CHAPTER 90: UPDATING BELIEFS, PT 2

There was one flaw with the plan to wait until the Easter Holidays before trying to expose Quirrell. One glaringly obvious flaw that Harry really should have thought about last night.

There was no getting around facing Quirrell today.

It was Friday, April 10th, of 1992, and Harry was sitting in the last session of the day. Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He had considered contriving a sickness. McGonagall would probably even help him, if he pointed out the likelihood of the Defense Professor taking one look at him and deriving everything Harry was thinking of without even using Legilimency. Or Professor Snape could have arranged a Potions accident that would require him to be sent off to St Mungo's. However, none of those things were very likely for a student who'd been in apparently perfect health yesterday and brewing nothing more exciting than a potion of cold resistance, so if he did get incapacitated, Quirrell might derive what it meant anyway. Besides, it would take some fairly serious harm to stop Quirrell from visiting him.

So, instead, he had spent most of Potions class thinking about other plausible excuses why he would not want to talk to Quirrell about what had happened to Hermione. There were some surprisingly good reasons, he had realized, which he really ought to have figured out even without a motive to hide his real thoughts from the Defense Professor.

At the end of class, just as Harry had expected, Quirrell held him back, and told him to follow him to his office. As he trailed after the Defense Professor, Harry cleared his mind and, like an Occlumency barrier, turned into a version of Harry who hadn't had yesterday's disturbing conversation.

The door closed behind them with a soft click.

"I was rather put out when I heard about Monday's trial, Mr. Potter," the Defense Professor spoke in an icy voice, once he had cast all the usual privacy charms. "It appears that you have still not learned how to lose."

"I am well aware that what I did was stupid," Harry said coldly. "But losing is for points, not people."

Quirrell slammed his hand down hard on his desk. "Pretending to lose is for everything! You should have gritted your teeth and acted upset, while outwardly resigning yourself to the situation. Then you could have made arrangements to retrieve Granger afterwards, perhaps even before she was brought to Azkaban! Instead, you drew attention to yourself in the worst possible way. You threw away all semblance of maturity by positing your ridiculous threat against House Malfoy, casually destroying your reputation by showing yourself as a deluded child with an over-inflated ego. And besides that, you did immeasurable harm to yourself by causing Lord Malfoy to lose his fear of you."

Harry nodded silent agreement. Not being a complete idiot, he'd eventually worked out who Lucius Malfoy had thought he was talking to in front of the Wizengamot. And the Dark Lord Voldemort would certainly never promise his enmity in a deadly voice, he'd just say something that would actually feel like a threat to Lucius – without even being understandable to other people in the room, as Voldemort presumably knew some things about Lucius most people didn't.

"And then," Quirrell bitterly continued. "When your halfway decent plan failed, did you attempt to negotiate, or execute a maneuver that could win the respect of Britain's powerful? No, you made an insane threat. What would you have done if you had actually been required to execute it? Murder the majority of the largest political body of Britain? Do you honestly expect that you would have been allowed to live, following such an act? Any in that room, save perhaps for Miss Granger herself, would have killed you afterwards. You are but a mere child, and for all your machinations you do not have the power to defend yourself from those who wish you ill, once your allies have cause to abandon you."

"I know," Harry murmured. Mostly, he remembered those dark moments in the ancient halls of the Wizengamot in terms of shame, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from considering what would have happened if Hermione hadn't spoken up. None of the likely outcomes were good. There were some very good reasons why his dark side had moved on to alternative ideas.

The Defense Professor sat down, still glaring angrily at Harry. "And now, here we are. Unless you play your hand remarkably well, it is likely going to follow you for the rest of your life. If Granger escapes from Azkaban, they will suspect you because you drew attention to yourself, so that line is closed to you. If your... ah... proclivity with Dementors ever becomes public knowledge, they will understand that you were serious, and those who believe themselves to be pure of heart will never willingly follow you anymore. How will you lead Magical Britain then? Or would you prefer never to show that particular prowess, and allow the world to continue believing that you are a fool? Your youth might give you some excuse, but once you establish yourself in power even your earliest endeavors will be subject to public scrutiny. All for your lack of sense and unwillingness to think beyond the moment!" His eyes flashed, as he gestured for Harry to sit down as well. "Have you at least given some thought on how you will deal with the consequences of your stupidity?"

