Dumbledore and Slughorn stood back to back, one tall and skinny, the other short and fat, both waving their wands in unexpected unison.

One by one, the furniture jumped back to its original position, the decorations returned to their original shape in mid-air, the feathers burrowed back into the cushions, and the broken books were automatically repaired and neatly arranged on the shelves.

The oil lamp flew to the small table by the wall, and was lit again, and a large mass of broken silver picture frames flew to the other end of the room, and landed on a writing desk, shining as good as new again, and all the broken, torn, and open parts of the room were restored to their original state.

The stains on the walls were automatically wiped clean, as if they had not been stained with blood.

"By the way, what kind of blood is that?" Dumbledore asked, his voice drowning out the pendulum of the freshly repaired clock.

"You mean on the wall? It's fire dragon blood. The other party shouted in reply.

At this moment, the chandelier jumped back to the ceiling of its own accord, and the sound of creaking and tinting was deafening.

With the final sound of the piano, the room finally fell silent.

"Yes, Albus, dragon blood," the wizard said with a final shake of his wand, "you reminded me that this is the last bottle I treasure, and it is surprisingly expensive on the market at the moment. However, maybe it can still be used, don't waste it. ”

He walked to the sideboard with heavy steps, picked up a small crystal bottle on the top of the cabinet, and looked at the light carefully to see the viscous liquid inside.

"Well, it's a little dirty." He put the vial back on the sideboard, and then with some reluctance, he turned to look at Dumbledore with a blushing face.

"These kids—"

"Oh! Let me introduce you. Dumbledore smiled and walked up to the young wizards, pointing at Owen first, "This is Owen, Owen Sanchez." What you should know is now a famous therapist. ”

"I've seen it in the newspapers, the lad of the Roziers."

Dumbledore smiled noncommittally and pointed to the others, "Harry Potter, there's Miss Ginny Weasley, a good witch, I dare say some adult wizards don't know as much about spells as she does, and behind them are Mr. Ron Weasley and Miss Coyatl Stewart, you may know from some sources about what they've been doing this year, and the Federation has suppressed the news, you know, it's to protect them." ”

"I know, I know." The man stared at them with bright eyes and a smile like a hungry wolf.

"I don't think I need to introduce this young lady."

"Oh! Of course – Miss Granger. The man walked up, suddenly grabbed Hermione's hand, shook it, and said, "The rising star of the wizarding world, the recipient of the Order of Merlin of the First Degree, oh my God, I can't imagine that there would be such a good little wizard." ”

"Kids." Dumbledore pointed to the man facing the young wizards and said, "This is an old friend of mine, an old colleague named Horace Slughorn. ”

Professor Slughorn shook hands with each of the young wizards before turning to look at Dumbledore with a sharp expression on his face.

"You think that's enough to convince me?"

"I think it's enough." This time, Dumbledore didn't make any detours with Professor Slughorn, saying bluntly, "Whatever my purpose, Hogwarts is the safest place to be in these chaotic times. Unless you're willing to have someone visit, disguise yourself as a couch. ”

"I'm going to think about it." Professor Slughorn said.

"Of course, at least we can have a drink." Dumbledore said, "For the sake of the past time." ”

"Whatever you want." His words were a bit stiff.

Dumbledore just smiled and led him to a chair.

This chair was a lot like the one Slughorn had just impersonated.

The little wizards were a little idle.

Hermione asked, "Slughorn - um- sir. Can we visit your house? ”

"Of course." Slughorn's expression was strange, and there was some pity in his eyes, he was annoyed by the way Hermione had just called him, sir- if it was a professor

Oh! O Merlin!

That girl is sure to be the best student he will ever meet in his life.

Thinking about it, Slughorn couldn't help but look at Dumbledore who was happy on the side.

There was more resentment in his eyes.

Owen actually understands the tangle in Slughorn's mind right now.

This is a refined and self-interested man.

He didn't want to get involved in either Dumbledore or Voldemort.

If it weren't for the United States, he might not hesitate to join Hogwarts.

Because on the surface, Dumbledore seems to have a better chance of winning.

But the fall of America had too much impact on an old wizard like him who could get some inside information.

Voldemort possessed far more power than he could have imagined.

Not to mention that the [Pretenders] and [Purges] are now entangled with the Death Eaters, and even merge.

This means that even in Hogwarts, there may be Pretenders.

It's not safe there at all.

This year, Dolores Umbridge will be able to bring the Pretender to Hogwarts, and there is no guarantee that the others will not.

If the little wizard is replaced during the summer vacation, who will find out?

With all that said, it's normal for Mr. Slughorn to hesitate.

Hogwarts is very safe, but on the other hand it is also the most dangerous place.

