Professor Slughorn, would you like to join my club?

"Oof, without realizing it, it's gotten quite late. It's almost curfew. You'd best hurry back," Slughorn said. He drained the last mouthful of wine from his cup, then glanced at an hourglass beside him. "I've had a very pleasant dinner tonight."

Everyone rose to their feet, preparing to leave.

Slughorn held out his hand first to Allen, then to Hermione. "Professor Harris, Miss Granger, thank you again for coming." Then he turned to the others. "McLaggen, Harry, Blaise, you're welcome to drop by anytime. You too, young lady." He winked at Ginny. "All right, off you go, off you go. If you lose points, there's nothing I can do about it."

Draco left the room first with Zabini, and the others gradually departed as well. Allen told Hermione to return to the Gryffindor dormitory first, while he himself not only did not head straight out the door, but instead walked toward Slughorn.

"Professor Harris, is there something else?" Slughorn was buttoning his suit jacket, which made his large belly look rather prominent. It also left him a little worried about what he should do if the other party truly was interested in joining his club.

"Professor Slughorn, it's like this. You know that when I was in my third year, I founded a Training Class. In fact, it isn't merely a tutoring group, but an organization somewhat like your Slug Club, where members can help one another after graduation and establish themselves more easily in the wizarding world. After several years of development, our members have all achieved some small success, and through their networks, we've also invited a few wizards who have long since made names for themselves in various fields to join us—they don't count as having joined the Harris Family itself, only as having formed good interpersonal