Quirinus Quirrell

"I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil... there is only power, and those too coward to understand it... Since then, I serve him faithfully, although I have let him down many times."

- Quirinus Quirrell on Lord Voldemort

Professor Quirinus Quirrell (d. 4 June, 1992) was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Slytherin House. He was the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts, though he later became the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher during the 1991–1992 school year.

While Quirrell travelled around the world, looking for first-hand experience before teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, he met Lord Voldemort, and then was spiralled into corruption. He shared his body with Voldemort and became loyal to him, helping him find the Philosopher's Stone, and eventually died while trying, in vain, to murder Harry Potter.

Early life
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience…"

- Rubeus Hagrid on Quirrell's youth.

Little is known of Quirrell's early life. He was born somewhere in the British Isles and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was Sorted into Slytherin House. It is likely that he acquired his wand from Ollivander's Wand Shop when he was eleven. He was remembered by Rubeus Hagrid to be a "brilliant mind", reflecting his student years. He also most likely obtained a high-graded O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. in Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Quirrell owned Vault 998 in the new vault area of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He kept a small box containing various belongings, a large crate, and a chest containing Circe's Chocolate Frog Card that was given from Cuthbert Binns to James Potter before Quirrell came into possession of it.

Work at Hogwarts
"He was teaching at Hogwarts for more than a year, but NOT in the post of D.A.D.A. teacher. He was previously Muggle Studies professor."

- Description of Quirrell's initial occupation.

At some point, while still a young man, Quirrell took up a teaching position at Hogwarts as professor of Muggle Studies. After teaching for some time, he took a year-long sabbatical in 1990 in order to gain first-hand experience. Quirrell claimed to have received a turban from an African prince as compensation for disposing of a zombie, and it was also rumoured that he encountered vampires in the Black Forest, in Albania, and had a nasty bit of trouble with a hag.

Meeting Lord Voldemort
"When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me...decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."

- Quirinus Quirrell to Harry Potter on his first failure



Quirrell did indeed encounter something horrible when he travelled around the world: Lord Voldemort. The barely-alive Dark Lord twisted the gullible Quirrell into his service, seducing Quirrell with the promise of glory.

In 1991, Quirrell attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts Wizarding Bank for Voldemort. Quirrell was unsuccessful, as Rubeus Hagrid had removed the Stone from its vault earlier that same day on Albus Dumbledore's orders. After this first failure, Voldemort began to share Quirrell's body to ensure no further failure would occur, and as Voldemort's face was sticking out of the back of his head, Quirrell had to wear a purple turban for the entire school year.

Serving the Dark Lord
"Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

- Quirrell on Harry's suspicions about Snape after revealing himself

Quirrell returned to Hogwarts in 1991 and taught Defence Against the Dark Arts while another wizard replaced him as Muggle Studies Professor. He acted jittery and nervous, either so people wouldn't be suspicious of him or because he was beginning to crack under the pressure of serving Lord Voldemort. Either way, his lack of confidence had earned very little respect from the students at Hogwarts. A few of his classes included the Curse of the Bogies, the Knockback Jinx, the Lumos spell and the Verdimillious spell. On Halloween, Quirrell allowed a troll to enter Hogwarts as a diversion, and sneaked to the restricted Third Floor Corridor where the Stone was being hidden. Severus Snape, who suspected Quirrell, followed him, and was bitten by the three-headed dog Fluffy in the process of trying to head Quirrell off.

Later in the year, during a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Quirrell made his first attempt at Harry Potter's life. He jinxed Harry's broomstick to try to throw him off, but Severus Snape interfered again with a counter-curse. It was Hermione Granger who ultimately stopped Quirrell by rushing to set fire to the robes of Severus Snape (whom she believed was jinxing Harry's broom), and in the process, causing Quirrell to break the eye contact necessary for performing his spell correctly.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione believed that Severus Snape was trying to intimidate Quirrell into helping him steal the Philosopher's Stone, they tried to be supportive and encouraging to Quirrell whenever possible by telling people off for laughing at his stutter, or winking at him encouragingly whenever they passed him.

