They were standing outside a small wooden house, though Harry doubted anyone lived in it. The lawn was overrun with weeds, and the boards of the house were rotting and dilapidated. The windows were either smashed or just holes in the walls, and the roof didn't even exist.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Of course. Go knock on the door."

Hesitantly, Harry walked over the broken gate and entered the lawn. There used to be a stone pathway to the door, but now it was cracked by the growth of weeds. Reaching the front door, Harry knocked on it… and the door fell inwards.

BANG!

As it landed, it raised a thick cloud of dust, causing Harry to violently cough. When the dust settled, he got a good look at the inside of the house.

If possible, the inside looked even worse than the outside. There wasn't a single piece of intact furniture. Pieces of them were scattered all around the floor, each under a thick layer of dust. The floorboards were rotting, insects were scurrying everywhere, and now that Harry was inside, he could see that the back wall was collapsing.

"I think he moved out," Harry voiced.

"He's become an eccentric," the cat muttered. Then leaping out of his arms and raising its voice, it yelled loudly, "HORACE! THIS EXALTED CAT IS HERE TO PAY YOU A VISIT!"

Before Harry's eyes, the broken armchair in the corner of the living room began to flicker, and then disappeared. Standing in its place was a large, round man with a bald head and bursting waistline.

"Old cat!" the man exclaimed. "Haha, if you told me you were coming, I would've prepared a nice welcome."

"Well, it was an emergency."

"Ah, no worries. Now, who are you?" he asked, turning to look at Harry.

And then he froze.

"Harry Potter?" he gasped.

"Hello," Harry said hesitantly, not expecting this… armchair man to recognize him.

"But – you –" the man seemed to be at a loss for words, so he just looked at the cat, who nodded back.

The two of them stared at each other for a full minute, while Harry stood there awkwardly. If he didn't know better, he'd think they were having a mental conversation. Then the man named Horace broke eye contact and sucked in a big mouthful of air.

"Well," he muttered. Then as if looking at Harry in a fresh light, he beamed and held out his hand.

"Horace Slughorn, at your service," he said cheerfully.

"Harry Potter greets Horace Slughorn," Harry said respectfully, shaking the offered hand.

"Now, now, no need for that. Just call me Horace, or Dr. Slughorn if you must. Follow me, the actual house is downstairs."

He led Harry into the kitchen, past countless pieces of broken furniture and piles of dust, and revealed a hidden trapdoor, which opened to a stairway. The stairs seemed to stretch down forever, so far that Harry couldn't see the bottom. Yet in contrast to the dirty, decaying house, the stairs were polished and clean.

"You must be wondering how I recognized you, right?" Horace asked as he descended the steps.

"I am curious," Harry admitted.

"I taught your mother," Slughorn said simply. "She was one of my two direct disciples even. The moment I saw you, I thought I was looking at your father. But your eyes, as green as Lily's."

"Lily?"

Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest. All these years, he had desired to find his mother, yet he didn't even know her name.

"Hmm?"

"Lily? Was that that my mother's name?"

"What, did no one ever tell you?" Slughorn stopped descending the stairs to look at Harry in disbelief.

'Tell me?' Harry wondered. 'Who the hell was supposed to tell me?'

"No, nobody ever did. What about my father?"

"Your father's name was James, James Potter. And your mother was called Lily Evans. You didn't know?"

James Potter… Lily Evans… James and Lily, James and Lily, Harry repeated those names over and over in his mind, committing them to memory.

"No one ever told me," Harry shrugged. "I was just told that my father died. And that my mother was missing… is she also dead?"

"Ah," Slughorn sighed. "I'm sorry to bring this up on our first meeting. We are here."

They had finally arrived at the bottom of the long staircase. In front of them was a metal door, which Slughorn unlocked and opened. Ushering them inside, Slughorn quickly closed the door behind them.

They were in a well-maintained office, clean and organized, completely different from how the rest of the house was kept. Books and all sorts of vials lined the walls, giving the appearance that someone actually lived here. Harry could see a furnished living room, and also a kitchen area. He would never have guessed that this room was under the broken-down house.

Slughorn gestured towards some chairs around a table, so Harry sat on one of them. Slughorn sat across from him, while the cat rested on the table.

"I am sorry to say that your father is indeed dead. And as for your mother, well, no body was found. It has been 15 long years since I last saw my beloved disciple, and I believe that if she were alive, she would definitely come and find me. Harry, I'm very sorry. I wish our first meeting could have been on better terms."

Hearing that, Harry deflated.

His entire life, he had held onto the belief his mother was alive, and he was cultivating so that he could find her one day. It was this hope that had kept him going. Now, it was extinguished.

