Magical Studies at Hogwarts

Harry was stunned as he watched the fat, bald old man stand up from the sofa. The bloated sofa cover on his body turned into a very straight suit in the blink of an eye, and he looked very elegant.

However, the action of still rubbing his belly made his temperament look a bit funny.

"How did you tell?" he asked while rubbing his belly.

"The Dark Mark, my dear Horace." Dumbledore squinted his eyes and smiled, "If they are really Death Eaters, they will definitely leave the Dark Mark on the roof."

"Ah, that's it, I actually forgot..." He muttered, "I felt like something was missing, but I didn't have enough time."

He took out his wand. Seeing this, Dumbledore also took out his wand and asked, "Do you need help?"

"Of course, it's best."

The two stood back to back, waving the wands in their hands in the same rhythm, and the messy scene in the room suddenly changed.As if pressing the reverse button, the furniture flew back to its original position one by one.The glass, feathers, clock faces and pendulums scattered on the ground, as well as the broken books, have all returned to their original state, staying neatly where they should be.

In just a moment, the living room became extremely tidy, and even the horrific bloodstains on the wall were cleaned away.

"This is indeed much better." Dumbledore nodded, "By the way, what kind of blood is that?"

"Fire dragon blood." Horace replied, "It's my last bottle. It's hard to get it now. Of course..."

As he spoke, he sighed and his eyes wandered around the room.Only then did he notice Harry and Hermione, especially the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, which shocked him even more.

"Hey!" He pointed at Harry, but looked at Dumbledore next to him, and his tone was a little unkind.

"You think you can convince me with this?"

"Albus, I tell you, it's impossible!"

Dumbledore was not annoyed and said with a smile on his face: "I forgot, I haven't introduced you yet."

"This is Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger... Harry, Hermione, and this is my old friend and colleague, Horace Slughorn."

"Impossible! Impossible! Albus, impossible!" Horace's eyes widened and he kept chanting, turning his back and not looking at Harry and Hermione.

Seeing this, Dumbledore smiled and patted his shoulder and said, "I think, no matter what, we can at least have a drink together...for the sake of the past?"

Hobbes hesitated for a moment, then finally turned around and nodded.

"Okay, but just one cup!"

Dumbledore laughed, waving his wand, and the wine flask and wine glass that had appeared at the Dursleys once again landed on the newly repaired coffee table in the living room.

"This is Ms. Rosmerta's mead. I remember it was your favorite!"

They sat down around the coffee table. Although Horace picked up the wine glass and took a sip, he still turned his head to the side, not looking at Dumbledore.When Dumbledore saw Horace drinking mead, he immediately winked mischievously at Harry and Hermione.

After coughing, he asked: "Horace, how are you? Are your bones okay?"

"It's not good." Horace took another sip of mead. "Asthma, rheumatism, and weak legs and feet. It's normal. People are getting old and they are no longer useful."

"Really? I didn't see that." Dumbledore said, "It's very smart for you to prepare such a welcome ceremony for us in such a short time."

"Let me guess...3 minutes?"

"It's two and a half minutes!" Horace turned around suddenly, his words were half proud and half angry, "I was taking a shower and didn't hear the alarm of the invasion spell, otherwise you wouldn't have seen any flaws!"

"But... I'm still old, a useless old man, and a useless old man deserves to live a peaceful retirement life."

"You're not even older than me, Horace," Dumbledore advised.

"Yes, so you should also consider retiring, Albus." Horace put the cup on the coffee table, and quickly filled it with the flask, and the cup then jumped into his hand obediently.

He didn't look at the wine glass. Instead, he squinted at Dumbledore's exposed charred hand, and said as if pointing: "I can see that you are not as agile as before."

"That's right." Dumbledore replied calmly, showing both hands.The right hand was burnt black, and the left hand was intact, but there was a ring on it that looked like it was made of gold. It was very rough, with a black cracked stone inlaid on it.

Horace's attention fell on the ring unconsciously, and he frowned slightly, but in an instant he turned his head away and just snorted coldly.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly, as if he didn't see Horace's reaction, and asked himself: "Horace, are these safety measures of yours to resist the Death Eaters, or are they for us?"

"What do the Death Eaters want with my old bones?" he asked rhetorically.

"Torture, murder, conspiracy, I think your intelligence is very important to them." Dumbledore said, his eyes suddenly became sharp, "Do you dare to say that they have never tried to recruit you?"

"boom!"

After hearing this, Horace put the cup on the coffee table fiercely, stared at Dumbledore fiercely for a long time, and then whispered back: "I didn't give them a chance!"

"I have been hiding my whereabouts for the past year and never stayed in one place for more than a week."

"Yes, they have looked for me more than once. In fact, I was almost caught just a few days ago!" A trace of panic appeared on his face unconsciously, "A young man who has never been seen before. It's even more terrifying than..."

"More terrifying than Tom, right?" Dumbledore whispered back, "Young and powerful, so powerful that it makes people despair?"

"Yeah..." Horace's experience of the past few days came to mind, and he couldn't help but shudder.

Seeing this, Dumbledore smiled and said: "For an old man who only wants to live a peaceful life, this kind of life is really terrible! But think about it, if you returned to Hogwarts..."

"Save it, Albus!" Horace interrupted Dumbledore directly, "Yes, I am indeed hiding now, but I heard some rumors about Umbridge, that's how you treat someone. From a famous professor!”

"Umbridge brought it upon herself. She walked into the Forbidden Forest and shouted 'filthy bastards' to a group of angry centaurs."

"You certainly wouldn't do that, Horace..."

"She actually did this? What a silly woman, I won't..." Horace's expression became a little unnatural, and his voice became smaller and smaller.

At this moment, Harry, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly burst out laughing, which immediately attracted Horace's attention.Seeing this, Harry quickly put down his glass and explained: "Sorry, it's just... I don't like her either, we all don't like her."

"Okay, okay..." Horace was still muttering in a low voice, his eyes glancing at Hermione inadvertently.He didn't pay attention at first, but suddenly he remembered the news he got from one of his students who worked at the Ministry of Magic a few days ago, and unconsciously glanced at Hermione twice.

"Ahem..." He coughed twice, picked up the wine glass and took a sip of mead. He seemed to casually ask Dumbledore next to him, "Is this...what you said just now, Hermione G. Ranger?"

"Twelve o's?"

Dumbledore nodded, the smile on his face getting brighter.