there's no need to disfigure me, albus!
it's all in the upholstery. i come by the stuffing naturally. what gave me away?
yes, well, i couldn't very well use wizard's blood, could i? oho!
s-someone else? i'm sure i don't know what you mean.
oh all right! the death eaters have been trying to recruit me for over a year. do you know what that's like? one can only say no to these people so many times before they.
i never stay anywhere more than a week. the muggles who own this place are in the canary islands.
don't think i don't know why you're here, albus! the answer is still no! absolutely, unequivocally no! dumbledore doesn't respond. slughorn glances at harry. the silence is palpable. awkward. a beat. then:
you look very like your father. except for your eyes. you've got --
lily. lovely lily. she was exceedingly bright -- your mother. even more impressive when one considers she was muggle-born.
oh, but you mustn't think i'm prejudiced! no, no, no! your mother was one of my absolute favorites! look, there she is. right up front.
all mine, each and every one. ex- students, i mean. you recognize barnubas cuffe, of course, editor of the daily prophet.
always takes my owl should i want to register my opinion on the news of the day. and there's ambrosius flume of honeydukes. sends a hamper of chocolate to the house each birthday. that is, when i had a house. and gwenog jones, captain of the holyhead harpies -- free tickets whenever i want them. of course, i haven't been to a match in some time.
ah yes. regulus black. you no doubt know of his older brother sirius. died a few weeks ago. i taught the whole black family except sirius. shame. talented boy. i got regulus when he came along, of course, but i'd have liked the set.
of course. but you're not leaving?
all right! i'll do it. but i'll be wanting professor merrythought's old office, not that water closet i had formerly. and i expect a raise! these are mad times we live in! mad!
harry m'boy! i was beginning to worry! and i see we've brought someone with us.
nonsense, we'll sort you out. any friend of harry's is a friend of mine. right then, books out --
not to worry. you can get what you need from the cupboard.
now, as i was saying, i've prepared a few concoctions this morning. any ideas what these might be? yes, miss?
one of my best friends is muggle- born. she's the best in our year.  harry, settling into his seat with the soiled textbook, looks up just as slughorn's eyes shift to him for confirmation. as harry nods, hermione glances curiously at him.
now amortentia doesn't create actual love, of course. that's impossible. but it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. for that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room.
ah yes.
what you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a curious little potion known as felix felicis. but it is more commonly referred to as --
yes, miss granger. desperately tricky to make. disastrous should you get it wrong. but brewed correctly, as this has been, it has remarkable powers. one sip and you will find that all your endeavors succeed.  at least until the effects wear off.
because taken in excess it causes giddiness, recklessness and dangerous overconfidence.
twice. once when i was twenty- four. once when i was fifty- seven. two tablespoons taken at breakfast. two perfect days.
so. this is what i offer each of you today. one tiny vial of liquid luck.  to the student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable draught of living death, the recipe for which can be found on page ten of your textbook.
you should know that in all the years of my previous tenure at hogwarts, not once did a student brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. in any event -- good luck.
merlin's beard! but it's perfect. so perfect i daresay one sip would kill us all! your mother was a dab hand at potions, but this.  my, my, what can't you do, m'boy? perhaps you will save us all in the end.
here you are then, as promised. one bottle of felix felicis. use it well.
filius! i was hoping to find you at the three broomsticks.
harry, m'boy! slughorn's voice booms so loudly even ginny jumps -- and catches harry looking. as slughorn waddles over, sloshing mug in hand, harry rises immediately -- an action so grossly out of character that hermione regards him with amused curiosity.
oh, the three broomsticks and i go way back. longer than i'd care to admit. in fact, i remember when it was simply one broomstick!
oops! all hands on deck, granger!
listen, m'boy. in the old days, i used to throw together the occasional supper and invite a select student or two. would you be game?
you'd be welcome too, granger.
brilliant. look for my owl. good to see you, wallenby.
a toast!
to hogwarts' best and brightest!
so tell me, cormac. see much of your uncle tiberius these days?
well, be sure to give them both my best. what about your uncle, belby? working on anything new? for those of you who don't know, marcus' uncle invented the wolfsbane potion.
and you, miss granger? what is it your family does in the muggle world?
fascinating. and is that considered a dangerous profession?
miss weasley! come in, come in.
no matter. you'll be just in time for dessert. that is -- if belby leaves you any.
thank you, one and all, for a most stimulating evening. we'll have to do it again. slughorn closes the door, turns, sends a floor lamp wobbling and, catching it, finds harry.
oh. potter.
ah, yes. a most intriguing object. the sands run in accordance to the quality of the conversation. when it is stimulating, the sands run slow. when it is not.
nonsense. you have nothing to fear, m'boy. as for some of your classmates, well, let's just say, they're unlikely to make the shelf.
anyone who aspires to be anyone hopes to end up here. then again.  you are already someone aren't you, harry?
your mother was modest too. your father not so much. as you can see, he did not make the shelf.
mr. riddle had many teachers while here at hogwarts.
of course. it's only natural that you should want to know more. i'm afraid i must disappoint you, harry. when i first met young mr. riddle, he was simply a quiet, albeit brilliant, boy committed to becoming a first-rate wizard. not unlike the others i've known. in fact, not unlike.  you. if the monster existed, it was buried deep within.
