"Look at this pretty girl."
Quirrell held a long-jointed insect in his hand, an expression of utter enjoyment on his face.
The sight made John shudder with revulsion.
Stroking the insect, Quirrell wore an evil smile. "John, my good boy, now tell me the names of the Three Unforgivable Curses."
Glancing at the wand in Quirrell's hand, John considered for a moment before saying, "The Killing Curse, the Imperius Curse, and the Cruciatus Curse."
"Good boy," Quirrell praised him.
Then he pointed his wand at the insect in his hand and said, "Now I will teach you these three supreme spells."
"Imperio!"
A flash of light passed, and the insect in his hand became utterly obedient.
A strange gleam shone in Quirrell's eyes. "The Imperius Curse is a spell that makes wizards obey. It can even make someone kill themselves."
Under his control, the insect jumped into a basin of water nearby. Even as it was about to drown, it made no attempt to struggle.
Then it jumped out again and moved beside a candle, letting the flame burn its joints without resisting.
John watched it all, a chill creeping through him.
The Imperius Curse was far more direct and brutal than brainwashing. It could take control of a person in an instant.
"Come back."
Calling the insect back into his palm, Quirrell pointed his wand at it and cast the second spell.
"Crucio!"
The insect screamed. Even without being able to read its expression, anyone could tell it was in excruciating pain.
Its piercing cries echoed through the classroom. John's expression darkened, and he felt physically sick.
Quirrell, by contrast, looked delighted.
"Listen. What a beautiful sound."
The feeling of having complete control was so wonderful. To obtain this power, he had willingly become Voldemort's servant.
Dark magic corroded the heart. After gaining this power, Quirrell's mind had become twisted.
In the moonlight, Quirrell could not make out John's expression, but he felt certain that the young wizard, too, had been won over by this supreme power.
Ending the spell, Quirrell placed the insect on the desk, an evil gleam in his eyes, and cast the final Unforgivable Curse.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A beam of green light shot from his wand tip, taking the insect's life without the slightest resistance.
"Controlling minds, tormenting flesh, commanding life and death. These three spells possess incomparable power."
Quirrell grabbed John's hand, his expression growing excited. "Such exquisite power. Our lord has high hopes for you. You must not disappoint him."
"I certainly won't let your teaching go to waste." John lowered his head, leaving Quirrell thoroughly satisfied.
At the same time, his trust in John had reached the point where he believed the boy would never betray him.
Having learned the Unforgivable Curses, John already had one foot in the ranks of the Death Eaters.
For the rest of the session, John had to practice.
What made the Unforgivable Curses so dangerous was that malice alone was enough to learn them.
John cast the Cruciatus Curse, channeling his malice toward Quirrell into the spell and leaving Quirrell very pleased.
"Fuck. That damned bastard."
John submerged himself in water in the washroom, the coldness on his face showing no sign of fading.
He did not know whether he was imagining it, but he felt as though dark magic was eating away at his mind.
It made him increasingly agitated. Slapping the surface of the water, John poured water over his head to calm himself down.
"Quirrell won't be around much longer. I need to get away from him as soon as possible."
The school year was nearing its end. John did not remember the exact date of the first story's climax, but he knew it happened before the House Cup.
As long as he made it through this term, Quirrell would be out of his life.
As for dark magic, John steadied himself and decided there was no need to panic.
"Dark magic isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least it gives me another way to protect myself."
Using the Unforgivable Curses in the wizarding world was a serious crime that could land someone in Azkaban, but John did not believe the professors at this school were incapable of casting them.
The professors did not seem mentally twisted, either. As long as he had enough self-control, he need not fear becoming the next Voldemort.
After reassuring himself this way, John finally relaxed.
Leaving the washroom, he changed his clothes and walked out of the common room.
After casting the Disillusionment Charm on himself, he decided to go out for some air and settle his nerves.
He reached the Room of Requirement and went inside to begin his alchemy experiments.
Quirrell's demonstration of the Three Unforgivable Curses had made him realize that his amulet needed strengthening. After a night of hard work, he added a new function to it.
Protection against the Imperius Curse.
This was already the most he could manage at present. As for the Cruciatus Curse, he thought taking one hit should not be too much of a problem.
At worst, it would just hurt more.
The Imperius Curse, however, was almost impossible to guard against. For that reason, he added a warning function to the amulet. If he accidentally fell victim to it, the mechanism hidden within would activate.
Although it could not block the curse, it could bring John back to his senses immediately.
He was also taking precautions against Quirrell using the Imperius Curse on him, because he felt Quirrell would only become more aggressive.
If John wanted to fight back when the time came, he would have to seize that brief opening.
Sure enough.
Before long, Quirrell invited John to join him.
They were going to the Forbidden Forest.
This brought something to John's mind, and his expression involuntarily changed.
"Professor, what are we going to the Forbidden Forest for? I mean, I've been patrolling it for a long time, and I haven't found anything."
John tried to bluff his way out, but Quirrell had no intention of letting him off.
"In the pursuit of knowledge, you will discover that only practice can reveal the truth."
Quirrell looked much paler today. Voldemort had weakened again and needed to drink unicorn blood to stay alive.
Clinging to life, Voldemort was now worse off than a rat. He did not yet want John to see him in such a frail state.
When reluctance appeared on John's face, Voldemort's voice rang out.
"Stop wasting time with him."
The voice came from Quirrell's head, and John immediately sensed trouble.
A reverent expression appeared on Quirrell's face. He raised his wand, and a flash of light shot out, striking John with the Imperius Curse.
The amulet on his wrist glowed for an instant, then quickly dimmed.
John felt his mind dissolve into chaos before reassembling itself. He stared blankly at Quirrell.
Seeing this, Quirrell believed he had succeeded. He addressed Voldemort respectfully. "Master, we will go and find a unicorn now."
After the last unicorn had been killed, all the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest had gone into hiding.
Quite some time had passed, and a few unicorns had grown restless and emerged. Quirrell had found traces of them.
He hurried ahead, with John following behind.
Quirrell intended to drag John into an abyss from which there was no return. John, meanwhile, knew this was not the time to turn against him, so he continued pretending to be under the curse.
Fortunately, after finding a unicorn today, Quirrell did not make John do the killing. John had not yet learned the Killing Curse, which spared him some trouble.
But John could only watch as Quirrell killed the unicorn. His eyes flickered with intense emotion, yet in the end, he did not draw his wand.
In the Forbidden Forest, the slightest move on his part would likely make him the next target of the Killing Curse.
Once this hunt was over, Voldemort's life had been prolonged.
Quirrell took John away, sawing off the unicorn's horn and placing it in his hand. He told John that he had killed it.
John acted like a child who did not know what to do, vividly portraying the turmoil that followed killing and the gradual descent into depravity.
Voldemort believed it would not be long before the boy became an excellent Death Eater.
Now they only needed to give it time to take hold.
Killing a unicorn was a serious crime. The young wizard would not dare tell the professors.
Voldemort was brimming with confidence.
John, meanwhile, gained a brief respite during which he did not have to go and study with Quirrell.
That day, Ron was bitten by the dragon.
Harry and the others knew they could not delay sending him away any longer. Once Saturday night arrived, they could send Norbert off.
Before you continue