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

Chapter 697: Horace Slughorn

Chapter 697: Horace Slughorn

The village of Baberton appeared to be quite large, but in reality, it was not that big. After walking for over ten minutes, Dumbledore finally stopped in front of a dilapidated house.

"Oh my, oh my!" he exclaimed.

Kyle and Harry followed his gaze.

The first thing they noticed was a well-maintained path lined with neatly trimmed gardens. However, what stood out was the house itself, which looked as if it had been blasted by an Explosion Charm.

The front door was reduced to a pile of shattered wood, with only a small piece the size of a table remaining, hanging crookedly on the door frame.

Dumbledore surveyed the surroundings and whispered, "Kyle, Harry, draw your wands and follow me."

He cautiously stepped onto the garden path, with Kyle and Harry close behind.

Then, Dumbledore pushed open the front door, wand in hand.

"Lumos."

The interior was even worse than the outside; everything seemed to be in disarray, as if all the contents had been searched through. A piano lay overturned, its keys scattered across the floor.

There were broken vases, shards of glass, and various cushions strewn about.

Additionally, a large patch of blood on the wall caught the eye with its vivid red color.

"Something terrible must have happened here," Dumbledore said softly.

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

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

"Huh? Oh, okay." Harry was unsure why they needed to move the piano onto the sofa, but if Kyle said so, there must be a reason.

So, Harry obediently pointed his wand at the piano,

and it began to float. Then, under Harry's direction, it landed on the overturned armchair.

The next moment, the armchair let out a cry, "Ouch, get it off me!"

Harry was startled, and his spell was interrupted. The piano fell heavily to the ground.

The cry became louder, sounding like a freshly pulled Mandrake.

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

"Good evening, Horace," Dumbledore smiled. "Are you alright?"

Harry stared in disbelief as the armchair had transformed into a bald, chubby old man squatting on the floor in an instant.

He held his waist and squinted one eye, tears welling up as he looked at Dumbledore.

"That was a piano, why didn't you stop them..." He struggled to get up, "Do you know how much that hurt?"

"I'm sorry, Horace," Dumbledore said. "But it's not my fault. Your Transfiguration was flawless, and I didn't notice it either."

"Even if you say that..." The chubby old man glared at Dumbledore, but he didn't seem as angry as before.

"Alright, there's nothing we can do about it. I should have taken a bit of Felix Felicis beforehand."

He sighed heavily, and the tips of his mustache on both sides stood up.

"Do you want us to clean up?" Dumbledore asked.

"Please, I need to rest a little longer."

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

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

The furniture returned to their original positions, and the broken vase and glass shards restored in mid-air. The scattered piano keys flew back onto the piano...

On the other side, Slughorn, upon hearing Dumbledore's words, stopped rubbing his waist and immediately turned his round face towards the two.

His gaze fell first on Harry's forehead and the lightning-shaped scar.

"Oh, could he be..."

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dumbledore smiled. "And there's another one you should have heard of, Kyle Jowba, the youngest, previously a Level Two..."

"Wait, I haven't heard of any new Level One in the magical world recently."

"Oh, this is insider information. Cornelius seems to want to boost the morale of the magical world." Dumbledore said calmly, "The youngest Level One recipient, that's quite a topic."

As they spoke, the entire room had been restored to its former glory, and even the bloodstains on the wall had all fallen into a small glass bottle.

Kyle examined the bottle.

Hmm, it was dragon blood with a bit of dust, no longer suitable for brewing potions... What a pity.

Kyle casually pocketed the bottle.

"Oh, that was my last bottle," Slughorn's eyes showed a hint of pain, but he wasn't in the mood to care at the moment.

"Don't think you can convince me with this, Albus. I've said it many times before, and the answer is no."

As he spoke, his gaze occasionally glanced at Kyle and Harry.

"Do you think he'll get the Order of Merlin, First Class?"