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Of course. Your father, James, he was a talented cultivator, he –"

Slughorn stopped, as if hesitating, and then continued.

"Just know that your father was a great man. Brave, and a powerful cultivator. He loved you and your mother very much."

Harry nodded.

"Your mother, well, I knew her much better than I knew your father. She was also a talented cultivator, but more than that, she was very talented at Alchemy. In fact, one of the most talented I've ever seen, so talented that I accepted her as a disciple, as I mentioned."

Harry was stunned to hear that.

His mother was an Alchemist?

Alchemists were revered existences, respected by all and always in high demand. Why would she have been attacked?

And if his mother was Slughorn's disciple, then did that mean Slughorn was also an Alchemist? Why would he be living under a trash dump of a house?

"Oh, I could spend the rest of the day describing Lily to you. She was a rare genius, talented at both cultivation and Alchemy. Simply brilliant with a cauldron. Actually, I have a portrait of your mother. Give me a minute to find it."

Slughorn walked off into another room, and returned a minute later holding a scroll. He unraveled it to reveal the drawing of a woman. She was beautiful, with dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and bright green eyes. She had fair, pale skin, and a soft smile that gave her a charming appearance.

He stared at the portrait for a long time. Needless to say, this was the first picture he had seen of his mother.

"I don't have a picture of James. But if you wish to know what he looked like, just look into a mirror. You are the spitting image of him."

But Harry barely heard him.

"Who?" he asked. "Who killed my parents?"

"I don't know," Slughorn sighed. "I have asked myself that for 15 long years, and searched for just as long, but still have no answer."

"Then, can you tell me about what happened that night?"

Seeing Harry's earnest expression, Slughorn relented.

"Very well. I believe you have a right to know about your parents, so I will tell you. But, this story starts a few years before that night. And I assure you, this is not a happy story."

"Around 20 years ago, your parents left the Scarlet Phoenix Empire. There are things you have yet to learn, but leaving the empire is no easy task, and also extremely dangerous. Yet, your parents did it."

"Two years later, they came back. I don't know what happened to them during those two years, as they never shared the details with me. But your parents returned because they were fleeing from something. To this day, I still don't know what that something was."

Harry felt his stomach drop. It seemed like the life of his parents hadn't been as peaceful as he had imagined.

"I'll never forget the day I opened my front door and saw their appearance. Your father had some of the worst injuries I've ever seen. I had to use dozens of precious pills and treasures to save his life. Your mother was pregnant with you. That was the first thing I noticed. But also, she had completely changed. Before she left the empire, she was energetic, so full of determination and ambition. And when she came back, she looked defeated and in despair."

Slughorn was looking at Harry as he spoke, but it also seemed like he was looking past him, looking into the past and recollecting a horrible memory.

"A few months later, you were born. I saw you when you were two days old, I think. So did the old cat."

Harry's eyes widened, and he looked towards the Exalted Cat, who nodded back.

"All was back to normal, for about a year. Your parents got better, and we visited each other often. But, and I will be honest with you, they lived as if constantly looking over their shoulder. Two days before that day, your mother visited me out of the blue, in the dead of the night, and gave me an item for safekeeping, along with a sealed letter. She said she'd be back in a few days."

"Then two days later, the three of you were attacked. At this point, what you know is what I know. Your father was murdered, and your mother disappeared. It was my other disciple, a good friend of Lily's, who found you in the ruins of your house, perfectly fine except for the lightning bolt on your forehead."

Absentmindedly, Harry traced the scar on his forehead. So, it was a relic from the night his parents had died.

"The letter turned out to be a will. It instructed that if you were alive, you were to be put with Lily's sister, who lived in Crystal Mine City."

"Her sister?" Harry asked incredulously. "I have an aunt?"

"What? You haven't been living with Petunia Evans?"

"Petunia Evans?" Harry was baffled at this name. "Who's Petunia – wait, Petunia DURSLEY?"

Harry shot out of his seat, sending it clattering on the floor.

That's right, before Petunia had married Vernon, her surname had been Evans!

"Petunia DURSLEY is my AUNT?"

That… that… that ugly, shrill, horrid, giraffe woman was his AUNT?

Then… did that make Dudley Dursley his COUSIN?

Harry almost fainted at that revelation.

He couldn't help but look at Slughorn's portrait again. How could his mother be so beautiful, but her sister be so ugly? The two of them didn't resemble each other at all!

Slughorn and the Exalted Cat shared an uneasy look.

"Yes," Slughorn said slowly. "According to your mother's wishes, Lily's friend dropped you off with Petunia Evans, who told him that she would take care of you."

