Harry's Scheme

"So you mean...?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.

"We want to go into the Forbidden Forest to practice our Charms," Harry said with a grin. "Now that Aragog is dead and those Acromantula no longer recognize you, so... you shouldn't mind if we hurt the spiders, right?"

"But he is Aragog's child after all..." Hagrid glanced at Aragog, whose legs were curled up.

"Aragog has entered its Spider Demon Empire." Professor Slughorn patted Hagrid on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he's ascended to spider paradise, where seventy-two wives await him... Of course, he'd be happy if he knew you were so concerned about him."

After saying that, Professor Slughorn repeated the poem he had just written for Aragog.

"That's... that's... too beautifully said!" Hagrid cried out, collapsing onto the dung heap and weeping even harder.

"Alright, alright," Slughorn said, waving his wand. A large mound of dirt rose up, weighing heavily on the dead spider and forming a smooth hill. "Let's go in and have a drink. Help him over there, Harry... oh... get up, Hagrid... okay..."

They helped Hagrid to a chair at the table, Fang, who had been hiding in the basket throughout the funeral, gently walked over and, as usual, rested its heavy head on Harry's lap.

Slughorn popped open a bottle of wine he had brought.

"You've reached a certain age; you can have a drink now," Professor Slughorn said. "A few months earlier or later doesn't matter; you've reached that age anyway."

"One for Harry..." he said, pouring the second bottle of wine into two glasses, "... one for me. Okay," he raised his glass high, "To Aragog."

The three of them raised their glasses together and took a sip of wine.

Harry doesn't really like whiskey; the taste doesn't interest him.

He actually prefers beer, especially fruit-flavored beer, to whiskey.

Sitting at the same table with a child is considered yes.

"I raised him from an egg," Hagrid said sadly, covering his face. "He was so tiny when he first hatched, only about the size of a pug."

"So cute," Professor Slughorn said, but how much of that "so cute" was genuine was hard to say.

"I used to keep him in a closet at school, until... sigh..."

Hagrid's face darkened, and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle had orchestrated the Chamber of Secrets incident, framing Hagrid and resulting in his expulsion from school. But Slughorn didn't seem to be listening; he was just staring at the ceiling, where several brass kettles hung, and a long, smooth, glossy white tuft of hair.

"It's not Unicorn Hair, is it, Hagrid?"

"Oh, it's Unicorn Hair," Hagrid said casually, "Plucked from its tail, and stuck to a tree branch in the forest..."

Professor Slughorn suddenly looked at Hagrid with the same gaze one would give an alien.

"But my dear friend, do you know how much that's worth?"

"I use it to bandage injured animals," Hagrid said, shrugging. "It works really well... it's really strong, you see."

Professor Slughorn took another swig, his eyes scanning the hut carefully. Harry knew he was looking for more treasures that could be exchanged for lots of oak-aged mead, pineapple preserves, and velvet smoking shirts.

Harry didn't care much. Even without Professor Slughorn, someone else would be eyeing Hagrid's stash sooner or later—and Professor Slughorn obviously wouldn't cheat Hagrid too much—after all, he was there to keep an eye on things.

Professor Slughorn refilled Hagrid's and his own cups, then asked about the creatures that now lived in the forest, and how Hagrid managed to take care of them all.

Under the influence of alcohol and Slughorn's flattery, Hagrid cheered up, stopped rubbing his eyes, and began to talk enthusiastically about raising Bowtruckle. Of course, he didn't forget to mention Newt Scamander... If it were anyone else, Hagrid might have kept quiet about this person, but Professor Scamander was different; he was the man Hagrid admired most.

Professor Slughorn, after all, has lived for so many years; he's a shrewd man.

As the saying goes, "old people are cunning, and old horses are slippery," and that's exactly the point.

He flattered Hagrid the whole way, making the conversation very comfortable.

As we all know, people tend to get carried away when they're having a good time chatting.

Hagrid then got carried away and drank fourteen barrels of wine— Harry was completely mesmerized.

He had guessed Hagrid could drink, but he never imagined Hagrid could drink this much.

Hagrid was now slumped over the table, his eyes crossed, but he was still yelling about drinking.

Professor Slughorn was similarly distracted, his eyes already darting around, yet he still held up his glass, ready to toast with Hagrid.

"For Dumbledore!" Hagrid roared.

"Dumbledore!" Professor Slughorn clinked glasses with Hagrid.

After downing a glass of wine, Hagrid paused for a moment, then roared, "For the wine brewed by the House Elf!"

"House Elf!" Professor Slughorn slammed his cup against Hagrid's, spilling half a glass of wine.

"For Harry Potter!" Hagrid roared again.

"Harry Potter!" Professor Slughorn smiled happily, and this time he didn't sell any wine, but obediently drank the glass of wine himself.

Then, he sighed sadly.

"W-what's wrong, Professor?" Hagrid asked, slurring his words.

"No, I was just thinking of one of my students." Professor Slughorn's gaze was fixed on the ground. "She was so outstanding, so kind. I still remember when she was in fifth grade, she even gave me a little fish."

"Really?" Hagrid asked, his tongue slurring. "What happened to her after that?"

"I put the little fish in a beautiful fish tank," Professor Slughorn said, his gaze still fixed intently, "And one morning when I woke up... the little fish had suddenly disappeared, 'poof'—it was like..."

He trailed off, unable to continue, and downed a mouthful of wine in one gulp.

He looked at Harry again and said sincerely, "Harry Potter... the reason I let you join the Slug Club wasn't entirely because of your fame, but also because of your mother... she's the student who gave me the little fish."

At this point, Professor Slughorn's eyes welled up with tears.

