AN: I always feel like Slughorn is a much more complex character in the movie… like he's really good at heart, he's just ambitious and blinded by fame. But I feel like he genuinely cared about Lily and grieved her death, and therefore deserves a little one-shot of his own
He'd like to say that he didn't know – that even looking deep into the eyes of young Tom Riddle that there was no possible reason to suspect anything other than the natural curiosity of a brilliant student.
The boy had always been an avid reader, and Horace told himself over and over as he sat dumbly in his office that it was inevitable that he would eventually progress to more advanced material. It was only natural – the very fact that Horace had been able to answer the boy's question showed that a person could read on those subjects and remain unchanged.
There was no concrete evidence, certainly no logical reason to be wary. Maybe it was just the slightest hint of greed that flared up in Tom's eyes on occasion, or the slightly mechanical way in which he smiled. There was a flatness to his expressions on occasion, but maybe it was more what was lacking that made Horace nervous.
The idea of murdering 6 people should horrify any decent person, yet there was no trace of hesitation when Tom spoke on the subject. He stared pensively into the fire as though pondering a textbook rather than the darkest of magics.
No, all that was suspicious but not damning. But Horace had the most horrible feeling in his stomach, and the barely discernable smirk on Tom's face as he assured his professor that his interests were purely academic did more than just send a chill up his spine. It terrified him,
Not my fault, Horace told himself. Just a curious student. But he couldn't repress the feeling, as he stared into the dying embers of the fire, that something utterly horrifying had just happened.
And that he was entirely to blame.