"It's just Cornelius's idea," Dumbledore said. "Well, let's not talk about that anymore. How about a drink? It's a way to reminisce about the old times."

"Just one drink, then," Slughorn said, standing up and taking a few cups from the shelf, pouring a tiny amount of mead into them.

It was indeed a tiny amount, barely covering the bottom of the cup, and it was clear that he wanted Dumbledore to finish it quickly and then leave.

Kyle and Harry managed to get a cup each, of course, not much more than a mouthful.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said, taking the cup and appearing not to mind at all, instead looking delighted as he took a sip. "It tastes really good, not like something from the Cauldron Pub."

"Of course, this is a rare collection from the Oak Barrel Inn. It's made with honey from the Three-Tailed Bee." Slughorn proudly explained, "I stopped by there on my way to Romania and spent a fortune buying it from the owner."

The Oak Barrel Inn? Kyle felt like he had heard this name before, and after hearing Romania, he suddenly remembered.

The pub near the Dragon Sanctuary, wasn't it called the Oak Barrel Inn...? Strange, Charlie said their specialty was brandy, didn't he?

Kyle picked up the cup, took a sip, and then put it back in its original position.

Well, now it's certain that Slughorn was taken advantage of as a cash cow.

Kyle had tasted the honey of the Three-Tailed Bee at Newt's place, and to be honest, the unique sweetness of that honey was completely absent from this drink.

It's not surprising, just the usual operation of the Oak Barrel Inn... Chris was also taken advantage of, buying two bottles of fake brandy, but later Charlie took them to exchange for two real ones.

Kyle silently put down the cup and didn't expose the truth.

Perhaps due to the mental strain of the past few days, after taking a sip of the drink, Kyle suddenly felt a bit sleepy and sat there in a daze.

He didn't know how long it had passed when he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

"Kyle... Kyle..."

"What's wrong?" Kyle snapped awake, turning to look at Harry, who was nudging him.

Dumbledore had disappeared, and there was only one person left beside him.

"It's nothing." Harry said, "Mr. Slughorn just asked you which house you were in."

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

"Oh, the same house as your father." Slughorn didn't mind, "But I liked your mother more, smart, rational, confident... She was the pride of Slytherin back then."

He took a sip of the mead, as if lost in a memory, "Of course, as a teacher, I shouldn't have favorites among the students, but I did favor her.

"I still remember how she fought for your father's justice, beating up a fifth-year student into the hospital for a week straight, and then blocking the common room, scaring him so much that he didn't dare leave his dormitory.

"Such bad behavior should have resulted in detention, but I only deducted ten points from her.

"Ah, don't get me wrong."

Slughorn quickly added, "I'm not encouraging you to break the school rules, but at the time, there was a reason for it. That student said a very nasty insult to her friend right in front of her, and that word is absolutely forbidden in school.

"Your father wanted to reason with him, but he was mocked without any regard for the situation. Honestly, I still believe that his later outcome was a result of his own actions."

"Of course, I'll say it again, I don't encourage you to break the school rules."

Harry noticed that while Slughorn was talking, he kept looking at him intentionally or unintentionally, as if this matter also had something to do with him.

Just as he was about to ask about it, the other person changed the subject.

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Perhaps feeling that it was inappropriate to discuss this topic with them, Slughorn stood up and said, "Come on, let me show you my students."

He led the two to a cabinet and pointed to some picture frames on top, saying, "These are Barnabas Cuffe, the editor of The Daily Prophet, he was always interested in hearing my opinions on the current affairs... And your father, Kyle, he was also one of my favorite students, I always felt that he embodied all the virtues of Hufflepuff... Oh, he's here."

Slughorn pointed to a picture frame, "Your mother was also here, but for some reasons, she disappeared from the photo... You must understand, right?"

Kyle nodded.

It was probably because Diana had entered the Department of Mysteries, but he didn't know the more specific reasons.

