Slughorn Under Attack

Badley Barberton Village

Two figures suddenly appeared on the street.

Harry clutched his mouth in anguish; his first Apparition experience was absolutely awful.

It felt as if something was forcibly probing into his mouth and deep into his throat, constantly stirring, making him very uncomfortable.

William looked around, finding nothing amiss, then looked down and asked, "Are you alright?"

"It's alright." Harry gagged for a moment, then said dejectedly, "Is this Apparition? I still prefer flying on a broomstick."

"A flying broomstick can't immediately escape the Death Eaters ' pursuit," William said softly.

You should learn it as soon as possible.

"But I'm not old enough," Harry said, distressed.

"Age has never been a problem. I learned Apparition when I was in second grade." William glanced at him.

"And... now that Minister Bones is in power, nobody cares whether you're an adult or not."

In case of an emergency, just use magic; no Auror will bother you.

This applies everywhere, understand?

Harry nodded vigorously.

William had saved him many times, including during his last trip to the Department of Mysteries.

William's words are entirely credible, in relation to Harry's.

Wait... After school starts, he might be able to find Qiu to give him some private lessons on Apparition.

No problem.

William, unaware of Harry's ulterior motives, led the way toward an ancient war memorial.

Walking to the chair, he turned to one side and asked:

"How's it going?"

There was nothing unusual; Professor Slughorn was still in the house.

However, there is magic nearby, so I dare not get too close, or I will be discovered.

The voice was unmistakably Hermione's... but Harry stared wide-eyed and saw nothing.

He immediately realized that Hermione must have used the Invisibility Cloak.

A figure slowly emerged in the air; it wasn't Invisibility Cloak, but Disillusionment Charm.

Harry was extremely surprised; he hadn't expected Hermione to have learned such advanced magic.

But this summer, he seemed not to have learned any magic at all, spending his days studying the Daily Prophet and inquiring about Voldemort.

A feeling of guilt for not studying properly returned.

Of course, like most students, he experiences this guilt twice a year.

"Hey Harry, long time no see," Hermione greeted him, then looked at William and asked with concern:

"Why are you so slow? Did you run into trouble on the way?"

"I chatted with Harry's aunt and uncle for a while," William explained.

He made no mention of the Queen's granddaughter.

Otherwise, Hermione would definitely have taken the Sword of Gryffindor and gone to fight Babbling to the death.

Poking a big, bloody hole in Babbling is too gory; William should do it.

"By the way, what are we doing here?" Harry looked around curiously.

Dumbledore wrote to him, only saying that he needed to do something and asked for his assistance... but without specifying the details.

Harry was skeptical; what could he possibly do to help William and Hermione... maybe go on an adventure with them abroad?

Harry was a little excited at the thought of witnessing a city being destroyed.

William led the way, his wand illuminating the surroundings, and he explained in a low voice:

"Hogwarts is still short of a Potions Professor, and we've come to persuade a wizard to return to work at Hogwarts."

"We're missing Potions Professor?" Harry perked up, unable to hide his joy:

"Snape's been fired, he's no longer a teacher?!"

William glanced at Harry, thinking, "You might get expelled, but Professor Snape could never get expelled."

He shook his head and said:

"Professor Snape will continue to lead the Defence Against Dark Magic, while Potions Class will be taught by other teachers."

Harry was completely deflated... He'd been so excited for nothing!

William pondered:

If Harry knew that his mother and Snape were childhood sweethearts... I wonder what his reaction would be.

I can't wait for that day!

Harry felt uneasy for a moment, kicked a pebble, and asked again:

"Since they're recruiting Potions Professor, is there anything I can do to help?"

Is it to let him showcase his Potions skills?

This proves that Snape was a terrible teacher... Does it mean the course is doomed without a new teacher?

William certainly didn't choose the wrong person to contact!

If Neville and Ron were also brought in, it would be even more convincing to prove that Snape was a terrible teacher.

But William blinked and said:

"Don't help me with anything, just remember one thing."

"Whatever you do, don't mention bringing him back to Hogwarts as a professor."

Harry: "..."

What kind of recruitment is this?

He was puzzled, but neither William nor Hermione offered an explanation.

The three of them followed the sloping path and approached a neat little stone house nestled in a garden.

They reached the door, and William waved his wand, dispelling the spell.

Of course, the alarm will also be activated immediately.

Harry entered the room, looked at the scene before him, and exclaimed in shock:

"Oh my God, oh my God!"

The hinges on the front door were open, and the door hung crookedly.

"A terrorist incident must have happened here."

"Maybe there was a fight too, and the wizard was captured by the Death Eaters, right?" Harry guessed.

Hermione glanced at the sky and denied it, "Of course not, there are no Dark Mark on them."

"Maybe it just didn't have time to be released," Harry said.

William didn't speak, but quickened his pace and ran into the room.

Hermione's wand lit up, illuminating a narrow doorway. To the left was an open door.

Upon entering the room, they found it in complete disarray. An old clock lay shattered at their feet, its face cracked, and its pendulum lay a little further away, like an abandoned sword.

That's not all. A dark figure was seen waving a magic wand, and a piano overturned on the ground, its keys scattered everywhere.

Nearby, fragments of a shattered chandelier were Winky.

The bald, fat old man also turned his head in alarm to look at the doorway; he hadn't expected the visitor to arrive so quickly.

From Harry's perspective, he was already certain that it was Death Eaters who had attacked.

To prevent them from recruiting new teachers.

The old man's terrified expression resembled that of Death Eaters caught committing a crime.

Moreover, who else could be responsible for vandalizing a room but an enemy?

Could it be the new teacher himself?

What decent person would smash their own house?

Harry was furious and charged forward, trying to grab the Death Eaters.

Upon seeing William and Hermione clearly, the old man stood there awkwardly.

Wouldn't it be embarrassing to be seen by someone in person?

He didn't know what to say, and then he saw a young wizard rushing towards him.

The old man didn't make a move; instead, he prepared to put away his wand.

He saw two scars on the other person's forehead, resembling horns.

The old man already knew who it was, so he wanted to say hello.

But Harry first used Expelliarmus to knock the old man's wand away, and then kicked him squarely in the stomach.

The poor old man, about the same age as Dumbledore, was caught off guard and knocked to the ground.

Harry kicked away his wand, climbed onto the old man, looked at William, and grinned:

Am I alright?

We can interrogate him and see where this Death Eaters took the man!

William rubbed his temples, then sighed:

"Harry, the person we're looking for is sitting right under your ass!!"

"..."

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