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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Chapter 17 - The Man with Two Faces
Harry is shocked to see Quirrell standing in the final chamber. After several ropes bind his body, preventing all movement, Quirrell explains that it is he, not Snape, who tried to kill him, let out the troll in the school, and who is trying to steal the Stone. Snape is an easy scapegoat, as he made himself quite unpopular with all his suspicious antics. The Mirror of Erised is inside the chamber and Quirrell claims through it is the only way to find the stone. Harry tries to keep Quirrell from concentrating on the mirror. Quirrell informs Harry that Snape does in fact hate Harry, for he studied at Hogwarts with Harry's father; however, he does not wish him dead. Harry also inquires about the threat that he thought he heard from a sobbing Quirrell. Quirrell claims that it is sometimes difficult to follow his master's instructions, for he is a great wizard, and he was there with Quirrell that day in the classroom.
"'He is with me wherever I go,' said Quirrell quietly. 'I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it...Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me.' Quirrell shivered suddenly. 'He does not forgive mistakes easily. 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.'" Chapter 17, pg. 211
Topic Tracking: Hopes and Desires 7
Topic Tracking: Good vs. Evil 10
As Harry listens to Quirrell, he remembers when he met him in Diagon Alley and is angry with himself for not seeing the truth then. Quirrell looks at the mirror, desperate to learn how to use it to find the stone. He speaks to his master, begging for help. A voice from within Quirrell speaks loudly, telling him to use Harry to get to it. The ropes fall away from Harry and he walks in front of the mirror. He wishes to find the stone first so that he may save everyone. He tells Quirrell that he sees himself shaking hands with Dumbledore after winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. He then truly sees himself winking and then feeling the stone drop into his actual pocket. He walks away, trying to escape, once he knows what he holds. However, the high pitched voice continues to harass Quirrell to kill Harry, for he knows that Harry has the stone. Harry cannot believe that he knows this and wants to speak to Voldemort face to face. Quirrell unwraps his turban to reveal a ghastly site of a gray, ugly, flattened face on top of Quirrell's. Voldemort is weak and must use other bodies for his own life. He is sustained on Unicorn blood until he can get the stone and Elixir of Life, which will make him his own body.
"'See what I have become?' the face said. 'Mere shadow and vapour...I have form only when I can share another's body...but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds...Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks...you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest...and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own...Now...why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"' Chapter 17, pg. 213
Voldemort continues to harass Harry, by taunting him about his parent's deaths and how he will die, as well. Quirrell attacks Harry, strangling him, meanwhile causing Harry's scar the most excruciating pain imaginable. Although Harry's head seems to be splitting in two, Quirrell's hands seem to be burning in just as much pain. After Harry hits Quirrell's face and he winces in pain, Harry realizes that he cannot touch him without feeling pain. So, Harry grabs hold of Quirrell and holds onto him as tight as possible, all-the-while hearing Voldemort screaming to kill him. He falls into blackness.
Topic Tracking: Good vs. Evil 11
When he awakens, he sees Dumbledore over him, hoping for his recovery. He looks around and realizes that he is in the hospital and that everything has passed. Dumbledore had received the message and found Harry in just enough time to pull Quirrell off of him. However, he feared that Harry was dead, due to the pain and injury. Everyone in the school knows what transpired and everyone is cheering for him, especially Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore informs Harry that the Stone has been destroyed. Harry worries about Nicholas Flamel, for he realizes that with the Stone destroyed, he will die. Dumbledore explains that Flamel and his wife have lived a long life and are ready to go.
"'To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them.'" Chapter 17, pg. 215
Dumbledore continues to explain that Voldemort is not dead, although he left his host, Quirrell, to die. As he is not living, he cannot be killed, but currently cannot cause harm. He will continue to try and come back, and Harry successfully delayed that catastrophe. Harry continues to ask questions and Dumbledore responds with only the truth - for it is a beautiful and terrible thing - and something that Harry may only know when he is ready and older. Harry does wonder why his mother was killed trying to save Harry and why Quirrell winced in pain when he touched him.
"'Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leave its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.'" Chapter 17, pg. 216
Dumbledore informs Harry that he continued to bring Harry his father's Invisibility Cloak, so that he may have some fun with it, just like his father did in years past. He continues to answer questions concerning Snape and the Stone. Snape and Harry's father were rivals (similar to Malfoy and Harry), and after saving Snape's life, he felt forever indebted to a dead man. He worked very hard protecting Harry during the year so that he could pay back his debt to Harry's father, and hate his memory in peace. Finally, Dumbledore explains how Harry got the stone in his pocket. Only someone who wanted to find the stone and not use it, would actually be able to find it. If not, then they would look into the mirror and see gold or the Elixir Of Life - not the stone. He tells Harry to start eating all of his candy and leaves.
Topic Tracking: Hopes and Desires 8
Madame Pomfrey, the nurse on duty, allows Ron and Hermione to visit Harry briefly, as they have been worried about their friend for days. Harry retells his story about the mirror and the turban and the stone, and of Dumbledore's advice. Ron informs Harry that Slytherin won the last Quidditch match and the cup, but the end of the year feast is the following day and should be fun nonetheless.
Hagrid is the next to visit Harry in the hospital. He apologizes profusely for telling Quirrell about Fluffy and feels responsible for Harry's near death experience. Harry calms him down, offers him a Chocolate Frog, and opens Hagrid's get-well present: a leather-covered book of wizard photographs, all smiling back at him.
Harry ventures to the Great Hall for the feast alone, causing a hush over the entire crowd when he enters. Slytherin celebrates their victory until Dumbledore announces some changes and additions. He awards fifty points to Ron for excellence in chess, fifty to Hermione for excellence in the purple fires, and sixty to Harry for bravery and courage in the face of danger. Gryffindor is now tied with Slytherin. Then, he gives ten small points to Neville for standing up against others - his only points ever earned and the few that pushed Gryffindor into the winner's circle. All three houses erupt in cheers, for Gryffindor had taken the championship away from Slytherin in a long awaited victory. It is the best evening of Harry's life.
Topic Tracking: Good vs. Evil 12
As everyone departs for the summer vacations, they bid each other goodbye and make plans to visit. The train departs Hogwarts and enters at King's Cross Station. Harry thanks Mrs. Weasley for the jumper and fudge, while Ron's little sister is mesmerized by his presence. Surprisingly Uncle Vernon appears at the station prepared to take Harry back to his miserable home, still embarrassed and outraged at such freakish magic. Harry looks forward to going home for the first time, for the Dursley's don't know that he is not supposed to use magic over the vacation. He plans to have a lot of fun with Dudley while living at 4 Privet Drive.
