The poll has now been deleted. The end result was a three way tie. These three ideas shall be the next three chapters and then I have a specific plan to use a fourth of the ideas for chapter 47. After these four chapters I will then decide how to proceed. The 1st of the 3 winning ideas I am presenting is Quirrell's family learns about his death. This idea was initially suggested to me by Tinsy-Girl during a PM session.
It was Friday, June 5th, 1992, and one family was about to get some very bad news.
The Quirrells were a mixed muggle/magical family.
Quincy Quirrell was a wizard as was his dad, Quadry. His mom Beverley was a witch
On the other hand, Quincy's wife Jennifer was a muggle as were Jennifer's mom and dad Doris and Matthew.
The couple had produced two magical sons, the older of whom was Hogwarts teacher Quirinus Quirrell, who was now teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts after having previously served as the Muggle Studies professor. Their younger son, Quentin, had graduated from Hogwarts almost a year ago and was currently living at home.
As it so happened, Quincy and Jennifer had invited their parents to a large family breakfast that morning and Quentin was delighted at the prospect of seeing his grandparents. They had invited Quirinus as well but his responsibilities as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher forced him to decline the invite. However, Quirinus had promised the family upon declining the invite that he would attend such a breakfast in July when Hogwarts was on Summer Vacation.
As the Quirrell family chowed down on their breakfast of pancakes, sausage links, and Budweiser, Quentin piped up, "When Quirinus comes home for that breakfast in July we can whip some blueberry waffles for him. You know how much Quirinus loves blueberry waffles."
Everyone else at the table smiled, looking forward to July.
But the cheerful mood didn't last long.
Just after the Quirrells had finished their breakfast, there was a knock on the front door and Quincy went to answer it.
Quincy felt a nasty sense of foreboding when the person on the other side of the door proved to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.
What could have happened that the Headmaster of Hogwarts was visiting them at their home.
Was Quirinus fired? Had he been acting strangely? Was there an issue between him and one of his students.
Dumbledore led Quincy back to the table the Quirrells had just finished eating their breakfast at and asked Quincy to sit back down while helping himself to a seat as well.
Dumbledore sadly and gravely eyed the seven Quirrells sitting at the table and said seriously, "It is my painful to duty to inform you of some very terrible news. Last night Quirinus Quirrell died owing to burns and blisters sustained on his body.
Quincy, Quadry, Beverley, Jennifer, Doris, Matthew, and Quentin all had shocked looks come upon their faces. The room went stiffly silent.
After a few minutes and a few nanoseconds of this stiff silence, Quentin asked shakily, "Did Quirinus get involved in some kind of accident?"
"Sadly, no," explained Dumbledore, "He put his faith in the wrong person and paid the ultimate price for it."
"Are you saying my son was betrayed?" asked Quincy sharply.
"He actually was, but to understand why and how Quirinus died, we need to go back about a year, " answered Dumbledore.
Dumbledore now had seven sets of eyes squarely upon him.
"So," said Dumbledore, talking slowly and clearly, "Ever since Lord Voldemort's downfall almost eleven years ago, he has been desperate to return to power. My friend Nicolas Flamel had made an object known as the Sorcerer's Stone. Nicolas Flamel is one of the greatest alchemists of all time and made the Sorcerer's Stone himself. Nicolas used this stone to prolong his life. He is 665 years old. The stone can also turn any base metal into pure gold, but Nicolas's interest was in life, not gold. The Sorcerer's Stone produces the Elixir of Life, which extends life when drunk."
"And what does any of this have to do with our Quirinus?" inquired Jennifer.
"Lord Voldemort does not have a body of his own, but he can possess the bodies of others. He had hoped to steal the Sorcerer's Stone to give himself a body of his own. Drinking the Elixir of Life while possessing the body of another would have allowed Lord Voldemort to get a body of his own and begin a return to power. Now remember that Quirinus took a tour of the world that ended almost a year ago, " explained Dumbledore.
"It ended in Albania," remembered Quentin, "I had just recently graduated from Hogwarts when he came home."
"That it ended in Albania is an important point, " replied Dumbledore matter of factly, "Lord Voldemort, whatever he is now, had long been hiding in an Albanian forest. When he met Quirinus in that forest, he took possession of Quirinus's body. Quirinus has always been a little weak, a little nervous, and a little jittery and it was easy for Lord Voldemort to take advantage of him and bend him to his will. After that meeting, Quirinus served Lord Voldemort in a master-servant type of relationship. "
"What did Voldemort ask Quirinus to do?" wondered Quadry.
"He asked Quirinus to steal the Sorcerer's Stone from Gringotts, " Dumbledore informed them, "But he failed to do so. The stone had in fact been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts earlier that same day."
"Does that mean," asked Beverly softly, "That Quirinus was serving Voldemort at Hogwarts."
"Yes," confirmed Dumbledore, "Quirinus killed unicorns and drank their blood for Lord Voldemort as a way of strengthening Voldemort until such time as Lord Voldemort could acquire the Sorcerer's Stone and get his body back."
