Hogwarts 1991

Chapter 450 Trying to persuade
"What do I know?"

"You should have guessed it, Horace."

Dumbledore walked to the edge of the large writing desk, and he began to flip through the news reports circled in red pen, spread out the newspapers, and asked in Horace's increasingly blunt expression.

Horace Slughorn shifted his gaze a little, and after seeing the surprised gazes of McGuffin and Snape, he stopped hiding and asked directly in a rough voice.

"How did you reveal it?"

"I know that you have tried with Kingsley, Crouch...even with Mandela, and Fudge...according to your well-informed level, and from the information marked in these newspapers...now, you are just waiting for my confirmation, right?"

Dumbledore held up a newspaper of "North American Wizard Weekly". The news on it was the relevant report of the [Giant Horror Plant] from the previous year. Unlike other newspapers at that time, this newspaper discussed in detail the evolution of ancient magic in it, and why this kind of magic reappeared in front of people.

Horace used a red pen to mark the various conjectures drawn on it. Among them, a conjecture about the increase in the concentration of magic power in the environment was... drawn a big circle with a red pen, marking a big question mark.

Seeing that he had revealed himself, Horace actually acted as if nothing had happened, returned to his armchair and sat down again.

After adjusting a comfortable posture, he continued, "Looking at what you said, then...my guess should be right, the magic power is indeed slowly rising, and the ancient magic spells that could not be used before have also regained their vitality..."

McGuffin watched Slughorn talking.

This guy's thick skin is really astonishing. You have to know that he has just been exposed for his true face of wanting to talk, and now he is actually talking directly on this topic.

"Although senior officials of the Ministry of Magic, such as Fudge, refused to disclose the relevant things to me, I still learned something from Goodman...I heard that the British Ministry of Magic...and even the Federation of Magic are now trying to contact the Chinese Ministry of Magic through Chinese wizards living in Hong Kong and Japan...even some ancient Arabian and Italian wizard families...?"

"You must know that these guys are the most opposed to establishing a diplomatic channel with wizards in that country... Those old guys who claim to be orthodox in magic are extremely arrogant. They probably won't allow Fudge to make such a decision at all. It seems that the increase in the concentration of magic power has indeed exceeded the threshold of these years... So they have to make this change."

After talking a lot, Slughorn was so thirsty that he waved his wand directly to fill the porcelain teacup with tea and drank it in one gulp.

Seeing that Dumbledore didn't say a word, he said angrily, "What are you talking about, do you want me to sing a one-man show here alone?"

"Severus, and that little wizard McGuffin... I don't see any change in your expressions, so you probably know about it?"

Dumbledore smiled there, and walked to Slughorn, "Horace, you are still as cunning... You are very good at finding some breakthroughs from your students. Don't ask... Although the two of them know about this matter, they will not open their mouths... We have promised Fudge and the others, until this matter can be announced to the public... I will protect this secret."

"Still a secret? That bear in the Ministry of Magic... leaks like a sieve, I'm sure... Now almost half of the family members of the Ministry of Magic employees know about it, and when Hogwarts starts school, most of the young wizards will try their best to spread rumors about it... Just like my experience in teaching at Hogwarts - if you want to make a secret not a secret, sign a document at the Ministry of Magic; if you want a piece of news to be worthless, tell a little wizard at Hogwarts!"

Horace, half-complaining, half-muttering, sprayed Dumbledore all over his face.

Apparently he just finished replenishing his water, and he has plenty of 'ammo'.

Dumbledore took two steps back slightly, leaned over, and said with a smile, "In any case, this information cannot be disclosed to outsiders from me, but if you are a Hogwarts teacher...it will be very different, that is your own person...you should get this news, be prepared...to teach little wizards in the future!"

"Aha! I knew..."

Horace had the expected expression on his face.

"You think you're taking advantage of my weakness, and you're terribly mistaken, Albus! I'm not in danger."

Perhaps to express his indignation, Horace Slughorn wanted to jump off the armchair... But just like before, he only tried a little, and found that it was extremely difficult to pull his body out of the armchair quickly without using magic.

He swayed, and finally lay down on the sofa, waving his thick fingers and pointing at Dumbledore to express his anger.

McGuffin looked at the 'great acting' of these two old actors.

That's right, he could see it... Although the two of them seemed to be trying their best to persuade and the other was trying their best to oppose... But it was obvious that they were just performing, testing each other's bottom line, and bargaining.

Neither of the two could convince the other, and it was obvious that the two old guys knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Here's where things get stuck.

After Dumbledore gave Snape a look, he stood up suddenly.

"Are you leaving?" Slughorn's face was a little nervous, he didn't expect Dumbledore to be so impatient now.

"No, I just wanted to ask if I could ask about your bathroom," said Dumbledore.

"Oh," breathed Slughorn, but immediately scowled, and said in a very stiff tone, "follow the corridor and go to the end opposite the stairs... there is a lion statue..."

"Gryffindor's insignia turned out to be a toilet mark... Well, I have to go and see."

Snape also stood up, he seemed very interested in the bathroom Horace was talking about, with a very 'Slytherin' smile on his face.

Slughorn laughed as well. "Snape Severus...how did I not think of that?"

Both Slytherin heads sensed the joke at the same time.

Afterwards, Dumbledore and Snape walked down the corridor, towards the 'interesting' bathroom.

Some distance away from the study, Snape thought that the two people in the room could not hear him, suppressed his smile, and said coldly, "Do you really think that McGuffin can convince Horace? Without you paying any real benefits... can you get that very materialistic old vulture to agree to the position of accepting potions?"

