18: Spection and Quirrell


    "I swear, Hagrid definitely knows something," Harry said with conviction as they left Hagrid''s hut.


    After leaving the dog food behind, John and the trio departed. Hermione and Ron also felt that Hagrid was hiding something.


    Their only clue now was Nics mel.


    Determined to uncover the truth about Snape, Harry said, "I feel like I''ve heard that name before, but I can''t remember where."


    He had a nagging feeling that he had seen the name somewhere, but he couldn''t quite ce it.


    The small package Hagrid had taken from Gringotts was clearly Snape''s target, and it was connected to Nics mel.


    "John, have you ever heard of this name?" Harry ced his hopes on John, who was even smarter than Hermione.


    John thought for a moment, then shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, I don''t remember either. You could try the library. If it''s not there, then this person might not exist."


    This was a good idea, and Harry''s eyes lit up.


    Hermione, who had also been thinking about suggesting the library, quickly agreed, "Let''s go there right away. It would be great if we could find something before Christmas."


    Both she and Ron were going home for Christmas, and there were just over twenty days left. She hoped they could find an answer by then.


    Hearing the mention of Christmas, Harry''s expression darkened a bit.


    Harry didn''t want to return to the Dursleys'' house, where he''d be confined to the small cupboard under the stairs and constantly bullied by Dudley.


    Seeing Hermione and Ron already making ns for Christmas, Harry said enviously, "I don''t want to go back; it''s terrible there."


    Ron and Hermione expressed their sympathy, finding it hard to imagine having such dreadful rtives.


    "John, are you going home for Christmas too?" Hermione asked, knowing that John also came from a Muggle family.


    John shook his head. "No, I''m nning to stay and reinforce my knowledge during the holiday. I can''t use magic at home."


    This studious attitude made Harry and Ron shiver, while Hermione felt she couldn''t fall behind either. However, if she didn''t go home, her father might worry about what was happening to his good daughter at school.


    The four parted ways on the fourth floor, with John deciding not to go to the library. Although Nics mel''s name sounded familiar, his priority was to improve his lumency skills.


    Reaching the eighth floor, he found the Room of Requirement. After a day of training inside, he emerged to find it was already dark.


    He decided to head to the kitchen to see if he could get some dinner. On his way, he encountered someone he didn''t want to meet.


    "John Wick, g-good evening," stammered Professor Quirrell, seemingly ''coincidentally'' running into John.


    John''s left hand silently reached for his wand as he initiated lumency, smiling politely in response, "Good evening, Professor Quirrell."


    After witnessing John''s power in defeating the troll, Voldemort began contemting recruiting John as a Death Eater.


    Pureblood?


    Voldemort didn''t care.


    During his reign, he acted like a fanatical pureblood supremacist, but he himself was a half-blood.


    Though he disliked acknowledging it, Voldemort didn''t value pureblood status as much as he valued the potential usefulness of power.


    Pureblood ideology was merely a tool for his control.


    First-year students were particrly easy to manipte.


    Voldemort nned to groom John into a young Death Eater, making him a spy within Hogwarts, much like Snape.


    He instructed Quirrell to make contact with John.


    Professor Quirrell, aware of John''s studious nature, said with feigned sincerity, "You''re studying, aren''t you? So… diligent."


    John didn''t miss the opportunity provided by Quirrell''s pretense and nodded, "I''ve been quite absorbed in it. If there''s nothing else, I''m heading to dinner."


    He didn''t want to linger with Quirrell; who knew when Voldemort might show up?


    John tried to leave quickly, but Quirrell wasn''t ready to let him go.


    Quirrell smiled, "So studious. Perhaps you''d be interested in the knowledge found in the Restricted Section."


    The Restricted Section?


    John suddenly didn''t feel the need to leave in a hurry, showing an eager expression at the mention of the Restricted Section.


    Quirrell noticed this, a sneer forming in his eyes.


    As expected, wizards who pursued knowledge were always drawn to the forbidden.


    To turn a good child into a Death Eater quickly, the best method was to show him the importance of power.


    Quirrell himself had been ensnared by Voldemort this way.


    Voldemort knew these wizards all too well. In his youth, he had been a frequent visitor to the Restricted Section, where many dark spells were recorded.


    Dark magic was powerful and could easily seduce those who studied it. Once John began learning, it would be easy to steer him towards bing a young Death Eater with just a little guidance.


    These thoughts shed through Quirrell''s mind in an instant. He smiled, stammering, "You''re a good child. I... I can give you a pass to the Restricted Section."


    "Really? I''ve wanted to explore it for so long!" John acted like an eager young schr, exactly what Quirrell hoped to see.


    Quirrell told John toe to his office next Monday to get the pass, saving John the trouble of sneaking into the Restricted Section at night.


    John could guess Quirrell''s ulterior motives, but it didn''t matter. He wasn''t a naive child. Once he had the signed pass, he could just ignore Quirrell.


    After all, Quirrell''s tenure was limited to John''s first year. Everyone knew the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors were annual consumables.


    ...


    Monday


    John obtained the signed note from Professor Quirrell. When handing over the note, Quirrell subtly suggested several books to John, such as <strong><em>Sixteenth</em> Century Dark Magic</strong>, <em><strong>Curses of Magic</strong></em>, and <em><strong>Notable Curses of the</strong> <strong>Neenth</strong><strong> Century</strong>.</em>


    Quirrell imed that the foundation of learning Defense Against the Dark Arts was understanding the structure of dark magic itself. John responded with a silent chuckle.


    ''If I believed you, I''d be crazy,'' he thought.


    Outwardly disying keen interest, John changed his demeanor upon reaching the library.


    He encountered the trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—who were researching Nics mel but chose not to disturb them.


    After showing Madam Pince the signed note, John proceeded unobstructed to the Restricted Section.


    The majority of books in the Restricted Section were highly advanced, posing a challenge even in his academic schr mode.


    "I stillck sufficient knowledge; my foundation is too weak," he mused.


    As he nced around, a book titled *Goblin Forging* caught his eye.


    An idea struck him: Gryffindor''s sword. The legendary weapon was crafted by goblins at the behest of Godric Gryffindor himself.


    John realized that hisbat style was simr to Gryffindor''s, but his weaponry fell short inparison.


    Using a medieval armor weapon against the troll had been somewhatborious; magical creatures had remarkable natural defenses.


    For example, dragons.


    Dragon scales possessed incredibly high magical resistance.


    _____