No. He'd been thinking of other things, such as phoenixes, taking down Azkaban, Who-Framed-Hermione-Granger and How-To-Free-Hermione-Granger. Even if he had thought about it (which he probably should have), Harry wasn't quite sure that he wanted to lead Magical Britain. But Quirrell obviously didn't want to hear about that. "I could make it seem like I was trying to get everyone to write me off as a stupid kid, so they won't see it coming when I strike?"

Quirrell waved a hand irritably. "That won't work. It might be effective for those who are playing the game on level three and model you as a level two player, but to most people it will sound like little more than an excuse. Besides, the claim will be unmasked for its dishonesty the instant your variation of the Patronus Charm is discovered."

"Point taken. So what would you suggest I do, then?"

The Defense Professor fixed him with a glare. "I am not sure you deserve my advice, Mr. Potter."

Harry shrugged. He honestly didn't care much at this point. The Defense Professor raised his eyebrows.

"You will care, Mr. Potter, when these events come back to hurt you." He poured two cups of tea, and pushed one towards Harry, giving him a long, hard look.

"You will say that your bluff was for the Headmaster," he said quietly. "He was aware of your abilities and might have been sufficiently alarmed at you considering such a step that he would allow you to spend your money as you desired. It will be your responsibility to procure the Headmaster's cooperation with such an explanation, but since he defended your actions before the Wizengamot, I suspect it will not be hard." He took a sip. "Naturally, there are some who will wonder what you would have done if he had called your bluff. The answer is that you would indeed have canceled the Patronuses to prove your point, conjured your own in protection of the Lords and Ladies, and then used that position to bargain with Dumbledore – or indeed, with Lord Malfoy, as he might have been more willing to see your point of view when it was only your Patronus standing between him and a Dementor. You will be expected to demonstrate your Patronus-destroying ability, of course."

That might be a little troublesome, Harry thought. But perhaps if he gave the idea some further thought it could be made to work. Maybe once he and his army of True Patronus Casters had eliminated all Dementors in the world, it would be safe to give this explanation.

"Of course," the Defense Professor continued, "anyone with a modicum of intelligence will see all the glaring flaws in such a plan. However, taking into account that you are a first-year child, it may be perceived as an acceptable error of judgment, and fall into obscurity amidst your more successful accomplishments, once you achieve greatness."

The words felt oddly foreboding, and yet the voice was nothing but resigned. Perhaps it was no more than Harry's private worries about the man's motives, but still...

"Thank you," Harry said quietly. "I'll think about it."

Quirrell nodded shortly.

"That being settled –" the voice turned into ice again "– I must say I am surprised at you. I would have expected you to come to me for advice the instant I was released. Can I conclude that you suspect me?"

Well yes. That was the only reasonable conclusion for that particular observation. Harry had, in fact, been waiting to pounce on his mentor the moment he returned. Would have done so instantly on seeing him at dinner yesterday, to hell with his meeting with Dumbledore, if he hadn't known about Hermione's relative safety. He could afford a little more delay than he had initially planned because the Aurors seemed to be protecting her – not that he wanted the Defense Professor to know about that quite yet – but even taking this into account, there was no conceivable reason why he wouldn't have begged Quirrell's help the first available instant, unless he strongly suspected the man's involvement. Since he hadn't done that yesterday evening, the only safe answer Harry had was to adequately justify his suspicion in a way that wouldn't interfere with whatever Moody and Dumbledore were planning, or give anything away about Hermione. And that, preferably, without alienating his mentor, because he would still really like his advice on the situation.

"Ah, so you do believe she is innocent, then?" bit a version of Harry who had agonized for four days over Hermione's fate, and come to some rather disturbing conclusions.

"Do not hold me for an idiot, Mr Potter," Quirrell said sharply. "This murder was well-planned to evade detection both by the wards of Hogwarts and the Headmaster's timely eye – or indeed, by any Defense that could reasonably be expected from the Headmaster, a rather convenient situation. Naturally, in such a thoughtful murder, some innocent would be placed to take the blame." A brief, wry smile crossed the Defense Professor's lips. "Besides, I consider myself a talented teacher, but even I could not teach such murderous intent to a student as obstinate and untalented as Hermione Granger."