Later that year, in order to keep his master alive, Quirrell began to prey on unicorns in the Forbidden Forest and drink their blood. To get past Fluffy, Quirrell disguised himself and lured Hagrid into a card game by betting a dragon's egg. During the game, he managed to draw out information about Fluffy by convincing Hagrid that he was a Dragon dealer, and as such, shared Hagrid's penchant for dangerous pets. In Hagrid's enthusiasm, and most likely under the influence of alcohol, he let slip that playing music for the three-headed dog would put him to sleep. Quirrell then sent a forged letter to Professor Dumbledore summoning him to the Ministry of Magic to get him away from the school. He went after the Stone, but was followed by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger — though they believed their enemy to be Severus Snape.

Battle in the Philosopher's Stone Chambers and death
"Master, I cannot hold him — my hands — my hands!"

- Quirrell's last words.



Quirrell was able to penetrate the first six chambers that protected the Philosopher's Stone, including the chamber in which he himself put a Troll. He reached the final chamber only to find the Mirror of Erised, and was unable to figure out how to take the stone from it, going so far as to consider smashing the mirror.

Eventually, Harry alone managed to reach the last chamber, and was surprised to meet Quirrell instead of Snape. Quirrell non-verbally bound Harry and summoned a wall of fire behind the door to prevent him from escaping, then, on Voldemort's command, forced Harry to look into the mirror. Harry saw his reflection with the Stone in his own trousers' pocket, and felt it indeed being transferred to his real pocket. When Harry lied about what he saw in the mirror, Quirrell unwrapped his turban to reveal Lord Voldemort's face, bound to the back of his head. Voldemort deduced that Harry had the Stone and, in the ensuing struggle to get it, Quirrell was unable to endure Harry's touch. The magic left by his mother's sacrifice was powerful enough to burn Quirrell, and Voldemort, seeing his servant was no longer of any use to him, left him to die. Dumbledore later explained to Harry that Voldemort left as little mercy to his followers as his enemies.

Physical description
"Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

- Rubeus Hagrid to Harry Potter



By 1991, Quirrell was a young man with a very pale skin tone, and pale blue eyes.

Upon his return from his sabbatical in Albania Quirrell's associates noticed a change in him. He not only began to wear a garlic-scented purple turban, but one of his eyes developed a twitch and he often appeared quite pale and nervous. His voice was stammering, and he often stuttered. He was usually trembling, and was prone to fainting. His nervousness turned out to be something of an act; even though he was terrified of disobeying Lord Voldemort, he was really very cold and calculating.

Near the end of his life, his reason for wearing the turban became clear. Quirrell had joined with Lord Voldemort and agreed to allow Voldemort's fledgling body to latch on to the back of his head. It was only able to grow into a face, and used Quirrell for transportation and sustenance.

Personality and traits
Not much of Quirrell's personality before he met Lord Voldemort in Albania is known; as he said, when he was a young man, he believed in good and evil, and was a good person. He was also said by Rubeus Hagrid to be a very intelligent and talented wizard, though he was usually stammering, possibly because he didn't have much confidence. However, when he met Lord Voldemort, Quirrell's personality changed; he "realised" that there was "no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it". Quirrell wanted to serve Voldemort, but he admitted that at times it was hard to follow Voldemort's orders. By that time, Dumbledore has already surmised that Quirrell was full of hate, which led to his demise because the love Lily Potter left in her son's blood was fatal to him. In short, Quirrell was a gullible and weak willed wizard who was easily corrupted.

Quirrell, throughout the school year, acted incompetent to the point of stuttering almost continuously, mainly to ensure no one "would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell", though once he had revealed himself to be a servant of the Dark Lord, he was cold, aggressive, and calculating. This act was just one example of his expertise in manipulating people; because of his special gift with trolls he was able to lure a fully-grown Mountain Troll into the school to distract everyone on Halloween while he attempted to get past Fluffy. Quirrell disguised himself and tricked Hagrid into playing cards with him at the Hog's Head. Between getting him drunk and enticing him with a dragon's egg, he was able to obtain the information he needed to get past Fluffy. He even managed to deceive the great Albus Dumbledore by forging a Ministry letter to him to lure him away from school, and in being appointed to teach at Hogwarts with Voldemort sharing his body in the first place.