It's too much of a firepower.

It's safer to hide anywhere than to stay at Hogwarts.

"Professor Dumbledore wants Mr. Slughorn to be our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."

Harry, who was visiting the other room, looked at Owen with a puzzled expression, "He looks too old." ”

Yes, Slughorn was about the same age as Dumbledore, and it didn't matter if the professors in the other classes were older, but Defence Against the Dark Arts was a hands-on class, and it was absolutely reasonable for Harry to worry that Slughorn would break his back in class.

"I guess he's here to teach us potions." Hermione said, "Hogwarts, a piece of school history says that Professor Slughorn was a former Potions professor and the head of Slytherin House.

When he retired, he reserved his place for the best students. ”

"Snape?" Harry's eyes widened, "Oh! Oh, my God! He had long wanted to get the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and he applied for it every year! Is he finally going to succeed this year? ”

"Obviously." Owen said.

"No—" Harry wailed, "my favorite lesson, now—gone." ”

"On the bright side, maybe your favorite class this year will be Potions?" Owen couldn't help but laugh.

"How is that possible?"

"What's impossible, Mr. Slughorn, but I like you famous little wizards the most." Owen smiled and explained, "Everyone has something they like, and our Slughorn Professor, his favorite thing is to take those famous little wizards under his wing, why do you think Headmaster Dumbledore is taking us with him?" ”

"So that's it?" Harry, along with the other young wizards, had the same expressions on their faces.

Koatel was the only one who didn't care.

Something like this has already happened to her.

When she was in Ilvermorny, the professors treated her almost like that.

The young wizards were chatting when Professor Slughorn walked in from outside.

With a smile on his face, he looked at Owen.

"I was just talking to Dumbledore outside, and I heard that you found the [Pretender] from the young wizards at Hogwarts?"

"Oh - that's how stupid they are." Owen said casually, "Umbridge is in a hurry, if that person continues to hide for a while, maybe my solution will be useless." ”

"Patronus Charm?" Mr. Slughorn said, "I heard that the young wizards of Hogwarts now have this spell? ”

"Not everybody does." Owen said, "Most of the little wizards above the fourth grade do. ”

"Really?" Slughorn suddenly squeezed out a little loneliness on his face, "Times have really changed!" ”

During his years at Hogwarts, the school was full of talent, and it was as unbearable to him as a goblin throwing a golden galleon into the Thames.

In one corner of the room, there is a bookshelf with many photographs.

It's as tall as several floors.

During a conversation with Slughorn, Harry saw his mother in a photo on the shelf.

"You look a lot like your father." Slughorn walked over, stopped beside Harry, and spoke slowly.

"Yes, that's what others say." Harry said.

"It's just that your eyes don't look like it, your eyes ......"

"Like my mother, yes." He had heard this countless times, and he felt a little tired of it.

"Hmph, yes, of course, as a teacher, you shouldn't favor students, but I just prefer her. Your mother. Slughorn saw Harry's questioning gaze and added, "Lily Evans, she's one of the smartest students I've ever taught, bubbly and lovely, very talented, a charming girl.

I often told her that she was supposed to be in my college, but I often got very unkind answers from her. ”

"You're all Gryffindor students!" He went on to say.

"Owen and Koyatl are not, they are Hufflepuff students." Harry said.

"Oh! It was a bit of a surprise that I always thought that the little wizard who could figure out how to deal with the Pretender was a Ravenclaw student. ”

"Huh." Owen chuckled softly.

"Oh - look at this picture."

As he spoke, Slughorn grabbed a picture frame from the shelf.

In the picture frame are four little wizards, they don't look big, they are the same as the little wizards who are next to them now.

Harry recognized the four at a glance.

From left to right, Snape, his mom Lily, dad Jaime, and finally Sirius.

His dad was holding a strange-looking trophy, a bit like a crucible.

The mother is holding a child.

Harry rubbed his head, pointed to the photo, and said, "They even took a picture together?" And the baby my mom is holding, is it me? ”

"Haha." Slughorn laughed, "That's not you, your mother was only sixteen years old. ”

"Oh-" Harry was a little embarrassed at the sound.

"This is a picture they took at the Potions Masters World Tournament in New Zealand, when we weren't very well prepared and something else happened at the time, and Hogwarts ended up finishing fourth."

As he spoke, Slughorn's face showed a look of regret, "At that time, the potion formula we chose was too conservative, and it was difficult for the judges to give a high score, in fact, the finished products of the top few were more or less problematic, but their recipes were bolder and more unique. Anyway, it's a pity. ”

"As for the child in Lily's arms"

Slughorn paused, he didn't want to tell the little wizards about the fate of the child.