"You suspect the Headmaster?"

"He is the obvious suspect, more so even than you might realize. There is an important gathering of the International Confederation of Wizards, next week. The representatives of the magical governments around Europe will come together to pass treaties and international laws for the next ten years. It would be the perfect time for Lucius to be torn by grief, and certainly a good time to throw away his game against Dumbledore for the sake of revenge. Besides, if Draco had not survived to testify, the investigation would surely have taken significantly longer."

"But eventually, it would still have led to Hermione taking the blame," Harry said. "I admit I also came to the conclusion that Dumbledore had a strong motive. But for all that I have seen of him, I find it difficult to believe that he would plot to send any Hogwarts student to Azkaban. Ever."

"Ah," the Defense Professor said softly. "But the only way Dumbledore could escape unscathed from a student dying during his reign as Headmaster, is if the death was truly unexpected and unpreventable by reasonable means. Murder by another student is one of the very few ways that would accomplish this. And if he must, in a sufficiently noble cause, sacrifice a student – why, who would he choose, but she who declared herself a heroine?"

That gave Harry some pause. It might just be hindsight bias, but that did seem to concentrate some of that hypothesis's probability mass onto framing Hermione in particular. Similarly, Professor Quirrell had predicted in advance that Dumbledore might target Draco...

But if it's you behind all of this, Professor, you might have shaped your plans to frame the Headmaster, and taken care to cast suspicion on him in advance.

The concept of 'evidence' had something of a different meaning, when you were dealing with someone who had declared themselves to play the game at 'one level higher than you'.

"You are an obvious suspect too," Harry replied. "As Professor Snape pointed out yesterday, the Defense Professor always is. The wards did not give alarm, which points to staff involvement, and the method by which Draco was attacked suggests a substantial amount of cunning, especially since the perpetrator would have needed to select a method that could conceivably have been transparent to a child reading Hogwarts: a History. You are powerful enough to have pulled off those Memory Charms, and skilled enough to cover up potential incriminating evidence. I do not know what exact motives you might have had, but you play the game on a sufficiently high level that this is only to be expected."

"I suppose I cannot be offended, as your reasons are sound," the Defense Professor said with a sip of his tea. "But you normally would not let vague suspicions stop you, and I am hardly the only one with the skills and opportunity to accomplish this."

"Well," Harry started. "I figured that it was obvious that you didn't want to save Hermione. If you did, you would have."

"That is an intriguing idea. How do you imagine I would have achieved that?"

"You didn't go to the trial, for a start. I know you were being detained, but you were a witness, having put extra protection on Draco beforehand. You could have persuaded Bones to let you go. If you had gone there and told them what you obviously knew, that Hermione was innocent –"

"Then it would not have made the slightest difference," Quirrell said dryly. "You have seen the idiocy of people, Potter, do you truly believe they will listen to sense? In truth, I considered it probable that she would not lightly be sent to Azkaban, because she is so young. Drawing attention away from her youth and on to a tale of innocence they would not believe would hardly be helpful. Even Headmaster Dumbledore understood that."

"But you could have gone there, and reacted on what actually was happening, rather than on what you expected beforehand. I went there without a plan, and if not for Dumbledore's interference, I could have saved her using Lucius's life debt."

"A plan you could have come up with beforehand, without first making an embarrassment of yourself." He smiled dryly. "I do not think the DMLE would have let me go for the pure sake of witnessing the trial. If I went there, I would be expected to speak. Which, as I said, would not have been helpful. Even with the advantage of hindsight, I doubt that I could have done much good, other than perhaps clout you over the head before you could go on to make the idiotic threats you did."

"You could have asked to speak to Malfoy beforehand. He hates Dumbledore more than Hermione, if you explained your theory about Dumbledore's motives to him, he might have agreed."

