Quinn found it disturbing as he saw the scowl and her eyes starting to twitch at his name. "He's upstairs regretting what he has done. Is it urgent?" She looked at him wearily and took in his appearance. Quinn was glad he wasn't wearing a robe or anything else which would connect him to wizardry. He had a feeling she would throw him out if he did. "I'm afraid it is. Mind if I go up and see him?"
She sighed. "Hold on here for a second." She ran upstairs and Quinn could hear the click of a lock being unlocked before she returned downstairs. "Alright, go up there. Will you be long?"
Quinn nodded. "Sadly I will probably be here for a while. I do hope I'm not a disturbance. If I am, I hope you'll let me make it up to you." He gave her a wink and as he walked up the stairs, she stood there completely stumped.
Quinn walked up to the room he figured Harry was in, since it seemed to have held a padlock on the outside until just recently. The marks and loops were still there. He knocked on the door and soon heard a small voice call out "Come in!"
As he opened the door he was confused to see a very empty room except for a bed, bedside table and desk. The downstairs were very furnished with decorations galore, why was this room so empty? Was it Harry's choice? He was brought out of his thoughts by the look of terror Harry gave him. "P-proffessor Qui-Quirrell?!" How Ironic for the boy to be stuttering now..
Quinn shook his head. "Didn't you read my letter?" And then he saw a large bundle of letters lying on the bedside table unopened. He looked back at the boy and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. A house-elf has been stealing my mail. Only got them back yesterday."
Since Harry looked so apologetic and sorrowful he decided to walk over to him. "Mind if I sit down next to you?" He gestured for a seat on the bed. Harry shook his head and Quinn sat down.
"I'd like to start by saying Happy belated Birthday. I wanted to take you out to Diagon alley and find you something nice, but I have to figure out how to get past your aunt first" He smiled at the boy who seemed a bit happier at the mention of his birthday. "Thank you Mr…"
"Ah, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Quinn Quirrel. Brother of Quirinus and this year's male prefect for the fifth year Ravenclaws." He offered Harry his hand to shake. Harry did so but the look in his eyes only showed dismay "I want to thank you for saving Quirinus. Nobody should suffer such a fate and you set him free. For that, I will always be grateful."
This seemed to surprise the boy greatly. He had obviously been feeling terrible about ending a life, but now hearing the victim's brother thank him was quite something. "I didn't-"
Quinn interrupted. "Oh but you did. You went down there and saved the day, and saved Quirinus along the way. If you are ever in need of anything, ANYTHING, just contact me. I'll help you with all I can. Alright?" He seemed to want to refuse but Quinn's insistent eyes seemed to convince him to accept. "Good to know. Might take you up on that if I'm ever in trouble again..if you're a prefect and all."
Harry smiled at him and Quinn slapped his back gently. "That's the spirit! Now I do have another, more important thing to say. What do you know about your parents, really, Harry?"
Harry looked down at the floor and twiddled his thumbs. "I..I don't really know anything. People don't like to talk about it." Quinn put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sad to hear that. You should probably have a chat with Mcgonagall and Flitwick about them. I don't have much first hand experience as you probably understand but I've heard they were brilliant." Harry's eyes lit up and a small smile spread across his face. "Your mother was a true talent from what I understand and I did hear a bit about your father from my brother. He was a few years his junior but everyone knew of 'the marauders'."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Your father had a tight group of friends. This is very connected to the important thing I have to tell you." Harry gave a slow nod of understanding. "They were four boys. James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and..Sirius Black. They were known for being up to no good and pranking the student body, as well as their teachers." Harry listened intently.
"The four were as close as brothers, some said, but none were as close as James and Sirius. The two were inseparable! I've heard they even found a way to keep in touch while in detention." Now Harry thought of something and he looked down at the floor. "And yet none of them have ever visited me.."
Quinn now put an arm around his shoulder. "Those were hard times Harry..I don't know much about Lupin except that he disappeared right after Halloween 1981. Pettigrew was believed to have died about a week later and...it was believed that Sirius Black was the one who killed him." Harry raised his eyebrow and met Quinn's gaze. "Believed?"
Quinn nodded. "That's the important part. For eleven years Sirius Black has been in the foulest prison imaginable. Many compare it to hell itself. He was put there because people thought he betrayed the Potters and murdered 13 people...We now have evidence that says otherwise." Harry looked deep in thought.
"The man was wrongfully imprisoned and do you know what he wanted to hear about when we talked to him? Do you know what his request was when he found out he was going to get a trial?" Hesitantly Harry shook his head. "He wanted to know how you are. He wanted to know what your life has been like. He wanted to know that you turned out alright. And finally he requested that we ask you to turn up for his trial." Before Harry could answer at all, Quinn followed up with. "Let me tell you Harry. He was chosen by your parents to be your godfather and that man loves you. At the first mention of your name he suddenly looked ten years younger and his eyes glimmered with hope and love. I hope you find it in your heart to give him a chance."
Harry was stunned. Quinn didn't know exactly why, but he couldn't have guessed it was because Harry never thought someone actually could love him. He looked up at Quinn with determination as if just deciding on something very important. "Can I talk to him before the trial?" A smile grew on Quinn's face and he stood up quickly.
"I'll try to make it happen, in fact…" He looked towards the window and was shocked to find bars on it. What kind of a mad man puts bars on a kid's windows?! What kind of a household have they put Harry in?! "If we can find a way to sneak past your Aunt then I might be able to get you two a meeting this afternoon."