Quirrell (WAS: Theory on the DADA-post's jinx)

[scoutmom21113]

No: HPFGUIDX 85668

Carol wrote:

Quirrell was also undone by his own weakness. Voldemort chose him as 
a servant because he was "young, foolish, and gullible" (GoF--I 
don't have the page number handy but I can find it if anyone wants 
it)—and because he was a teacher at Hogwarts. (Either he had just 
been hired or the jinx wasn't in effect yet. I think the former, 
since Snape had applied for about the eleventh time and had not 
received the position.) <snip>

I think he pretended to faint when he ran into the dining hall to 
inform everyone of the troll in the dungeon. He certainly wasn't 
afraid of the troll, which he had brought in himself (controlling 
trolls was his one qualification for the DADA post, I suppose), but 
he may really have been so terrified by the prospect of failure that 
he really did faint. <snip>

So why is he so different at the end of the book? What happened, 
exactly? Has he simply dropped all his pretenses or is he really 
stronger than the foolish young man he was when Voldemort first 
started using him?
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Bookworm:

I have been under the impression that Quirrell had been at Hogwarts 
for at lest a year before the start of SS/PS.  On page 70 (Ch 5, US) 
Hagrid introduced Quirrell to Harry saying, "Professor Quirrell will 
be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."  Later on the same page, 
Hagrid said, "Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous.  Even 
Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh – mind you, he's 
usually tremblin'." Considering all of the DADA teachers after 
Quirrell have arrived at Hogwarts at the same time as the students, 
Hagrid wouldn't necessarily have met Quirrell yet if it was his 
first year, and wouldn't have known that Quirrell was "usually 
tremblin'."

On page 126, Percy tells Harry "Oh, you know Quirrell already, do 
you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape.  He 
teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after 
Quirrell's job." It sounds like Percy already knows Quirrell, and 
that Snape was "after Quirrell's" job, not "after the DADA" job. The 
implication is that Quirrell wasn't new to the job. 

IIRC, somewhere else we are told that Quirrell went to Albania 
during the summer to do research.  [If someone remembers the 
reference, please point me in the right direction :-)] This also 
sounds like he had taught for at least one year already and was 
doing research to increase his knowledge.

As Carol pointed out, the difference between the trembling Quirrell 
at the beginning, and the confident Quirrell at the end is 
striking.  On page 288, "Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching 
at all."  And later "Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual 
quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp."  On page 291, 
Quirrell tells us how he had been young and foolish, but Voldemort 
had converted him.  "`He is with me wherever I go,' said Quirrell 
quietly."  Constant brainwashing will have an effect eventually, and 
he had the self-confidence of knowing that he had the force of 
Voldemort's power behind him.  [Although, he still wasn't very 
strong when fighting Harry unless Voldemort was ordering him around.]

I disagree with Carol that he was faking the terror when running 
into the Great Hall; (p172) "...Professor Quirrell came sprinting 
into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face."  This 
description isn't ambiguous, no "look of terror" or "appeared to be 
terrified."  IMO, that was the turning point.  He had failed 
Voldemort at Gringotts so Voldemort had to "keep a closer watch on 
me..."  Quirrell would have known the danger from a mountain troll, 
and the fact that he had been forced to admit one into the school 
terrified him. [Think of Ginny's terror when she realized that she 
might be responsible for the tragedies the next year.] After the 
troll, Voldemort had complete control over Quirrell.  From then on 
the brainwashing began, and Quirrell accepted Voldemort's view that 
there is no evil, only power.

Ravenclaw Bookworm