According to Dolores Umbridge, Quirrell was the only teacher at Hogwarts that would have passed an inspection by the Ministry of Magic, as he was one of the few to teach age-appropriate magic (theory-based).

Magical abilities and skills
Rubeus Hagrid once claimed that Quirrell was a brilliant mind, suggesting that he was already an intelligent and powerful wizard, though he gained a good deal more power when he was sharing his body with Lord Voldemort.


 * Creature expert: Quirrell had no difficulty whatsoever in taming animals, such as Iguanas. He is also uncommonly gifted with trolls being able to bring one into Hogwarts on Halloween. He was somehow able to acquire a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg to give to Hagrid.
 * Non-verbal magic: Quirrell was skilled with non-verbal magic, conjuring ropes without the incantation.
 * Wandless magic: Quirrell was able to do wandless magic, conjuring ropes without a wand, and jinxing Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 broomstick.
 * Transfiguration: Quirrell was apparently skilled with conjuration, a difficult branch of Transfiguration. He could conjure ropes, both non-verbally and wandlessly.
 * Dark Arts: Quirrell was apparently skilled with Dark Arts. He jinxed Harry Potter's broomstick and may have even had the ability to cast a wandless Killing Curse. However since he never had a chance to actually curse Harry it is unconfirmed which spell he was attempting to use and it may not have been the Killing Curse.
 * Flight: Quirrell was shown to be able to fly clear across a chamber without an object, defying the rule that wizards cannot fly without an object. This ability most likely came from Lord Voldemort, who had devised the method himself. He shares this ability with Severus Snape and Lord Voldemort.
 * Patronus: Quirrell was also skilled in Defence magic. He was able to produce a Patronus, despite the fact that the Death Eaters and Voldemort could not do it.

Lord Voldemort
Quirinus Quirrell first met Lord Voldemort in 1991, in the forests of Albania, where Voldemort manipulated Quirrell into servitude with promises of power and glory. Quirrell returned to Great Britain that same year, and attempted to infiltrate Vault 713 of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, in order to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell managed to break in, but found the vault had been emptied by Rubeus Hagrid and Harry Potter earlier that day.

Following this failed attempt, Voldemort began a parasitic relationship with Quirrell, in which he attached himself to the back of Quirrell's head, to ensure his plans were being followed precisely. Voldemort ordered Quirrell to kill Harry Potter, though Quirrell's attempts to do so were thwarted by Severus Snape and Hermione Granger. Harry was able to penetrate the Philosopher's Stone Chambers in pursuit of Severus Snape, or so he believed, only to find it was Quirrell in front of the Mirror of Erised. Quirrell, under Voldemort's orders, demanded Harry draw the Stone from the Mirror; though Harry was successfully able to retrieve the stone, he attempted to conceal the fact by lying about what he saw in the mirror. Quirrell revealed Voldemort, who tried to manipulate Harry into handing over the Stone by offering him the chance to see his parents, and upon Harry's refusal, ordered Quirrell to take the stone by force. Quirrell, sharing his body with Voldemort, found himself unable to touch "a person marked by something so good" (referring to Lily Potter's sacrificial protection). Voldemort separated his soul from Quirrell's body to escape the pain, and left Quirrell to die, as Albus Dumbledore noted, showing him as little mercy as he did his enemies.

Three years later, after his return, Voldemort told his Death Eaters that Quirrell was a fool, and that he only allied with him for his position as a professor at Hogwarts.

Harry Potter
"What is this magic?"

- Quirrell, unable to understand the power of love.

Quirrell first met Harry Potter in 1991, at the Leaky Cauldron, in Diagon Alley. Quirrell greeted Harry in the same way most of the wizarding community did, seeming thrilled to meet "The Boy who Lived". Though Harry found Quirrell's twitchy behaviour odd, he was generally pleased to meet Quirrell, as a friend of Hagrid's and as his soon-to-be Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.

Harry eventually came to believe that Severus Snape was attempting to threaten Quirrell into helping him penetrate the defences surrounding the Philosopher's Stone, for Lord Voldemort. As it seemed like the only thing standing between Snape and a means of restoring Voldemort to power was Quirrell's will, Harry did what he could to encourage Quirrell and help build his confidence.

