Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 697: Horace Slughorn - Novel Cool

Chapter 697: Horace Slughorn

Chapter 697: Horace Slughorn

The village of Budleigh Baberton appeared expansive, but in reality, it was rather compact. After walking for over ten minutes, Dumbledore finally halted before a dilapidated house.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed.

Following his gaze, Kyle and Harry beheld a meticulously maintained path flanked by well-trimmed gardens. However, the house itself seemed out of place, resembling a structure blasted by Blasting Curse.

The front door had been reduced to splinters, with only a small piece the size of a table awkwardly dangling from the door frame.

Dumbledore glanced around cautiously before whispering, "Kyle, Harry, draw your wands and follow me."

With caution, he stepped onto the garden path, trailed by Kyle and Harry.

Then, Dumbledore pushed open the front door, wand at the ready.

"Lumos," he whispered.

The interior of the house was in an even worse state than the outside. The room was in disarray, as if everything had been ransacked. An upturned piano lay on the floor, its keys scattered everywhere.

Shattered vases, shards of glass, and various cushions lay strewn about.

Additionally, a large patch of blood on the wall caught their eyes, its vivid red color stark against the surroundings.

"Something terrible must have happened here," Dumbledore murmured.

However, the tension in his tone had dissipated, replaced by a hint of... well, theatrics.

"Indeed," Kyle nodded. "Harry, can you help move the piano onto the armchair? I think there's something underneath."

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Although Harry didn't understand why they needed to place the piano on the sofa, he trusted that Kyle had his reasons.

Harry obediently pointed his wand at the piano, and it slowly floated into the air before gently lowering itself onto the overturned armchair at Harry's command.

The next second, a painful cry emanated from the armchair. "Ouch! Get it off me!"

Startled, Harry's hand trembled, disrupting the spell, and the piano crashed back down.

The cry grew louder, resembling the shriek of a mandrake freshly pulled from the ground.

Dumbledore quickly waved his hand, levitating the piano to the side.

"Good evening, Horace," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Are you alright?"

Harry's eyes widened in astonishment. The armchair had transformed into a squatting bald-headed old man in the blink of an eye.

Rubbing his waist, the man squinted one eye, gazing tearfully at Dumbledore.

"That was a piano, you know. Why didn't you stop them...?" He struggled to his feet. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

"My apologies, Horace," Dumbledore said. "But it's not my fault. Your Transfiguration is flawless; I didn't even notice."

"Even if you say that..." The plump old man shot a grumpy glance at Dumbledore, but he didn't seem as angry as he pretended to be.

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it now. I should have taken a swig of Pepperup Potion beforehand."

He heaved a heavy sigh, his mustache quivering with each breath.

"Do you need help tidying up?" Dumbledore offered.

"Please. I could use a bit more rest."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Then, Kyle, Harry, how about you two take care of it? Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my old colleague, Horace Slughorn."

"No problem, Professor," Kyle replied, waving his wand.

One by one, the furniture returned to its original positions. The shattered vases and glass reassembled in midair, and the scattered piano keys drifted back to their rightful places on the piano...

On the other side of the room, upon hearing Dumbledore's introduction, Slughorn abruptly stopped rubbing his waist. His round eyes immediately shifted to the two boys, and his gaze instantly fell on Harry's forehead and the distinctive lightning-shaped scar.

"Oh, he can't be..."

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dumbledore confirmed with a smile. "And the other young man here is Kyle Joba, the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class. He was previously a Second-..."

"Wait, what do you mean I haven't heard about a new First Class recipient in the wizarding world lately?"

"Oh, that's an internal matter. It seems Cornelius intends to boost morale in the wizarding world. The youngest recipient of the First Class honor is quite a compelling topic, don't you think?" Dumbledore said calmly.

As they spoke, the entire room had been restored to its former state, including the bloodstain on the wall, which had been neatly collected into a small glass vial.

Kyle examined the vial.

Hmm, dragon's blood, a bit dusty now, not suitable for brewing potions anymore... what a waste.

Kyle casually pocketed the vial.

"Oh, that was my last bottle," Slughorn said, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes. However, he quickly dismissed the thought, as he had other concerns at the moment.

