The portraits had long since fallen silent, not criticizing the students who were openly kissing in the hallway, or the girl's dress being too. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info closed one by one and pretended to sleep, and some of them snored pretendically.

The sound of brisk footsteps broke the original silence.

"Is that you, Potter?" said Phoenix.

"Peverell - I got it, I got Slughorn's memory. ”

Harry pulled out a small glass bottle and showed it to Phoenix. Phoenix seemed stunned for a moment, then a smile broke into his face.

"Good, great. We're going to the headmaster's office now—"

After a few minutes, they said "Life and Death Water" to the stone monster. The monster jumped aside and made them rush up the spiral staircase.

"Come in. Phoenix knocked on the door and heard Snape say.

Phoenix pushed the door open. Snape's office was still the same, but outside the window was a starry black sky. Just two more and sobs.

Hannah Abbott was at her desk, and a wizard put his arm around her shoulders and whispered comfort. Snape was still struggling to write, and he didn't lift his head.

"Wait. Snape paused, scrutinized his gaze across the parchment, stood up and handed it to the wizard, "This is my letter of introduction to Headmaster Ilvermorny, with details of Miss Abbott. ”

"Thank you very much," said the wizard, "and we take our leave." ”

"I'll send you," said Snape as he passed them, "I'll come in a moment." ”

Hannah still had a prefect badge pinned to her chest, and she covered her hands and sobbed from time to time. Harry's throat twitched slightly, trying to say something. The wizard nodded stiffly at them and brushed shoulders with them. Snape opened the door, and the room was quiet.

"What's going on?" Harry himself realized something, his voice trembling, "Her family—?"

"Dead, I guess. Phoenix whispered.

Keep moving your hands and rummage through the meditation basin.

"There may be a report tomorrow, but now let's get down to business, that's the only way to stop this tragedy. He said solemnly.

Phoenix placed the stone basin on the table, and Harry poured the contents of the bottle into it.

"You're first—"

Harry obediently leaned over the meditation basin and felt his feet off the ground—he fell again in the darkness, into Slughorn's office all those years ago.

Still much younger Slughorn, with thick, shiny grass-yellow hair and a ginger mustache, sat in a comfortable winged armchair with his feet resting on large velvet cushions, a small glass of wine in one hand and a box of candied pineapple in the other. Six or seven teenage boys sat around Slughorn, including Tom Riddle. Marvolo's black jewel gold ring glittered on Riddle's hand, and the prefect badge on his chest mirrored Phoenix's.

"He's not the captain, did you say Voldemort played Quidditch - but the champion team in the Slytherin common room, he doesn't have him in the photo album. ”

Phoenix stroked his beard and looked at Voldemort from his school days, similar to the Horcrux in his second year, handsome, gentle and polite.

"The ring!" said Harry.

"Yes, it seems that he got the ring very early. ”

"How-" Harry stopped before he could finish his sentence.

Riddle was asking, "Sir, is Professor Meles retiring?"

"Tom, Tom, I know and can't tell you," Slughorn shook a frosted finger at him reproachfully, but winked again. "I have to say, I want to know where you got your news, kid. You know more than half of the faculty members. ”

Riddle smiled slightly, and the other boys laughed as well, casting admiring glances at him.

"You ghost, you know things you shouldn't know, and you're careful to please important people-thank you pineapple by the way, you guessed it, it's my favorite-"

Several boys snickered.

"--I'm sure you'll be the Minister of Magic in twenty years' time. Maybe only fifteen years, if you send me candied pineapple regularly. I have a very hard relationship in the ministry. ”

The other boys laughed again, Tom Riddle only smiled. Phoenix noticed that he was by no means the oldest of the boys, but they all seemed to see him as a leader. There were a few people who looked very familiar, probably the grandfathers of his classmates.

"I don't know if politics is right for me, sir," Tom Riddle said after the laughter had subsided, "and I have no background in the first place. ”

The two boys next to him looked at each other and smiled.

"Why," said Slughorn heartily, "it is all too clear that your talent must come from a decent wizarding family." You've got a bright future ahead of you, Tom, and I've never missed a student. ”

Phoenix thought to himself that this was true, Slughorn had never looked away. Riddle did do something great after graduating, even if it was evil, but it was still a big thing.

The little golden clock on Slughorn's desk struck eleven.

"Oh my God, it's time, it's time to go, boys, or we're in trouble. Lestrange, turn in your papers tomorrow, or you'll be locked up. So do you, Avery. ”

The boys came out in a row. Slughorn got up from his chair and brought the empty cup to the table. The movement behind him made him look back, and Riddle was still standing there.

"Hurry up, Tom, you don't want to be caught until the lights go out and you're still outside, you're a prefect—"

"Sir, I want to ask you something. ”

"Then ask, kid, ask—"

"Sir, I want to ask if you know - Horcruxes. ”

Slughorn glared at him, his fat fingers caressing the foot of the cup absentmindedly.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts subject, huh?"

This is a lie. Maybe it was a temptation, if Riddle tried to deceive him, maybe Slughorn wouldn't reveal that much.

"No, sir, what I read in the book, I don't understand much. "It's a pity that Riddle is not stupid.

"Well-yes-it's hard to find a book detailing Horcruxes at Hogwarts, Tom. That's very evil stuff, very evil. Slughorn said.

"But you obviously know a lot, sir? I mean, a wizard like you -- I'm sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, apparently -- I only know that if anyone can tell me, it's you -- so I want to ask-"

Just right, that hesitant, casual tone, subtle compliment, not overdone at all. Phoenix glanced at Harry, wondering if he had been able to capture the memory in the same way under the influence of the elixir - poor Slughorn had always been tempted by his beloved student whom he could not resist. (To be continued.) )