"That – that – that woman sent me off to Wool's Orphanage! My own aunt!"

All these years, he had wondered who left him at Wool's Orphanage that night. He knew his parents weren't from Crystal Mine City, so it was a complete mystery how he could have ended up in Wool's Orphanage.

Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine that it was Petunia Dursley.

"No wonder," he muttered. "No wonder."

And then he began to laugh. He laughed long and hard, until he ran out of breath and could only manage some chuckles and wheezes.

"Harry? What's so funny?" Slughorn asked when he was done with his fit.

"My whole life," he chuckled, "besides the question of my parents, there were two things I wanted answers to. One was who dropped me off at the orphanage. And the other was why the Dursleys hated my guts. I would never have guessed the two questions were related. Turns out, Petunia is my aunt. And Dudley is my cousin. And Vernon, that fat bastard, is my uncle!"

And he broke into a fit of laughter again.

"I'm not sure I understand the humor here."

"Exalted Cat, those injuries you saw were given to me by my cousin. And the one who tried to kill me yesterday was my uncle. My whole life, I've been searching for my family. Who would've guessed that not only were they right there, they also wanted me dead? Tell me, if this isn't irony, then what is?"

Slughorn and the Exalted Cat had no response. They only looked at Harry and each other with conflicting expressions.

"I'm very sorry," Slughorn said. "I am also deeply ashamed. We should have checked on you, and made sure you were alright. It's just that…"

He trailed off at the end of his apology,

"Just what?"

He knew he shouldn't be angry with Slughorn, after all, Slughorn wasn't responsible for what Vernon, Petunia and Dudley had done. But right now, there was an easy target for him to pin the blame on.

"Believe me Harry, I wanted nothing other than you to have a happy childhood. But, I was told to not visit you."

"Who told you to not visit me?" Harry asked skeptically.

Slughorn took another deep breath, then looked back at Harry.

"Lily did."

"My mother?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I told you, this was no happy story," Slughorn sighed. "In the last year of her life, we spoke and visited each other regularly. During that time, she told me many things."

"Like what?"

"She said that outside of the Scarlet Phoenix Empire were dangers we could not imagine. She said that she had enemies coming after her, more powerful than we could believe, who would stop at nothing to find her and her family. She told me to trust nobody, and that her life, James' life, and your life were all in danger. She said that even my life could be in danger. I am ashamed to say that I paid little attention to that statement, well, not until the night of her death, until I realized everything she warned me about was right."

"I was a fool then – I thought that she would be safe in the empire. Clearly, I was wrong. I underestimated her enemies."

"She wanted you to be raised in the obscure Crystal Mine City so that you would be away from danger. I guess she thought Petunia would take care of you… she told me that she and her sister didn't get along, but it seems she underestimated just how bad their relationship was. Finally, she told me that people were searching for her and you, and that I wasn't to visit you, in order to avoid attracting attention. It pained me to do it, but I followed her wishes. I hope you can understand and forgive me."

Slughorn finished his story, and Harry was left in silence.

He didn't know what to think. What could be so bad that his mother wanted him to grow up in obscurity?

"So… these people, are they still after me?" Harry finally asked.

"I think it is unlikely," Slughorn quickly said. "It's been many years since that night, so I would assume they have moved on. Also, I doubt they would care so much for your life – you were just a baby, after all. Most likely they were after your parents."

Harry nodded, though that didn't make him feel relieved. Just recently, he had nearly been killed by Vernon Dursley, and saved from death at the very last second. Not even a full day had passed, and now his life may be in danger again.

"Could I have some time alone?" he finally asked. "To sort my thoughts out. But, thank you Dr. Slughorn, for telling me about my parents. Please be assured that I don't blame you. I'm sure my mother had her reasons."

It seemed like a weight had been lifted off Slughorn's chest.

"Thank you, my boy," he breathed. "You can stay in the guest room over there as long as you wish."

Harry nodded, and entered the room. When he left, Slughorn turned to face the cat.

"Well? What are you looking at me like that for?"

"You shouldn't have lied about not knowing who did it."

"I didn't lie."

"You're the only one who thinks that way."

"And I will think that way until the grave. Besides, what's the point of telling him? I won't set him off on an impossible quest of revenge."

The cat had no response.

Harry spent the rest of the day in Slughorn's guest room, lying on the soft bed and deep in thought. He would never have imagined anything that Slughorn had told him today.

To summarize, his parents had left the Scarlet Phoenix Empire, encountered danger, and returned to the empire. Their enemies had followed them here, and killed them. To protect Harry, his mother had sent him off to Crystal Mine City, where he was unlikely to be found.