"Don't think you can persuade me with that, Albus. I've said no countless times before, and my answer remains the same."

As he spoke, his eyes kept drifting towards Kyle and Harry.

"Then just one drink," Slughorn said as he stood up and took down a few cups from the shelf, pouring a minuscule amount of mead into each.

It truly was just a sip, barely coating the bottom of the cups, and it was clear that he wanted Dumbledore to finish quickly and leave.

Kyle and Harry also received a cup each, of course with the same scant amount—likely just enough for a single mouthful.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said as he took the cup, seemingly unfazed and instead quite pleased as he took a sip. "Delicious, this doesn't taste like something from the Broken Cauldron."

"Of course, this is a specialty from the Oak Barrel Tavern, made with the honey of Treacle Bees," Slughorn said proudly. "I made a stop there on my way back from Romania and bought it from the owner at a high price."

Oak Barrel Tavern?

Kyle felt the name sounded vaguely familiar, and it was only after hearing Romania mentioned that he suddenly remembered.

Wasn't that the name of the bar near the dragon reserve? Strange, he thought Charlie had said their signature drink was brandy...

Kyle took a sip from his cup, puzzled, and then placed it back down.

Good, now he could confirm that Slughorn had been swindled.

He had tasted the honey of Treacle Bees at Newt's place, and let's just say, there was none of that unique sweetness in this drink.

No surprise there, it was a typical Oak Barrel Tavern move... Chris had been duped once too, buying two bottles of fake brandy, but Charlie had later exchanged them for genuine ones.

Kyle quietly put his cup down without exposing the truth.

Perhaps due to the mental strain of the past few days, the sip of alcohol made Kyle feel suddenly sleepy. He dozed off, sitting there.

Some time passed before he was suddenly awakened by someone calling his name.

"Kyle... Kyle..."

"Huh? What is it?" Kyle snapped awake, turning to see Harry nudging him.

Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, and only one person remained with them.

"Nothing," Harry said. "Mr. Slughorn just asked which house you're in."

"Sorry, I didn't hear," Kyle said, looking at Slughorn. "Hufflepuff."

"Oh, the same as your father," Slughorn said, not seeming to mind. "But I liked your mother more. She was smart, rational, and confident... She was the pride of Slytherin back then."

He took a sip of his mead, as if lost in memory. "As a teacher, I shouldn't have had favorites among my students, but I favored her.

"I still remember how, to get back at those who wronged your father, she beat up a fifth-year student for a whole week, sending him to the school hospital. After that, she blocked the common room, scaring him so much that he didn't dare leave his dormitory.

"Such behavior should have resulted in detention, but I didn't do that. I just deducted ten points from her."

"Oh, don't get me wrong,"

Slughorn quickly added, "I'm not encouraging you to break the school rules. There was a reason for what she did. That student said something very nasty to her friend in front of her, and that word is absolutely forbidden in school.

"Your father wanted to argue back, but he was mocked indiscriminately as well. To be honest, I still believe that what happened to that student afterward was his own doing."

"Of course, I'll say it again, I'm not encouraging you to break the school rules."

Harry noticed that while Slughorn was talking, he kept glancing at him, as if this incident had something to do with him as well.

Just as Harry was about to ask about it, Slughorn changed the subject.

Perhaps he felt it wasn't appropriate to discuss this topic with students, as Slughorn stood up and said, "Come, let me show you my students."

He led the two to a cabinet and pointed to some of the frames on it. "These are my students. You see Barnabas Cuffe, the editor of the Daily Prophet. He's always been interested in hearing my views on the state of the world... And your father, Kyle, he was also one of my favorite students. I always felt he embodied all the qualities of a Hufflepuff... Oh, here he is."

Slughorn pointed to a frame. "Your mother was in this photo too, but for some reasons, she was removed from it later... You must understand why, right?"

Kyle nodded.

It was probably because Diana had joined the Department of Mysteries, but he didn't know the specifics.

Slughorn introduced a few more names, all of whom were quite famous in the wizarding world.

While Kyle examined the photos, Harry chatted with Slughorn.

