"For the sake of the past time......" Slughorn said softly.

The big round eyes looked at Aven, Harry, Hermione, and the scar on Harry's forehead.

"Ho, the past is always something to be missed. He narrowed his eyes and took three deep breaths, "Arbus, who are these three?"

"Harry Potter, Evan Mason, Hermione Granger, you should have heard their names. Dumbledore introduced, pointing to Slughorn and saying, "Children, this is an old friend and colleague of mine named Horace Slughorn. ”

"Evan Mason, Harry Potter?" Slughorn muttered, "yes, I've heard of it. ”

"Good evening, Professor!" Evan said, bowing slightly to Slughorn.

"Don't shout, kid, I'm not a professor, I haven't taught in years. Slughorn said immediately, seemingly frightened.

He didn't look at Evan and turned to Dumbledore, a quick look on his face.

"I know what you're trying to do, Albus, you think that's going to convince me, don't you? I'll tell you, the answer is no!"

As he spoke, he turned his face resolutely to the side, as if he were resisting some temptation.

"But we can at least have a drink, you won't even say no to this, will you?" said Dumbledore.

Hearing this, Slughorn hesitated.

Then, with a stiff attitude, he said, "Okay, then have a drink." ”

Dumbledore smiled at them as he turned around and fiddled with the bottles and cups.

He waved his wand to conjure up three chairs, much like the one Slughorn had just impersonated, and motioned for the three of them to sit down.

Next to the chair was a freshly lit fire and a bright oil lamp, with Evan sitting in the middle and Harry on the other side.

Dumbledore had placed them in a prominent position, directly opposite Slughorn's position.

Sure enough, when he turned around, he could see the three of them at first glance.

"Humph!" he quickly looked away, as if he was afraid that his eyes would hurt.

"Here!" he handed a glass to Dumbledore, who had already sat down, and pushed the tray towards Evan and them.

Then he sat down in a pile of cushions on the freshly restored sofa and fell silent with a straight face.

"How's it going, Horace, how are you doing lately?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not so good. Slughorn shook his head, and immediately said, "I can't breathe, I have asthma, and rheumatism, and my legs and feet are not as nimble as they used to be, and the pain torments me." Alas, this is also to be expected. People are old and useless. ”

"However, you must be agile enough to prepare such a welcome scene in such a short period of time, and most wizards can't do that. Dumbledore said, "I don't think it took you more than three minutes to get alerted, right?"

"Two minutes, I was taking a shower, drinking a glass of wine by the way, I must have been slightly drunk, and I didn't hear the alarm. Slughorn said half-annoyed, half-triumphant, and then, as if he had regained his composure, "But, the truth is undeniable, I am an old man, Albus, a tired old man, who has the right to live a quiet life and to receive some material comforts, as I told you before. ”

He certainly did not lack creature comforts, and even drank specially made wines when he drank.

There were also the furnishings in the room, which were crowded and messy, but no one would say it was uncomfortable.

In addition to the things of the original Muggle owners, there were many things that clearly belonged to Slughorn, such as the elaborate set of drinking utensils, the distinctive soft chairs, ottomans, books, boxes of chocolates, and a bulging pile of cushions.

If they didn't know who lived here, they would have guessed that she was a discerning lady.

Evan knew that Slughorn was a shrewd wizard with all the qualities of Slytherin and that he enjoyed it.

At the very least, he knew how to enjoy it better than all the wizards he knew.

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

"Maybe it's time for you to think about retirement, I've heard that there's been a lot of trouble lately. Slughorn said bluntly, his pale green eyes fixed on Dumbledore's incantation-laden hand, "You can see you're not as quick as you used to be." ”

"You're right. Dumbledore said calmly, shaking his sleeve up.

There, Evan saw that his arm was also covered in intricate dark green incantations.

They intertwined with each other and extended up their arms.

What is it?

Evan had never seen a spell like this before, he had thought it was a magic rune, but now it didn't seem to be like that.

It seems to be a curse, not just a spell damage taken by accident.

"I'm obviously slower than I used to be. Dumbledore said, "Dangerous magical experiments and adventures are no longer for me, but it is also undeniable that adventures have gained a lot, and we have advanced beyond our imagination so far, on the other hand......"

He shrugged his shoulders and spread out his hands, as if to say that old age also has the benefits of old age.

But Slughorn was definitely not listening to what Dumbledore had to say, his eyes fell on Gaunt's ring.

He frowned slightly, and a few wrinkles appeared on his broad head.

Evan remembered fifteen-year-old Riddle telling him and Dumbledore that Slughorn had seen such a ring.

Now the ring is exactly the same as before, except for the resurrection stone, which is kept with him.

Not to mention, the soul inside the ring is casual!

Fifteen-year-old Riddle, Slughorn's most proud protégé, must be watching him right now.

But if he had known about it, or if Dumbledore had released Riddle, he would have fled in fright.

All of those spells ended up on the ring, or rather, it was spread from here in the first place.

Evan couldn't help but wonder, what the hell did Dumbledore want to do, involving the magic of Riddle's soul?

"So, Horace, all these security measures against intruders, are they against the Death Eaters, or are they against me?" Dumbledore asked.

"Hmph, what's the use of the Death Eaters asking me for this useless old bone?" Slughorn asked rhetorically.

"I think they'll want you to use your ingenuity for repression, torture and murder. Dumbledore said, "You have a lot of status among them, and many of them respect you, don't you?

The Death Eaters, especially the original Death Eaters, and Voldemort's original team, were overwhelmingly Slytherin students.

At the time, Slughorn was their dean, and he had a knack for winning people's hearts.

Slughorn glared at Dumbledore viciously for a moment, then whispered, "I never gave them a chance, for a year I have been in a state of flux, never for more than a week. Moving from one Muggle house to another, the owner of which was vacationing in the Canary Islands. ”

"Hey, I'm so comfortable here, I can't leave. You know, it's not that hard, it's easy to get the hang of it, they don't use speculums, they use those ridiculous burglar alarms, you just have to cast a freezing spell on them, and you just don't let the neighbors see when you bring the piano in. ”