The enchantment may well be seeing that as sufficient 'use' of the Stone to prevent liberating it. Yes, Quirrell's deepest desire may be to give the Stone to his Master, but at the same time, his intent is to use it to get Voldemort off his head and out of his mind. It is also possible that the enchantment is working on a slightly different level than the mirror. That does assume that Quirrell understands the nature of the Mirror of Erised, something that is by no means certain вЂ“ he does ask, at one point, what is the nature of the mirror. Alternately, and more likely given the individuals involved, Quirrell could have simply been lying about not having any desire to use the Stone himself, and thus lying about what he saw in the Mirror. One is that, as Voldemort was at that point riding the back of Quirrell's head, and was in some manner sharing life force with Quirrell, the enchantment might not have been able to distinguish Quirrell from Voldemort, and Voldemort certainly wanted to use the Stone.

Two possibilities appear to account for its failure to release the Stone. Professor Quirrell says that he sees himself holding the Stone and presenting it to his Master by the letter of the enchantment, the Mirror should have surrendered the Stone to him as he was not planning to use it himself, only to give it to Voldemort. One must wonder somewhat about the nature of the enchantment protecting the Stone. It is possible that Harry has been exposed to so much in the way of apparently nonsensical text, with the spell incantations and other writings being often almost nonsense words, that he no longer automatically tries to decipher writings that he does not immediately understand. Why Harry does not do so is uncertain, as he is clearly aware of it. Thus, the inscription does describe exactly what it does, and many readers, seeing what is clearly reversed text, have deciphered the text quickly. I show not your face, but your heart's desire Which, by changing the spacing and punctuation, reveals: Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire The inscription over the mirror, when reversed, reads: In the final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry thinks back to the Mirror of Erised, and wonders again about his question to Dumbledore: was Dumbledore entirely truthful when he told Harry what he saw in the Mirror? Could it be that Dumbledore, like Harry, saw his family standing behind him? The only person who could retrieve the Stone would be one who dearly wanted the Stone but did not want to use it. Dumbledore says that he was rather proud of the enchantment that placed the Stone within the mirror. Later, recovering in the Hospital Wing, he speaks with Professor Dumbledore concerning the mirror. As he sees this, the stone itself appears in his pocket. This time, Harry, forced to look into it, sees himself with the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket. In the final chamber under the trap door, Harry finds the mirror once again.

Later, Harry thinks to himself that this had been an awfully intrusive question.

He goes on to explain that he always seems to be given books as gifts, and never has enough socks. Harry impulsively asks Dumbledore what he sees in the mirror, and Dumbledore replies that he sees himself holding a pair of warm, woolly socks. Dumbledore goes on to say that he will now move the mirror to a new hiding place, and asks Harry to not go looking for it. Dumbledore tells Harry that the mirror is very dangerous, that people have starved to death sitting in front of it, but that he is glad Harry found it and so now somewhat understands its power. Harry revisits the Mirror several times during Christmas vacation, until he is surprised there one night by Professor Dumbledore. Harry then brings Ron to the mirror to show Ron his family Ron, instead, sees himself as Head Boy holding the Quidditch cup. In the Mirror, he sees himself and his father and mother, standing behind him, and all his extended family behind them. Harry stumbles upon this mirror when, attempting to evade capture by Filch and Snape after starting a book screaming in the Restricted section of the library, Harry retreats through an open door. Beginner warning: Details follow which you may not wish to read at your current level.

Heroic magic mirror