The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 82 Don't Treat the Old Snake Like a Fool

The genie rarely dwells on the past. Regarding his past experiences, he has both the magnanimity of "what's past is past" and the obsession with not wanting to live the same way in every life.

But he really has a psychological trauma from this incident.

He has truly experienced the absurd situation of "explaining his plans to someone with great pride, only to discover that the person was the one he was trying to scheme against."

Even after living for so many years, the genie still couldn't completely get rid of his shame.

Others might do something this stupid, and he could laugh about it for centuries and it would all be over; but when he did it, he genuinely wanted to silence everyone who knew about it. However, Edmund also knew very well that Dumbledore couldn't be Voldemort. As for whether Voldemort was "Slytherin's successor," that's worth investigating.

He had already sent people to investigate the Gaunt family. According to the records, the Gaunt family line ended completely after the death of Mavolo's son, Morfin Gaunt. Although there was a daughter named Melop on the family tree, she had disappeared before Morfin's death.

Aside from the missing Merop, the family had criminal records and were notoriously disliked by the Ministry of Magic. It's unclear whether this was why they didn't inform the Aurors about their daughter's disappearance, or if the truth was even darker—that the father and son had killed the woman.

All things considered, if Voldemort is indeed of the Gaunt bloodline, he is most likely Morfin Gaunt's illegitimate son; the second most likely candidate is the son of the missing Merop's son.

It shouldn't be difficult to find out this. Edmund believes that pure-blood families must have magic that can verify bloodlines; in addition, the "Tom" that Hagrid mentioned is also very suspicious.

If Hagrid had revealed "Tom's" full name and identity the moment Edmund probed, it would have been merely a matter of ordinary suspicion. But since Hagrid dared not speak, and considering his extremely simple interpersonal relationships, it's not hard to guess that Dumbledore was asking him to keep it a secret—thus, "Tom's" identity went from ordinary suspicion to extremely suspicious.

Edmund had never seriously considered how Dumbledore viewed Voldemort before.

Out of respect for "the greatest wizard of the century," Edmund never considered that Dumbledore was unaware of a rising force that disagreed with him; nor did he consider whether Dumbledore knew who Voldemort was in the past.

"The past" is a vague and ambiguous term. Generally speaking, the more you know about a person's origins, the more...

That makes it easier to discover his weaknesses.

This was Edmund's original purpose for the trip, but his real intention wasn't to learn more about Voldemort. He was clearly interested in Dumbledore!

Looking back, besides learning that Dumbledore had a period of being disliked by the authorities before Grindelwald's downfall—simple information that could be guessed without even hearing from those who experienced it firsthand—did he gain anything else today?

No!

What does this mean? To put it bluntly, Dumbledore even guarded against a fool like Hagrid;

Even with the most optimistic perspective, one must admit that he is extremely difficult to get close to and never confides in others.

Oh, there's another possibility: this old fellow is such a riddle that even if he vaguely revealed some truth,

Others can't understand it either.

spray.

This is not a good thing.

If Voldemort left a mess in the British wizarding world, with every two things he encountered every three steps being connected to his past, then Dumbledore was incredibly meticulous. Months had passed, and Edmund had received less information than he had heard in Germany.

-etc.

Edmund's eyes darted around, and he suddenly realized he was completely in the wrong place. What was he in such a hurry for?

If he couldn't find Dumbledore's weakness, why didn't he ask the esteemed leader of the Malay Party, the practitioner of "for the greater good," the wondrous Lord Grindelwald?!

After meeting Hagrid, Edmund didn't rush into anything. He made a note of the name "Myrtle," intending to seek Professor Slughorn's opinion when the opportunity arose.

Edmund was really curious as to why the head of Slytherin could accept a Gryffindor as "Slytherin's successor," and he had a guess he wanted to verify.

On Wednesday afternoon, he cornered his headmaster in an empty room next to the Potions classroom. Professor Slughorn sat at a table piled high with bottles and jars, a small vial of shimmering potion beside him, a color Edmund had never seen before, clearly more potent than anything taught in the first year.

