Chapter 1103

"It's okay..."

Fan Lin was a little speechless. Although he said that magic could easily remove the impurities in dragon blood, in his heart, Fan Lin still didn't like it very much, at least he was unwilling to use it for experiments.

Maybe giving it to Rutherford would be a good choice.

Obviously, Fanlin still can't forget being attacked by Rutherford in the environment.

Being pined for by an old vampire?

First there is Trevor, and then there is Rutherford. Can't there be a better-looking one, like a little sister?

Fan Lin didn't say much, he just watched where Slughorn was busy, and Harry just looked at them at a loss.

He put the bottle back on the sideboard and sighed. Then his eyes naturally fell on Harry.

"Oh," his big round eyes stared at Harry's forehead with the lightning-shaped scar. "oh!"

"This," Dumbledore stepped forward to introduce, "is Harry Potter. Harry, this is my old friend and colleague, Horace Slughorn."

Slughorn turned to Dumbledore, his expression shrewd. "You think that's going to convince me, don't you? Well my answer is no, Albus."

As for Fanlin, Slughorn simply ignored him. Perhaps Dumbledore's behavior offended him. He squeezed past Harry, his expression becoming very determined, as if he was resisting some temptation.

"I just said, this doesn't work." Fan Lin muttered. Now that he knows the existence of Horcruxes and how to make them, Tom's memory is naturally not that important, but Dumbledore still insists on winning over Si. Lahorn, this makes Fanlin a little confused.

Well, Hogwarts does lack a Potions Professor.

"What's not working right?"

"I'll talk to you when I get back." Fan Lin said, "Compared to this, I hope we can do other things, such as going abroad, or participating in an alchemy exchange meeting or something. Bill will give me back Sent the latest discovery record."

Harry's eyes lit up, "You mean, us?"

"I don't know, it depends on Dumbledore." Fan Lin shrugged, "Maybe there is a chance. I don't think staying here will be of any use. In fact, I am planning something..."

Compared with Fanlin's little thoughts, it is obvious that Dumbledore has no time to pay attention to the two of them now, or in other words, doesn't care?

"I thought we could at least have a drink?" Dumbledore asked. "For the sake of old friendship." Slughorn hesitated. "Okay then, just a drink," he said roughly, clearly not happy about Dumbledore's request.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, led him and Fanlin to the newly lit fireplace and oil lamp, and sat on a chair. This chair looked nothing like the one Slughorn had just pretended to be. Both.

Harry sat down, clearly sensing that Dumbledore wanted to make him as visible as possible for some reason.

So when Slughorn finished working on the bottles and jars and turned his face to the house again, his eyes immediately fell on Harry.

"Huh," he quickly looked away, as if he was afraid of hurting his eyes.

"Then -" He handed a glass to Dumbledore who was already sitting, then pushed the plate to Harry and Fan Lin, and then sat down on the cushion of the newly restored sofa, without saying a word gloomily. explain.

His legs were so short that he couldn't even reach the floor.

"So, how are you doing, Horace?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not much," Slughorn replied immediately. "Pain in the chest. Frequent wheezing. Rheumatism. Not as flexible as I used to be. Well, that's to be expected. Old. Tired."

"But judging from the welcome ceremony you just prepared for us, your movements are quite agile," Dumbledore said. "You have less than three minutes, don't you?"

Slughorn said, half grumpy and half proud, "Only two minutes. I was in the shower and didn't notice the intrusion spell's alarm. And," he added firmly, looking as if he was trying to pull himself back, " The situation is that I am an old man, Albus, and a tired old man has the right to live a peaceful and well-fed life."

He does have that, Harry thought, looking around the room. It was dull and chaotic, but definitely comfortable; there were soft chairs and footstools, wine and books, big boxes of chocolates and bulging cushions.

If Harry didn't know who lived here, he would have guessed that a rich, fussy old lady lived here.

"You are not as old as I am, Horace," said Dumbledore.

"Well, maybe you should think about retirement." Slughorn said stiffly. His dull chestnut eyes found Dumbledore's injured hand.

"I noticed that your reaction is not as good as before."

"You're right," Dumbledore said calmly. During the battle at the Ministry of Magic, his old friend naturally had channels to receive news.

"I won't deny that I'm slower than I used to be. But on the other hand..." He shrugged and spread his hands, as if time could compensate, and Harry noticed that his hand was uninjured. On his hand was a ring he had never seen before: it looked large, as if it were crudely made of something like gold, with a dark black stone inlaid in the middle. Slughorn's eyes wandered over the ring for a moment, and Harry noticed that he frowned slightly at that moment.

"So, are these precautions taken against intruders, Horace...to deal with Death Eaters, or to deal with me?" Dumbledore asked.

"What do the Death Eaters want with a poor, old and frail air mattress?" asked Slughorn.

"I think they may be taking advantage of your considerable talents to intimidate, torture and murder," said Dumbledore. "Are you really going to tell me they haven't come to recruit you yet?"

Slughorn stared at Dumbledore viciously for a moment, then muttered, "I didn't give them a chance. I've been drifting for a year. Never stayed in the same place for a full week. From a Muggle The house was moved to another Muggle house - the owner of the place was on vacation in the Canary Islands. It was so cozy that the thought of leaving was actually quite simple, as long as you knew what to do. These automatic alarm bells they use to ward off burglars - they use these stupid things in place of looking glasses - put a freeze spell on them and make sure the neighbors don't find out you're hiding in the piano you brought in ”

"Very original," said Dumbledore. "But the pursuit of a quiet life sounds like a pretty hard job, especially for a poor, decrepit inflatable mattress. And if you go back to Hogwarts—"

"If you're going to tell me that my life could be more peaceful in that plague-stricken school, you can save yourself the trouble, Albus! I may have been in hiding, but since Dolores .Some interesting rumors have reached my ears since Umbridge left! If that's how you treat teachers now-"

"Professor Umbridge has come into conflict with our tribe of centaurs," said Dumbledore. "I don't think you, Horace, would march into the forest and scream 'dirty bastards' to a tribe of angry centaurs."

