10 Chp 10: Quirrell

After deliberating for a long time, Brian's face turned indifferent, he sorted his robes and quietly sneaked away from the crowd. Instead of returning to the common room with other Slytherins, he turned and walked towards the fourth floor.

He headed toward the forbidden corridor and stood in front of the locked door. He could hear the sound of the three-headed dog sleeping inside. Apparently Professor Quirrell hadn't come over yet.

Suddenly, there were hurried footsteps behind him. Brian pursed his lips and acted as if he were in a panic before stepping away from the door, concealing his wand in his sleeve.

"You… you're first-year Slytherin. What ar-are you doing here?" It was Professor Quirrel who came over. He was taken aback by Brian's presence that he stumbled over his words.

"Sorry, professor, I'm just a little curious about what's inside." Brian looked at the professor with the ridiculously large turban on his head.

"I'm Brian Fawley from Slytherin. My dad is Harris Fawley, a member of the school board," he introduced himself, imitating Draco's posture.

Quirrell gave him a long stare before waving his hand away. "Get out o-of here. N-no one is al-allowed to enter here."

"Professor Quirrell, do you want to go in and steal what's inside?" Brian whispered.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Quirrell stared at him fiercely with his wand raised slightly. Also gone was the fake stutter.

"I know there's a giant Cerberus inside, and there's a trapdoor under its body. It must be guarding something. Cerberus is renowned for guarding treasures," Brian said hurriedly.

"You must have been the one who released the troll right? You wouldn't be here if you didn't do that," he added.

"You're right. So are you trying to catch me? Do you think a first-year like you could stop me?" Quirrell sneered. He stopped acting like the timid Quirrell persona he'd built up.

"I... I've already told Professor Dumbledore! He will come and catch you soon!" Brian fumbled with his wand and pretended to be scared. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"My dad has many friends in the Ministry. He will definitely catch you and throw you into Azkaban," Brian said with a haughty look like Draco always did.

Quirrell's nostrils were flaring from anger. He was about to give this obnoxious boy a lesson when he suddenly stopped.

"Ahem… you're from the Fawley family right?" Quirrel smiled stiffly as he slowly put down his wand. "I have no intention of stealing what's inside. I'm just retrieving it for my master."

"Master? Who is it?" Brian asked.

"The Dark Lord," Quirrel said slowly, his voice full of respect.

"That's right, it's the great master, the Dark Lord!" Quirrell's face twisted, and then he said frantically.

"Dark Lord? You're lying!" Brian's shouted in disbelief. "He's already dead!"

"The Dark Lord is not dead!" Quirrell retorted. "He'll be back soon. Right now, he's recovering his strength."

"Really?" Brian's expression changed to one of surprise, fear, and some scepticism as he listened to Quirrell's words.

"Yes! And the treasure inside is crucial for his return. I know you father, Mr. Fawley. He is a loyal supporter of the Dark Lord, but everything he did after the Dark Lord's fall made him very unhappy ." Quirrell threateningly said.

Brian looked terrified at that.

"Of course, you can make up for his mistake, Mr. Fawley." Quirrell said slowly, "As long as you give me a helping hand, I'm sure the Dark Lord will be pleased with you.

The look in Brian's eyes changed, and it seemed as though he had entered a blissful dream.

"Really? The Dark Lord is coming back?" Brian asked in a quiet voice, "What can I do to help?"

"Now, you need to go back first," Quirrell told him. "It takes time to break through the defence that had been set up. Time is running short. I need to go in and check the situation first."

"Alright." Brian gave a nod and walked away, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Wait!" Quirrell suddenly stopped him.

"Is there anything else?" Brian turned to Quirrell.

"Someone is coming." Quirrell pointed his wand at Brian, and ripples flashed from the tip of his wand.

A moment later, a white beam struck him. Brian held up his hands, only to see that they had become transparent. He realised that Professor Quirrell had cast the Disillusionment Charm on him.

Quirrell cast the same spell on himself too. He then opened the door with the unlocking spell and fired a spell at the sleeping Cerberus, causing it to wake up in anger.

Before the three-headed dog could find the offender, a big rope caught around their necks, restraining its movement.

At this time, a black figure appeared on the other side of the corridor. Seeing the door in the forbidden corridor was opened, he rushed over quickly, his robe billowing like a bat behind him. It was Professor Snape.

He looked around vigilantly after entering the room and saw that Cerberus was rushing toward him. He quickly cast a spell, trying to drive it back.

Meanwhile, the hidden Quirrell cast a spell that loosened the rope around Cerberus's neck. Professor Snape sensed something and quickly looked in Quirrell's direction, who stayed still.

After Professor Snape turned back his attention to the Cerberus, Quirrell secretly sighed in relief and hurriedly left the room. It seemed the protection around the Philosopher's Stone was much stronger than expected in his opinion.

Snape felt helpless in the face of the three dog heads' siege now that the Cerberus had been freed in its entirety. The Cerberus is powerful and impenetrable by most spells. Even a powerful stunner hardly penetrated its skin.

Quirrell took hold of Brian's arm and dragged him away from the corridor. Before turning around a corner, Brian took one more glance over his shoulder.

With difficulty, Snape pulled his leg out of the dog's clenched jaws. He managed to push back all three of Cerberus's heads, and shut the door.

Only Snape was left on the spot leaning against the door with his bleeding leg. He hastily raised his wand in front of him and cast the revealing spell. However, Brian and Quirrel were no longer there.

"Ding!"

[Watched Snape stopping Quirrell. +0.5 Point!]

After leading Brian away, Professor Quirrell asked him to go back first.

Brian returned to the Slytherin common room by himself. At this time, the common room was packed with people. Everyone was obviously talking about the troll.

As usual Draco was bragging about his experience hunting a troll with his father. Brian found a place to sit down, and closed his eyes to rest.

Even though he went to see Quirrell tonight, he just did so on a whim. He had never intended to approach Voldemort right now, but the troll incident tonight had caused him to reconsider.

Since he can get points from Harry's side, that means he can also get points from Voldemort's sides too. Not to mention, it was also easier because his father was a Death-Eater.

Sooner or later he would meet the Dark Lord anyway, he might as well start now. It would be easier for him to gain Voldemort's trust now rather than later.