Chapter 428: Slughorn's Reputation
Chapter 428: Slughorn's Reputation
Dumbledore glanced around, taking in everyone's expressions. His face looked a bit tired, but he still managed a smile. "Alastor, two Aurors from the Ministry of Magic have arrived to gather some information. I've brought them here."
A tall man appeared, and Felix caught a glimpse of the serious face of Kingsley Shacklebolt. Behind him, Tonks had transformed her hair into a short, red style, with strands sticking up haphazardly, making her quite noticeable. When Felix looked over, she waved enthusiastically.
From Tonks's open pocket, a blue, slender glass tube was partially visible. It was likely the new Super Bubble Water from the Future World...
Mad-Eye Moody grinned at the unexpected visitors, his smile unsettling. "Scrimgeour sent you?"
"Mrs. Bones sends her regards, Alastor. We're all very concerned about you. By the way, I've become a fully-fledged Auror!" Tonks said excitedly.
Sirius's eyes darted around, and Moody's raspy voice said, "I hope they didn't go easy on you in the Stealth and Tracking course."
Tonks huffed lightly, "You're just too strict."
At that moment, the dark-skinned Kingsley Shacklebolt opened his briefcase and waved his wand. A piece of parchment flew out, covered in dense handwriting, with a few handwritten signatures at the bottom.
"Let's save the catching up for later, Alastor", Kingsley Shacklebolt said in his deep, slow voice. "We have a mission. The Ministry officials are swamped. I represent the Minister of Magic, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Wizengamot, and the Auror Office. We are here to question you about your experiences over the past few months. They have prepared some questions... Headmaster Dumbledore?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt gave Dumbledore a cautious look.
"Ah, let's step out for a moment. Kingsley and Alastor are old acquaintances; they won't have any conflicts", Dumbledore said with a smile, then called out to Snape, who was about to leave. "Please wait a moment, Severus. I have a few small questions about the analysis report you gave me."
The group left the infirmary, and Madam Pomfrey closed the door. Felix caught a glimpse of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Moody embracing before the door shut firmly.
Sirius whispered, "Headmaster Dumbledore, my substitute teaching..."
"Sirius", Dumbledore's tone grew more serious, "I won't refuse your application, but it's clear you're not ready to become a professor yet—"
"But my grades are excellent!" Sirius said irritably, glaring at Snape, who wore a mocking expression, wishing he could punch him in the face.
"I'm not talking about grades. You should understand that", Dumbledore said.
Sirius's face fell, and Harry wanted to say something in support of his godfather, but Professor Hup shook her head slightly, and he had to hold back his words.
"Albus, Professor Moody's contract is only for one year, right?" Felix asked softly.
Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "Yes, Alastor has retired, and I don't want to overwork him. This year is an exception... The thought of having to write another job ad in six months is quite daunting."
In the corridor outside the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore and Snape headed upstairs, presumably to the Headmaster's Office. Felix guessed that the analysis report Dumbledore mentioned was likely about the residual potion they found in the Chamber, probably used by Voldemort to maintain his physical stability.
However, it wasn't the right time to ask for details. He turned to Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. "I need to visit Hagrid. You..."
"We are, too." Harry said immediately. Ron and Hermione nodded like chickens pecking, and Neville looked around, scratching his head.
"Then let's go together. Maybe you can lend a hand", Felix said cheerfully. Seeing Harry's puzzled expression, he explained, "Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts are growing too fast. The scary part is that they don't need to hibernate, and they are incredibly energetic. Hagrid asked me to craft some iron chains to prevent these aggressive creatures from not surviving their first winter..."
The young wizards, who were not unfamiliar with the Blast-Ended Skrewts, paled.
They walked out of the castle, trudging through the snow with deep steps. The bitter wind cut through their thick clothes, and the young wizards shivered. Sirius, though still pale, looked much better than before, when he had been thoroughly shaken.
Felix waved his wand, "Warming Charm— one of the most practical spells for winter. If you haven't bought a temperature-regulating pendant, this will help."
They immediately felt warm all over, and their steps slowed. Walking on the snow became a pleasant winter experience. Harry marveled, and Hermione asked curiously, "Professor, what's the incantation for this spell?"
"Warm as a Fire."
"Is it easy to learn? If we learn it, can we achieve the same effect as a temperature-regulating pendant?" Ron asked.
"Your two older brothers asked me the same thing", Felix smiled, "but unfortunately, it only works in winter."
Ron pouted, "Now I understand why they were invincible in snowball fights."
"Professor, who is Mrs. Bones?" Harry recalled the name Tonks had mentioned; the surname sounded familiar.
