Quirrell's tenure (was Re: The DADA curse and Harry)

[constancevigilance]

It's long been my belief that Quirrell is still alive. I believe we
will see him again in the final book, but even if he doesn't appear,
he could still be alive but not critical to our story line.

>
> Eric Oppen wrote:

> > Quirrell: possessed by Vapormort and "left to die."
> <snip>
> 
> Now Eustace_Scrubb:
> I wonder...how long was Quirrell the DADA teacher?  We are given the
> impression that he was at Hogwarts teaching prior to Harry's arrival
> in PS.  Hagrid tells Harry after the meeting in the Leaky Cauldron: 
> "Poor bloke.  Brilliant mind.  He was fine while he was studyin' outta
> books but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand
> 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. 
> Scared of the students, scared of his own subject".  

That sure sounds
> like he taught DADA for more than one year, although perhaps we could
> hypothesize that he taught some other subject "outta books," then went
> to get "first-hand experience" when he was given the DADA job and so
> only taught that subject for one year.  But it seems a stretch...

CV: Personally, I think it happened just as we would expect. He taught
for at least one year, likely 2 or 3, then went on Sabbatical, then
came back for at least one year prior to Harry's first year. The only
problem with this chronology is Dumbledore's statement:


Eustace_Scrubb:
> 
> But by the time HBP rolled around, DD notes that "we have never been
> able to keep a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than
a year since I refused the post to Lord Voldemort." 

<snip>

> 
> I wonder now whether this is just evidence that JKR wrote PS without
> all that clear a notion of how the other 6 books would develop--after
> all, until the first one was picked up and published, the "series" was
> just a vague concept.  Later the "curse" became more specific.
>
> If indeed the interview with LV took place sometime in the late '60s
> or early '70s, that would mean that Harry's parents also had 7
> different DADA teachers.  Better than 2 dozen DADA professors would
> have passed through Hogwarts by Harry's 7th year.

CV: This statement is indeed problematic on several levels. Either one
must accept that the wizarding world is blasee about a parade of
dozens of teachers through the position, or that JKR made a mistake.

My hypothesis is that Dumbledore was lying to protect his
agent-in-place, Quirrell, alive and working behind the scenes to
prepare for the Final Battle. The lie is clumsy and creates the very
problem we are discussing. I think this is because Dumbledore is
unaccustomed to fibbery, but he resorted to this because he knew he
had so little time left.

CV, looking forward to seeing the Q-man, resurrected, in the Final Book.