"Oh, I'm not worried about this at all. McGuffin is more capable than we imagined... And Horace is also very interested in Albert. Don't you see this? Now, I'm very curious about the bathroom of the lion sculpture... Come on, let's take a look."

After speaking, Dumbledore strode forward.

Snape looked at the tall and thin figure, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He was not interested in the bathroom, and he still went with an old man... After cursing 'old lunatic' in his heart, he looked around in the direction of the first floor.

In the study, McGuffin and Horace were looking at each other with some embarrassment.

Both of them understood what Dumbledore and Snape wanted to do when they followed each other and left here.

—Let the MacGuffin do the talking to Horace.

The room was quiet for a while.

McGuffin wanted to know how he could break through the old spider's defense, he said suddenly.

"I hear you once taught Tom Riddle!"

"What-what!"

Horace turned pale with fright, he never expected the name to come out of the little wizard's mouth.

"You, what do you mean? Who is that?"

Horace obviously wanted to play dumb and pass by, thinking that McGuffin had just overheard the name and didn't know what it meant.

"Dark Lord! His original name... I think you should still remember the real name of the most powerful dark wizard in modern times! He is the most famous student you have ever taught..."

MacGuffin pressed on,
Horace leaned back in a panic. For a moment, he seemed to have returned to many years ago, and saw the most outstanding student in the school at that time... The figures of the two of them were almost reunited in front of his eyes... They both gave people a feeling that they could not be rejected...

No, something is different.

Tom never showed this kind of persecution to professors... or people higher than him. He has always been a qualified and excellent Slytherin...very polite, higher than him, and in front of the professors, he has always looked like a well-behaved, genius... But everyone can feel the burning ambition from his delicate and handsome appearance.

And this little guy in front of him...he...younger...has a more compelling feeling...

Shaking his mind, Horace shook his head and returned to reality.

No, no matter what, this little wizard is still a student, how could he be afraid of a student!

Horace lowered his face, breathed a sigh of relief, glared at the little wizard and said sternly, "Don't think I don't know who taught you this sentence... Dumbledore, right? This old fox... I knew he would do this trick a long time ago."

"No, Professor Slughorn!"

"I want to say it myself, because I want to know about that man... I want to know everything about him..."

"—I want to destroy him!"

McGuffin expressed his thoughts coldly.

Horace could hardly speak, he could see that the little wizard was serious, "You..."

"Do you know where we came directly to you just now?"

"Where?" (Horace swallows.)
"Azkaban!"

"You... no, why did you follow up, Gorgon! You are not yet of age... How dare Dumbledore? How could Fuji agree."

"What are you doing there?" Horace immediately realized the more serious problem contained in it.

"Interrogation!"

Horace took a deep breath and hissed, "Dumbledore—he's not fit to be the headmaster of Hogwarts, he... how could he!"

"I asked for it."

"What!" Horace was taken aback by the little wizard in front of him again.

"Professor Slughorn? Can you keep a secret for me? That's why Professor Dumbledore allowed me to do this!"

Then McGuffin took out his wand and tapped his heart. A golden scale shining with golden light was slowly pulled out from there and floated in front of him and Horace.

"This is? - Ancient Egypt's [Golden Balance] magic rune, how could you have it? I remember you were born as a Muggle...such a precious thing..."

"Are those bizarre rumors - the second generation of the Dark Lord, the black nightmare... are they true?"

Horace is now being driven step by step by this little wizard to doubt the 'current reality', thinking that the... rumors uploaded by the gossip in the newspapers are actually somewhat credible.

"Guess?... But you just promise me that in this magical contract, promise to keep my secret... everything that happened at Hogwarts... all these years, everything... I will tell you everything."

Seeing that Horace's expression was a little shaken, McGuffin decided to add another fire.

"I know you're skeptical...I can tell you one thing in advance, that man...I saw it with my own eyes, at Hogwarts."

"What do you mean?"

Horace Slughorn was really frightened by the little wizard in front of him. He jumped off the armchair and stood staggeringly on the ground, staring blankly at the little wizard in front of him.

He instinctively told himself that it was best not to continue inquiring, otherwise he would get into a lot of trouble and disturb the peaceful life he had always wanted.

but--

At the same time, Horace 'smelled' a bad feeling. If he didn't figure it out, he might not only live a peaceful life...it might even affect his life.

After hesitating for a moment, he shook his stubby fingers, took out his wand... stepped forward, touched the illusion of [Golden Balance] and swore.

"I, Horace Slughorn, will guard against hearing anything from MacGuffin Albert today!"

[Golden Scale] In the air-suddenly turned into chains of golden and red silk, wrapped around Horace's wand, and then gradually disappeared.

"Tell me! What does that mean... How could you have seen that person!"

Horace asked bluntly.

After feeling the feedback from [Golden Scale], McGuffin thought for a while, looked at the erosion rate of [Blood Curse] displayed by the parchment system in his mind, his talent points, and the extremely exaggerated [Charm] in his pocket, and made a decision.

"Let me show it to you...you will probably believe it a little more."

Just when Horace couldn't understand what the little wizard was trying to do, he suddenly heard and saw——

"--hiss!"

MacGuffin Albert, that little wizard face...

Reflective black scales like jade began to spread... growing densely from the neck, and the two pairs of amber vertical snake pupils... the letter slowly spit out from the mouth... and...

It sounded cold, slimy... like Parseltongue.

This reminded him of his former student... that person did this more than once to prove his bloodline.

How can it be!

It seemed that a pair of invisible hands were tightly grasping Horace's internal organs.

He couldn't help but took two steps back, his wand fell to the ground, and his body fell heavily on the armchair behind him.

(End of this chapter)