"That would involve telling him about your slipping up and mentioning his promise to Dumbledore. A mistake, I daresay, you would hardly want him to know about. Nor would it have changed much. Lord Malfoy has no advantage to gain in going after Dumbledore, who could just deny his involvement. He would not cancel the trial. Even if he truly did not believe that Miss Granger was guilty, he would seek her destruction regardless, for the humiliation she brought to his House on Saturday. Besides, he is hardly beyond suspicion himself."

"You think Lucius Malfoy would have tried to kill his own son?"

"Why not? From Mr. Malfoy's recorded testimony, I gather that you enjoyed some success in changing young Mr. Malfoy's political views. If Lucius Malfoy learned of that earlier... he might have decided that his former heir had become a liability."

"Padma came up with a similar theory," Harry said. "But I don't buy it. Draco is entirely convinced that his father loves him, and there is plenty of evidence pointing in that direction too. Besides, if Lucius set up the whole thing himself, then why did he decline Dumbledore's offer of coming to an agreement about Hermione? Why did he ask an insanely high price to dispense with the blood debt, when he could have known Dumbledore would not let me pay it? He wouldn't actually care that much about throwing Hermione into Azkaban, and he could have gained a large political advantage and got rid of the debt he holds to House Potter, by bargaining to have her wand snapped instead. And that would be sufficient revenge for a mere humiliation, especially with Draco's testimony under Veritaserum that he only lost because he was tired."

"Perhaps," Quirrell said ponderously.

"Getting back to the point," Harry went on. "There's also the matter of you saving Draco. That was a life debt, right there. And Malfoy couldn't have said that you created the circumstances deliberately, not without casting doubt on Hermione's testimony. If we'd both claimed a life debt together and asked for Hermione's life..."

"Life debts are not personal, Potter. You can have a life debt to a Noble House, but not to a commoner."

"But you are noble, aren't you?" He might as well use the conversation as a good excuse for polling the man about Monroe.

Quirrell carefully put down his tea. "Amelia mentioned those suspicions to me. I see that she has also spoken to others. Who else is aware of this?"

Harry didn't respond.

The Defense Professor stood up to face the fireplace, turning his eyes away from Harry. When he spoke again, his voice was less sharp, and more bitter.

"I know the one she was speaking of, of course. David Monroe. The kind of hero anyone would recognize from fairy tales, wielding justice and vengeance like twin wands against his personal nemesis, a Dark Lord who was a threat to far more than just himself." Professor Quirrell gave a soft, bitter laugh. "Do you know, at that time I thought myself already cynical, and yet... well."

The silence stretched, as Harry listened intently.

"In all honesty," said Professor Quirrell, continuing to stare at the fire, "I still don't understand it. They should have known that their lives depended on Monroe's success. And yet it was as if they tried to do everything they could to make his life unpleasant. To throw every possible obstacle in his way. I was not naive, Mr. Potter, I wouldn't have expected the power-holders to align themselves with him so quickly – not without something in it for themselves. But their power, too, was threatened; and so I was shocked how they seemed content to step back, and leave all burdens of responsibility to him. They sneered at their benefactor's performance, remarking among themselves how they would do better in his place, though they did not condescend to step forward." Professor Quirrell shook his head as though in bemusement. "And it was the strangest thing – those who served the Dark Lord leaped eagerly to their tasks, and as he grew crueler toward his followers, they followed him all the more. Men fought for the chance to serve him, even as those whose lives depended on Monroe made free to render his life difficult... I could not understand it, Mr. Potter." Professor Quirrell's face was lit up by the flickering of the flames, giving an eerie impression. "Perhaps, by taking on himself the curse of action, he removed it from all others? Was that why they felt free to hinder his battle against the Dark Wizard who would have enslaved them all? Believing men would act in their own interest was not cynicism, it turned out, but sheerest optimism; in reality men do not meet so high a standard. Monroe, I daresay, would have been better off fighting his enemy alone, than with such followers at his back. And perhaps, in time, that is exactly what he did."

"I see," Harry said, his mouth dry. It was taking a lot of effort to keep pretending to be a Harry who didn't suspect anything. If the Defense Professor had indeed been both at the same time... he'd just explained why he would have retired Monroe, and continued with Lord Voldemort.

