#quirinus queue

It interests me that the party line Dumbledore and Snape give us for Quirrell is "greedy" and "ambitious".

However, Dumbledore's very own trap shows the reverse is true.

Dumbledore's Mirror trap is stated to be that anyone looking into the Mirror of Erised and wanting the Stone for themselves will either:

-see themselves drinking the life elixir

or

-see themselves transmuting lead to gold.

Quirrell only sees himself presenting the Stone to Voldemort. That's it.

Something to please someone else, something to gain approval. No power, no wealth, no worship, no dominance.

So, what is Quirrell’s deepest desire?

Not riches, immortality, personal glory, not even to regain safety.

He just wants to please someone else so completely that he earns a place in their world.

It’s devastating, it's intimate, it's small, it's enormous.

Dumbledore’s trap was designed to catch selfish men, but it caught a lonely one.

The mirror reveals:

Harry sees family.

Ron sees recognition.

Dumbledore sees forgiveness.

Quirrell sees approval.

This is not the fantasy of a power-hungry man.

This is the fantasy of someone who has never felt enough on his own terms, someone who has spent his whole life as the clever, strange boy useful to others but never cherished by them.

He doesn’t dream of possessing the Stone, he dreams only of being worthy of handing it over.

That’s why Voldemort fits his wound, he offers a phantom version of what Quirrell wants: attention, purpose, intensity, acknowledgment.

He is not a villain because of hunger for power, he is a villain because of hunger for meaning.

Summary: Quirrell can handle dark magic, memory tampering, and Gilderoy Lockhart. Public couplehood is another matter entirely.

The elevator rang for the hotel rooftop.

Gilderoy exited with Quirinus a few steps behind, checking his watch. Gilderoy caught his wrist.

“You look like the White Rabbit. Stop fussing.”

“It's eight minutes past nine,” Quirinus said woefully. “I've made us late.”

A pristine mirror stood across from the elevator bay and Gilderoy checked his hair.

“It's fine. It's for casual drinks, not a public appearance.”

Quirinus looked up at him for the first time since the elevator. He looked even paler than usual, lips pressed into a thin line.

“And am I your research assistant? Or…” he trailed off, eyes flicking away. “Or whatever it is I actually am?”

Summary: Quirrell writes what he feels, then decides it can't exist.

Dear Gilderoy,

If I do not write this, it will take me by the throat.

My feelings for you are easiest to bear when I reduce you to ink, but you are not so easily reduced.

It's 01:11 and I can see the moon through our window.

I've never written to anyone before whilst watching them sleep, but here I find myself.

Today, you drew your wand behind my back, ready to use a Memory Charm on me.

You used one on the old woman, right before my eyes, and you didn't trust me enough to tell me ahead of time. Which I understand. I wouldn’t trust me either. Nevertheless, I will think about it for a long time. How much can I trust you?

You look so very peaceful in your sleep. No lines on your face, body relaxed completely; unmarred and untroubled. Tomorrow will be another day on the beach, another drink on the hotel rooftop.

Sometimes, I think if you were to bleed, pure sunlight would pour from the wound. Over time, I have learnt the shape of that light, but now I'm not sure it's safe to stand in it.

It's ironic that I wrote this to lessen my misgivings, but they did not lessen. Yet in a few short minutes, I will crawl into bed beside you and hope to sink into a dreamless sleep.

With you, I stopped having so many nightmares. But tonight I fear my dreams will show what my eyes have refused to see.

Yet I find I love you anyway, curse though that may turn out to be.

I remain,

Quirinus

Quirrell straightened and the wooden chair creaked. He brandished his wand at the paper and in a pop of light, transfigured the note into a cheerful yellow tulip.

Hello, my love!

Everyone, meet my beautiful wife ^

She is a horror author, amongst many other things.

Backstory:

Lockhart drags Quirrell to North Africa on the promise of a “remarkable account” involving the notes of reclusive alchemist Talbot Grimes.

It’s thin, secondhand, but exactly the kind of thing that turns into a book if you can make it behave. Quirrell goes for the method; Lockhart goes for the story.

Quirrell crosses the black threshold into the Bleed intentionally. Lockhart doesn't understand it, but he understands following Quirrell and not losing the moment. So, he steps in after him.

They follow it to a site that shouldn’t exist: glassed stone, odd growth, a smell like burnt sap.

Lockhart’s perks:

Now You See Me While wounded and in chase, press the action button to drop into the dying state. You make no noise and show no aura for 8/9/10 seconds.

Now You Don’t When fully recovered from the dying state by any means, and the Killer is within 3 meters, stun the Killer for 1/2/3 seconds.

Authorized Biography When another Survivor is hooked, gain a token.

At 2/3/4 tokens, press the action button while near another Survivor to reveal the Killer’s aura to both of you for 4/5/6 seconds and grant a 5% Haste effect for the duration. Using this perk consumes all tokens.

“I took the liberty of improving the account. Much more compelling this way.” - Gilderoy Lockhart

Quirrell’s perks:

Unbinding After interacting with a totem or chest, gain the ability to see the Killer’s aura for 3/4/5 seconds. This perk has a cooldown of 60 seconds.

Threshold After vaulting a window or pallet, gain Endurance for 5 seconds. If Endurance prevents a down, become Exhausted for 60/50/40 seconds.

Magizoology When outside the Killer’s terror radius, if the Killer disturbs a crow, you see their aura for 3/4/5 seconds. This perk has a cooldown of 80/70/60 seconds.