The Portrait

After meeting with Snape and Quirrell, Dumbledore decided to hung Quirrell's portrait in the third floor corridor near the trapdoor. "Professor Quirrell would enjoy the view." Dumbledore said, hanging the portrait on a new nail.

"You picked this spot because not many students go by," said Severus.

"Shhhh." Dumbledore put a finger over his lips. "He can hear you. I think I'll leave the drop cloth on a bit longer." After adjusting the covered picture a bit more, so it hung perfectly straight, Dumbledore took a few steps back and glanced at the covered portrait. "It will do."

After managing the walk with his crutches, Inus leaded against Severus for support. He needed to tolerate the pain or he would never get full use from that leg and he promised he would run with Sirius, again. Inus was a man of his word.

Dumbledore looked at the covered picture and shook his head. "You may talk to him. You can take the drop cloth off after I go. Quirinus is too shy to talk to the other portraits. Let him enjoy the view."

Severus nodded.

"Farewell then." Dumbledore returned the nod and walked off to the more public areas of the school.

Inus walked back a bit so the man in the portrait would know exactly who he was speaking to. Then Severus removed the cloth covering the portrait. Not knowing what else to do, Inus waved at the man on the broom. "Hello, Professor Quirrell."

Professor Quirrell, in his school uniform, had a full head of thick black hair that blew in the wind just as Madame Bell painted him. "Who the Hell are you? And what are you doing in my body?"

Inus attempted to shrug his shoulders while still leaning on his crutches.

Severus walked over to Inus and placed a arm around him. To better appreciate Severus's height and strength, Inus moved his left crutch to his right arm then leaned against Severus.

"Inus, you don't have to listen to him." Severus now had both his arms around Inus. However, the one of on his arse wasn't helping him stand much, not that Inus minded Severus's attention.

"Snape, get your slimy hands off my body," shouted the portrait.

Inus was enjoying Severus's hands touching him and they weren't at all slimy. If anything, they were a bit dry; Severus could use a bit of moisturiser after teaching Potions all day. "It's my body now," Inus informed the portrait. "Quirinus, who I am doesn't matter. You aren't stuttering. You aren't you suppose to be p-p-poor P-P-Professor Quirrell."

"Harry Potter," said the portrait. "I could have had everything. I was that close to having Lord Voldemort under my power. I would have had the Stone and he would have been out of my body and bowing to me. You ruined everything."

"You're dead." Inus remembered the events in question differently than he was seeing them with Harry Potter's soul - not Quirrell's.

"I look very much alive. You stole my life," said the man in the painting.

Severus put an arm around Inus's shoulders. "He's a portrait. His words can't hurt you. Inus entered your body after your soul left. He took your body, but your life had already ended."

"A potions professor is going to tell me about the Dark Arts," said the portrait.

"You could use a lesson or two," said Severus. "A twelve year old boy couldn't push an adult wizard from his body. Lord Voldemort couldn't push you out. What chance would a child have?"

"Don't talk reason to a man who fainted from his own troll." Inus enjoyed leaning on Severus and didn't want to give it up once he was able to stand without his cane or crutches. "Now that you're a portrait, you can close your eyes, but you can't turn your back on the damage you caused."

Turning his back on the corridor would be difficult while staying on the broom since the portrait didn't give him much room to steer. However, he turn his head and could also fly to any other painting in the castle. Professor Quirrell would have to discover these things on his own.

"Damage! You burnt my face and hands!" shouted the portrait. "And what did you do to my leg?"

"It's my leg," said Inus. "We went over this. You left and I set up housekeeping in the vacated vessel. I woke up in the hospital. People were treating me nice because they believed I was quite mad. Only a twelve year old boy doesn't understand these things."

"And people believed you were Potter?" asked the portrait.

"Dumbledore did," said Severus. "I knew. A legilimens doesn't have to take things on speculation. Also Remus has this map that shows everyone in the castle. The H. Potter dot belongs to Inus."

"How convenient," huffed the portrait.

Severus took Inus's hand. "Good-bye."

"Sev, sleeping with a fifteen year old boy? I would expect such things from the man who told our lord of the prophecy."

"He's lying," Inus cried. Then his Swiss cheese memory told him that that Quirrell in the portrait wasn't lying. Voldemort has shared that bit of information with him after Snape stopped Quirrell from downing Potter's broom during a Quidditch match.

"No, he isn't. I told the Dark Lord. I overheard by mistake. After your parents died, I went to Dumbledore and asked him how I could make amends and he hired me," Severus explained.

