Hogwarts: I am Harry's eldest cousin

Slughorn glanced at Dudley and nodded thoughtfully.

"But if I were you, I would choose to use pig blood next time. I need to add other things to cover up the smell anyway. Compared with the expensive dragon blood, pig blood is easier to get."

Dudley added.

"Also, I suggest you don't choose to store blood in crystal bottles. The preservation ability of that thing is limited."

The more Dudley spoke, the brighter Slughorn's eyes became, as if he had discovered some rare treasure. However, this state did not last long, and he forced himself to hold it back.

"Yes, this is the last bottle of Fire Dragon Blood. The price is ridiculously expensive."

Slughorn tried hard not to look at Dudley, muttering to himself and complaining constantly. He walked heavily to the sideboard, picked up a small crystal bottle on the top of the cabinet, and looked at the bottle with some heartache. There was only a little sticky liquid left in the bottle.

"If I hadn't been avoiding you, I wouldn't have used this last bottle. I haven't seen my lovely students for a whole year. I don't know if they miss me or not. Most importantly, I don't have any gifts. I don't know how long this damn situation will last."

Slughorn kept on talking like a gossiping old woman, but his eyes never left Dumbledore.

"If you are willing to go with me, we can go back to the past at any time. You should know why I am here."

Dumbledore decided to cut to the chase and get straight to the point.

"So I refuse." Slughorn's answer was very decisive and firm.

The two of them were like a pair of friends who understood each other's minds. To outsiders, they seemed to be playing charades with each other, but in fact, both of them knew what the other was thinking.

"Don't you want to live a peaceful life instead of hiding from place to place like you are now?"

Dumbledore looked Slughorn straight in the eye.

Slughorn dodged his gaze and automatically avoided it. "I live very comfortably here. There are soft chairs, footstools, drinks and books, a warm fireplace, boxes of chocolates and a pile of plump cushions. There is no place more comfortable than this."

"Aren't you worried that the Death Eaters will recruit you? I think that good student Tom has arranged a large number of people to look for you everywhere."

Dumbledore continued.

Slughorn's face changed slightly. It was obvious that what he was thinking was right. How could he not worry about the Death Eaters? Everything he did was to avoid them. However, he said, "They won't find me. I never stay in one place for more than a week. Moving from one Muggle house to another is easy once you get the hang of it."

Dumbledore didn't want to continue practicing Tai Chi with him. This guy was like this when he was in Hogwarts. He kept playing Tai Chi with you.

"Horace, listen to me. This year's sixth grade students are definitely the most talented in Hogwarts in the past hundred years."

“Each one will be no worse than any at your club.”

Dumbledore knew Slughorn's personality traits. He would ignore mediocre people and even pretend they didn't exist, but he could be infinitely tolerant of talents, especially outstanding talents.

Slughorn looked like he was taking me for a fool.

"Albus, are you already talking crazy just to get me to go back with you?"

No matter how Dumbledore explained, Slughorn didn't believe it, mainly because the content was so ridiculous.

Are you already better than the graduates in your fourth year?

And all the people from the four colleges?

Are you here to tease a fool?

In previous years, every one of them would be treated as a treasure and cultivated. Now you are talking about all the people from the four colleges?

The lies he told didn't sound real.

Dumbledore also looked upset. He really was not trying to fool Slughorn. Every word he said was true without any exaggeration.

Dudley, who was standing next to him, could testify to that.

Unfortunately, the content was too exaggerated and the other party just didn't believe it.

To be fair, if he didn't know what was going on in his heart, he wouldn't have believed it either.

So Dumbledore had to take another approach. His eyes fell on Dudley again: "I forgot to tell you that Mr. Dursley is not only a winner of the Order of Merlin First Class, but also the inventor of wizard cards."

"Albus, do you think the first-class Order of Merlin is more difficult or the third-class Order of Merlin is more difficult?"

Slughorn was too familiar with the Order of Merlin. No matter how popular he was in the entertainment industry, he could only get a third-class Order of Merlin at best.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a wizard card or not, or whether it’s a world-class mass entertainment activity.

"What if there is also the identity of being the youngest member of the Wizengamot?"

Dumbledore changed the subject and raised his tone a little.

"What did I say? What did you say?"

Slughorn's words caught in his throat, his eyes wide.

He doesn't care about being the inventor of wizard cards, and the winner of the First Class Order of Merlin is just an empty title, but the members of the Wizengamot are the real powerful people in the wizarding world.

Ordinary wizards would not even join, let alone enter, just to be judged.

Moreover, the three words "youngest" represent the other party's bright future.

"And quite possibly the youngest Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot."

Dumbledore continued to add, and Slughorn's breathing began to become rapid.

Then he realized something and said to Dumbledore, "You are not still lying to me, are you? To become the chief wizard, at least half of the members of the Wizengamot must agree, considering his age."

"If it weren't for his age, Dudley would have been the chief wizard now."

Dumbledore finally smiled when he saw Slughorn's expression. "In fact, Mr. Dursley has more than two-thirds of the support in the Wizengamot."

It is already a very rare thing to have the support of half of the Wizengamot members. Under normal circumstances, as long as one-third vote in favor, he will be elected unless there are special circumstances.

More than two-thirds of the approval rating.