No matter where, life was all the same.

The strong ruled, and controlled the lives of the weak. It had happened to Harry in Crystal Mine City, and it happened to his parents outside the Scarlet Phoenix Empire. The only difference was the scale.

'Strength,' he vowed. 'I need to become strong. I need to improve my cultivation. But…'

His cultivation was only the 2nd level of the Body Tempering Realm. Even in Crystal Mine City, he was one of the weakest people. And when considering the entire empire, Crystal Mine City was one of the weakest areas. It was no exaggeration to say that in the eyes of the experts in the empire, he was about as powerful as an ant.

'Maybe Slughorn can help, or the Exalted Cat,' he thought to himself. 'They seem like powerful individuals.'

From last night's display with the wolves, Harry knew that the Exalted Cat, at the very least, wasn't ordinary. Besides, it had given him a pill on their very first meeting, and acted as if the pill wasn't precious at all. From Slughorn's story, it seemed that his parents were quite powerful cultivators, and as his mother was Slughorn's disciple, then surely Slughorn must also be powerful.

'There's no harm in asking,' he supposed, as he got up and entered the living room. Slughorn and the cat were there, sharing a meal and in a deep discussion about something. When they saw Harry, Slughorn beamed and waved him over.

"Ah, just in time, my boy. Come, I've prepared some dinner."

"Thank you," Harry replied. He sat down across from Slughorn, and began to eat. Without a doubt, it was the best food he had ever had. Everything was a hundred times more delicious than the stale, bland food served at Wool's Orphanage.

"Dr. Slughorn? I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You're an Alchemist, right?"

"Yes, I am. Though I'm retired now – officially, at least."

"I hope this isn't presumptuous of me. But I was wondering if you could tell me if something is wrong with my body. I seem to have problems cultivating."

Although an Alchemist's job description was to make pills, Alchemists also needed to possess knowledge of the human body in order to do so. Many Alchemists would also work as Healers and could diagnose medical conditions. That was why Harry risked the question.

"Of course. I'll take a look after we eat. How did you cultivate at Crystal Mine City?"

"Well, the orphanage required me to mine 20 Qi Crystals every day for food and shelter. When I finished that, I'd mine more and then refine the Qi inside to cultivate."

"I see, so you cultivated directly using Qi Crystals. The Qi in those crystals is difficult for the human body to absorb, as it has too much Metal Qi inside, you see. It's not compatible with the body, which is why most people cultivate using pills. Though I suppose you didn't have much of a choice."

"Before today, I've never even seen a pill," Harry confirmed.

"Right. In that case, I wouldn't worry too much. Your slow cultivation is probably due to the Qi Crystals, not that there's something wrong with your body."

"Well, it took me a year to open my Lung Meridian," Harry confessed. "Is that normal?"

"What?! Did you say a year?"

"Yes, a whole year. And I cultivated nearly every day."

"That… that is not normal at all," Slughorn frowned. "You're right to be worried. Can you describe your cultivation problems?"

Harry did so, and explained how his Qi didn't seem to flow through his meridians smoothly. After they finished the meal, Slughorn ran over to his shelves and began pulling down vials of pills and medical equipment.

"Here," he said. "Refine this."

Slughorn handed Harry a pill, who took it hesitantly. He couldn't help but feel rich – earlier, he had a healing pill above the Ordinary Grade, and now, he had another pill!

"What pill is this?"

"This is a high-quality Body Nourishing Pill. It is Ordinary Grade, and the standard pill for cultivating in the Body Tempering Realm. The Qi contained in this pill is much easier to assimilate into your body than those Qi Crystals you've been using – it is the equivalent of refining hundreds of Qi Crystals."

Harry's mouth dropped open.

Hundreds of Qi Crystals? Condensed into this small pill?

"Is it really ok for me to use this?"

"Boy, just swallow the pill," the Exalted Cat snapped.

He did so, and immediately felt streams of Qi flowing through his body. Slughorn hadn't been exaggerating about the amount of Qi contained. This pill was smaller than the average Qi Crystal, but contained far more Qi than any. Someone who used these pills would cultivate far faster than someone who used Qi Crystals.

He guided the Qi through his open Lung Meridian, through his open Heart Meridian, and then into his Heart Protector Meridian. Just like usual, once the huge stream of Qi reached his Heart Protector Meridian, it slowed down, flowing through his body like glue. A few minutes later, Harry finished and looked up at Slughorn, who was staring at him in puzzlement.

