Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing The Philosopher’s Stone,
Hogwarts professor Quirinus Quirrell, the dark lord Voldemort, and of course- Harry Potter.
Quirinus Quirrell was an english half-blood wizard born sometime in the 1960s. When he
was of age he began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, at which point he
was sorted in to Ravenclaw house. Quirrell was a highly unusual and delicate, but talented student,
and was teased profusely at school- making the anxious Quirrell even more anxious.
Not long after graduating himself,
a young Quirrell was able to secure a job as the muggle studies professor at Hogwarts.
However, In the year 1990, Quirrell took a year-long sabbatical. He told his peers
that the sabbatical was an opportunity for him to gain ‘first-hand’ experience in the
field- where in reality his objective was to find Lord Voldemort- exceedingly curious
about what had happened to the dark lord who tyrannized the wizarding world for years on end.
However, this trip changed Quirrell- in fact, it destroyed him. He sought Voldemort to earn
the respect of others, but in the process he became just another one of Voldemort’s pawns.
Voldemort recounts his first meeting with Quirrell:
"A wizard – young, foolish and gullible – wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home.
Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of ... for he was a teacher at Dumbledore’s
school ... he was easy to bend to my will ... he brought me back to this country, and after a
while, I took possession of his body, to supervise him closely as he carried out my orders."
And when Quirrell returned to Hogwarts school after travelling,
the other professors seemed to notice that he wasn’t...quite the same.
Hagrid recounts Quirrel’s nature after returning home from his travels:
“Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then
he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience........ They say he met vampires
in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since."
When Quirrell began teaching again at Hogwarts, he didn’t reprise his role as Muggle Studies
professor. Instead, he began his new role as defence against the dark arts professor.
The year that Quirrell became DADA professor was the same year that Harry had his foundational year
at Hogwarts. At one point, after Hagrid picks Harry up and brings him to Diagon Alley, the
two find themselves in the Leaky Cauldron where Harry has his first interaction with Quirrell.
“A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.
‘Professor Quirrell!’ said Hagrid.
‘Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts.’
‘P-P-Potter,’ stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry’s hand,
‘c-can’t t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you.’”
As we can clearly see in the passage above, Quirrell and Harry’s hands made contact.
But this poses a new question- how? We know that towards the end of the Philosopher’s Stone,
Harry’s touch is enough to KILL Quirrell:
“Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse,
but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell’s face –
‘AAAARGH!’
Quirrell rolled off of him, his face blistering too, and then Harry knew:
Quirrell couldn’t touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain – his only
chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him doing a curse.”
So, I think the question here is- why was Quirrell able to SHAKE Harry’s hand
earlier in the film when later on it was enough to kill him. Let’s dive in and figure this out.
The answer, put quite succinctly- is that Quirrell (though following Voldemort’s orders) was not yet
entirely possessed by Voldemort when he shook Harry’s hand in the Leaky Cauldron.
If we go back before the school year began, then you’ll remember that there was an attempted
break-in at Gringotts- an effort to steal the Philosopher’s Stone. This attempt at stealing the
stone, however, was thwarted when Hagrid emptied the vault. It was only after Quirrell’s attempt
to steal the stone, and Voldemort’s subsequent disappointment, that he decided to possess him.
Quirrell mentions this to Harry himself:
"He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts,
he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me...."
Anyway, I hope that clears up any confusion about their handshake!
What video do you guys want next? Comment down below.
Also, please be sure to LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel for future content.
One more thing I want to mention is that I’ve been posting lots on my Mythology channel,
so get out check that out as well. Link in the PINNED comment.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live