This only shows that this person is not only an extremely outstanding talent, but also has a very deep background.

"Although my first nomination was rejected, I can still make a second nomination this year. The Wizengamot will then vote as a whole, and with Mr. Dursley's support, this is almost a foregone conclusion."

Dumbledore continued, "There is no need for me to lie to you about this. If you don't believe me, you can always go to the Wizengamot and ask."

Seeing that Dumbledore was so confident, Slughorn had already believed most of it.

His breathing began to quicken.

Can you imagine the feeling of a top-level avid card collector finding an SSR card in front of him?

Especially when normally at most SR or R can be found.

Well, that was how Slughorn felt now.

Chapter 452: Stop Reading, Stop Reading

"If I could attract such a talent, if I could become a professor of such an outstanding talent."

Dumbledore's voice seemed to float from the sky, whispering in Slughorn's ear.

"That's worth dying for."

Slughorn blurted out without thinking.

Then he immediately came to his senses, staring at Dumbledore in a daze, his face suddenly becoming extremely conflicted.

If you can invest in a little wizard like this who is destined to become a big shot

If only he could join his own slug club.

If I could take him as my disciple, I would pass on all I have learned throughout my life to him.

Under normal circumstances, even if Dumbledore didn't come to see him, as long as he knew the news, he would try his best to beg to return to Hogwarts to teach.

But it happened to be this time.

He didn't even have time to escape.

Based on his understanding of that former student, it is possible that he might die if he went to Hogwarts this time.

"You, me, him."

Slughorn hesitated for a long time and couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Dumbledore did not answer, but just looked at him quietly.

Dudley felt that he should say a few words: "Mr. Slughorn, I'm sorry, you are not a professor at Hogwarts yet, I can only call you that. I think you have overlooked one thing. The situation outside is very grim. The whole of Romania has become a paradise for Death Eaters. Even Bulgaria next door has not been spared. Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was closed because of this."

"If there is any place in this world that is safe, I think it is in Hogwarts."

"Because the only wizard who can fight against Senior Tom is there—our Professor Dumbledore."

"Is it so bad outside now? I plan to go to Bulgaria as my next stop."

"Yes, Horace. Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang contacted me recently. He will bring a group of students here at the beginning of this semester and temporarily take classes at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore added.

After hearing the news from Dudley and Dumbledore, Slughorn frowned deeply: "You are right. If there is any safe place in this world, then wait, you call him Senior Tom?"

Slughorn stared at Dudley with his eyes wide open and an expression of disbelief, as if the other party had discovered some shocking secret.

"Albus, did you tell him?"

He saw Dumbledore shaking his head at him.

"He guessed it himself."

Dumbledore was smiling as he said this, and in his smile there was a hint of relief.

Hogwarts has a successor.

Not only Dudley, there are many young wizards in Hogwarts who can stand on their own.

"It's not a big deal, a little research would have revealed it."

Dudley took over and wrote a few words in the air with his wand - Tom Marvolo Riddle.

"More than fifty years ago, you were a student of Headmaster Dumbledore, and you were also my senior."

"His mother is Merope Gaunt and his father is Tom Riddle Sr., so he is a half-blood wizard. By the way, his father was killed by him."

Dudley retold Voldemort's life story in detail, presenting it to the two of them.

"I don't think we should be afraid of him, a half-blood wizard whom he himself despises."

"Stop talking, stop talking now."

Slughorn looked at Dudley, who was about to reveal all of Voldemort's secrets, with horror on his face. He covered his ears desperately, as if to say, "Master, stop nagging."

No wonder Slughorn was so horrified. Voldemort would kill people just because someone disrespected him. Now this is no longer a question of respect or disrespect, this is Voldemort's deepest secret.

Everyone knows that Voldemort is a master of Legilimency. The more secrets you know, the faster you die.

However, Dudley's words seemed to be cast by magic. No matter how much Slughorn covered his ears or even used aural blockade on himself, they still entered his mind, and he even conceived the scene.

Seeing Slughorn like this, Dudley stopped talking.

After covering his ears for a long while, Slughorn finally raised his head and looked at Dumbledore.

“Really. Very good”

"Albus, you win."

Hearing Slughorn say this, Dumbledore finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his goal had been achieved.

He wanted to attract the best professors in the wizarding world to Hogwarts before he left.

This was set up from the very beginning in the 'script'.

"So when are we leaving?"

Slughorn seemed to be under the Imperius Curse. Not only did he start to pack up his things, his attitude was also unusually positive. There was even an impatience in his words, as if he couldn't wait to leave here immediately. He was completely different from the person he was just now.

"Wait for me to bring a few boxes of chocolate. These dark snacks taste great."

He has figured out that instead of hiding here, it would be better to move to a safe place as soon as possible.

But this is not the main reason. He heard everything he should and shouldn't have heard. Unless he cast a forgetfulness spell on himself, if Voldemort read these secrets, he would definitely die a miserable death.

No, the Oblivion Charm won’t work either. Who knows if Voldemort has the ability to read the memories of wizards who have been cast with the Oblivion Charm.

"Albus, although I agreed to go to Hogwarts with you, I have one request."

Slughorn packed all his belongings into a suitcase.

"What is it, Horace?" asked Dumbledore.