Inus didn't want to lean on Severus at this moment. He moved his crutches to put one under the other shoulder. Then he took a few steps away from Severus. Inus looked at the tiled floor. "Oh my God, I never read it in your mind."

"It isn't like reading a book," said Severus. "I wasn't going to give you that piece of me."

"You killed the Potters," Inus cried. He didn't turn around on his crutches. Although he wasn't looking at the floor, he was still looking away from Severus.

"I told the Dark Lord what I overheard," Severus said in a soft voice. Inus didn't have to read his mind to hear the shame in his voice. "He acted on that knowledge. Pettigrew told him where the Potters were. I didn't know he would kill the Potters. I was only the messenger."

"Harry, don't kill the messenger," said the portrait. "On the other hand, do kill him. Being a portrait is so much fun."

Severus said, "I'm sorry. It was a long time ago. I pleaded for forgiveness. Dumbledore could have called in the aurors. He held it over me."

Inus walked back to Severus's side. "I didn't know. I told you to tell him not to overwork you. I didn't know." Inus dropped his crutches and fell into Severus's arms. Inus knew the tears were flowing as he embracing the taller man.

"You're suppose to hate him," cried the portrait.

"Severus made a mistake in judgement telling him about the prophecy, but I would have done the same," said Inus.

"Your parents would be alive if Severus didn't tell Lord Voldemort," said the portrait. "And you forgive him?"

"Dumbledore forgave him," said Inus. "I'm a ghoul living in your previously dead body. I'm hardly an innocent."

"He took your innocence," said the portrait.

Severus didn't take Inus's innocence. Inus had lost his virginity to a stranger that didn't speak English to keep Voldemort from returning to the back of his head. No virginity, no unicorn blood. It had made sense at the time. It was a pragmatic act. That didn't mean that Inus didn't enjoy the Brazilian's vertical then horizontal dancing, but it was a means to an end. Now that Voldemort was possessing Lucius Malfoy - who was most likely not a virgin - it all seems a bit pointless.

"Upset about dying a virgin?" asked Severus. "Dumbledore put you here because he thought you would like seeing that trapdoor. No Fluffy, but you still can't reach it. Would you prefer if we moved you to our chambers?"

Inus, resting against Severus, turned around to see the portrait. The man in the portrait looked like he just sucked on a lemon. The faces he was making reminded Inus of when he just got this body and was making faces into the hospital mirror.

"He can hang on our bedroom wall and watch you sodomize his temple," said Inus. "Quirinus, I know about the magazines. You wanted it but were too shy to ask. A virgin that knew the Dark Arts that made you valuable to Lord Voldemort."

Severus said, "Stand on your good leg a moment. You're such a naughty boy, dropping your crutches like that."

Inus stood on his good leg and took his wand from his robe pocket. "Accio crutches." The crutches returned his arms and he placed them under his armpits. "Let's walk back to the dungeon."

"Sodomize your temple," repeated Severus. "I love it when you talk dirty."

Inus started the long walk. "Sev, I understand why you told our master. Still James saved your life. You couldn't have wanted things to turn out as they did."

"Lily was my friend. I don't have many of those. I'm truly sorry about what happened."

Inus walked over to Severus and put an arm around him. "He's back and he's in Lucius Malfoy's body. Neither of us has time to cry about the past." He, Lord Voldemort, was an expert at waiting for his opportunity to strike. What did Alastor Moody say about constant vigilance?

xxxx

During his fifth-year Gryffindor/Slytherin class, Inus was especially nervous. Draco Malfoy took a seat in the front row. Hermione and Ron were in the back row. Neville had his head in a book as Inus started to speak. He told them all to choose partners and since there was an even number in the class that everyone should have a partner; however, one Slytherin student would have to pair up with a Gryffindor student. Inus tried not to laugh when Neville realised that Draco was the only one without a partner.

Inus stated, "Since it took you so long to pair up, you'll have to keep the same partner until winter break. Now, we're going to review all the defensive charms that we learned to this up to this point."

Inus helped Neville with disarming spell. Inus had enough time to introduce two new spells before the end of the class. "Mr. Malfoy, please stay a moment after class."

"Professor Quirrell, I have another class after this one," Draco sneered.

"I'll give you a note." Inus wrote out an excuse. "I'm warning you that if you do permanent damage to Mr. Longbottom I will see that you're expelled."

"You don't scare me. You're on probation until you pass the O.W.L.s with the rest of us," Draco stated as he took the note. As Inus's next class was taking their seats, Draco had left the room. Inus did worry that Neville could harm Draco due to Neville tossing Professor Flitwick across the room several times and making inert potions explode. Neville was a fount of untapped magic that released like a tea kettle whistle in quick bursts.