and the student had ulterior motives, it couldn't have been more perfect.
"Brilliant ideas, a marvelous line of thought. There's no doubt about it, Mr. K: you're a genius."
"You have an extraordinary talent for studying mental energy. I can tell you in advance that this line of inquiry leads to an extremely powerful magic. If you'd been born before this magic was invented, this paper alone might have secured you a place in history... You can certainly continue your research. It'll do you a great deal of good... Here."
He opened a drawer, took out a sheet of parchment, and wrote something on it before handing it to Avada. "I recommend that you look for a book in the Restricted Section. It's closely related to the field you're researching and might give you some inspiration. This is the authorization slip."
"Off you go. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I like talented students."
Voldemort controlled Quirrell's body and sent Avada out with a beaming smile. The moment he locked the door behind him, his expression changed from calm back to nervous. Quirrell's consciousness had returned.
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