Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Hogwarts professor Quirinus Quirrell- his appointment as Defence Against the Dark
Arts Professor- and whether or not Dumbledore knew that Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort
all along.
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.
His feelings of inadequacy led to him taking a particular interest in the dark arts- a
highly complicated and dangerous field of magic that could perhaps garner Quirrell the
attention and respect that he always longed for. For the duration of his studies he showed
a particular affinity for the dark arts, and he ended up graduating from Hogwarts with
impressive grades across the board.
It wasn’t very long after he himself had graduated that he was able to secure a job
as muggle studies professor at Hogwarts. It’s not actually known how long Quirrell was in
that particular position for, but during his time working as a professor at the school
he had a reputation for being extremely neurotic. This likely originally stemmed from his childhood
bullying- and it’s unfortunate that it followed him in to adulthood- as it had a profound
effect on the actions that he would take as a grown man.
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. It was a trip that
would change Quirrell- and destroy what was left of a man haunted by his youth. Quirrell
always wanted to be noticed and acknowledged. He wanted to earn people’s respect, and
he felt that, if he was the one to track down Lord Voldemort- then he could finally earn
the attention that he longed for. And find Voldemort he did, however, things didn’t
go exactly according to plan.
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 resume his previous role as Muggle
Studies professor. Instead, he began his new role as defence against the dark arts professor.
Quirrell being assigned to this role was a questionable decision, particularly as the
far more suited professor Snape would have snapped it up in a second. It was Quirrell’s
first year in the role, and it was subject to controversy stemming from Quirrell’s
apparent incompetency and meak demeanour. While teaching, his lack of confidence was
apparent, even to the student body- so, WHY on earth did Dumbledore appoint Quirrell as
DADA professor? Isn’t Dumbledore supposed to be the wise old all-knowing wizard that
never makes a mistake? How could he have made such a glaringly obvious error in judgement?
Defence Against the Dark Arts isn’t all about theory- it also requires immense strength
of character- something which Quirrell was seriously lacking in. What’s the deal?
JK Rowling once stated that Quirrell’s special ability was that he was ‘learned in the
theory of defensive magic’ but ‘less adept in the practice’. What this tells me is
that Quirrell wasn’t incompetent or unwise- he was just not a good practitioner of the
magic that he taught. His focus was theory. While being able to actually practice what
you preach can be valuable, I don’t necessarily think that it’s essential- and I feel that
Quirrell’s knowledge in the subject of dark arts, backed by his tenacious attitude toward
learning- would have been more than enough to convince Dumbledore of his suitability
for the role.
Here’s the other thing: Dumbledore probably knew that Quirrell was Voldemort all along.I
say this because first of all- Dumbledore always knew that Voldemort would return one
day. Being the highly perceptive man that he is, I find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t
have noticed a drastic change in the way that Quirrel acted and behaved after his travels.
Dumbledore also knew that the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was cursed- which meant
that, at some point or another- something would happen to Quirrell. Dumbledore is also
a Legilimens, which means that he has the ability to read people’s minds- but I don’t
think that he uncovered Quirrell’s possession that way- I actually think the opposite. In
ordinary circumstances, I suspect that Dumbledore would be able to easily read and invade the
mind of a weaker wizard like Quirrell- however, I expect that while he was possessed by Voldemort,
Quirrell’s mind would have been uninvadable- the result of Lord Voldemort’s proficiency
in Occlumency. No longer being able to navigate the mind of Quirrell would have been a major
red flag- and I’m certain that Dumbledore knew that dark magic was at play.
By the end of the Philosopher’s Stone, Quirrell is quite different indeed- to the point at
which his stutter entirely disappears. It was clear that something was up, and Dumbledore
was the first to spot it. He knew that Quirrell had travelled to Albania, the last rumoured
location of Voldemort, so he put 2 and 2 together- but he didn’t have enough evidence to pin
him.
Voldemort possessing Quirrell actually worked in Dumbledore’s favour, however, as Dumbledore,
who knew that Voldemort was eager to get his physical form back, lured him in with the
Philosopher’s Stone.
The stone was one of the only ways that Voldemort would be able to return to his former glory-and
Dumbledore took advantage of this- It was the perfect bait. There was also very little
associated risk with discovering Voldemort in this fashion, as he was:
In a weakened form And
Neither Voldemort nor Quirrell would have been able to retrieve the stone on their own
It is expressed by dumbledore that in order to retrieve the stone, you have to "see yourself
in the mirror, and want it...but not to use it.”
Dumbledore also had Harry, the boy who was completely invulnerable to Voldemort. He knew
all along that there was very little to lose and potentially very much to gain by allowing
Quirrell to remain in the castle- as it could result in the capturing of a dangerous dark
wizard still at large.
By placing the stone in Hogwarts, Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wouldn’t be able to
resist a chance at obtaining it- it was the perfect plan. The only real risk associated
with Dumbledore’s plan was the (at least in Dumbledore’s eyes) highly unlikely scenario
in which Voldemort and Quirrell somehow use Harry to get the stone for them. In an effort
to make sure that Harry isn’t able to obtain the stone himself, he shows Harry the Mirror
of Erised on purpose earlier on in the school year. When Dumbledore stumbles upon Harry
gazing in to the mirror, Harry explains that he sees his parents- this only tells Dumbledore
that his plan is safe and sound, as this would mean that he is incapable of retrieving stone,
thus causing less of a risk.
Dumbledore of course also baited Harry to dungeons, knowing that, with his mother’s
loving sacrifice, he stood a very good chance at defeating the dark lord. However, as we
know, things didn’t go exactly according to his plan.
And that’s it for this video. What do you guys think? Did Dumbledore know that Quirrell
was possessed all along? Let me know down in the comment section below
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY