Uncle Vernon paled and stuttered, "W-war? You mean the freaks are fighting amongst themselves?"

Still smirking, Harry replied, "Indeed. War. And it's not only the freaks. This could wipe out life as we know it, especially for you normal people. There is a very powerful dark wizard who is bent on destroying all non-pure blood in the world, and the only blood he considers worthy is pure wizard blood. I happen to be the only one who can destroy him, and you happen to be muggles, my family, and the ones who have been abusing and neglecting me since I came into your home. How's that? Jealousy and fear have put your lives in danger, and it is entirely your own faults." Harry turned to his aunt, who was frozen in fear. "Petunia, what would my mother say? She loved you, and she wanted to include you in our world. If you had been kind to us, we would have included you, showed you all the great things there were. Dudley, I know it wasn't your fault; you were just following the example set out for you. And Vernon…When someone is more powerful than you, it is not wise to be rude and lock them away, because someday it will come back to bite you in the arse. That is not today, but you will regret it eventually."

Harry looked to Dumbledore, who was staring at him with a mix of shock and apprehension. "Ah yes, sorry about that, I'm a bit bitter, and we both know I'm a Slytherin at heart. Now, Buckbeak shall go to Hagrid, and I will call Kreacher and order him to work in the Hogwarts kitchens. Now may we go? I am quite ready to put this behind us. See you next year!" This last bit he called to his relatives as he walked to the hallway to gather his trunk.

Looking back to the sitting room where everyone was still sitting and staring at him, Harry said, "Well, aren't you coming? We have a Burrow to get to!" At this, Dumbledore rose gracefully and walked up to Harry.

"I must say," he began, "that was a quite impressive speech. More impressive than the one I had planned, indeed." He flicked his wand to Harry's things, and they disappeared. "Let us go, then, Harry. We should walk to the end of the street to Apparate. We have one stop to make first, however. I must speak with a colleague of mine about a position we have open this year."

Taking hold of Dumbledore's arm, Harry prepared for the suffocating sensation of apparation. Twisting into nothingness, Harry held tightly to Dumbledore's arm, and then stepped gracefully ahead of him when the ground was once again firmly beneath his feet. "Thank you sir," said Harry, walking towards the intended destination without one glance back. "I can't wait until I can do that myself. Should come in handy."

Without making sure Dumbledore was behind him, Harry stepped through the door to the muggle house he had come up to. Not sparing the trashed room a single thought, he picked his way toward the armchair that was tipped over in the corner. Poking it with his wand, he announced cheerfully, "Professor Slughorn! It's so good to meet you. I've heard great things, you know."

Allowing the man to get to his feet, for the armchair was now a man, Harry turned to where Dumbledore was standing rooted to the doorway. "Harry…," Dumbledore began, "we should really talk after this. Curious, indeed…"

Turning his back on the other man again, Harry stuck his hand out towards the rotund man standing bemused in his pyjamas. "Hello Professor Slughorn. I'm Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Slughorn grasped his hand, eyes flicking up to Harry's forehead, and said quietly, "Harry Potter. What a pleasure. How did you know? And so quickly? Ah, but it doesn't matter. What brings you here my boy? And Albus? However did you find me? I told you I said no!" By the end of this little monologue, Slughorn was practically shouting, face growing redder. Harry backed up quickly, knowing first hand that the best way to calm an angry person who was bigger than you was to get out of the way.

Staying out of Slughorn's path to Dumbledore, Harry spoke slowly and reassuringly, "Sir. Please control yourself. I come here of my own free will, the Headmaster was just escorting me. I knew it was you because of certain reasons I would rather not disclose at the moment, or at all. Rest assured, it applies solely to me and no one should be able to bother you as I have. I come here to implore you to take over the potions class at my school. We need your expertise, sir, and I know you are the only one who can help us. Please just listen to me, first.

"I know you taught my mother, professor, and I know you taught many others. I know your greatest shame. I know you know what I am talking about. I also know you may not believe me, or want to believe me. If it means anything, sir, you couldn't have changed anything. He already knew about what he asked you about, and he did it anyways, despite warnings. In fact, at that point, he had already begun. It is what Professor Dumbledore feared. But no one can blame you. I, who have been more affected by Tom Marvolo Riddle than anyone, cannot and do not blame you. You are a good person, Professor. It's not your fault."

Harry watched as Slughorn's red face grew steadily paler and slightly green, and then flushed. At last, when Harry absolved him of his supposed guilt, Slughorn sank to his knees and shuddered, as though holding back sobs. Harry patted him on the back, and then turned to face Dumbledore again. The professor was sitting relaxed in a conjured armchair, eyes closed, breathing slow. Harry drank in this peculiar sight, until Dumbledore opened his eyes and stared straight at Harry. Slowly getting up, he crossed the room until he was standing right in front of Harry.

"My dear boy, I believe we need to have a talk."

"Professor, with all due respect, now is definitely not the time."

A/N: That's all for what I had prewritten. I wrote this quite some time ago and uploaded it on a whim, so I'm not sure what there'll be after this. I have a timeline laid out, and I'll be making longer chapters. I don't know when or how often the chapters will be uploaded, though.