Dementors = Death → (“Tell them I ate [the dementor]” → “Tell them I ate [death]”) — reference to “death eaters”?
I doubt this was unintentional, but if it was indeed a hint, then I’m not sure whether it was intentional only on Eliezer’s part or also on Quirrell’s. If the latter (Quirrellmort made that comment knowingly), then that raises the possibility that he was only pretending to be ignorant of Dementors’ true nature… and if so, then Dumbledore’s apparent lack of a reaction (compared to Harry’s spit-take) suggests either that (1) Dumbledore knows, and Quirrell knows that Dumbledore knows, or (2) Dumbledore just saw it as a not-at-all-suspicious joke, and that Quirrell correctly anticipated that Dumbledore would take it that way.
Dementors = Death → (“Tell them I ate [the dementor]” → “Tell them I ate [death]”) — reference to “death eaters”?
I doubt this was unintentional, but if it was indeed a hint, then I’m not sure whether it was intentional only on Eliezer’s part or also on Quirrell’s. If the latter (Quirrellmort made that comment knowingly), then that raises the possibility that he was only pretending to be ignorant of Dementors’ true nature… and if so, then Dumbledore’s apparent lack of a reaction (compared to Harry’s spit-take) suggests either that (1) Dumbledore knows, and Quirrell knows that Dumbledore knows, or (2) Dumbledore just saw it as a not-at-all-suspicious joke, and that Quirrell correctly anticipated that Dumbledore would take it that way.