"That's what she does, isn't it?" said Slughorn. "Stupid woman. Never liked her."

Harry chuckled, and both Dumbledore and Slughorn turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry," Harry said immediately. "It's just--I don't like her either."

Dumbledore suddenly stood up.

"Are you leaving?" Slughorn said immediately, looking very expectant. "No, I was just wondering if I could use your bathroom," Dumbledore said.

"Oh," Slughorn was obviously disappointed. "It's the second to the left from the hall." Dumbledore walked out of the room. There was silence in the room as the door closed behind him. After a while, Slughorn stood up, but looked like he didn't know what to do.

He glanced furtively at Harry, then walked over to the fire and leaned his back to warm it.

This made Fan Lin feel a little funny. He had not interrupted before. In fact, Fan Lin didn't think it was interesting to be close to Slughorn.

For Dumbledore's old friend, Harry obviously attracted his attention more, otherwise Slughorn would not have asked him a word for so long.

Oh, and of course, don't forget about his awful club?

A slug or something?

Following Slughorn's gaze, this made Harry feel a little uneasy. In fact, he didn't know he was here...

"Don't think I don't know why he brought you," he said abruptly. Harry just looked at Slughorn. Slughorn's watery eyes scanned Harry's scars, and this time, he saw the rest of Harry's face.

"You look so much like your father."

"Yeah, I was told," Harry said.

"Besides your eyes, you have a pair of-"

"My mother's eyes, yes." Harry heard this often enough to tire of him.

"Hmph. Yeah, good. Of course, a teacher shouldn't have a favorite student, but she is still one of my favorite students. Your mother," Slughorn added, answering Harry's questioning look. . "That's Lily Evans. One of the smartest students I have ever taught, very lively, you know. A lovely girl. I keep telling her that she should come to my college. But every time she is She pushed back."

"Which is your college?"

"I was Head of Slytherin House at the time," Slughorn said.

"Oh, now," he continued quickly, seeing the expression on Harry's face, he wagged his stubby fingers at him, "don't resist me for that! I guess you are in Granville like her. Fendo. Yeah, it usually runs in the family, though not always. You must have heard of Sirius Black - he's been in the newspapers for the past two years - he's yours. …”

"Godfather!" Fan Lin reminded kindly.

"Yes, anyway, he was your father's good brother at school. The whole Black family came from my house, only Sirius graduated from Gryffindor! What a pity - he is a talented boy. I Taught his brother Regulus, but I would prefer a complete set."

He sounded like an enthusiastic collector attending an auction. Evidently lost in memories, he stared at the opposite wall while aimlessly turning his back to get toasty everywhere.

"Of course your mother is from a Muggle family. When I found out this, I couldn't believe it. I thought that a wizard as good as her must be pure blood."

"My two best friends are also from Muggle families," Harry said. "She is the best in our year, and the other..."

Fan Lin tugged on Harry's clothes and told Harry not to continue talking. If he was born as a Muggle, wouldn't that be him and Hermione?

Well, although Slughorn's knowledge is also excellent, and Dumbledore's original intention was to use Fanlin to seduce...

However, it seems that Harry himself is enough, right?

"It's funny, that happens from time to time, right?" Slughorn said.

"I don't think so," Harry said coldly.

This made Slughorn look down at him in surprise.

"Don't you think I'm prejudiced!" he said. "No, no, no! Didn't I just say that your mother is one of my favorite students in my life? There is also Dirk Cresswell, who is one grade below her - now the head of the Goblin Liaison Office , of course - he is also from a Muggle family, a very talented student, and he is still providing me with excellent inside information, allowing me to understand every move in Gringotts!" He adjusted slightly! He stood up, smiling contentedly, and then pointed to the many shiny photo frames on the cupboard, each with a slightly moving head in it.

"All my former students have signed for me. You will see Barnabas Kufi, editor of the Daily Prophet, who always likes to hear my opinion on the daily news. And Anbu Rosius Flume, who works at Honeydukes - he brings me a basket of sweets every birthday because I introduced him to Ciceron Harkis, who gave him his first job! Behind them - and you can see it if you crane your neck - that's Gwenno Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies of course... People are hearing that I'm so close to the Harpies. It’s always a surprise when we get to know each other and I get free tickets whenever I can!”

This seemed to excite him.

"Do all these people know where to find you and give you things?" Harry asked, since he could find baskets full of sweets, Quidditch tickets, and visitors who wanted his opinion. It's hard to believe why the Death Eaters haven't hunted down Slughorn yet.

The smile on his face disappeared as quickly as the blood on the wall.

"Of course not," he looked down at Harry. "I haven't been in contact with anyone for a year."

Harry felt that this sentence was undoubtedly a blow to Slughorn. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then shrugged.

"However, prudent wizards will keep their heads down at this time. Dumbledore said it easily, but going to Hogwarts now is equivalent to me publicly declaring allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix! Although I believe that they are members of the Order of the Phoenix. They're all very admirable and brave, but I personally don't like its mortality rate-"

"Actually, you don't need to join the Order of the Phoenix to teach at Hogwarts," Harry said, having a hard time hiding the mockery in his voice, remembering how Sirius once lived in a cave eating rats. Sympathizing with Slughorn's current comfortable and comfortable life, "Most of the teachers were not from the Order of the Phoenix, and no one was killed - except Professor Quirrell, but he deserved it because he was working for Voldemort." (To be continued. )