thank you, adrian! one of mine. class of `78. i had hoped for more out of him, but at least the pictures are in focus. oh my! excuse me, harry. i must greet the new minister of magical transportation. class of `67. mingle, m'boy! mingle! we're all friends here. and we run the world.
now, tom, i couldn't tell you if i knew, could i? i must say, m'boy, i'd like to know where you get your information. more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are. by the way, thank you for the pineapple -- you're quite right, it is my favorite -- how is it you knew?
good gracious, look at the time. off you go, boys, or professor dippett will have us all in detention. lestrange, avery, don't forget your essays.
look sharp, tom. you don't want to be caught out of bed after hours.
yes, i imagine you do. something on your mind, tom?
go on.
i don't know anything about such things and i wouldn't tell you if i did! now get out of here at once and don't ever let me catch you mentioning it again! the fog grows thicker and.
now don't forget to look over the chapter on antidotes. i'll be poisoning one of you next time we meet. i'm joking! off you go! don't forget your rattails, miss alys.
ah! if it isn't the prince of potions himself! to what do i owe the pleasure?
ask away, my dear boy, ask away!
yes? and exactly what was this rare magic.
i'm a potions professor, harry. perhaps your question would best be posed to professor snape.
there can be no light without the dark. and so it is with magic. myself, i have always strived to live within the light. i suggest you do the same.
dumbledore put you up to this. didn't he? didn't he!
damn it all!
yes???!!!! oh. potter. it's you. i'm afraid i'm busy at the moment --
what's the matter with wenby?
ah. very well. bring him in.
i'd have thought you could whip up a remedy for this in no time, harry -- an expert potioneer like you.
hm. perhaps you're right.
yes, well, water under the bridge as they say, correct?
i'll ask you not to use that name.
with all due respect, dumbledore sometimes forgets that most of us do not possess powers so great that we can risk offending the most dangerous dark lord who ever lived.
alright, m'boy! bottoms up!
a tonic for the nerves.
and a bloody strong one at that.
pick-me-up's what you need, m'boy. do us all good, i think. i've got butterbeer, wine -- ah -- and a dazzling oak-matured mead. i had other intentions for this but given the circumstances.
there we are, potter. to life!
i d-don't understand --
hm? oh. yes.  very proud.
actually i had intended to give it as a gift myself.
you, headmaster.
i've always cherished my students. they're my life.
merlin's beard, harry!
well, yes, actually -- why would you think that?
ten galleons a leaf to the right buyer -- not that i'm familiar with such back alley transactions. one hears rumors is all. my own interests are purely academic, of course.
exactly how did you get out of the castle, harry?
harry!
it's nearly nightfall. surely you realize i can't allow you to roam the grounds all by yourself.
harry, i must insist you accompany me back to the castle immediately!
and what makes you say that?
merlin's beard.
is that an actual acromantula?
my god, dear man. how did you ever manage to kill it?
i'm sorry, i.
hagrid. i wouldn't want to be indelicate, but acromantula venom is uncommonly rare and, well, if you wouldn't mind my extracting a vial or two -- purely for academic pursuits.
my thoughts exactly! always carry a few spare ampoules for just such occasions. old potion master's habit, you know.
why don't i say a few words? i trust he had family?
farewell.
farewell, aragog, king of arachnids. though your body will decay, your spirit lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. may your many-eyed descendents ever flourish and your human friends find solace for the loss they have sustained.
sweet. i once had a fish. francis. lovely little thing. one day i came downstairs and he'd vanished. poof.
isn't it? that's life, i suppose. one goes along and then.  poof.
that's never unicorn hair, hagrid?
but my dear chap, do you know how much that's worth?
it was a student who gave me francis. one spring afternoon i discovered a bowl upon my desk with a few inches of clear water. there was a flower petal floating upon the surface. as i watched, the petal sank, but just before it touched bottom.  it transformed. into a wee fish. it was beautiful magic, wondrous to behold. the petal had come from a lily.
your mother. the day i came downstairs, the day i found the bowl empty.  was the day she.
i know what you want. but i can't give it to you. it will ruin me.  harry studies slughorn a moment, thinking, then speaks.
please don't say his --
don't think too badly of me once you've seen it. you don't know what he was like.  even then.
now, tom, i couldn't tell you if i knew, could i? i must say, m'boy, i'd like to know where you get your information. more knowledgable than half the staff, you are. by the way, thank you for the pineapple -- you're quite right, it is my favorite -- how is it you knew?
good gracious, is it that time already? off you go, boys, or professor dippett will have us all in detention. lestrange, avery, don't forget your essays.
look sharp, tom. you don't want to be caught out of bed after hours.
yes, i imagine you do. something on your mind, tom?
go on.
excuse me?
i'm not sure what you were reading, tom, but that's very dark stuff, very dark indeed.
a horcrux is an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.
one splits one's soul and hides part of it in an object. by doing so, you are protected should you be attacked and your body destroyed.
that part of your soul that was hidden, lives on. in other words, you cannot die.
i think you can guess the answer to that, tom.
yes. killing rips the soul apart. it is a violation against nature. after, one is never the same.
seven! merlin's beard, tom! isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? to rip the soul into seven pieces.
this is all hypothetical, isn't it, tom? all academic.