"I think as long as Dumbledore is the headmaster, the staff will be safer than most," Harry said. "It's said that Voldemort only fears him..."

Harry suddenly spoke loudly, startling Kyle.

"I don't care what happens to her..." Harry stiffly replied, then sighed after a moment. "But I didn't expect someone like her to stand up to the Death Eaters. The newspapers mentioned she was attacked, but I'm not sure what happened after that."

"I heard from Ron that St. Mungo's is now surrounded by Aurors, especially the ward she's in," Harry continued.

Slughorn fell silent once more.

He had to admit that this incident had affected him as well. If Umbridge, under the watch of so many wizards, could be attacked by Death Eaters, what about him? Since he hadn't joined the Death Eaters, he couldn't be considered a friend. Perhaps it would be safer to stay by Dumbledore's side...

As if on cue, Dumbledore walked into the room at that moment.

"You're back, Albus." Slughorn snapped out of his reverie. "Where have you been? Having some stomach issues?"

"No, I was just flipping through those Muggle magazines," Dumbledore said. "Well, Harry, Kyle, we've bothered Horace for quite some time now. We should take our leave."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "It's getting late, and Kyle has to work at the Ministry early tomorrow morning. We shouldn't keep him up too late."

"Wait, you're working at the Ministry?" Slughorn blurted out. "So it's true that you were hired as an exception to the rules?"

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "Haven't you been reading the newspapers? He's been serving as the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for almost half a year now."

"An undersecretary who hasn't even graduated yet..." Slughorn mumbled to himself, his eyes glittering with curiosity.

"Then, goodbye." Dumbledore walked towards the door. "Although it's unfortunate that we won't be working together again, you are always welcome to visit Hogwarts anytime you want."

"Goodbye." Harry waved.

Just as the trio stepped out, they heard a shout from behind.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it!"

Slughorn rushed out, breathless. "I must be crazy, but yes, I agree to return to Hogwarts."

"Wonderful." Dumbledore smiled. "Then, Horace, we'll see you on September 1st."

"Alright, no problem." Slughorn mumbled. "I'll be asking for a raise, though..."

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's not up to me." Dumbledore turned to glance at Kyle. "In fact, there's someone whose word could make me lose fifty Galleons a month."

"Is that so?" Slughorn's eyes sparkled even brighter.

Although he didn't know the details, the fact that the headmaster's salary could be decided by someone else meant that Kyle held real power, not just an empty title.

"It's fine," Slughorn smiled. "Salary isn't that important to me. I just... I miss my old colleagues, Minerva and Filius. How are they doing?"

"They're doing well," Dumbledore smiled back.

"Then we'll see each other on September 1st." Slughorn waved.

The trio walked back down the path outside.

"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry whispered, "Why did Slughorn suddenly agree to come back?"

"You should call him Professor Slughorn now," Dumbledore corrected. "I think he saw the benefits of returning to Hogwarts."

"Benefits?"

"Yes, benefits like you and Kyle."

Dumbledore continued, "Slughorn enjoys the finer things in life, and he likes to associate with famous, successful, and powerful people. But he's quite unique in that he only befriends those who have risen through the ranks since their student days.

"And he has an extraordinary ability to pick out individuals who will go on to excel in various fields."

"I see." Harry nodded. "No wonder he immediately agreed after learning that Kyle is the Senior Undersecretary."

"You're part of the reason, too," Dumbledore said. "The boy who lived through it all, or as the newspapers like to call it these days, the Savior Star..."

Hearing this title, Harry shuddered involuntarily. He didn't like this moniker, and he didn't feel like he had done anything extraordinary.

It was just that someone had dug up the things he had said before about the Dark Lord's return.

They walked a bit further.

"Well, that's it." Dumbledore stopped and turned. "I might get busy from now on. If you have anything urgent, you can reach me through Newt."

Kyle nodded. "I understand."

"Do you need me to take you back?"

Kyle could tell that Dumbledore had something private to discuss with Harry, so he shook his head.

"No, Professor, I can get back on my own."

With that, he waved goodbye to the two and disappeared from sight.

(End of Chapter)

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