Some were rather slow on the uptake... Ron, for example.
Because he had generously given up the prefect position during the selection, Ron's situation was rather awkward at this moment.
First, he was not a prefect. Second, his grades were not particularly good. Third, his family was poor. Although the Ministry of Magic had changed hands, and Dumbledore's status had risen with Voldemort's return, the standing of Phoenix members had improved as well.
That naturally included the Weasley family.
But there was one awkward problem: Mr. Weasley's position was not particularly high, and... back when Mr. Weasley had been in school, Slughorn had often neglected him, leaving their relationship neither warm nor cold.
After saying all that, to put it bluntly...
There was nothing to be gained from the Weasley family.
This was especially obvious with Ron. He watched as Slughorn chatted enthusiastically with everyone except him. Yes, except him. Except him.
"Professor, I don't really like him." Ron had unknowingly moved to the seat beside Kayson and spoke in a low voice.
But there was only so low a voice could go at such a small dining table, and Slughorn happened to be sitting opposite Kayson. He had definitely heard it.
Yet Slughorn did not address Ron's whisper, and his expression did not even change.
"Mm-hm. I don't like that about him either. If he chose to get closer to you, then he should respect you, rather than summon you here and then ignore you," Kayson said quietly as well.
"Professor, why did he invite me? Was I on your list too?" Ron continued.
"Obviously. In my eyes, you ought to have quite a promising future, so I wrote your name down." Kayson sounded somewhat awkward.
"Oh, bloody hell." Ron pulled a long face.
"Indeed, bloody hell... Why didn't