Quirinus Quirrell Commands Harry to Look into the Mirror of Erised

PAGES: 291-293

Quirinus Quirrell forces Harry to look into the Mirror of Erised to help find the Sorcerer's Stone. To Harry's surprise, his reflection shows him finding the Stone, and at that moment, the Stone mysteriously appears in his pocket. Harry lies to Quirinus Quirrell about what he saw in the mirror, pretending to have won the House Cup.

Quirrell cursed under his breath.

“I don’t understand… is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?”

Harry’s mind was racing.

What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myseff finding it—which means I’ll see where it’s hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I’m up to?

He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself.

[PAGE 292]

“What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!”

And to Harry’s horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

“Use the boy… Use the boy…”

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

“Yes—Potter—come here.”

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

“Come here,” Quirrell repeated. “Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.”

Harry walked toward him.

I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that’s all.

Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell’s turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

He saw his reflection, pale and scared looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket—and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow—incredibly—he’d gotten the Stone.

“Well?” said Quirrell impatiently. “What do you see?”

Harry screwed up his courage.

“I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore,” he invented. “I—I’ve won the house cup for Gryffindor.”

Quirrell cursed again.

[PAGE 293]

“Get out of the way,” he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer’s Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it?

But he hadn’t walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn’t moving his lips.

“He lies… He lies…”

“Potter, come back here!” Quirrell shouted. “Tell me the truth! What did you just see?”