A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 428: Slughorn's Reputation

Dumbledore surveyed the room, catching every expression. A bit fatigued, yet smiling, he spoke, "Alastor, two officials from the Ministry are here seeking some information. I've brought them in."

A tall man rushed in, Felix glimpsed the serious-faced Kingsley. Behind him was Tonks, sporting a new red hairstyle, a bit wild but eye-catching. She waved enthusiastically as Felix glanced her way.

From Tonks' open pocket spilled a half-piece of blue glass, a 'Future World' newly launched super bubble liquid...

Moody grinned widely at the unexpected guests. "Sent by Scrimgeour?"

"Madam Bones sends her regards, Alastor. We're all concerned about you. Oh, by the way, I've officially become an Auror!" Tonks exclaimed cheerfully.

Sirius's eyes shifted. Moody grumbled, "Hope they didn't slack off in their sneaking and tracking lessons."

"You're too strict," Tonks huffed softly.

The dark-skinned Kingsley opened his briefcase, his wand swishing out a scroll covered in dense handwriting and a few handwritten signatures at the bottom.

"Let's catch up later, Alastor," Kingsley, in his trademark low, slow voice, said, "We're here on official business. The Ministry's top officials are swamped. I represent the Minister, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Wizengamot, and the Auror Office. We have some questions about your recent encounters..."

"Ah, we'll leave," Dumbledore grinned, "Kingsley and Alastor are old acquaintances. There won't be any conflicts." He then halted Snape, ready to leave. "Wait, Severus, I have a few minor queries about the analysis report you gave me."

The group exited the ward. Madame Pomfrey closed the door, and from the last gap, Felix glimpsed Kingsley embracing Moody on the bed. The door shut firmly with a bang.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, about my substitute teaching..." Sirius murmured.

"Sirius," Dumbledore's tone grew stern, "I won't deny your request, but clearly, you're not yet prepared to be a professor—"

"But my grades are excellent!" Sirius snapped, glaring at Snape, itching to punch him.

"I'm not referring to grades. You should be aware," Dumbledore replied.

Sirius looked forlorn. Harry wanted to speak up for his godfather, but Professor Lupin, opposite him, subtly shook his head. Harry held back his words.

"Aberforth, Professor Moody's tenure is only for a year?" Felix whispered.

Dumbledore gave an understanding smile. "Yes, Alastor is retired. I shouldn't strain him too much, especially given the current circumstances... Just thinking about rewriting another job ad in six months is giving me a headache."

Outside the infirmary corridors, Dumbledore and Snape headed upstairs, likely towards the headmaster's office. Felix presumed the analysis report Dumbledore mentioned earlier might be related to the residual potion found in the Chamber, probably what Voldemort used to sustain his body.

But it wasn't the time for detailed inquiries. He turned, addressing Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, "I need to visit Hagrid. Will you—"

"We'll come too," Harry immediately said. Ron and Hermione nodded eagerly, while Neville looked around, scratching his head.

"Then let's go together; perhaps you can lend a hand," Felix said cheerfully. Seeing Harry's puzzled look, he explained, "Hagrid needs me to craft some iron chains to prevent those belligerent creatures from perishing before the first winter..."

The young wizards, familiar with Blast-Ended Skrewts, turned pale.

They stepped outside, trekking through the snowy landscape. The biting wind pierced their thick clothes; the young wizards shivered, but Sirius, though pale, looked much better than before.

Felix waved his wand, "Warming Charm—one of the most practical spells in winter. If you haven't bought Temperature-Regulating Pendant Boxes."

Instantly, they felt warm all over. Their steps slowed, treading on the snow became a wintery delight. Harry marveled, and Hermione asked, "Professor, what's the incantation for this spell?"

"Warmth Like Hearth."

"Is it easy to learn? If mastered, does it match the effect of a Temperature-Regulating Pendant?" Ron inquired.

"Your two brothers asked me the same thing," Felix chuckled, "Unfortunately, it's only effective in winter."

Ron pouted, "Now I understand why they were unbeatable in snowball fights."

"Professor, who's Madam Bones?" Harry recalled Tonks mentioning the name; it sounded familiar.

"Amelia Bones, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, quite reputable," Felix replied simply.

