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"Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot. Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake."
— The thing behind Quirrell's turban[src]

This turban was used by Professor Quirinus Quirrell to hide the face of Lord Voldemort after the Dark Lord possessed him. He used it after he failed to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Quirrell's story was that an African prince gave him the turban as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. Whether he only made up the turban part or the whole tale is unclear. The turban had an odd smell possibly caused by Voldemort's face and so Fred and George believed that the turban was stuffed full of garlic to ward off vampires.

During winter of the 1991–1992 school year, Fred and George Weasley bewitched several snowballs to follow Quirrell around and bounce off the back of his turban, not realising that by doing so they were hitting Lord Voldemort in the face.

TwoFaces

Quirrell removing the turban

"Mere shadow and vapour. I have form only when I can share another's body, but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds. Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks. You saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the Forest. And once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own"
Lord Voldemort on Quirinus Quirrell's deeds[src]

The turban would have only been used until Voldemort got the Elixir of Life and achieved a body of his own.

Behind the scenes

  • In the film version of Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell was wearing the turban at the Leaky Cauldron pub when he first met Harry Potter. However, in the book he wasn't, as he had not been possessed by Voldemort until after his failed attempt to steal the Stone from Gringotts.

Appearances

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