"Headmaster Dumbledore... you... you wanted to see me?" Quirrell, sweat beading on his forehead, walked nervously into the headmaster's office.
"Quirinus, you don't need to be so tense," Dumbledore said in greeting, handing over the hot tea he had prepared. "Have you been under too much pressure lately?"
"N-no... not at all... everything's fine." Quirrell slumped into the chair like a puppet, his limbs very stiff, looking terribly constrained.
"Mm." Dumbledore took a sip of tea, frowned, and added several cubes of sugar to it. "The school hasn't been very peaceful lately. I think you should know that, don't you?"
"What?" Quirrell's body grew even stiffer, like a statue. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I d-don't know."
Dumbledore got straight to the point. "I have a friend who asked me to look after an item for the time being. That item is rather valuable, so I specifically arranged for it to be kept in the restricted area on the fourth floor."
"S-so that's how it is?" Quirrell forced out a smile. "This is the f-first I've heard of it."
"Someone has designs on that item." Dumbledore's gaze was intense. "Quirinus, I hope to have your help."
"M-me?" Quirrell seemed frightened, his body still motionless. "Do I have that... that honor?"
"Of course!" Dumbledore smiled faintly. "It was precisely because I trusted you that I agreed to your request to transfer posts. Before November, I hope you can provide one protective measure. Can you do that?"
Quirrell laughed hysterically twice. "Of course, n-no problem! I'll t-try my best!"
"Excellent! If it were the old you, I'm afraid you would have refused me." As Dumbledore said this, a trace of disappointment showed in his eyes. "At noon, did Wizet come to see you?"
"Yes! He's talented, so I p-provided him with a few reference books."