The severe winter is moving away from Devon in March. The temperature is rising, the snow is beginning to melt, new buds are growing on the muddy and difficult ground, and the earth is regaining its vitality.
A young man in a windbreaker appeared without warning, stepped on the tender teeth that had just broken through the ground, and walked slowly towards the house not far away.
With a creaking sound, the door of the house was pushed open.
"It seems that I need to find time to repair it." The young man muttered. He went straight to the kitchen, hung the damp windbreaker on the hanger next to the fireplace, took out the wand from his pocket, and re-lit the fire.
A small black snake crawled out of the young man's windbreaker pocket and came to the fireplace to warm itself.
Now, it is not time for the snake to wake up from hibernation, but the young man has no better solution because he prefers to possess the body of a snake rather than a mouse.
The young man's name was Quirinus Quirrell. Not long ago, he had just returned to England after traveling around the world and was preparing to go to Hogwarts to apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
This time, Qi Luo did not come back alone, there was someone else by his side.
Or rather, a snake.
He who possessed the little snake had many names: He Who Must Not Be Named, the Dark Lord, or... Voldemort.
Yes, the famous Voldemort.
Of course, in order to show his obedience, Quirrell always called him Master, which was the Death Eaters' name for the Dark Lord.
Although Quirrell had never liked such a title, he needed to appear respectful, at least on the surface.
At this moment, Quirrell is trying to learn more magical skills from Voldemort to ensure that he will never become a laughing stock again.
He sat in the armchair, looking at the fire in the fireplace and took a big sip of black tea. The flames danced in his eyes, just like his current emotions.
Everything is different now.
Once upon a time, Quirrell, who was still a student at Hogwarts, was very weak and was always laughed at and teased by other students. He was tired of that kind of himself and vowed to change all that.
Shortly after graduation, Quirrell hoped that he could be qualified for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He knew that many people were afraid of this profession because of the rumored curse, but Quirrell felt that was nonsense. He felt that he could overcome the so-called curse and make everyone look at him with admiration.
However, Dumbledore did not immediately agree to Quirrell's job application, but suggested that he travel around the world to gain more knowledge and then look for him when he returned.
During these years of traveling around the world, Quirrell gradually became interested in black magic. Of course, it was limited to theory, but he soon realized that theoretical black magic was so ridiculous, just like his fantasy that he could become an awesome black wizard.
Eventually, Quirrell began to fantasize that he could track down Voldemort and even learn more magical skills from him.
He changed his travel destination and went to the Albanian forest. Legend has it that Voldemort was hiding in this forest, but no one knew whether it was true.
However, to Quirrell's surprise, he really met the legendary Voldemort, who was currently forced to live on some small rodents and was quite weak.
In Quirrell's opinion, this is ridiculous. He also realizes that his fantasy may come true. When Voldemort persuades him to become a member of the dark forces, Quirrell expresses his hope to learn more magic skills from Voldemort, and as a deal, he can help him recover his body.
As expected, Voldemort agreed to the deal.
This made Quirrell complacent. He felt that the legendary Dark Lord was no more than this and that he had the ability to defeat Voldemort.
As long as he could learn the other party's superb magic skills, he would definitely become a powerful wizard that everyone would look up to, and no longer be as insignificant as many people. He was tired of being ordinary, tired of being despised and laughed at, he wanted to become someone that everyone looked up to, like Dumbledore and Voldemort.
As for Voldemort, this fallen Dark Lord would be nothing more than a bargaining chip that could be discarded at will by then, and he could even hand him over to Dumbledore.
During his travels, Voldemort did teach him a lot of magical skills, but Quirrell sadly found that he could only master a small part of them, but these were enough to make him a powerful wizard.
Voldemort stayed with him throughout the rest of his journey around the world.
The two sides would occasionally chat about some small things, and although Quirrell disdained most of what Voldemort said, he had to admit that some of his words were indeed correct.
There is no good or evil in the world. The one who is called the Dark Lord by the world only uses violence in the process of fighting for power.
Voldemort never thought he had done anything wrong. People without power are just incompetent, and incompetence is a sin.
This made Qi Luo feel the same.
When Voldemort promised to take control of the Ministry of Magic, he would give Quirrell, who helped him restore his body, a place he deserved as a reward.
At that moment, Quirrell was moved. If Voldemort were his backer, everything would be different.
From then on, Quirrell began to accept Voldemort's guidance and carry out his orders. It is undeniable that Quirrell benefited a lot from the dark wizard's style of doing things.
Voldemort also told Quirrell many secrets, including that the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel was still alive, and the existence of the Philosopher's Stone, which could make people immortal.
He told Quirrell that he needed the stone to ensure immortality, and Quirrell would receive a large amount of gold as a reward.
With the help of Voldemort, Quirrell spent a lot of time and finally found Nicolas Flamel's residence in Paris, France. However, the other party seemed to have noticed their prying and had been hiding in a safe house, preventing them from succeeding.
Soon, Dumbledore arrived, and Quirrell didn't dare to show up. He just controlled the Muggles to monitor Nico's residence and hid himself behind.
However, something that made Quirrell depressed happened again. Nicolas Flamel disappeared without warning with the help of Dumbledore.
Quirrell and Voldemort took great pains to find clues again. Nicolas Flamel settled in Devon, and the place where he lived was protected by the Fidelius Charm. They couldn't find him at all, and the secret keeper was Dumbledore.
Quirrell had been watching Nicolas Flamel's house for a long time, occasionally seeing Dumbledore when he came to visit him.
The other party has also discovered his presence, but is not sure who he is.
While Quirrell and Voldemort were considering how to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, the situation changed again. It was said that the Philosopher's Stone might be hidden in Gringotts.
This was the result of torturing a goblin.
It is not an easy task to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts. Moreover, Quirrell needs to confirm whether the news is true, because Dumbledore already knows that someone has set his eyes on the Philosopher's Stone and may have set a trap for him.
Moreover, Gringotts's defenses are very tight, and almost no wizard can steal anything from Gringotts and escape unscathed.
Quirrell sadly discovered that he did not have such ability. Voldemort seemed to think so too and was trying to train him to be a qualified helper.