Stark, Master of the Humblebrag

Slughorn felt that the past year had been the darkest period of his life.

Not only do they have to break away from their favorite social circles, but they also have to constantly move to avoid potential tracking.

That's fine, at most it just means a slightly lower quality of life.

But I was just settling into my new home when I got brutally beaten up... Who can I complain to?!

"I'm over a hundred years old, and you still dare to ambush me? Is this how Hogwarts teaches you?!"

Lying on the sofa, Slughorn was receiving treatment from William, while still scolding Harry.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry kept apologizing. "I thought you were Death Eaters attacking someone."

Have you ever seen Death Eaters this old?!

Despite being injured, Slughorn still roared with great force, like a roaring emperor.

He sensed that this the Boy Who Lived was not quite the "genius" he had imagined... he seemed rather silly.

Slughorn has an exceptional eye for people; apart from misjudging Tom back then, he has never made a mistake!

"Then why are you ruining your own room?" Harry asked, sounding a little aggrieved. "Anyone who sees this will think you're Death Eaters."

"I'm faking my arrest so I can fool the uninvited guests," Slughorn said pointedly.

By the way, the novel app I've been using recently supports both Android and Apple phones!

But Harry didn't understand; he suddenly realized:

"Oh, so you're on guard against Death Eaters."

"What use is this useless old bone of mine to the Death Eaters?" Slughorn retorted.

"But someone's been stalking me, buzzing around like an old bee, so annoying!"

"Beware of fire, theft, Albus!" Of course, he was wary of Dumbledore, that old bee!

But Harry didn't understand; instead, he asked curiously:

Are you talking about Voldemort?

Upon hearing the name, Slughorn shuddered, protested loudly, and then glared fiercely at Harry.

Lily and James were such shrewd kids back then, how come their son is so clueless, unable to even pick up on sarcasm?

William, who had been silent until now, smiled and said after healing Horace's injuries, "He's alright, he should be fine now."

Slughorn stretched his back, and sure enough, the pain was gone.

He looked at the talented young man he had met two years ago at the Quidditch World Cup and praised him:

"That's typical of Poppy's style of handling things. William, you even learned this stuff from her?"

William humbly explained:

I learned a little bit about it in first grade.

Professor Snape was slightly injured during his teaching at the time. Madam Pomfrey taught our classes for a period of time.

It was Marietta who did this; she used her wand to force Professor Snape into the cauldron.

William still remembers it vividly.

"That's Poppy's style." Slughorn stroked his beard and recalled:

"Before I retired, she told me more than once to eliminate other courses and only offer nursing."

The old professor wore a look of deep nostalgia, as if recalling his lost youth.

But this emotion only lasted a few seconds before he looked warily toward the door:

"So only you and Hermione came. Albus isn't here? Tell him to come out; I know he's here!"

William packed up the Potions and said softly:

"The principal really didn't come. He's been quite busy lately, you know, the war has already begun."

"Yes, the Second Wizarding War broke out." Slughorn immediately chimed in, feigning sympathy:

"I'm getting old, and my health isn't what it used to be. I also have asthma, rheumatism, and my legs aren't as nimble as they used to be."

Slughorn's acting was pretty good; his eyes even started to turn red, as if he were about to die.

"Sigh, this was to be expected. People get old, useless, no longer able to go to the battlefield, and can't go back to Hogwarts to teach..."

Slughorn went on and on, but the core idea was that he wouldn't go back to teaching.

Despite his tragic story, he is actually in very good health.

Otherwise, what kind of dying old person would have strong liquor, boxes of chocolates, and lots of pastries in their house?

But William did not try to persuade Slughorn to return to school; instead, he comforted him, saying:

Yes, you're absolutely right.

When you get old, you should retire and enjoy your retirement.

That's what I said to Professor Dumbledore too, and I even advised him to hand the school over to a young person like me.

Goodness... a young man like you?

How old are you, and you're already preparing to take over Dumbledore's position?

Slughorn glanced at William with a small, mischievous look.

William continued emotionally, "But Professor Dumbledore was never busy enough and was unwilling to retire under these circumstances."

But it makes me sad to see him like this; he's even older than you...

William started playing the emotional card, and Slughorn's gaze towards him was no longer as wary as before.

"Yes," he nodded, and sighed, "Albus indeed older than me, and it must have been really tough for him all these years..."

Hermione had already tidied the room.

Under her magic, the smashed furniture pieces jumped back to their original positions one by one.

The decorations returned to their original shape in mid-air, and the damaged books were automatically repaired and neatly arranged on the bookshelf.

All the damaged, torn, and gaping areas in the room Reparo.

The dragon blood spilled on the wall was automatically wiped clean and returned to the bottle.

Hermione held the liquid up to the light, examined it closely, and deliberately feigned disgust, saying:

"This bottle of Dragon Blood is a bit dirty; it will definitely have some impact when brewing the Potions."

"Just throw it away, Professor."

"Hermione, you can't lose her!" Slughorn quickly stopped her.

He said with some heartache:

"This is my last bottle of Dragon Blood. Since the outbreak of war, coupled with the recent attack on ships by Death Eaters, which caused a blockage in the Suez Canal..."

The current price is shockingly expensive!

"Really? I have plenty, more than I can use." William said, sounding very wealthy.

This piqued Slughorn's curiosity.

William knew he had taken the bait and laughed:

"Really, I have many complete fire dragon corpses."

There were so many that Hermione and I were at a loss as to how to handle them; it was quite a dilemma.

I'm going to put it at Hogwarts.

If you need Dragon Blood, come to me and get it for free!

"A complete fire dragon corpse, and many heads too?" Slughorn swallowed hard, asking expectantly, "Where did you get them?"

"As you know, I protected Minister Bones during the last Battle of Buckingham Palace," William recounted.

"Then a legion of fire dragons appeared, and I killed more than twenty fire dragons."

Harry, standing nearby, was also captivated and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Wait a minute... The Daily Prophet said there were only a few fire dragons, but William said there were more than twenty.

Sure enough, you can't trust a single word in the newspapers these days.

Even William's military achievements were deliberately downplayed; the enemy must be in the British propaganda department!

William sighed and continued at the Verdun Circuit: "The only pity is that those fire dragons are all Hebridean Black."

I don't like this kind of fire dragon.

He shook his head and said:

"The meat was too dry, and the scales were too hard. I prefer the Hungarian Horntail; they're so cute."

"..."

Slughorn's heart was pounding like a cat's claws; all he wanted to do was go to Hogwarts and see those complete dragon corpses.

But... don't fall for it!

He immediately changed the subject, saying:

"I saw in the newspaper that the Giant have joined the war too?"

"Yes, those Giant legions are temporarily stationed in the Forbidden Forest. They will protect the school," Hermione said.

"But Giant are dangerous," Slughorn objected. "You don't know how dangerous they are when they go berserk; they attack anything and everything."

"Is it dangerous?" William shrugged.

"Maybe. But last year, in the Alps, after I wiped out a race of Giant, dozens of Giant died."

The remaining Giant were all very obedient.

"Oh, right, I still have the Giant's corpse there." William winked.

"It's also very valuable for research. That blood is no less valuable than Dragon Blood, yet it's all kept at Hogwarts."

Slughorn: "..."