Chapter 391: Fat Walrus
Chapter 391: Fat Walrus
Sherlock, of course, could see through Slughorn’s thoughts, but he didn’t point it out. Instead, he introduced Vera smoothly.
“This is Vera Silke, the current Arithmetic Divination teacher at Hogwarts. She’s a very good friend of mine.”
He hesitated slightly as he said the last part.
Their relationship was far more complicated than just friends, but he had never formally called her his girlfriend, and she had never agreed to it either.
Since the end of the Triwizard Tournament, their relationship had grown increasingly subtle, yet it felt as natural as if nothing had changed between them.
As Sherlock spoke about his relationship with Silke, he was also pondering internally.
They couldn’t continue like this, without a clear definition. As a man, he couldn’t let Silke take the initiative in this matter.
Since the day he severed ties at the gravesite, he had put aside all his reservations, and now he had no reason to hesitate.
Although Sherlock didn’t explicitly state it, Slughorn was no fool. On the contrary, he was quite astute and clearly picked up on the underlying meaning.
His gaze toward Silke immediately changed.
It was as if a father was meeting his son’s girlfriend for the first time, and his demeanor became much more enthusiastic and nervous.
“Miss Silke, may I call you Vera?”
Silke, who was usually calm and unflappable, now had a slight blush on her face, clearly flustered.
She nodded lightly.
“Yes, Mr. Slughorn.”
The tea and water on the table were no longer sufficient to satisfy Slughorn’s hospitality. He hurriedly got up and rummaged through the kitchen for a while, eventually finding some Muggle candies to serve as snacks for the two young people.
“You should have let me know you were coming, Sherlock. I have nothing prepared, so I can only offer you these.”
While complaining, Slughorn refilled Silke’s teacup and gestured for her to feel at home.
Sherlock remained silent.
If he had really called ahead, the Fat Walrus would have packed up and fled long before they arrived.
Their relationship was close, but Slughorn’s cowardice was genuine, and he would have run away to avoid any confrontation.
The conversation naturally centered around Silke. Slughorn had fully taken on the role of a proud parent, inquiring about Silke’s family, work experience, and how she and Sherlock had met.
After discussing these topics, he steered the conversation back to Hogwarts.
He showed no interest in the current state of the Magic World, instead regaling them with amusing stories about his time teaching at the Castle.
The Fat Walrus was undoubtedly a skilled conversationalist, and his storytelling was engaging and vivid. Sherlock and Silke spent the entire afternoon there without feeling bored.
It wasn’t until the evening, when the sun had dipped to the horizon and the sky was painted with vibrant hues of sunset, that Slughorn seemed to realize the time.
“It’s already this late,” he said, looking at the clock in surprise. “I got so caught up in our conversation that I lost track of time. I’m sorry, Sherlock. Although I’d love to invite you and Vera to stay for dinner, I’ve only just moved in and haven’t prepared anything, so I won’t keep you.”
Slughorn shook his head regretfully.
But Sherlock remained seated in the chair, smiling at him with no intention of getting up.
Seeing Sherlock’s lack of response, the Fat Walrus felt a bit awkward. Sherlock didn’t want to make things more difficult for him, so he fished into his pocket, pulled out a few pounds, and turned to Silke.
“Could you help us go to the village to buy some food and a few bottles of wine? I want to have a few drinks with Professor Slughorn tonight.”
Out of Slughorn’s sight, Sherlock winked at Silke as he spoke.
Silke understood immediately. She took the pounds and left the room, closing the door behind her.
The Fat Walrus gave a forced laugh as he looked at Sherlock.
“It’s not right for you to come all this way to see me and then have you prepare dinner.”
Once Silke had left, Sherlock’s expression turned serious as he looked at Slughorn.
“You should have guessed as much when I came in, Professor. Dumbledore told me your location and asked me to come here.”
Slughorn’s smile became strained and eventually faded, leaving him looking worried.
“No one else could find me, and if Dumbledore is looking for me, it can’t be good.”
Sherlock didn’t confirm whether his visit was good or bad, only spoke calmly.
“You must have already heard the news of the Dark Lord’s resurrection. You knew he would return, and you knew it long before most people in the Magic World, which is why you started hiding so early.”
Slughorn looked defeated but remained silent, listening to Sherlock continue.
“When I first started teaching at Hogwarts, the year you specially came to Hogsmeade to give me the Felix Felicis, the Chamber of Secrets was opened.” Sherlock recounted the past.
“The only one who could open the Chamber of Secrets is a descendant of Slytherin, but it wasn’t a student at Hogwarts. It was a diary.”
At this, Slughorn’s body suddenly trembled, but Sherlock didn’t pause.
“The owner of that diary was named Tom Riddle. He had hidden a piece of his soul in the diary, and it was this piece of soul that opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the Basilisk, putting the castle in danger for an entire semester.”
“But it was also through this that I came into contact with the soul in the diary. From him, Dumbledore deduced something terrifying.”
“This student, Tom Riddle, used an extremely dark form of Dark Magic. By killing innocent people, he split his soul and created items called Horcruxes, allowing himself to achieve immortality.”
“That diary was one of his masterpieces, one of the Horcruxes he created for immortality.”
By the time Sherlock finished, Slughorn’s face had turned pale. He remained silent, his head lowered, avoiding Sherlock’s gaze.
(End of Chapter)
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