The Riddles' Murders (WAS: The only one he ever feared?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 117642


Kim wrote:
> <snip> But even in light of the facts 
> you pointed out, with Quirrell returning as a DADA teacher who's now 
> scared of his own shadow (but faking it, mind you), don't you think 
> it would have made sense to interview him to find out what happened 
> to make him so jumpy and whether he's even up to the job anymore?
(or did they? -- I'd better go back and re-read that part of the book)  
> Of course, he'd have lied about it, but can't Dumbledore tell a liar 
> when he sees one?   I do realize it's supposed to be hard to find 
> DADA teachers, so shear desperation may be the only explanation for 
> letting Quirrell have the post again.  I mean, that explains
Lockhart getting the job (well, kind of)!    Another thing (that
someone else probably pointed out already) is that the DADA teachers
all seem to turn out to be Dark Arts Defense lessons in themselves,
far more so than the defense skills they try to pass on in class.  Not
sure if Dumbledore intends this to happen or not.  In any case, I
still think the WW is pretty lax about security, considering what LV
put them through before, but then it's not a perfect world either, is
it?  Again, a perfect world would be dull, dull, dull.  

Carol responds:
Quirrell would have gotten his job back automatically after his leave
of absence (though that begs the question of what happened to the
person who taught DADA for the year Quirrell was gone and how that
fits in with the supposed jinx on the position). Since he wasn't
interviewed for the position, it's possible that Dumbledore had very
little direct contact with him. You don't look into the eyes of a
person sitting farther down the table from you while you're dining,
and Quirrell, being "timid," may have been virtually silent at staff
meetings, especially if he knew that DD was a legilimens. (BTW, the
timidity wasn't all a pretense, IMO. He was terrified of Voldemort, at
least until he had successfully overcome the obstacles to get to the
Sorceror's stone, at which point we see the real post-corruption
Quirrell. All he had to do was channel that terror so that it appeared
to have a different cause, as when he fainted after reporting the troll.)

Dumbledore may have wondered about the change in Quirrell's behavior
and about the mysterious turban, but he probably trusted Snape to keep
an eye on Quirrell (for reasons of his own as well as loyalty to
Dumbledore) and would not even need to ask. Dumbledore himself
observes and waits, as with Crouch!Moody, who also must have raised
his suspicions. ("Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," as DD says
in a different context.)

IIRC, Snape, during the first Occlumency lesson, mentions a number of
magical protections placed on Hogwarts. What are these protections and
why don't they detect impostors and parasites within people's heads?
You'd think Dumbledore would have something like a very subtle
sneakoscope (one that didn't make a lot of noise that others could
hear) to help him to identify an enemy within the walls, yet Pettigrew
as Scabbers hid safely in Gryffindor Tower for twelve years. The only
protections that we actually know of are the inability of wizards to
apparate/disapparate within Hogwarts or its grounds and the
Muggle-repelling spell that makes it look like an unsafe and
uninviting old ruin to their eyes. But there are supposedly secret
passageways leading into and out of the castle, not to mention some
sort of underwater portal that allows a ship to arrive from Durmstrang
unseen.

What are those other protections and how do they protect the weak
spots? (Flitwick taught the doors to recognize Sirius Black, but what
about enemies who don't use the door or haven't been specified?)

Carol, wondering why so many posts aren't threading