I’m surprised. Why does he want Harry to show him his books? He could have read those books without Harry’s help. Is he afraid that if he studied muggle science without a guide, he’d be at too great a risk of accidentally destroying the world? Or is he hoping that Harry will tip his hand regarding the power Voldemort knows not?
Edit: it’s also possible this is a fake out and just one more step in the process of manipulating Harry into something.
Quirrell wants to know what Harry’s plans are. The books Harry is reading and/or familiar with help Quirrell understand what Harry is thinking or likely to try.
I think he just wants to keep himself in the loop. (Which is probably the same reason he offered to teach him any spell he can.)
If he refuses to help, Harry will just do everything in secret, which is dangerous. Quirell probably reasons that his best chance of exerting influence is to be near, preferably a part of, Harry’s plans.
On Voldemort’s plan:
I’m surprised. Why does he want Harry to show him his books? He could have read those books without Harry’s help. Is he afraid that if he studied muggle science without a guide, he’d be at too great a risk of accidentally destroying the world? Or is he hoping that Harry will tip his hand regarding the power Voldemort knows not?
Edit: it’s also possible this is a fake out and just one more step in the process of manipulating Harry into something.
Quirrell wants to know what Harry’s plans are. The books Harry is reading and/or familiar with help Quirrell understand what Harry is thinking or likely to try.
He might be afraid that he’d waste a lot of time if he doesn’t have a guide to at least point him at the good stuff.
Also, brilliant he may be, but there’s a limit to how fast you can learn without a teacher.
Remember that story about the dojo? Quirrell isn’t too proud to learn.
Or rather, he simply want to know what Harry knows so he can produce an even better model of Harry and improve his influence over him.
Ah. True. He may have been studying muggle science for awhile, but suspects Harry can direct him to things whose importance he hadn’t realized.
I think he just wants to keep himself in the loop. (Which is probably the same reason he offered to teach him any spell he can.)
If he refuses to help, Harry will just do everything in secret, which is dangerous. Quirell probably reasons that his best chance of exerting influence is to be near, preferably a part of, Harry’s plans.