So he just said briefly, "Her mother passed away unexpectedly, and in the end, it was Chang'an Taixue's master, and Professor Xia Ti adopted her."

I heard that she has grown into a powerful witch by now. He is the youngest professor in the history of Taixue. ”

"Zhang Xiaolin?" Owen interjected.

After all, the youngest professor in Taixue's history can only be her.

"Oh? Do you know? Slughorn's eyes lit up, "Sure enough, geniuses always have a heart-to-heart relationship." I'm not surprised by that. ”

"Acquaintance, chance encounter." Owen said simply.

And while Harry continued to stare at the picture in a daze. Others have also focused their attention on the photo shelves of many celebrities.

"It's all my former students, it's all signed photos, and I take them with me wherever I go. You'll see Barnabas Guffey, editor of the Daily Prophet, oh, now the editor-in-chief of Hogwarts Wizardry and Wizardry, who is always interested in hearing my opinion on the situation.

And Ambrosius Froome of Duke Bee's Confectionery, who gave me a gift basket every year for my birthday, because it was I who introduced him to Cicelón Harkis, who got him his first job and beyond.

If you stick your neck out, it's Gwenog Jones, the captain of the Holyhead Harpys, and people often wonder why I have such a good relationship with the Harpys, and if I want to, I can get tickets for free, and ......."

Speaking of this, he was so emotional that he wanted to introduce everyone in the photo to them.

Looking at these powerful or well-known wizards, listening to Slughorn describe their relationship with him, one can clearly feel the influence of this old wizard, who is like a spider, weaving an invisible web.

And, Slughorn seems happy to show off these relationships.

This made Owen feel very familiar.

Because Miss Granger next to him was doing the same, and she had even reached out abroad.

He touched Hermione's shoulder and looked at her, a smile on his lips.

The little witch naturally understood what Owen was thinking.

But she couldn't argue that whatever the goal, judging from the practice, the development of . is indeed very similar to Slughorn's network.

"Huh?" She turned her head, thinking about how to refute, but unexpectedly saw an acquaintance in a photo.

"Sir, this is also your student?"

Owen followed Hermione's finger and found a very special picture in a very remote corner.

It wasn't a magic photo, just a normal Muggle photo.

The characters in the frame don't move.

But the people in the painting surprised Owen.

"Ah—" Slughorn thought for a moment as if he remembered something, "I remember it was a summer vacation—Regulus—oh—Sirius's younger brother, and he came to visit me with some of his friends and asked me some difficult questions about potions. ”

"They're all a group of very talented wizards, and the questions they ask are quite original and tricky, and honestly, even though I've been on the Potions path for hundreds of years, not all of them have answers."

"Do you remember their names?" Hermione then asked.

"Of course." "Because I put their names on the back of the photo." ”

With that, he picked up the frame and turned it over.

"Well—from left to right, they're Roy Silver, Gabriel Rozier, Regulus Black, McCowwin Hunter, Chronos Stewart."

"Hey, that's right, Owen, that's your mom." Hermione looked at Owen in surprise.

The other young wizards were also drawn to Hermione's words.

Everyone looked at the picture.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron could recognize three of them, Roy, Owen's mother Gabriel, and Sirius's brother Regulus.

As for the other two, they don't know each other.

"Probably all members of the saints." Owen said, his gaze resting on his mother's appearance.

It's a pity that he doesn't have anything to resemble this woman anymore.

Except for that damn silver hair.

"Sir, are they just looking for you because of potions?" Owen looked up at Slughorn.

"Of course—what else?" Slughorn suddenly became a little flustered.

He added, "It's all old stuff. They came to me decades ago and asked those questions, and I've forgotten all about them now. ”

"You just said they were asking tricky questions." Koyatl spoke suddenly, her scarlet eyes looking scrutinizing.

The atmosphere around them suddenly became silent and oppressive.

"Regulus, do you know how he died?" Owen looked at him with a somewhat aggressive look in his eyes, "I might as well tell you that he may be starving to death, he is trapped in a tower, he can't get out, and he can't move forward." ”

"Why is he there? What did my mom give him?

I'm sure they're definitely not familiar with each other, and they've probably only met once or twice, maybe it's only after meeting you that they have seen what happened afterward. ”

"The back of the photograph reads, May 1979."

"And Regulus died in the same year."

"Chronos Stewart. I've heard the name. "That's one of the alchemical creations of the [Cleansers] and the elves, one of the failures, and he escaped from prison, so the elves will keep a close watch on me after that." Chronos could not have come to England without a purpose, as the Brotherhood of Elves would be all over the country at that time. You must have something very important here, otherwise—"

(End of chapter)