But alternatively, the voice of Ravenclaw said in his head, it might also explain why an intelligent Voldemort did not succeed, with an even more intelligent Monroe working against him behind the scenes.

"I cannot say what happened to that man," Quirrell said, turning around, and stepping back to his chair. His hand was quivering slightly, as it often did. "But I daresay that if, hypothetically, he and I were the same person, I would have some very good reasons for not wanting this identity to be discovered."

"Good enough to let Hermione Granger be eaten by Dementors."

"If you want to put it like that, Mr. Potter, yes. She honestly doesn't mean that much to me." The Defense Professor sat down again. "I do regret the girl's situation. She was a good student in my Defense class, and could have been a valuable ally to you later. But in truth, even if I had claimed to be this noble scion, it would not have helped her much. We cannot both claim the same price for our debt, that is now how the law works."

"Be that as it may..." Harry whispered. "But all this sounds more like excuses, not reasons, for not making any sort of actual effort to save her."

The Defense Professor smiled. "Why yes, you are quite correct. I chose not to act on half-hearted plans that might have backfired and would have definitely drawn attention to myself, when there was an obvious way to help the girl without any downsides."

"There was?"

"There is. Surely you realize that Miss Granger is not dead yet. If we act quickly, there will still be something left to save. Even supposing she has already stopped eating and drinking, it would take at least two weeks to die in Azkaban."

Harry swallowed at the mental image. He didn't want to tell Quirrell that Hermione was already mostly safe, because that safety was precarious, and if it was Quirrell behind the attack, it would be trivial to send a note to the DMLE or to Lucius Malfoy. "What did you have in mind?"

With a blur, the form of the Professor turned into the blue-and-white banded snake.

"Musst create debt," the snake hissed. "Real debt. Ssave lord'ss life deliberately. Ssay it iss for sson's ssake. Then assk for girl'ss freedom in exchange."

"Ssave life from what?" Harry hissed back.

"Hiss old masster," the snake suggested. "Meeting next week. Sset up imposstor ass hiss masster. Bringss woman. Claimss power over World. Cassts no-apparation sspell. Ssayss your enemy is bad sservant. Torturess him. Then casstss Killing Cursse. You interfere."

"Don't like torture! And lotss of other flawss..."

"Torture iss only brief, and he desservess it. Bessidess, needed to keep ambiguouss whether he sserved Dark Wizard willingly, and you don't want him ssent to prisson, no? No real flawss. Have thought thiss through."

"What if ssomeone cassts Killing Cursse on Dark Wizard? And how do I get there? What if ssaving goes wrong? What if not?"

"I am no fool, boy! Choosse time when sschoolmasster absent. Imposstor hass device to move around quickly. Cannot be targeted eassily. Woman too. I will bring you there. Will ssay I wass alerted. Took you back in time. You walk in, with guardian Charm. Protect lord, for hiss sson. I will be there, pussh lord away if it failss. But unlikely."

"Time device iss ssecret," Harry hissed.

"Not your problem! Ssituation iss important enough to warrant exception. They will think of ssome excusse."

"And then what?" Despite himself, Harry was intrigued by the plan.

"You quickly recasst guardian Charm. Dark wizard targetss random bysstander. You ssend guardian to them, sso are unprotected. Dark wizard no fool. He ussess deadly area charm on you. Too sstrong for your sshields, too broad to dodge. You resspond with sstunning charm."

"Sstunning? Would not even get passt his sshields!"

"Dark Wizard never had sshields. Too powerful to need them. But not the point. You musst catch hiss sspell. I have dark wizard'ss wand, woman ssaid where sshe hid it. You ssaid before that your wand sshares coress with dark wizard'ss. I sstudied this... If sspellss meet – sspectacular effect. You sstop him from cassting or moving. You usse Muggle explossive device. Large blasst. He diess. Of coursse, he really ssurvives. Can dissapear in blasst."

It was a lot to take in. Hell, it would be a huge operation.

"Would ssurely take too long to sset up?"

"Preparationss already in place." There was a content sort of feeling in that hiss. "I told you sso before. I expected you to losse patience with imprissonment ssoon enough. Plan will give you freedom. And power. You will be ssavior." The snaked hissed a strange sort of snake-chuckle. "Sso only needed a few adaptationss. Can execute in three dayss if needed. Sspend time practissing sspell capture and blocking Killing Cursse."

