But, in this case, the bonder is another Quirrell picked from this all-Quirrel community, right?
Of course, if we allow the ritual to depend on the completion of other rituals, then the problem is moot.
It strikes me that this conversation really hinges on just how evil HPMOR’s Quirrell turns out to be, which is problematic since you know a few chapters more plot than I do...
(Also, since I find myself having a conversation with you, might I say that I very much like HPMOR, and that I would like it even more if you were to amend chapter 19 so that Quirrell didn’t perpetuate one or two myths about martial arts, a subject on which I focus a certain amount of my own nerdly attentions? I posted a review under “James”, but the short version is that (1) martial arts aren’t particularly Asian, and (2) “I’m a sixth dan” means no more than “I once got a B- in a class whose subject I won’t divulge except to say that it was ‘Math’.”)
Is this just a “screw you”?
How about: Terence was telling a polite white lie of the sort he probably often tells. Politeness is an easier guess than “poor metacognition”.