Quincy, Quadry, Beverley, Jennifer, Doris, Matthew, and Quentin all looked mortified upon hearing this. They all knew that unicorns were amongst the purest and most beautiful creatures in the world and that these creatures commanded respect. Even Jennifer, Doris, and Matthew, the muggles of the family, had heard from their magical family members exactly what status unicorns held in the Wizarding World. The idea that someone in their family had slain such creatures was shameful and they all bowed their heads and drooped their shoulders a bit.
"So," continued Dumbledore, "Last night, three Hogwarts students, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger set out to meet the Potions Master, Severus Snape, who they believed was after the stone. They believed that Snape wanted the stone for Lord Voldemort. In order to keep the stone out of Lord Voldemort's hands, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went out to get to the stone first. They fought their way through a series of obstacles, and this ended with Harry Potter meeting Quirinus in the dungeons. "
"How did this battle play out then?" asked Doris urgently.
"A key point to understand before we go any further, " said Dumbledore gravely, "Is that while Lord Voldemort possessed his body, Quirinus became more and more like Lord Voldemort."
"In what ways?" asked Matthew briskly.
"The longer and longer that Lord Voldemort possessed his body, the more arrogant and greedier Quirinus became. He became especially greedy with regard to a desire for power. He had hoped that once Lord Voldemort had risen again that he would be second in command, " answered Dumbledore.
"Um?" remembered Quincy, "Isn't Harry Potter the boy who was Voldemort's downfall eleven years ago?"
"Yes," said Dumbledore seriously, "That's actually an important point here. You see, Harry Potter's mother Lily sacrificed herself for her son. Lord Voldemort had asked her to step aside so that he could kill Harry. Lily begged Lord Voldemort to kill her instead. Lord Voldemort killed Lily and then tried to kill Harry, but his mother's sacrifice gave him powerful magical protection. Voldemort couldn't kill Harry and the curse backfired upon Voldemort himself and destroyed his powers. Here's where it all ties in. Harry was able to fend off Quirinus by merely touching him. Why? Because Quirinus, having become so much like Lord Voldemort in being full of greed and hate that he could not be touched by someone who had such a pure act residing inside him. It is old and complex magic and difficult to understand. The bottom line is that Quirinus suffered burns and blisters all over his body. Now, Lord Voldemort shows just as little mercy to his followers as he does to his enemies. After it was obvious that Harry had thwarted Voldemort's plans to have Quirinus steal the Sorcerer's Stone, Lord Voldemort abandoned Quirinus and left his body, leaving Quirinus in a very weakened state. Suffering from numerous burns and blisters and very weak after Lord Voldemort left his body, Quirinus died."
The Quirrells all had different reactions to the news of his death.
His brother seemed the most devastated.
"My b-brother is n-never c-coming home again," sobbed Quentin as the tears rapidly rolled down his cheeks.
Jennifer seemed in the most shock of them. She sat rooted to her chair like a statue, neither moving a limb nor uttering a syllable, but wearing a very stunned expression on her face.
Quincy, meanwhile, was having what if thoughts about his parenting.
"Could I have been a better dad?" wondered Quincy, "Could I have steered Quirinus in a different direction?'
"Older, wiser, and cleverer wizards than Quirinus have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort, " said Dumbledore sharply, "There were no signs anything wrong with him in all the years he's been at Hogwarts. Straying down the path of Lord Voldemort changed him, but Lord Voldemort has always had the power of hoodwinking. "
"I wonder if-" thought Quincy without completing the thought.
Quincy's uncertainty was in sharp contrast to Jennifer's anger.
"Fuck Voldemort!" yelled Jennifer, her fists clenched and her eyes blazing, "If Voldemort ever rises again and has the misfortune of meeting me, well, he won't what's hit him."
Quadry on the other hand, seemed to express more shame than anything else. His head and shoulders continued to droop, and he said ruefully, "It is of great dishonor to our family that one of us would kill unicorns and join with Voldemort. Quirinus serving Voldemort will be our black mark forever."
"Ultimately, " said Dumbledore quietly, "Quirinus is responsible for his choices. None of the rest of you made those choices for him.'
"But the name Quirrell is now stained forever," lamented Quadry.
Beverley had a quite different response to the news of the morning. Her reply to all of this was one feeling that Quirinus had gotten what he deserved.
"If you join with Voldemort, kill unicorns, and become power hungry, then you get what you have coming to you. Quirinus deserved his fate here."
Matthew had the most unique attitude towards the news that Quirinus had died. He clung to false and desperate hopes.
"Maybe Quirinus faked his death to end his battle with Harry?" suggested Matthew, "Or perhaps his death was pronounced prematurely?"
"I'm afraid not, " said Dumbledore in a low voice, "And even magic cannot reawaken the dead."
"Maybe we'll find out something different in a few days, " insisted Matthew.
Doris, for her part, was the most peaceful of the family.
"If Quirinus wasn't meant to be destined for old age, then he wasn't destined for old age, " said Doris calmly, "Everything happens for a reason, even if we don't always understand what those reasons are."
Quentin, however, was still sobbing and sobbing, his eyes and body clearly showcasing how his heart had been ripped out.
After a while, Dumbledore got up to leave and said, "I promise that if I find out any more information about Quirinus 's death and the circumstances it, I will inform you of any new details as soon as possible."
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