I nearly dropped my wand in shock. "Quirrel? You were possessing Quirrel?"
"Yes," he said.
"But Quirrel was a horrible Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Why didn't you help him?"
"Why would I train Dumbledore's future soldiers? If he wants me to do that, he'll have to hire me, like all the other professors…After Quirrel's death, I wandered the Forbidden Forest, again without a clear plan. Yet, one day, I saw something that inspired me to take action."
"Was it a unicorn?" I asked.
"No, it was a grim. It raced through the forest as if in fear of its life. Suddenly, I remembered that I didn't become immortal so that I could spend an eternity as a wraith. I became immortal because…actually, I don't recall why."
I do. It was the only way I could survive Hogwarts long enough to graduate. Then I found out that seven was a magical number, and, by the time I got over my Arithmancy phase, I'd already made four and it seemed stupid to stop there.
He continued, "Regardless, I realized that it was pointless to wait for followers who would never come. I would simply have to find one so spineless that I could intimidate him while I had neither a body nor any magical power."
"So you went to Malfoy," I murmured, nodding. It was all beginning to make sense.
He snorted. "I presume you've dealt with him before?"
"The younger one, mostly," I said.
"Yes, the clone. He was very helpful in keeping me in touch with my spy at Hogwarts…in order to arrange our meeting here today."
Curse Severus and his unwavering loyalty.