Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“Ingenious,” said Dumbledore appreciatively. “But doesn’t it sound a rather tiring existence for a broken-down old buffer in search of a quiet life, Horace? Now, if you were to return to Hogwarts…”

“If you’re going to tell me my life would be more peaceful at that pestilential school, you can save your breath, Albus! I might have been hiding, but I don’t want to be abused. Some funny rumors have reached me since the story of Dolores Umbridge came out! If that’s how you treat teachers these days…”

“That was actually done by me and had nothing to do with Professor Dumbledore,” said Evan.

“Oh, you did it?” asked Slughorn. “You ordered the giant to do that to her?”

“It was my idea to hand her over to the giant. I thought the giant would teach her some basic manners and how to respect others. You know, she was really annoying and did a lot of over-the-line things at Hogwarts,” said Evan. “But I didn’t expect what happened next. This was definitely beyond my expectations. I feel sorry for what happened to Professor Umbridge.”

“I was there too, and I know what happened. It wasn’t Evan’s fault,” Hermione quickly added. “She was collaborating with the Death Eaters and used Veritaserum on Evan to find evidence that Dumbledore was plotting to overthrow the Ministry of Magic. She forced us to take her to the Forbidden Forest to find a weapon she believed Dumbledore was hiding there. We had no choice but to…”

“Hmph, idiotic woman. Never liked her, ever since she was a student,” said Slughorn.

“Yeah, the key is that she knew Elaine’s identity at that time. Elaine is our classmate, a vampire…”

“Hah, Hogwarts is admitting vampires now?” Slughorn asked with interest, forgetting all about Umbridge.

“Elaine is a special case. She is the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Hogwarts has no reason to reject her,” said Dumbledore. “Identity has never been an obstacle to entering Hogwarts. On the contrary, we should pay extra attention to such children.”

“That’s your philosophy, Dumbledore. I neither agree nor disagree with it,” said Slughorn. “But a descendant of Slytherin? That’s curious, that’s curious. It’s the first time I’ve heard of Slytherin having any other descendants…”

“We’ve admitted a few very promising students in recent years,” said Dumbledore. “Aside from Miss Slytherin, there’s also Evan, Harry, and Hermione in front of you. They…”

“I know!” Slughorn glanced at the three of them, quickly shifting his gaze. “I read the Daily Prophet every day. For the past few months, those two have been constantly in the headlines, especially after that incident in Egypt. They’ve practically been praised to the skies! Hmph, speaking of which, the Prophet has been going downhill lately. They’re about to be overtaken by Hogwarts Magic, aren’t they?”

“It wasn’t us who brought down the Daily Prophet, it was themselves. The public has the right to know the truth,” Evan responded.

“You’re right.” Slughorn nodded, but he didn’t continue speaking. There was another silence.

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up rather suddenly.

“Are you leaving?” asked Slughorn at once, looking hopeful.

“No, I was wondering whether I might use your bathroom,” said Dumbledore.

“Oh,” said Slughorn, clearly disappointed. “Second on the left down the hall.”

Dumbledore strode for the room. Once the door closed behind him, there was silence.

After a moment, Slughorn got to his feet but seemed uncertain what to do with himself.

He shot a furtive look at Evan and Harry, then crossed to the fireplace and turned his back on it, warming his wide behind.

“Don’t think I don’t know why he’s brought you three,” he said abruptly.

“The professor probably just wants to give you the motivation to go back to teaching,” Evan thought for a moment and said. Harry and Hermione were still a bit nervous about this strange old wizard. They didn’t know what to say, so Evan took the lead in the conversation.

“Cunning boy, you are very similar to him, so cunning!” Slughorn didn’t seem to want to talk to Evan.

He muttered something under his breath, not even glancing at him.

Instead, he quickly glanced at Hermione before turning his gaze to Harry.

Slughorn’s watery eyes slid over Harry’s scar, this time taking the rest of his face.

“You look very like your father,” he said slowly.

“Yeah, I’ve been told,” said Harry.

“Except for your eyes. You’ve got…”

“My mother’s eyes, yeah.” Harry had heard it so often he found it a bit wearing.

“Hmpf. Yes, well. You shouldn’t have favorites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. Your mother,” Slughorn added, in answer to Harry’s questioning look. “Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my House. Very cheeky answers I used to get back too.”

There was a brief silence, and Harry looked at Evan. The other party mentioned his mother, and he didn’t know what to say.

Evan raised his head slightly, motioning for Harry to answer.

It was clear that Slughorn had a strong connection with Harry’s mother and held her in very high regard.

“Er … Professor, which was your House?”

“I was Head of Slytherin,” said Slughorn. “Oh, now,” he went on quickly, seeing the expression on Harry’s face and wagging a stubby finger at him, “don’t go holding that against me! It’s childish. You’ll be Gryffindor like her, I suppose?”

“Yes, all three of us are Gryffindors,” said Harry.

“Albus has gone too far — bringing along three Gryffindors!” Slughorn exclaimed loudly.

“You just said it wasn’t a big deal,” Evan interjected.

“Yes, that’s right,” said Slughorn disapprovingly. “What about that girl called Elaine? Which House is she in?”

“She hasn’t been sorted into a House yet. She was at Hogwarts as an exchange student last term, so it was not appropriate to sort her individually. Umbridge was investigating her at the time,” Evan explained. “But this term, Elaine will be sorted along with the first years. I also heard that a few other vampires, her kin, will be attending. They’re also descendants of Slytherin.”

“They should be sorted into Slytherin,” Slughorn said immediately. “For pure-blood wizards, it usually goes in families. Not always, though. Ever heard of Sirius Black? Oh, you must have done. I saw your name appear in the newspaper with his not long ago. He seems to be your godfather…”

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