"Susan Bones's aunt," Hermione murmured softly, and Harry suddenly realized.

"Sirius, do you know her?" Harry asked his godfather, sensing from his earlier reaction that Sirius might know her.

Sirius pondered, then shrugged, "Ring a bell... She was four years ahead of me in school. Intelligent and serious witch," he muttered, "I think I made her cry once."

"What happened?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Oh, it's a long time ago..." he sighed, noticing Harry's keen interest, "You know, no magic allowed in the school corridors..."

They all nodded.

"When I first started, I was showing off a Lumos spell in the corridor, with some modifications... Amelia caught me, took the chance to dock points, she was a prefect at the time..."

"I don't think prefects should have the power to deduct points," Ron muttered, recalling incidents of Percy docking points in their second year.

Sirius understandingly grinned, "Remus was a prefect too. I happen to know some inside details. Prefects can't deduct points recklessly; they have to write a report for every point deducted, and there are other restrictions... like Amelia only docked me two points."

"Doesn't sound like much," Harry said.

"Yeah," Sirius sighed, "But I was furious. Continued the Lumos charm behind her back, colorful lights flashing on her spectacles... naturally, she wasn't pleased, docked more points. I kept casting, we had a standoff for a while, and in the end, I lost around two hundred points?"

Harry and the others widened their eyes.

Sirius smirked cunningly, "Actually, because it was early in the term, every house had low points. I remember Gryffindor's hourglass had only a few rubies?"

"You escaped like that?" Harry couldn't believe it.

"Not so simple; I got a week in detention," Sirius shrugged, "But Amelia didn't have it easy either. Heard she cried while writing those reports."

Harry thought it best not to tell Susan Bones about this incident; she held her aunt in high regard, while Ron had the opposite thought.

"How about we organize a dueling practice session, Harry? It's been a while since the last one," Ron suggested eagerly, "We can ask Sirius to guide us."

Sirius was tempted but declined, "I can't just waltz into Hogwarts; Hagrid did me a favor."

They arrived at Hagrid's hut. He was working in the pumpkin patch at the back

, where only a dozen Blast-Ended Skrewts remained, but they had grown considerably. Despite the winter snow, they were still vigorous.

"You're here?" Hagrid panted, turning around. He shouted, then lunged at an escaping Skrewt. After a while, he crawled up from the snow, the Skrewt beneath him unmoving.

"It's dead?" Felix asked.

"Not yet," Hagrid gruffly replied, "Might've fainted." He flipped it over, grabbing a thick rope nearby, tying it around the creature's middle. Felix guessed it to be the Skrewt's waist, if such a creature had that anatomy.

Approaching, Felix lightly poked the thick shell of the fainted Skrewt. Its legs weakly kicked twice, proving it was still alive.

Felix quickly cast the chains he had made, telling Hagrid, "Left some gaps, but if they keep growing, might need adjustments in the future."

"I got it," Hagrid grumbled, "This'll do fine."

As they sat on the warm blankets in Hagrid's cabin, Hagrid expressed regret for the Blast-Ended Skrewts: "They're quite gentle, not much harm in 'em... but they do like a good scuffle. Can't say which side's influence that is, might be the sphinx, they're solitary by nature."

Harry's cup of warm tea lost its appeal.

Felix suggested, "Perhaps it's best not to release them just yet. Sviflers is studying their medicinal value—"

*Cough, cough!*

Neville suddenly erupted into a fit of coughing. "Oh, sorry..." he managed, looking alarmed.

"What's up with him?" Hagrid asked, patting Neville with a giant hand, causing him to tumble to the floor.

"He might be thinking about handling the Skrewts later..." Ron explained sympathetically. Snape had a habit of punishing students with grotesque potion ingredients, especially the less valuable, mass-producible ones.

Whether it was the gooey Skrewt larvae or their slimy, rotten seafood-smelling secretion, if Snape found a peculiar use for them, it'd be a nightmare for future students.

And Harry was certain they'd be the first victims.

Hagrid passed Neville a towel, which suddenly wriggled on its own across his face, chin, and shirt before Hagrid hastily snatched it back, apologetic. "Sorry, it's got a cleaning charm on it!"

"N-No worries," Neville said, looking pale.