"Amelia Bones, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She has a good reputation", Felix explained briefly.
"Susan Bones' aunt", Hermione whispered, and Harry's eyes widened in realization.
"Sirius, do you know her?" Harry asked his godfather, thinking that Sirius's earlier reaction suggested he did.
Sirius thought for a moment, then said, "I have a vague memory... in school, she was four years ahead of me. She was a very smart and serious witch." He muttered under his breath, "I think I made her cry once."
"What happened?" Hermione asked with interest.
"Ah, a long time ago..." He saw Harry looking at him with curiosity and sighed, "You should know that magic isn't allowed in the school corridors..."
Harry and the others nodded.
"When I was a first-year, I was showing off the Lumos spell in the corridor. Of course, I made some improvements... Amelia happened to see me and seized the opportunity to deduct points. She was a prefect back then..."
"I don't think prefects should have the power to deduct points", Ron muttered, remembering when Percy had deducted points from him in second year.
Sirius smiled understandingly, "Remus was also a prefect, and I know some of the inside details. Prefects can't just deduct points at will. They have to write a report for each deduction, and there are other restrictions... like how Amelia only deducted two points from me."
"Sounds like a small amount", Harry said.
"Yeah", Sirius sighed, "but I was resentful at the time. I continued using the Lumos spell right under her nose. The colorful lights flickered on her glasses... She was naturally very upset and deducted more points. I kept casting the spell, and we were at a stalemate for a while. In the end, she deducted about two hundred points?"
Harry and the others gaped.
Sirius smiled slyly, "Actually, it was early in the term, and the house points were low. I remember the Gryffindor hourglass only had a few rubies?"
"Did you get away with it that easily?" Harry asked, disbelieving.
"Not exactly. I was given a week of detention", Sirius said nonchalantly, "but Amelia didn't have it easy either. I heard she cried while writing all those reports."
Harry thought it best not to tell Susan Bones about this. She idolized her aunt, while Ron had the opposite idea.
"Why don't we hold a dueling club session, Harry? It's been a while since the last one", Ron suggested eagerly. "We could ask Sirius to be our instructor."
Sirius was tempted but declined, "I can't just enter Hogwarts. This time, Hagrid helped me."
They arrived in front of Hagrid's Hut, where Hagrid was busy in the pumpkin patch behind the house. There were only a dozen Blast-Ended Skrewts left, but they had grown significantly in size. Even in the winter snow, they remained energetic.
"You're here?" Hagrid puffed, turning his head and shouting as he lunged forward to subdue a Skrewt that had broken free. After a moment, Hagrid struggled to his feet from the snow, and the others saw the Skrewt under him was now motionless.
"Is it dead?" Felix asked.
"Not yet", Hagrid gruffly replied, "probably fainted." He flipped the Skrewt over and picked up a thick rope, tying it around the middle of the creature. Felix wondered if this was the Skrewt's waist, assuming such a structure existed.
He moved closer and gently prodded the thick, sunken shell of the Skrewt with his wand. The creature's legs twitched weakly, confirming it was still alive.
Felix quickly cast a spell on the chains and said to Hagrid, "I left some room, but if they keep growing, we might need to adjust them in the future."
"I understand", Hagrid gruffly said, "this is fine for now."
As they sat on the warm blankets inside Hagrid's Hut, Hagrid continued to lament the nature of the Blast-Ended Skrewts: "They're quite gentle, don't hurt people much... but they like to fight among themselves. I'm not sure which influence it is, maybe the Manticores, as they tend to be solitary."
The hot tea in Harry's hands no longer seemed appealing.
Felix suggested, "It's best not to release them yet. Severus is researching the medicinal value of these creatures—"
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Neville suddenly started coughing violently. "Oh, sorry..." he said, looking terrified.
"What's wrong with him?" Hagrid asked, puzzled, and patted Neville with his enormous hand, causing Neville to fall to the ground.
Ron, understandingly, said, "He's probably thinking about having to handle the Skrewt materials in the future..." With that, Harry also felt a sudden discomfort. Snape had a habit of punishing students by making them handle disgusting potion ingredients, especially those that were not particularly valuable and could be mass-produced.
Whether it was the squishy, soft larvae of the Skrewts or the decayed, fishy-smelling mucus on their bodies, if Snape found some miraculous use for them, it would undoubtedly become a nightmare for future students.
And Harry was certain that they would be the first to suffer.
Hagrid handed Neville a towel, which immediately started moving on its own, wiping his face, chin, and chest haphazardly. "Oh, sorry, that's an automatic cleaning towel!" Hagrid said apologetically, snatching it back.
