The Slug Club

Chapter 25

After the train had left the station, Harry decided to get a move on and get himself a compartment. Ron and Hermione were probably cloistered in the prefects' carriage, so he would have to sit alone. Or he could find Neville, Ginny or Luna. He trudged along, pulling his trunk with him.

People stared shamelessly as he approached. They even pressed their faces against the windows of their compartments to get a look at him.

It was a relief when Neville and Luna came up to him and Harry greeted them happily.

"Let's find seats," said Harry, and the three of them set off along the train. At last they found an empty compartment and Harry hurried inside gratefully.

It was a pleasant time chatting with Neville and Luna and about two hours later, Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.

Ron was just talking about Malfoy not doing his prefect duty when the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom and Harry P-Potter," she faltered as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out two scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. Perplexed, Harry and Neville took the scroll addressed to each of them and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.

"What is it?" Ron demanded as Harry unrolled his.

"An invitation," said Harry.

Harry Potter,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.

Sincerely,

Professor H. E. F. Slughorn

"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously, as though he was expecting detention.

"No idea," said Harry. What would the new DADA professor want with him and Neville?

"Let's get going, then," said Neville, looking like he was dreading the idea of meeting a professor in person.

The pointing and whispering seemed to have increased and every now and then, students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming.

A fleeting image of Alicia and her incessant questioning about his previous girlfriend came into his thoughts. He almost longed to have been with her at the moment. At least, she never gawked at him like he was a zoo exhibit.

When they reached compartment C, they saw at once that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Harry was the most anticipated.

"Oho! So, this is the Harry Potter!" said Professor Horace Slughorn, jumping up at the sight of him. "I see Sirius was right! You look just like your father! The likeness is uncanny, if it weren't for Lily's eyes!"

Though Harry was almost exasperated by now when people compared his appearance with his parents, he was also slightly surprised. "You knew my parents, sir?"

"Didn't Sirius tell you?" said Slughorn, slightly put-out, but then continued with more than a hint of pride. "I taught them both and your godfather! One of the brightest bunch of witches and wizards to step foot into Hogwarts, I daresay."

He added smiling at Neville, "And you must be Mr. Longbottom!"

Neville nodded, looking scared. At a gesture from Slughorn, they sat down opposite each other in the only two empty seats, which were nearest the door.

Harry was wondering when Sirius had met his former professor and why he hadn't told him. After a round of introductions, Slughorn spoke to Harry with something akin to awe. It was quite off-putting when he asked about the rumours concerning the prophecy, but Ginny and Neville were quick to put down all of the rubbish that the Daily Prophet reported.

"Yes… well… the Prophet often exaggerates, of course…" Slughorn said, sounding a little disappointed, but he did not seem convinced by Neville and Ginny. "But it is true that Sirius officially adopted you this summer, isn't it? It was all over the papers! He was an exceptionally bright student, him and your dad. Such a pity he didn't get sorted into Slytherin like his brother…"

"You're in Slytherin?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Yes," said Slughorn. "Oh, now" he went on quickly, seeing the expression on Harry's face, "don't go holding that against me? You'll be in Gryffindor like Lily and James. Yes, it runs in families. Not always, though. Sirius was an exception in his family. There hadn't been a Gryffindor in the Blacks for centuries!"

Harry beamed with pride at that.

oOo

The journey from Hogsmeade to the Great Hall felt like it took ages. The amount of people turning to look at him, pointing and whispering was maddening. He realized that with Sirius, at least people had dashed away in fear of him. That was infinitely better to this, as people even stood up on their seats to take a look at him.

"Blimey! You'd think they have nothing else to talk about," ground out Ron, frustrated on Harry's behalf.

"At least, it's for something positive. Unlike last year…" trailed off Hermione, darkly.

Harry knew what she was talking about. Last year, people had thought he was an attention-seeking nutter. While he much preferred people thinking he was sane, he didn't enjoy this either.

After the Sorting was over, the food had appeared and they dug in.

"So what did Professor Slughorn want?" Hermione asked, when desserts had appeared.

"To know what really happened at the Ministry," said Harry.

"Him and everyone else here," sniffed Hermione. "People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren't they, Ron?"

Harry was very surprised by that and wondered why no one had dared ask himself about it.

"Yeah," said Ron. "All wanting to know if you really are 'the Chosen One' —"

Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

"What happened to his hand?" gasped Hermione.

She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore's right hand was as blackened and dead-looking as it had been on the morning he had come to Potter Manor.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…"

"His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer," Harry whispered to Hermione. "I thought he'd have cured it by now, though… or Madam Pomfrey would've done."

"Dumbledore visited you?" asked Ron, his eyes wide. Even Hermione had turned to look at Harry curiously, who simply nodded. He was painfully aware of Ginny, Seamus, Neville and Dean listening in and so he gave Ron a look that said 'Later.'

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn"— Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight — "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?"

"Potions?"

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right. Ron, Hermione, and Harry exchanged bemused looks.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" said Harry so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn't it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?

Harry had come to terms with the idea that he wouldn't be studying Potions over the summer. A part of him had been almost glad that it would be worth it just so that he wouldn't have to see Snape's face again. And now he was going to have to face him for a whole year again.

"Well, there's one good thing," he said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year… Quirrell actually died doing it… Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…"

"Harry!" said Hermione, shocked and reproachful.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and gave words of Voldemort and his threat and the need to ensure safety of everyone in school. After his speech was over, he smiled again.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

With the usual deafening scraping noise, the benches moved back and the hundreds of students began to file out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories. Harry, who was in no hurry to leave with the gawping crowd, lagged behind, pretending to retie the lace on his trainers, allowing most of the Gryffindors to draw ahead of him. Hermione had darted ahead to fulfill her prefect's duty of shepherding the first years, but Ron remained with Harry.

Harry was grateful for that. At least with Ron by his side, he didn't feel too worked up when the others turned to stare at him.

When he changed into his pyjamas and pushed back the curtains on his four-poster bed that night, something lying on the sheets caught his eye. It was a scroll of parchment, neatly tied together with red ribbon.

Wanting privacy, Harry climbed into his bed and drew the curtains around him. He lit his wand and read the letter, which was in the familiar narrow, loopy handwriting of Dumbledore.

Dear Harry,

I wish to give you private lessons this year. I would like to start next Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at 8PM where we can discuss it in more detail. I hope you enjoy your first week at school.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops.

oOo

A/N: I tried so hard to simply omit or summarize the parts from the book. But the story would not flow well, so some chapters will have parts from the books, suitably altered, as they are important to the story.