"Odd," Slughorn mused. "Very odd. 2nd level of the Body Tempering Realm. No problems with the Lung Meridian. No problems with the Heart Meridian. Yet your Heart Protector Meridian is so abnormal."

"My Lung and Heart Meridians were like this too," Harry said. "Before they opened, I mean. It took me a year to open each."

Rubbing his forehead, Slughorn plopped back down on his seat and stared at Harry like he was staring at a puzzle. The cat laid on the table, also looking at Harry curiously.

"Have you always refined Qi like that?" it asked.

"Like what?"

"Boy, are you not aware of your own refining speed?"

"What? Am I doing it wrong?"

The cat rolled its eyes, and nudged Slughorn.

"Harry, do you know how long it would take someone at the high-level of the Body Tempering Realm to refine that pill?"

The Body Tempering Realm was divided into 9 levels. Levels 1-3 were known as the low-level, 4-6 as the middle-level, and 7-9 as the high-level. The higher the level, the harder it was to open the next meridian. More Qi was needed to do so, but as the cultivation level increased, the body could also refine Qi faster.

Since Harry had spent about five minutes, and he was just at the low-level, Harry guessed something less.

"I don't know, a minute?"

"Wrong," the cat snorted. "More like two hours."

"What?" Harry exclaimed.

"That was a high-quality pill. Even cultivators at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm would refine a single strand of Qi at a time because their bodies cannot handle all of it. It would take them hours to finish the pill, yet you did it in minutes. And you're only at the 2nd level."

"Right," Slughorn nodded, "if everyone refined pills like you did, Alchemists would never be able to rest. No matter how quickly we made pills, we'd never keep up with the demand."

"Boy, do you know what's even more puzzling?"

"What is it?"

"For a normal cultivator, the Qi in that pill would be enough to open their 3rd meridian!"

Harry just blankly stared at the cat. Was it saying that his Heart Protector Meridian should be open?

"I expected you to spend the rest of the day refining that pill, and for you to be in the 3rd level of the Body Tempering Realm by tomorrow. That would give me plenty of time to diagnose your condition. I certainly didn't expect you to finish in five minutes, and for your meridian to still be closed."

Harry didn't know what to say. Was he really that abnormal?

"Anyways, the problem is that Qi flows through your meridians extremely slowly. We call this problem a Meridian Restriction. I have treated hundreds of such cases before, and I have faith that I can diagnose yours. But, this is one of the most common cultivation anomalies, with hundreds of possible causes. It'll take time to go through them all."

Slughorn reached over and pulled out a book from his shelf.

"Meridian Restriction is very common, and entire books have been written about its diagnosis and treatment. Now, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Respond to the best of your knowledge."

"Before you began cultivating, did you undergo any serious injuries to your chest area or major organs?"

"No," Harry replied. He had been beaten by Dudley plenty of times, but those injuries hadn't been too serious. The beating from two days ago was an outlier.

"Have you been bitten by a werewolf? Does your body react strangely on nights with a full moon?"

"No."

"Have you ever eaten a bright pink fruit, the size of a cherry, that left a bitter taste in your mouth?"

"No."

On and on the questions came, Harry answering "no" to each one. He must have been questioned for at least an hour, with no end in sight. As the queries became more and more bizarre, Slughorn's expression became more and more puzzled.

It wasn't until Slughorn nearly reached the end of the book when Harry answered positively to a query.

"When pushing Qi through an unopened meridian, do you feel a pain during that time, like the meridian has been sealed with glue, and you are drilling it open? But only the first time Qi enters that meridian?"

"Yes," Harry said for the first time.

"In your childhood, were there days when you felt lightheaded, your muscles felt heavy and unable to support your body, and you suffered bouts of dizziness, vertigo, and nausea?"

"How did you know?" Harry asked, stunned. At this point, Slughorn's face had turned a ghastly shade of white.

"No, no, no, no, this can't be. When you – "

But it seemed like Slughorn couldn't bring himself to finish the next question, instead putting the book down and running to a drawer. He pulled open a cabinet of herbs, and rummaged through dozens of precious plants before running back. In his hands was a beautiful pale white flower, with seven leaves and a shade of pink undertone near the stem.

'Exquisite Pure Magnolia,' Harry thought. 'Can be used to detect poison.'

Then he frowned. How did he know that?

"Hold this," Slughorn said urgently. "Push your Qi into this flower."

"Ok," Harry agreed, unsure why Slughorn appeared so panicked. Taking the flower, he began circulating his Qi –

And the flower exploded into a shower of dust that floated towards the ground.

There was silence as the three of them stared at the ashes littering the floor, finally broken by Slughorn's horrified voice.

"Oh Lily, what happened?"