"Musst think..."

Creating a real debt from Lucius to him would be a good solution, at least if there was no way he could be suspected of having engineered the whole thing. It would be better than giving money to a man who was guaranteed to use at least part of it in ways Harry did not approve of, certainly better than negotiating a lower punishment for Hermione, and probably more feasible than proving her innocence. It was just that it would be really bloody dangerous, ethically questionable, and would have some side effects regarding the public's expectations with respect to Voldemort. It was almost certain that Quirrell had his own ulterior motives with this plan, too.

"Why usse masster, not ssome other threat? Sseemss far-fetched. Ssurely other planss would be eassier?"

The snake made a strange movement, that might perhaps be interpreted as the serpentine version of a shrug. "Ass ssaid, preparationss already in place. Therefore quicker than other planss. But ssmall adaptationss posssible. Maybe just have woman and other sservant attack? Less threatening, and will raisse different expectationss, but could work, if you prefer. Could leave ambiguouss whether their masster iss involved, although they musst have hiss wand. Less perfect, but perhapss... Explanationss can be changed, if necesssary, just not overall plan. We have little time, before girl goess inssane. And meeting iss perfect moment."

Some part of Harry admired the way the Defense Professor pushed him into a corner. The Professor probably didn't know that there was a way Harry could have helped Hermione without breaking her out, something McGonagall or Dumbledore would never have agreed to – he might have derived that the cloak had shielded Bellatrix from the Dementors while he was unconscious, but he wouldn't know why, and it was a further leap to assume that it would work even without Harry's presence. And if Hermione was actually in real trouble in Azkaban, suffering constantly, getting closer to death each passing day... then he would have done it. Even taking into account the torturing and the risks inherent in the plan, even if he suspected that the Defense Professor might have set up this scenario just to persuade him to go along with the plan...

But if he has, then what is his motive? asked Slytherin. He seems to be willing to write Voldemort out of the plot, so it cannot be to persuade Dumbledore that Voldemort is gone or returned. So what would be achieved by following this plan besides creating a debt to Lucius Malfoy?

It would allow us to make up with the Malfoy family, Ravenclaw promptly volunteered. At least Draco would appreciate his father being saved. Also, it would put us in the spotlight as a miracle worker who can defeat dark wizards with vastly more power.

But how is that helping him? Slytherin shot back.

He seems to want to make us powerful... Ravenclaw supplied thoughtfully. To what purpose, I don't know. But that fits the explanation that he broke out Bellatrix Black to get us access to Slytherin's lost magic.

Of which he would profit, too, Slytherin pointed out. But I agree that his overall actions and statements seem consistent with his wanting to make us more powerful. Should we do it?

What? Gryffindor and Hufflepuff yelled.

Hear me out. Increasing our popularity and political sway is highly desirable, and might help to set plans in motion to clear up the messes in government, like Azkaban. Lucius was a Death Eater, and has certainly contributed to torture and murder, not to mention sending a child to Azkaban just this week – a short round of torture is arguably a fair punishment, or rather, far less than he deserves, since it is unlikely that he will ever be sentenced for his crimes. And it will help Hermione.

The plan is risky, though, Ravenclaw pointed out.

More risky than leaving Hermione in Azkaban, where any number of circumstances could cause a thorough search of her cell, and the discovery that she has a wand and invisibility cloak? Slytherin asked. Once that happens, we might not get into too much trouble, but at the very minimum Hermione will no longer be protected. So right now, not acting is also dangerous.

There have to be other ways of getting her out, Gryffindor protested. Ways that do not require deceit.

Like what? Slytherin asked simply.

Harry swallowed. Even if the Defense Professor had set the entire thing up to push him into a corner, could he afford to refuse it?

What if this is the only way to save Hermione?

He didn't know. The idea was starting to seem a lot more appealing, if he could tweak it here and there. But he also had a nagging feeling that – despite the plan's lack of murder – Hermione would probably have told him not to go to such lengths to save her.

