Quirinus Quirrell

Quirinus Quirrell
Born	In or prior to 1970
Died	June 1992 Underground chambers, Hogwarts Castle
Character information
Species	Human (Wizardkind)
Occupation	Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (by 1989 - 1992) Muggle Studies Professor (by 1989 - 1991) Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor (by 1991 - 1992)
Loyalty	Lord Voldemort
Book information
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (only appearance)

Quirinus Quirrell is a character in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He is a half-blood wizard and the Professor of Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He searches for Voldemort and joins him in the hope of learning new things, but Voldemort possesses him when he finds out that he works at Hogwarts and uses him to get the Philosopher's Stone. When they fail, Voldemort abandons his body and he dies.

Biography

Early life

Quirrell was born in or before 1970 to at least one magical parent. He was smart when he was younger, but forgettable and from that experience, Quirrell had hoped one day for the chance to be heard and noticed instead of being a nobody. He took an interest in the Dark Arts, but later became the Professor of Muggle Studies at the school in or by 1989.

Joining Voldemort

Wanting to prove how powerful and important he is, Quirrell takes a year off from teaching to go looking for Voldemort under the guise of going on a grand tour. Quirrell hoped, at best, that he could to learn from him and gain new skills so that no-one would ever laugh at him again. He finds Voldemort, but when he learns that Quirrell is a teacher at Hogwarts, he seizes the opportunity to get into the school by using him.

Voldemort takes possession and control of Quirrell, who is powerless to fight him. The possession mutates Quirrell's head as Voldemort's face grows out the back of his, so he starts wearing a turban. This makes him into a temporary Horcrux. Quirrell returns to Hogwarts, but despite already having a nervous nature, his behaviour appears even less normal to his colleagues and students. This starts a rumour that he bumped into vampires and a hag when he was travelling and now he is scared of everything. He also fakes an eye twitch and a stutter to look less suspicious, and yet Dumbledore suspects him.

The Philosopher's Stone

Before the new school year, Dumbledore gives Quirrell the post of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor instead of his old teaching post of Muggle Studies Professor.

During the summer holidays, Voldemort gives Quirrell the task of stealing the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts for him so that he could use it to create a new physical body. Quirrell goes to the Leaky Cauldron on the day he plans to steal it, where he meets Rubeus Hagrid and Harry Potter pass through to go shopping. Harry asks Quirrell what he teaches at Hogwarts, but he starts stammering when he is speaking. Quirrell then claims he has to go and pick up a book about vampires, and Harry thinks Quirrell looks worried.

Later that day, he attempts to break into Gringotts for the Philosopher's Stone but he is unsuccessful because Hagrid has emptied the vault earlier that day. Dumbledore puts the Stone in the underground chambers of Hogwarts Castle surrounded by high-level security, accessed through a trapdoor in the third-floor corridor guarded by Fluffy. Voldemort is angry and considers Quirrell is a failure, so he takes full possession of him.

First-year students are not impressed by Quirrell and think Defence Against the Dark Arts is a joke. They believe he has decorated his classroom with garlic because he upset a vampire in Romania and he is afraid it is going to find him one day. Quirrell claims that he has fought a zombie but he refuses to tell them what happened and starts talking about the weather.

For his next attempt to get the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell lets a troll loose in the school and runs into the Great Hall during the Hallowe'en Feast to warn everyone. He then pretends to faint. However, Professor Snape realises he is feigning it and intercepts him on the third-floor corridor where he is bitten by Fluffy, but successfully scares Quirrell away.

Quirrell being hit with snowballs

During the first Quidditch game of the year, Quirrell and Voldemort make their first attempt to kill Harry Potter. Quirrell jinxes Harry's broom which starts bucking to throw him off. Snape intervenes again with a counter-curse. Hermione Granger realises Snape is casting a spell and incorrectly believe he is casting the jinx. She sneaks over and sets his cape on fire using Bluebell Flames and inadvertently stops Quirrell when he is knocked Quirrell over during the chaos. Later, Fred and George Weasley enchant snowballs to follow him around and bounce off the back of his turban without realising that they are technically throwing them at Voldemort's face.

In around February, Quirrell is prevented from jinxing Harry again at the next Quidditch game as Dumbledore spectates and Snape supervises the game. Snape ask to speak to him afterwards in the Forbidden Forest. He suspects that Quirrell is trying to steal the Stone, and wants to know how far he has gotten and whether he is going to get past Fluffy. He advises Quirrell to think about who he should be loyal to, and who he should put his confidence in. Harry Potter hears the whole conversation and gets the wrong idea when he suspects that Snape is trying to steal the Stone and bullying Quirrell into helping him, who looks petrified.

In spring, Harry and others serve detention in the Forbidden Forest where they help Hagrid search for a missing unicorn. The unicorn's disappearance has been caused by Quirrell, who has to drink the blood of unicorns to stay strong, although killing them has evoked a curse - the cost of a half-life. Harry stumbles across Quirrell drinking its blood, but could not see his face which is hidden by a hood. Quirrell goes towards him to kill him but Harry is saved by Firenze forcing Quirrell to flee.

Later, Harry overhears Quirrell talking to someone who is threatening him. He believed that that he is speaking to Snape, as the conversation is about stealing the Stone, but Quirrell is in fact speaking to Voldemort. He leaves the room while adjusting the turban and looks very pale, and doesn't notice Harry in the corridor. Quirrell forms a new plan and goes to the Hog's Head, hiding his face with a hooded cloak, approaches Hagrid and pretends to be a stranger. He buys drinks for Hagrid and persuades him to play a game of cards to win a dragon egg. As a result, Hagrid drunkenly tells him how to get past Fluffy - he can be put into sleep with music.

Death

The back of Quirrell's head

Quirrell enchants a harp to put Fluffy into a sleep and goes through the trapdoor to the underground chambers. He gets past the Devil's Snare, obtains the right winged key, wins a game of Wizard Chess, knocks out a troll and solves a potion riddle. However, he reaches a dead end in the final chamber created by Dumbledore, where he discovers Philosopher's Stone has been put inside the Mirror of Erised with enchantments.

While he is struggling to get the Stone out of the Mirror of Erised, he is interrupted by Harry. He tells Harry the whole truth; that he had tried to kill him, that he and Voldemort have joined forces, and that Voldemort is possessing him. Quirrell could not get the Stone because the Mirror is enchanted to give it to someone who only wants to possess the Stone, and not use it. Harry, who does not want to use it, has the Stone placed in his pocket without Quirrell noticing. He asks Harry what he sees in the Mirror but Voldemort knows his answer is a lie. He tells Quirrell that Harry has the Stone and his face is revealed. At the end of their conversation, Quirrell seizes and tries to strangle Harry to death, but is burned by touch as Harry is protected by his mother's sacrifice. Realising this, Harry purposefully seizes Quirrell in return who struggles in immense pain. Dumbledore arrives in time to drag Quirrell off Harry.

Harry fights Quirrell

Quirrell dies shortly after he is stopped by Dumbledore, as his body is damaged thus causing Voldemort to abandon him.

Appearance

Quirrell is a pale, young man with a twitchy eye.