"It's... it's fine", Neville said, his face pale.
Hagrid looked at him doubtfully and brought out a plate of hard cookies from the inner room. "You can try this." Neville politely picked one up but, seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione firmly and slowly shake their heads, immediately put it down.
Fortunately, Hagrid didn't notice this and continued talking to Felix, "The Skrewts have shed some of their shells. I'm not sure if it will be useful, but I saved some for you."
Felix nodded, "It's a new material, something no one has seen before. I think it will have characteristics of both Manticores and Fire Crabs, but it's hard to say which it leans more towards. If it's more like the former, its value could be significant."
"Mr. Scamander doesn't talk much about these things with me. We just discuss some tips on raising magical creatures", Hagrid gruffly said. "Our approaches are a bit different... but some of his advice is very helpful."
Harry knew Hagrid was referring to the Memory in Classroom Seven. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "I heard a lot of ghosts like it there?"
"That's right, I've seen quite a few", Hagrid said. "They're planning to ask Headmaster Dumbledore to find a Memory of a cook, which seems a bit unreliable... but the ghosts are more active than before."
"Do they have any candidates?" Ron asked, usually interested in such peculiar things.
"There is one", Hagrid mumbled. "Horace Slughorn. The Fat Friar was impressed and said he used to sneak into the kitchen every night for snacks, without fail."
Harry knew the Fat Friar, the ghost of Hufflepuff House, but he didn't know who Horace Slughorn was.
"Which Potions Master?" Hermione said in surprise.
"You know him?" Hagrid glanced at her. "He's quite an interesting person. He was around when I was in school, the Head of Slytherin House. Sirius, you definitely know him."
They looked at Sirius, who was sitting on the sofa with Fang in his arms, absentmindedly scratching Fang's chin, making the dog purr contentedly. He said slowly, "Of course, I know him. He's an old man who enjoys the finer things in life. He founded the famous Slug Club, which attracted quite a few Death Eaters—"
"What?" Harry exclaimed in shock.
"Oh, don't worry, he has nothing to do with the Death Eaters", Sirius said. Seeing the rigid expressions on Harry and the others, he explained, "He's just an old man who loves material comforts, like mead, pineapple candies, and three-cushioned sofas..." He glanced at Felix. "I bet he's eyeing your company. When I visited Remus, I saw a chair that was his favorite."
Hagrid's expression changed when Sirius mentioned the chair. His eyes darted to a toolbox in the corner, next to which stood a red umbrella.
"… He has a common Slytherin trait, always trying to build connections and admiring superficial things. He doesn't care much for those without potential, but he's much better than the current Head of House."
Felix gave him a reproachful look.
Sirius shrugged, "I'm just telling the truth. Alright, let's ignore a certain unpleasant bat", he continued, "Apart from his love for material comforts, he has a remarkable ability to spot talented students. He provides a platform for them to network, hoping for future returns. He enjoys that feeling."
"What about the Death Eaters?" Harry pressed on.
"I've already said, he values both ability and lineage. You should know who most of the Slytherins are", Sirius said. "There aren't many who get in purely based on their abilities, but Harry, your mom was one of the best."
"My mom?" Harry was shocked again. He didn't know why he felt the need to contradict, but he did. "But, but she was in Gryffindor!"
"She got in on her own merits", Sirius said. "Lily had a great talent for Potions. During the war, her potions saved many lives, especially when Voldemort was hunting people down. At the time, the rest of us could only hide in Safe Rooms, but she was still making a difference."
His tone grew somber, "If she and James had survived, Lily would have become the most brilliant Potions Master. Snape..."
Sirius snorted, his disdain evident.
"What about you?" Harry asked, eager to know more, not about Professor Slughorn, but about Sirius and his parents.
"Me and James?"
"And Professor Lupin", Harry said, "I mean, Remus."
Sirius laughed, "Back then, I was... well, more rebellious", he winked at Harry, "I didn't like his ways, especially after Regulus joined that club. I didn't want any part of it. James felt the same, but more because of the number of Slytherins there and his deep animosity towards them..."
"As for Remus, he was academically and morally excellent, but you know, his identity was a big issue."
"But I heard his identity was kept secret. Not many people discovered he was a werewolf during school", Harry said, confused.
"I can explain that", Felix said, "You can't expect to hide anything from a powerful wizard, especially one who is also a Potions Master."
...
The following week flew by quickly. After the holiday for 'Future World' employees ended, Felix moved to Diagon Alley and spent the last few days improving the new product. Before he knew it, the new term at Hogwarts had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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