"You hessitate," the snake concluded as the silence stretched. "Why? Plan ssolid. Can explain in more detail if wissh. Had four dayss in cusstody to think about ssmallesst detailss."

"Need more time," Harry stalled. "Many thingss to conssider! Can I ssleep on thiss?"

The snake shook. "Musst know tonight, to sset everything in motion. If we wait a day, we cannot do the plan for another day. Iss that worth it?"

Harry frowned. "Tonight after dinner?" Dinner would start in less than an hour, but he would still have six Time-Turned hours to think.

"That sshould be acceptable," the snake hissed, and turned back into Professor Quirrell.

In hindsight, Harry would remember that he should have just left. Think over the plan, like he said he would do, and return after dinner. He certainly should not have decided that he needed more information about two of yesterday's open questions to make an informed decision.

"Dumbledore and the others think You-Know-Who did this," Harry volunteered. "I am not so convinced, but it seems... relevant." He didn't say more, of course. If anyone was managing to listen in, they didn't need to know what had passed between him and the snake.

"The Dark Lord?" Quirrell raised an eyebrow. "What motive would he have?"

"The Headmaster thinks that he sees me as his enemy, and is striking at my allies before they grow strong."

"Does he? And did it occur to him to wonder why an enemy of yours would use the Granger girl to kill Malfoy, and not just you?"

"No, I don't think it did," Harry shrugged. "But even if it is unlikely that he was involved in any way, I figure it's worth knowing a bit more about him. I know Dumbledore's take on him, and I roughly know Malfoy's, or at least Draco's position... but I would like to know your opinion about him."

"What is there to say?" Quirrell shrugged. "He was extremely powerful, wielding magics most people had never even heard of. He had only a handful of followers, but he used them to perfection to strike fear in everyone's hearts."

"Was he intelligent? They seemed very convinced he was, and suggested him carrying out highly intelligent plots."

"Such as they would not see the difference between someone who receives high grades in school, or someone who is actually intelligent. I daresay Dumbledore believes that Lucius Malfoy is intelligent, and Lucius thinks the same about Dumbledore."

"That's not an answer," Harry observed.

The Defense Professor smiled. "I would say he is no fool, and his plots are certainly worthy of a Slytherin. I would estimate his intelligence over that of those who fought or served him, although in all fairness that is not saying much. However, there is little evidence that he was more than that, and plenty of evidence that he was not. Remember how he not only destroyed the dojo where he would have learned martial arts, but then also left someone alive to tell the tale of this weakness to the world."

But if it was you, Quirrell, then you did come away with those martial arts lessons. It suddenly hit Harry that Quirrell had learned to pretend to lose in a humiliating and painful fashion, about a year before everyone involved in this lesson had been tortured into insanity and killed. And that Quirrell's list of mistakes he would never make as a dark lord contained an item to never leave the source of your power behind where others can find it.

"It also occurred to me," Harry said (for he could not be seen to take too much from an idle anecdote), "that if You-Know-Who had actually been smart, he would have won instantly. He wouldn't have pottered around for ten years with standard terrorist tactics, he would cast Imperius on a House Elf to sneak transfigured toxin into the cups of his enemies or something like that."

"I daresay he wasn't inclined to use any Muggle knowledge, but otherwise, I concede your point." A grim smile crossed his face. "If I were bored, I could probably take over the Ministry in a few weeks at most."

"So if he was actually intelligent," Harry pushed. He was a bit nervous, but he didn't let it show, as it was a perfectly reasonable question. "Then he wasn't really trying. So what would his ulterior motive have been?"

The Defense Professor sighed, and stood up.

"I will leave you to figure that out for yourself, Mr. Potter."

"But..."

"Let us dispense with games. We both know what you are really trying to ask. I must confess I had expected you to figure it out earlier, although I certainly did not mind. But very well. I shall update my plans accordingly."

He grabbed some powder from a little box on his desk, and strode towards the fireplace, where green flames erupted as Harry sat stock-still in confusion.

What.

Quirrell looked around, and nodded formally to Harry.

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter. I daresay we shall meet again." And then he stepped into the fire and disappeared.

The penny dropped.

Aw crap.