Hagrid hesitated, then brought over a plate of biscuits. "You might try one of these." Neville politely took one, but upon seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione firmly shaking their heads, he immediately set it down.

Luckily, Hagrid didn't notice. He was engrossed in conversation with Felix. "The Skrewts molted some shells. Don't know if it's useful to you, kept some aside."

Felix nodded. "It's a new material, never seen before. I believe it might bear traits of both the sphinx and the fire crab, though it's hard to say which it leans more toward. If it's the former, its value skyrockets."

"Scamander doesn't share much with me; we mainly discuss magical creature husbandry," Hagrid gruffly remarked. "Our paths diverge a bit... but his advice does come in handy."

Harry knew Hagrid referred to the memory entity in Room Seven. Suddenly, something struck him. "I heard many ghosts favor that place?"

"Spot on, seen quite a few," Hagrid replied. "Heard they're asking Dumbledore to find a ghost cook. Bit daft, that... but these ghosts are much more active than before."

"Any candidates?" Ron, intrigued by peculiar things as usual, asked.

"One," Hagrid muttered. "Horace Sloghorn. The Fat Friar remembers him well, said he sneaked into the kitchen every night for a midnight snack, never missed one."

Harry knew the Fat Friar, the ghost from Hufflepuff, but Horace Slughorn was a mystery.

"Is that the Potions Master?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"You know him?" Hagrid glanced at her. "Interesting fella. Was around when I was at school, Head of Slytherin. Sirius must've known him."

They turned to Sirius, who was holding Toothless on the couch, absentmindedly scratching the dragon's chin as it purred contentedly. He spoke leisurely, "Of course I know him, a hedonistic old chap. He founded the illustrious Slug Club, gathered quite a few Death Eaters—"

"What?" Harry exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, don't worry, no ties to Death Eaters," Sirius reassured, seeing their frozen expressions. "He just enjoys his comforts, loves mead, candied pineapple, triple-layered cushions..." He glanced at Felix. "I bet he's eyeing your company. Saw a chair when I went to see Limes, his favorite."

At the mention of chairs, Hagrid's demeanor shifted, his gaze wandering to a toolbox in the corner beside a red umbrella.

"...He suffers from Slytherin's traits, networking, vanity, disdain for the less talented. Still, he's a vast improvement from the current Headmistress."

Felix glared at him.

Sirius shrugged. "I'm just stating facts. Let's ignore a certain bat-obsessed someone," he continued, "Besides his penchant for comfort, he has an uncanny knack for spotting talented students. He's built a platform for them to connect, hoping for future payback. He relishes that feeling."

"What about the Death Eaters—" Harry pressed on.

"I said it before, besides ability, he also values lineage. You should know what Slytherin mostly represents," Sirius said. "There aren't many who entered based purely on merit, but Harry, your mum was one of the most remarkable."

"My mum?" Harry was once again astonished. He didn't know why he felt compelled to argue, but he did, "But she was in Gryffindor!"

"She got in on her merit," Sirius insisted. "Lily had exceptional potion skills. During the war, her brews saved many lives, especially when Voldemort was after us. While the rest of us hid in safehouses, she was still making a difference."

His tone became somber. "If she and James had survived, Lily would've been the brightest Potions Master. Forget Snape..."

Sirius snorted, exuding contempt.

"What about you guys?" Harry inquired, more eager to know about the Slughorn professor than Sirius's and his parents' story.

"Me and James?"

"And Professor Lupin." Harry corrected. "I mean, Limes."

Sirius chuckled. "I was, uh, rebellious back then," he winked at Harry. "Didn't approve of him, especially after seeing Regulus join that club. I didn't want any part of it, and James was much the same, mostly because Slytherins were so abundant, and he held quite the grudge against them..."

"As for Limes, he excelled in everything, but you know, his background was a big issue."

"But I heard his identity was kept secret, hardly anyone realized he was a werewolf during school." Harry was puzzled.

"That I can explain," Felix interjected. "You can't expect to conceal yourself from a powerful wizard, especially when he's also a Potions Master."

...

The following week flew by swiftly. After the holidays for employees at 'Future World' ended, Felix moved to Diagon Alley, spending the last few days refining new products. Unbeknownst to them, a new semester at Hogwarts began.

>

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