"Headmaster Dumbledore...you...you wanted to see me?" Quirrell, sweating profusely, nervously entered the headmaster's office.
"Quirinus, there's no need to be so tense," Dumbledore said, handing him a cup of hot tea. "Have you been under too much pressure lately?"
"No...no...everything's fine." Quirrell slumped in his seat like a puppet, his limbs stiff, and he looked very reserved.
"Hmm." Dumbledore took a sip of tea, frowned, and added several sugar cubes. "The school hasn't been very peaceful lately, I think you know that, right?"
"What?" Quirrell's body stiffened even more, like a statue. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I… I don't know."
Dumbledore got straight to the point: "I have a friend who asked me to keep an item for him temporarily. It's quite valuable, so I specifically arranged for it to be kept in that restricted area on the third-floor corridor."
"So...so that's how it is?" Quirrell forced a smile. "I...this is the first time I've ever heard of this."
"Someone is after that item." Dumbledore's eyes gleamed intently. "Quirinus, I need your help."
"Me...me?" Quirrell seemed startled, his body remaining motionless. "Am I...do I have this honor?"
"Of course!" Dumbledore smiled slightly. "It is precisely because I trust you that I have agreed to your transfer request. Before November, I would like you to provide a protective measure. Can you do that?"
Quirrell let out two hysterical laughs. "Of course...no problem! I'll try my best!"
"Perfect! The old you probably would have refused me." Dumbledore said, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Did Vizette go to see you at noon?"
"Yes! He's talented, and I… I provided him with some reference books." Quirrell was caught off guard and nodded hastily. "Headmaster Dumbledore, you also… you care about him a lot?"
Dumbledore took a small sip of tea. "He was a poor boy. You probably didn't know he was an Obscurial because you weren't in England during the summer."
"The situation was dire; he was possessed by an Obscurus, and the British Ministry of Magic nearly destroyed him. He recovered on his own, though his body was covered in wounds..."
"As the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, you should be quite experienced in dealing with dark magic." He observed Quirrell's expression. "Don't let dark magic corrupt him again, okay?"
"I…" Quirrell's eyes flickered, but finally hardened with unwavering determination. "I will! I definitely will!"
"Hmm." Dumbledore gave a barely perceptible smile. "I look forward to hearing good news from you before Halloween!"
...
Back in his office, Quirrell told Voldemort the news.
"The guards there are indeed formidable!" Voldemort analyzed. "That wall itself is problematic; you can't use magic to peer through it. You'll have to open the door and confirm it yourself, understand?"
"Since Dumbledore has even asked you to help... Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick will probably get involved as well. You need to make more thorough preparations."
Quirrell tentatively asked, "Master, I'm very good at dealing with trolls. Can I use that as a protective measure?"
"On Halloween night, I brought the troll into the school and pretended to imprison it. An accident happened, and the troll escaped and caused a riot."
"Good idea," Voldemort said, praising him for once. "Let the Obscurial be used as bait to trigger the Obscurus within him..."
"Master!" Quirrell's voice suddenly became firm. "Dumbledore and I were just talking about Vizette… He values Vizette highly… so I don't think we can use him as bait."
"It doesn't hurt to be cautious," Voldemort replied calmly. "I'll reward you with an ancient spell; use it to create an accident!"
He began to teach the magic, his voice becoming increasingly seductive, until Quirrell fainted again.
In the darkness, his eyes glowed with a bewitching red light. "Quirrell... you really want to be a professor who cares about his students? What a pity!"
"Fine! The Obscurus's potential still needs to be developed." His voice was full of mockery. "Anyway, you risked your life, so of course I don't care!"
-------------------------------------
Learning and practicing always made Vizette feel like there wasn't enough time.
Before he knew it, the weekend arrived, and he went to Quirrell's office as agreed.
The fishy smell was still strong, and the gloomy atmosphere remained the same.
The only one who had changed was Quirrell; his face was no longer as pale as before, and he wore a warm smile.
In addition to the books recommended by Quirrell, Vizette also found some other books, hoping to combine them to deduce the composition of the Sickly Curse.
Quirrell, seeing the spell in the notebook, asked in surprise, "Did you create this spell yourself? Have you tried casting it?"
Vizette said apologetically, "I don't know how to try... After all, it's a curse, and it's dangerous."
Although he was open-minded about black magic, he also understood the dangers of this type of magic and did not try it rashly.
"Let's give it a try!" Quirrell waved towards the corner.
The linen covering the iron cage had fallen to the ground. The cage was full of dormant Runespoor, which were also the source of the fishy smell in the office.
A Runespoor slowly flew towards the two of them. Quirrell said gently, "Practice is often the most effective way to master magic. Recite your combined spell to it!"
Vizette drew his wand and whispered, "Entangled Illness!"
The Runespoor seemed to be stimulated, constantly writhing its body, and some mucus and scales fell off.
Quirrell nodded and said with a smile, "The general direction of the spell is correct. Both the Peeling Curse and the Pus Curse are effective."
Vizette was somewhat disappointed. "Of the three symptoms—severe diarrhea, persistent high fever, and skin ulceration—it seems I only managed to complete the last one."
"You can't say that," Quirrell chuckled. "What you're describing are effects that only curses can produce!"
"To have achieved this much is enough to demonstrate your talent. In some situations, I'd rather not face your magic."
Vizette realized what was happening and immediately replied, "Is it because my spell is new? That makes it more difficult to break?"
"That's right!" Quirrell smiled with satisfaction. "As long as you don't encounter an Auror or an even more powerful wizard. After all, the principle of this magic is based on the Sickly Curse, so it's quite easy to solve…"
He reached out and grabbed the snake's head, and with a slight twitch of his lips, he returned the snake to its original position, where it stopped struggling.
"First, we need to learn the incantation for the Sickly Curse—'Deathly Torment,' and then correct your pronunciation..."
...
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