Quirrell's voice was calm, his gaze was chilling, and he didn't even pretend to stutter anymore.
The students, eager to leave class, didn't notice this detail and slowly made their way out of the classroom toward the Great Hall.
"Silan ..."
Hermione grabbed Silan's hand with some concern.
Quirrell made her feel that something was off today.
"Don't worry." Quirrell rolled his eyes and gave a slight smile. "Miss Granger, he'll be fine. I just wanted to chat with him for a bit."
Silan patted Hermione's hand to reassure her and stood up.
"Let's go, Professor."
Quirrell walked silently like a deep, ancient well, his steps quick, even bumping into a few young wizards.
"Can't you watch where you're going?!"
"I'm sorry, Professor..." The Hufflepuff student who had been bumped into by Quirrell was taken aback by his unusual demeanor today and apologized repeatedly.
"Hufflepuff deducts 5 points!"
Quirrell shouted, then turned sharply to look at Silan, staring intently at him.
"It seems Quirrell is quite anxious," Silan thought to herself, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Disturbed, Quirrell pushed open the door to his office.
After Silan came in, he waved his wand and locked the door.
Silan glanced at the door, which was locked shut by Quirrell's curse, and slowly sat down opposite Quirrell.
Although the situation was dangerous, he was well-prepared.
"Professor Quirrell? What do you want with me?"
Silan asked a question he already knew the answer to.
Quirrell, his patience exhausted, didn't mince words and asked directly, "Are you able to communicate with Magical Creatures?"
Silan feigned surprise and vehemently denied it. "Professor, how could you think that? Even Newt Scamander, the Magizoologist, might not possess such an ability. How could you think...?"
"Haha..."
Before he could finish speaking, Quirrell interrupted him with a strange, cold laugh.
"Stop trying to play tricks on me!" Quirrell stomped his feet anxiously as he walked up to Silan. "I saw you coming out of that room in the Third Floor Corridor earlier."
"You should know better than I what's in the room."
Quirrell was agitated and his emotions were very unstable. He seemed to be suppressing something as he spoke, and his body was trembling slightly.
He had previously obtained a dragon egg from Hagrid, in exchange for a way to bypass Fluffy.
But the Unicorn hasn't been caught yet.
Without Unicorn Blood, the Dark Lord remains in a weakened state.
If something unexpected happens while retrieving the Philosopher's Stone, all our efforts will be in vain.
In order to restore Voldemort to his former state as quickly as possible, Quirrell had to speed up the capture of the Unicorn.
So he can't beat around the bush with Silan now.
If he continues to spout nonsense, Quirrell wouldn't hesitate to use some force.
Silan sighed. "Well, you're right, Professor."
"I do have the ability to communicate with Magical Creatures. While it's a great talent, it also presents considerable trouble, which is why I'm reluctant to reveal it easily. I always thought I was keeping it well hidden," Silan said, feigning helplessness.
Upon hearing Silan's admission, Quirrell quietly loosened his grip on his wand, adopting a amiable demeanor.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Prewett, I was a little too hasty just now."
"It's alright, Professor."
"I think... you know, I'm cursed by a vampire, so I need some Unicorn Tail Hair as a material to break the curse, but they're so hard to find."
Quirrell sat opposite Silan, smiling at him. "You don't need to do anything else. Just find it and don't let it run away. Leave the rest to me."
"But Professor, if it's just some Unicorn Tail Hair, the school should have some in its inventory, right? Why do you need to go looking for Unicorn? As far as I know, Hagrid should have quite a few."
Silan deliberately raised a question.
Tsk, what a sharp and clever little devil.
Quirrell cursed inwardly, but remained calm.
He already knew this reason wouldn't easily fool this clever student, so he immediately spoke again, "Hmm... the Unicorn Tail Hair used to break the curse must be fresh."
"But is this alright, Professor?" Silan feigned hesitation, stammering, "School rules forbid me from entering the Forbidden Forest; it's too dangerous."
"It's alright, this is a special circumstance, I think Professor Dumbledore will understand. As for the danger, I will protect you; after all, I am a professor."
Quirrell's gaze remained calm as he thought: Once you catch the Unicorn, you're useless.
I will kill you myself then.
Silan glanced at Quirrell, who seemed confident of victory, and sneered inwardly.
You won't get the Unicorn Blood, but you can try the Dragonfire of the Dragon.
However, adhering to the principle that not making a profit is a loss, Silan decided to take advantage of Quirrell before doing so and ask him for some benefits.
He feigned concern. "Professor Quirrell, I still think the Forbidden Forest is too dangerous..."
Quirrell's smile froze, and he frowned, saying coldly, "You want to back out?"
"No." Silan shook her head. "I just wanted to ask the professor if there was anything that could protect me, like an alchemical tool that could be used to escape?"
He had heard that some alchemical tools could allow the wearer to use Apparition, even if the wizard himself did not know the Spells.
Quirrell gave a subtle, roundabout way of refusing.
"With me here, you don't need to worry about anything. There will be no danger, and you don't need to run away."
Even if I did have it, I wouldn't give it to you.
Are you just going to stand by and watch you run away?
When Quirrell refused, Silan wasn't surprised; he knew, of course, that Quirrell wouldn't give it to him even if he had it.
"Um... Professor, could I have a copy of your research notes on Defence Against the Dark Arts and your OWL exam preparation materials?"
As a second choice, Silan asked for some study materials.
Although Quirrell is usually a bit timid, he is undoubtedly a top student, especially in the theory of Defence Against the Dark Arts, where he has a very solid foundation.
He received 11 Os in the OWL exam.
This exam covers a total of 12 subjects.
In any case, when it comes to academics, no one can really look down on Professor Quirrell.
Knowledge of Defence Against the Dark Arts was also quite useful for Silan.
As for the OWL exam experience, it is even more valuable.
Pure-blood wizard can learn these skills from their ancestors through family tradition and may disregard them. However, Muggle-born wizard or ordinary Half-blood wizards find it much more difficult to obtain such information.
Whether for building relationships or for doing business, these are valuable assets.
Hearing that Silan had changed her request, Quirrell breathed a sigh of relief and nodded readily, then looked at Silan with a hint of regret.
If it weren't for their differing stances, Quirrell actually quite liked this young wizard; he was intelligent, eager to learn, and exceptionally talented, just like himself back then.
Unfortunately, his last name Prewett.
Even if he were to willingly Death Eaters, Voldemort wouldn't dare accept that surname.
"However, these things are quite old, I need to look for them." Quirrell got up and walked to his bookshelf.
After searching for a while, Quirrell took out his own handwritten notes and handed them to Silan.
"Time is running out, you can stay here and watch." Quirrell refused to let Silan leave.
Silan didn't mind, thanked her, and began flipping through her notes.
My OWL exam preparation notes are quite old; they're filled with detailed notes and procedures, written with great care.
The notes on Defence Against the Dark Arts theory are even more solid, and also contain many of Quirrell's own ideas.
Many of these views were unprecedented for Silan.
This made him realize that if Quirrell hadn't been possessed by Voldemort, he might have eventually become a master of Defence Against the Dark Arts theory.
Silan flipped through her notes with complete focus, seemingly oblivious to the impending danger.
This pleased Quirrell greatly, and he even occasionally offered to answer Silan's questions.
"Your idea is good, but it's missing a crucial step..."
"Oh, I see, I understand now."
The office was filled with the aroma of tea, and the atmosphere was harmonious. Eager students humbly asked questions, and the kind professor answered them in detail.
The two looked at each other with smiles.
They were all secretly plotting how to sabotage each other.