Slughorn introduced a few more names, all of them well-known in the magical world.

While Kyle was looking at the photos, Harry was talking to Slughorn.

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

Harry suddenly shouted, startling Kyle.

Slughorn was deep in thought, seemingly pondering his words.

"Speaking of safety..." Kyle walked over and asked quietly, "Harry, do you know how Umbridge is doing?"

"I don't care what happens to her..." Harry said stiffly, but after a moment, he sighed, "Well, I didn't expect someone like her to stand against the Death Eaters, but the newspaper only mentioned that she was attacked. I'm not sure what happened afterwards."

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

Slughorn fell silent once more.

He had to admit that this incident had also affected him. Umbridge, under the noses of so many witches and wizards at St. Mungo's, had been attacked by Death Eaters. What about him?

Since he hadn't joined the Death Eaters, they wouldn't consider him a friend. In that case, perhaps it would be safer to stay by Dumbledore's side...

As he was thinking, Dumbledore happened to walk into the room.

"You're back, Albus." Slughorn snapped out of his thoughts and said, "What took you so long? Stomachache?"

"No, I was flipping through those Muggle magazines," Dumbledore said. "Well, Harry, Kyle, we've been bothering Horace for quite a while. It's time to leave."

"You're leaving?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "It's already late, and Kyle has to work at the Ministry of Magic tomorrow morning. If we stay any longer, it might affect his rest."

"Wait, work at the Ministry of Magic?" Slughorn couldn't help but ask, "So it's true, he was hired as the Senior Minister's Assistant?"

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded, "Haven't you read the newspaper? He's been the Senior Minister's Assistant for almost half a year now."

"A Senior Minister's Assistant before graduation..." Slughorn muttered to himself, his eyes glinting.

"Then goodbye." Dumbledore walked to the door, "It's a pity that we can't work together again, but you're always welcome to visit Hogwarts whenever you like."

"Goodbye." Harry waved.

As the three of them stepped out of the room, they heard a shout from behind.

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

Slughorn rushed out, out of breath, "I must be crazy, but I agree, I'm willing to return to Hogwarts."

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

"Alright, no problem." Slughorn muttered, "I'll ask for a raise... "

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't have a say in this." Dumbledore turned to look at Kyle, "In fact, someone can make me lose fifty Galleons every month with just a word."

"Who?" Slughorn's eyes lit up.

Although he wasn't sure what was going on, the fact that the Headmaster's salary could be deducted at will indicated that Kyle held real authority, not just a title.

"It doesn't matter." He smiled, "Salary is not that important. I just... miss the old colleagues a bit. How are Minerva and Filius doing?"

"They're all fine," Dumbledore smiled.

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

The three of them stepped back onto the path outside.

"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry asked quietly, "Why did Slughorn suddenly agree?"

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

"Benefits?"

"Yes, like you and Kyle."

Dumbledore continued, "Slughorn enjoys material comforts and likes to associate with famous, successful, and influential people. But he's quite unique in that the people he befriends are those he's known since their student days, and they've risen to prominence in various fields."

"He has a very unusual talent for selecting individuals who will excel in various fields in the future."

"I see." Harry nodded, "No wonder he immediately agreed after learning that Kyle is the Senior Minister's Assistant."

"You're part of the reason too," Dumbledore said, "The boy who lived, or as the newspapers call it these days, the Chosen One..."

Hearing this title, Harry couldn't help but shudder. He didn't like the title, and he didn't feel he had done anything special.

It was just that someone had brought up what he had said before about the Mysterious Man's return.

They walked a bit further.

"Well." Dumbledore stopped and turned, "I might get busy later. If you have any urgent matters, Newt can find me."

Kyle nodded, "I understand."

"Do you need me to send you back?"

Kyle could tell that Dumbledore seemed to have something to say to Harry privately, so he shook his head.

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

With that, he waved to the two of them and disappeared on the spot.

(End of Chapter)

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