As it turned out, Quirrell was a servant of Voldemort, and it was he, not Snape, who was aiming to steal the Philosopher's Stone for the Dark Lord, and, if possible, kill Harry along the way. When they met for the last time in the final of the Philosopher's Stone Chambers, Quirrell's connection to Lord Voldemort rendered him unable to touch Harry without experiencing unbearable pain, due to the enduring power of Lily Potter's sacrificial protection, and he died attempting to steal the stone from Harry by force.

Hogwarts staff
Quirrell, in pretending to be nervous and timid, got along well with most of the faculty at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid seemed to think highly of Quirrell, and considered him to be a very clever and talented wizard for his extensive world travels and experience fighting the Dark Arts. However, as Quirrell didn't show his true personality, it's possible he disliked them all.

Potions master Severus Snape, however, was openly antagonistic toward Quirrell, possibly in large part because Quirrell was the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor — a position that Snape had wanted for years. Snape may have guessed that Quirrell was hiding his true intentions, as he told him to "decide where his loyalties are", though Harry Potter and his friends believed that Snape was threatening Quirrell in order to get information about how to get into the Philosopher's Stone chamber. Years later, Snape described Quirrell as greedy and worthless to Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy.

As Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was a highly intelligent and powerful wizard, he may have had an idea about Quirrell's true nature; this is further evidenced by the fact he asked Snape to keep an eye on Quirrell. After the events in the Philosopher's Stone chambers, Dumbledore expressed his opinion to Harry that Quirrell, much like Voldemort, was flawed for his inability to understand "good and evil", and his desire for power.

Behind the scenes

 * Like Madam Hooch, Quirrell's first name is different according to the source. The trading cards list his name as Quirinus, whereas the Internet Movie database and Famous Wizard Cards say that it is Slatero.Quirin.jpg
 * His first name is likely a reference to the fact that Quirinus is an epithet of Janus, since both Janus and Quirrell have two faces, one on either side of their heads.
 * David Thewlis, who plays Professor Lupin in the film adaptations, was considered for the role of Professor Quirrell. However Ian Hart, who also provided the voice for Voldemort, was eventually cast.
 * In the novels, Quirrell doesn't appear to have his turban until after his failed attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts. In the film however, Quirrell has his turban before the robbery. This change is indicated by the fact that he shakes Harry's hand at the Leaky Cauldron in the novel, but doesn't wish to in the film. However, not wanting to shake Harry's hand cannot be due Voldemort sharing Quirrell's body, because as Quirrell dies, he does not understand what is happening to him (he yells, "What is this magic?!").
 * Quirrell is notable as being one of few wizards capable of performing intricate magic, like Dumbledore, without a wand; he can fly without a wand, conjure ropes by snapping his fingers, etc. It is possible that he had this ability because of Voldemort's possession of him, although Hagrid's high opinion of Quirrell suggests that Quirrell was a talented wizard.
 * It should be noted that Quirrell is unique among Voldemort's followers as one of the few who use Voldemort's name. While the Death Eaters call Voldemort "The Dark Lord" when referring to him, Quirrell openly uses Voldemort's name when talking to Harry.
 * Quirrell is a playable character in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4. Despite dying in the first year, he can still be played in the other years and is seen at the end of Year 1 armless and heavily bandaged in the hospital wing.
 * In Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and the PC version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort spins Quirrell's head 180 degrees to face Harry. Quirrell can also shoot fireballs and create a ghostly green head that can harm Harry.
 * On the student list shown by J. K. Rowling on Harry Potter and Me, a student named "Quirrell" was listed, but the name was crossed out with "Rivers" written above it.
 * In all versions of Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Quirinus' surname is misspelled as Quirrel.

Etymology
The name "Quirinus" is possibly derived from the Sabine word quiris meaning "spear". Quirinus was a Sabine and Roman god who was later identified with Mars. The name was also borne by several early saints.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter Trading Card Game
 * Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * Lego Creator: Harry Potter
 * Harry Potter LEGO Sets

Notes and references
Professor Quirrell Quirinus Quirrell Slatero Quirrell Квиреус Квиррелл Quirinus Quirrell Professor Krinkel