"Honestly, she's one of my favorite students over the years."

"Yes, Lily!" Hagrid raised his glass and said sadly, "Lily and James, two good people, what a pity, what a pity... It's all that Pettigrew's fault!"

As he spoke, he slammed his fist on the table, nearly breaking it.

For a while, Hagrid and Slughorn sat side by side, embraced each other, and sang a soothing and melancholic song.

The song is about Odo, a dying wizard.

Ah, good people don't live long.

Hagrid muttered as he slumped onto the table, his eyes squinting even more sharply than those of the cross-eyed Bodric, while Slughorn continued to sing in a trembling voice.

"My dad died so young... and your parents too, Harry..."

Large tears welled up from Hagrid's wrinkled eyes as he grabbed Harry's arm and shook him.

"... Among wizards of their age, they were the best couple I've ever seen... Terrible... Terrible..."

Harry was like a rag doll, letting Hagrid grab his shoulders and shake him around.

It feels like my brain is being shaken to its core...

Beside him, Professor Slughorn was still singing sadly:

The hero Odo was carried back to his hometown.

They carried him to a place he knew well from his childhood.

Turn the hat inside out and bury it in the ground.

How sad it is when the magic wand breaks in two...

"... Terrible," Hagrid groaned, his disheveled head rolling into the crook of his arm, where he began to snore softly.

"Sorry," Slughorn said, hiccuping, "I'm always off-key."

"Hagrid wasn't talking about your singing," Harry said softly. "He was talking about my mom and dad's deaths."

"Sigh..." Professor Slughorn sighed deeply, "It's all Tang's... the Dark Lord..."

He then asked, slurring his words, "By the way, you mentioned before, your Dueling Club, what kind of event do you want to hold in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes, Professor."

Harry finally remembered his ultimate purpose for staying here—partly to keep Hagrid, and partly to find an advisor for the Dueling Club.

"Starting in first grade, I founded this organization called the Dueling Club." His tone was persuasive. "I gathered together the most promising students in our grade and gave them special training..."

Professor Slughorn indeed showed a very interested expression.

"You know, Professor," Harry continued, "Generally speaking, fourth-year graduates have a hard time dealing with Level 5X Magical Creatures, right?"

"Yes, Harry, yes," Professor Slughorn nodded. "It's not an exaggeration; in fact, even seventh-year students might not be able to do it..."

"But the students at the Dueling Club can do it," Harry said with a laugh. "During their fourth-year summer vacation, they could defeat Troll on their own—or even in groups of three, defeat Chimera..."

"What?" Professor Slughorn jumped to her feet, utterly astonished.

You mean dealing with Troll is one thing, but Chimera? Do you think a fourth-grader can handle that?

Professor Slughorn, having lived for so many years, certainly knew what Chimera was—a magical creature native to Greece, extremely bloodthirsty and violent, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of Fire Dragon, and a very fiery temperament.

There is only one recorded instance in history of a wizard successfully killing Chimera, but that wizard later died from exhaustion after falling off his Pegasus.

The famous Caerphilly Catapults Quidditch player, "Dangerous" Day Llewellyn, was killed by a Chimera while on vacation in Greece.

Now, Harry is saying that the students in the Dueling Club can actually team up to kill Chimera?

This is fucking...

Professor Slughorn felt he was really drunk.

"I still have the video from the summer after fourth grade," Harry said, pulling out his phone and sitting down next to Professor Slughorn to show him how his classmates had fought the Chimera.

Professor Slughorn squinted at the screen on his phone, showing the students in groups of three battling the Chimera.

The three of them worked together perfectly, their Charms were coordinated flawlessly, and their timing was impeccable...

"Excellent, excellent!" Professor Slughorn sobered up instantly, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Very good, Harry, fantastic... this Dueling Club..."

"Of course, Professor." Harry revealed his final trump card, "As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and traveling ten thousand miles is not without the guidance of a master... Professor, if you have some free time, could you spare some time to guide them?"

"Of course, no problem!" Professor Slughorn assured him, patting his chest. "By the way, who's in your Dueling Club? I'd like to invite them to my club... You know, Harry, I adore outstanding students..."

"No problem." Harry gave an OK sign.

See? Professor Slughorn has taken the bait!

"By the way, Professor," Harry added, "We're planning an event next Saturday, to participate in trials in the Forbidden Forest... What do you think?"

"Of course." Professor Slughorn hadn't yet realized something was amiss.

Harry silently gave a thumbs-up in his mind.

Doesn't that mean someone can act as a babysitter and look after everyone?

Of course, besides Professor Slughorn, Harry planned to recruit a few more people.

Besides Professor Slughorn, we could also invite Professor Dumbledore... Oh right, Professor Snape seems to have plenty of free time too, so why not invite him as well...

Huh?

Yes!

Isn't it the rise of video platforms now?

Why don't I make a video of this Dueling Club trial and upload it to a video website?

Firstly, it would showcase the strength of the Hogwarts students; secondly, it could attract some sponsors for the Dueling Club and also boost its popularity on video websites...

That's what we'll do!

With that in mind, Harry told Professor Slughorn, who was still watching Ron, Seamus, and Neville fight the Chimera, about it.

"You mean video websites?" Professor Slughorn's interest grew even stronger. "Could you explain to me in detail what video websites are? You know, I'm getting on in years, and I'm not very familiar with new things..."

Hearing him say that, Harry felt that the matter was definitely settled.

As everyone knows, this professor doesn't really have any other hobbies, except for his pursuit of fame... which is truly incomprehensible.

Video websites happen to be a place where one can make a name for oneself.

(End of this chapter)