The Fool in Hogwarts

Quirrell swallowed nervously and continued, "Vampires have many different branches, each with their own habits and ways of surviving.

"Weaker branches cannot withstand sunlight and can only cling to existence in the darkness.

"Stronger branches, however, can endure sunlight. A very small number may even awaken supernatural abilities, such as mind-reading, elemental control, or foresight. Even a single one of those abilities is enough to make them dangerous to wizards."

"Vampires that aren’t afraid of sunlight and possess supernatural abilities?" Hermione looked bewildered. "That isn’t what the books say."

"Hermione, you must have been reading Muggle books," Ron teased. "Only a small part of what Muggle books say about vampires is true."

"M-Mr Weasley is correct.

"To conceal their identities, vampires deliberately create false legends. However, those stories usually borrow elements of the truth, such as their strength, bloodlust, beauty, and immortality..."

"Professor." Hermione raised her hand again. "Were the vampires you encountered the kind that could endure sunlight?"

"N-no. I don’t think so."

"And you still couldn’t defeat them?"

"There were three of them," Quirrell said aggrievedly. "I injured one, but the other two transformed into monsters, creatures with wings, fangs, and claws. If I hadn’t escaped quickly enough, I might have died in that forest."

"You were terribly unlucky, Professor." Draco looked at him sympathetically. "My father told me that wizards and vampires signed a non-aggression agreement. Vampires aren’t allowed to attack wizards, yet three of them surrounded you."

"Mr Malfoy, not all vampires obey the law.

"Besides, that agreement was signed during the Middle Ages between wizards and the Volturi family, who represented vampirekind. More than a thousand years have passed, and many newly created vampires do not even know the agreement exists."

The Volturi family.

Vade frowned slightly. The name felt strangely familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.

"Professor." Vade raised his right hand. "Is the Volturi family very powerful?"

"The Volturi are the royal family of vampirekind, with a history stretching back more than three thousand years.

"They have lived in Italy for centuries, creating laws for vampires and, in a sense, governing the vampire world."

Bloody hell.

Vade cursed inwardly as memories connected to the Volturi surfaced in his mind. Only then did he realise that this world was far more complicated than he had imagined.

Ever since receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, he had been constructing a model of the world based on the fragments of memory in his mind. Now, it seemed that his understanding had been far too narrow. There were still many places and forces beyond the wizarding world that he knew nothing about.

For a moment, his emotions stirred. He felt both curiosity towards something unfamiliar and unease at matters slipping beyond his control.

"So they’re like the Ministry of Magic for vampires?" Hermione asked.

"Y-yes.

"However, the Ministry cannot control every wizard, and the Volturi family cannot control every vampire."

Quirrell patiently answered the students’ questions, then focused on the weaknesses and traits of vampires, as well as how to identify and defend against them.

By the time the bell rang, both Gryffindor and Slytherin had learnt a great deal.

Although Quirrell behaved in an exceptionally timid manner, he was still a capable teacher.

"M-Mr Moria, could you stay behind?" Quirrell asked nervously, stopping Vade as he packed away his books.

Vade’s heart jolted, but he used his Clown abilities to prevent his pupils from contracting.

Why did Quirrell, or rather Voldemort, want to speak to him alone?

Had his identity as The Fool somehow been exposed?

That should not have been possible. He had not revealed the slightest flaw over the past two months. Otherwise, Dumbledore would already have called him in for a private conversation. Voldemort’s remnant soul would never have had the chance to act first.

Besides, even if Voldemort had discovered the truth, he would not raise the matter inside a classroom.

If anything happened to Vade afterwards, Quirrell would immediately become the prime suspect. He would be fortunate to avoid Azkaban, never mind stealing the Philosopher’s Stone.

With that thought, Vade relaxed slightly.

"Is something the matter, Professor Quirrell?"

"Well..." Quirrell hesitated. "Could we speak in my office? It’s something rather... rather personal."

"Of course."

A smile flashed across Quirrell’s face, and he happily led the way.

Vade casually finished arranging his books while secretly taking out a copper Knut and using it to divine whether the meeting would be dangerous.

The result indicated that there was no danger.

The improvised divination was extremely crude, and the result might not be especially reliable, but it still gave him considerable reassurance.

The two entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor’s office. Quirrell locked the door behind them, looking remarkably guilty.

"Mr Moria, you... you are a Seer, correct?"

Vade immediately understood Quirrell’s purpose.

Quirrell had only brought him here to perform a divination. He did not suspect that Vade was The Fool.

"Yes, Professor.

"I was interested in divination even before coming to Hogwarts. I may have been born with a talent for it, because I managed to learn many different techniques."

"That’s good." Quirrell rubbed his hands awkwardly, looking as though he wanted to say something but could not find the words. "I would like you to perform a divination for me and help me locate something."

"No problem. What are you looking for?"

"I... I don’t know." Quirrell wiped at his eyes pitifully. "That day, I went to Hogsmeade and had several drinks. I returned to the castle drunk and somehow wandered into that room on the fourth floor."

"The fourth floor?" Vade allowed surprise to appear on his face at precisely the right moment. "Isn’t that the forbidden area Headmaster Dumbledore warned us about?"

At the same time, he complained furiously inwardly.

Quirrell had certainly chosen an unorthodox method. Did he want to use divination to determine the location of the Philosopher’s Stone, or was he trying to learn about the traps protecting it?

"That is exactly why I don’t dare tell Headmaster Dumbledore," Quirrell said tearfully. "What if he punishes me?"

"But that object is extremely important to me. It was given to me by a prince, who told me to open it only when I was in desperate need of help.

"Yet I lost it. Mr Moria, surely you can understand how I feel?"

"I understand completely." Vade nodded sympathetically.

Quirrell’s story was extraordinarily crude and riddled with flaws.

However, Quirrell was known as a timid man who had been traumatised by vampires and left emotionally unstable. That persona was quite effective at concealing the holes in his story.

"So I would like you to divine the object’s location and determine whether it is still on the fourth floor.

"Whether or not you succeed, I... I will be deeply grateful."

"And I hope... I hope you will keep this matter strictly confidential."

(To be continued.)