Help Is Only So Far Away

Part 5

Despite taking extra precautions, it felt like someone was watching him. Quirrell couldn't really describe the feeling but he couldn't shake it. It made him more paranoid, checking behind him everywhere he went. He knew he couldn't go back to the Wizarding World. During his first day out of Azkaban, he had run into a wizard, who frankly didn't take his freedom very well. Quirrell now had fresh bruises on his arms and back. It took him a while to think of a place but he suddenly remembered that his parents lived in a muggle-filled village, with no wizards or witches apart from his mum.

It took a while for Quirrell to get to the muggle town, at which point he had been out of Azkaban for a few days, but when he did, he felt so relieved. This was where he had grown up. This town, this street, this house! The beautiful yellow house with flowers overflowing the garden, bursting with sweet scents and bright colours. It had a stone path leading up to the wooden front door. It was quite small, but it was home to Quirrell. He smiled up at the house before walking up the path. He knocked.

"Coming!" His mum's voice rang out, muffled by the door but loud enough for him to hear. He waited patiently for her to get keys and to unlock it. This was it! The door opened.

"Quirinus!" His mum paled at the sight of him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside quickly, after looking around outside. "Why the hell did you break out?! I am calling the Ministry right away!"

"N-no, Mum, w-wait! I'm i-innocent, they s-set me free!" Quirrell knew that it wasn't going to be in the Daily Prophet until tomorrow. He had only been released a few days ago. She seemed to stare up at him as if he were a brand new person whom she had never met, as if she hadn't raised him since birth.

"So you didn't help You-Know-Who raise to power? You didn't kill that boy?" She was doing what can only be called peering warily. At this point, Quirrell's dad had heard all the commotion and had walked in.

"Quirinus?" Quirrell nodded at him, then turned to his mother.

"Yes a-and no. It's c-complicated!" He said, begging her to understand and not question him about it all. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about everything that had happened to him.

"What do you mean yes and no?! It's a simple question!"

"I g-guess I technically d-did both, but I was partly p-possessed, partly forced into k-killing..." He couldn't say the name. "...That boy, b-but you don't understand-"

His mother started wailing and the short woman threw herself into her husband's chest. Instinctively, his arms went around her, as if protecting her from some kind of danger, but Quirrell was the only one there.

"Please, you h-have to understand, V-Voldemort-"

A loud shriek came from his mother. His father looked at him with no emotion. He leant down and whispered something in her ear. She reluctantly pulled out of his embrace and scurried upstairs. His father watched her retreating figure before turning back to him.

"Look, Quirinus. I know you probably have an excuse for everything that you did, but you see, this is difficult on me and your mother. After we found out what happened, we couldn't believe it. We couldn't believe that our kind, caring goodhearted son would help HIM! You were helping the most evil man in all of Wizarding history. A monster! You had become a murderer! He was a child, Quirinus! A little boy!! We had to........understand that that was who you had become, accept it. There was nothing else we could do. You were no longer a part of this family. It was especially hard on your mother, but I suffered also. Our son had become this despicable, twisted man......but maybe we were wrong. Maybe we can fix.....this. Maybe we can't, but one thing I know is that we cannot have you here in our house. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now and not come back."

Quirrell looked up at the man he had respected, idolised, loved his whole life, eyes blank and face emotionless. Quirrell could see the hurt, the betrayal, the anger and the hatred. All towards him. He had spent months in Azkaban being tortured, when he was finally released, they couldn't.........what? Accept him? Look after him? Listen to his explanation? Be parents anymore?!

"You know w-what, fine! You can h-hide in here your whole l-lives, but that isn't going to change the f-fact that I am your son! That I am part of this family and just b-because you cannot accept it, doesn't mean it's not true. So I helped raise the D-Dark Lord! Well, you know what, HE WAS MY FRIEND!! THE ONLY FRIEND I HAVE EVER TRULY HAD!! AND I WAS BETRAYED!!! THROWN AWAY!!! I HAD TO GO THROUGH TORTURE EVERY GODDAMN DAY!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT WAS LIKE? NO OF COURSE NOT!!! I AM FINALLY FREE AND I COME TO YOU, MY FAMILY, MY PARENTS TO BE HELPED, BELIEVED, PROTECTED!! BUT NO!!! YOU TWO ARE TWISTED AND SICK!!! YOU ARE THE WORST PARENTS THERE COULD EVER BE!!!" A look of horror had overcome his father's face and Quirrell was.....well angry! He started to walk out but just before he opened the door, he turned around. "I w-wish Voldemort wasn't d-dead.....DID YOU HEAR THAT, MUM? I WISH VOLDEMORT WASN'T DEAD!!" Then he stormed out and slammed the door.

He stood there for a second and then it disappeared, just like that. That bubble of anger and hate just popped. He sat down on the small step up to the door and cried. Good, he had done so much crying over the past few months that he had half expected to be unable to cry, empty of tears, but here he was. After a few minutes, he heard the door lock and the chain be pulled across. He was officially locked out.

He sat there for another hour or so, before deciding he needed to move. He couldn't just sit here forever.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Voldemort had watched from a small alley, the messy situation that was Quirrell trying to go home. He hated to see the mess that Quirrell was in because of him. It was awful. He could hear the yelling from inside the house as he stood outside. He considered leaving now so that he was out of Quirrell's life forever. He considered just randomly levitating a suitcase to him filled with galleons and a note to say they were for Quirrell. His mind was racing through his options when he heard the last sentence Quirrell shouted before he left and that changed his mind.

"I WISH VOLDEMORT WASN'T DEAD!!"

Voldemort stood shocked. A warm eruption in his chest at Quirrell's words made him feel like he was soaring. After everything, everything Voldemort had done, Quirrell wanted him there. That wasn't forgiveness but it was good. He heard the door slam and quickly hid behind the wall so as not to be spotted. He was smiling. God, he felt so happy that he wanted to dance and run up and hug Quirrell but he couldn't do anything whilst he was right outside his parents' house. No, that would be awful and certainly cause trouble for everyone. What else could he do though? There were so many options and he would make sure to pick the right one. Everything had to go right for this. He had to do it right for a chance at forgiveness.