Hearing his footsteps, Slughorn looked up, and upon seeing that it was Edmund, the old walrus immediately narrowed his eyes.

He gave a friendly smile.

"Edmund, Edmund—what brings you here?" Slughorn raised his hand, and a stool playfully flipped over. "Sit down first. Let me finish this last step before we talk."

Edmund wasn't in a hurry. He first placed the two bottles of thick, crystalline liquid on the table, while Slughorn seemed oblivious. The Potions Master's index finger trembled slightly as he sprinkled some unknown blue powder into the potion.

Edmund wasn't sure what had changed in the potion, but four seconds later, Professor Slughorn let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Another masterpiece," Edmund complimented. "And I'm not even surprised, Professor. But even knowing you'd succeed, sitting next to you still makes me hold my breath. The potion is truly amazing!"

Professor Slughorn's smile became even more genuine. Edmund felt a bit annoyed; this "Slytherin stuff" always slowed down the conversation, much to his dismay.

Moreover, having heard so much praise from the snakes, Professor Slughorn's threshold for flattery was clearly higher than that of the other professors. Even Edmund couldn't find any "sweet words" more suitable for his status; asking him to humbly flatter others was simply too much to ask.

"That's because you respect potions—and also respect the hard work of your old professor." Slughorn winked playfully. "You're a sensible child, but sometimes you're a little too polite! Why did you bring something again? Hmm, what's this?"

Edmund pushed the two cans of thick liquid forward:

"My mother told me it was star dew collected by some kind of butterfly? Star honey? I can't remember." He genuinely couldn't recall. "Obviously, she forgot I'm just a first-year student and don't need such advanced potion ingredients yet. Therefore, I think: why not send it to a potion master who can use it! Professor, aren't I thoughtful?"

Professor Slughorn smiled sincerely and raised his hand as if to pat Edmund's head. But after a glance between them, Slughorn patted Edmund's shoulder instead.

"You little rascal, you never know how to save money for the family!" The old professor shook his head with a smile. "No wonder Mrs. Soman didn't remember; it's almost Christmas, she must miss you terribly."

At this point, Slughorn paused, as if unsure if the question was safe to ask. But he continued, "So, are you going home for Christmas? Don't blame me for being nosy, Edmund, the Hogwarts Christmas party is more exciting than you can imagine!"

"If you stay, I can tell you a little secret—do you want to know how to summon a plump, juicy roast goose for the Christmas dinner? It's an old tradition, a long-standing Easter egg, and the house-elves of Hogwarts prepare it in a different flavor every three years!"

Edmund's eyebrows twitched, realizing that the other person was cautiously probing whether his relationship with his family was as "intimate" as he appeared.

However, Slughorn did indeed adore the talented Edmund, and he tried hard to conceal it, fearing that Edmund would be saddened by the fact that he "couldn't go home for Christmas."

That's overthinking it.

"I was planning to spend the holiday at school, Professor," Edmund said with his standard smile. "Just as you said."

I'm also very curious about Christmas at Hogwarts, right now. And I've heard that many professors, including the headmaster, celebrate the holiday at the school.

Professor Slughorn’s Adam’s apple bobbed suspiciously, as if he had swallowed something.

"But my mother misses me so much. She even started asking if she could visit the school—that's unprecedented!"

"I couldn't go against her wishes, so I decided to go home for Christmas."

Professor Slughorn breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, nodding kindly and about to say that it was very good.

Edmund then changed the subject:

"To my surprise, four days ago, my father asked his new secretary to send me a 'family letter,' saying that since I had turned 11 and started receiving magical education, he had to formally introduce me, his long-absent only son, to the outside world to prove that I was still alive."

Edmund gave a mocking smile.

"I heard he sent out a lot of invitations, but I don't know who he's trying to impress. As far as I know, there are the former and current Ministers of Magic, oh, and Headmaster Dumbledore."

Edmund blinked, looking innocently at his own dean:

"I've come to see you today to ask verbally if you would be willing to accept the invitation. Although setting the date for Christmas Day is a bit unreasonable, the first gathering ends early, so it won't prevent guests from going home to reunite with their families. Professor, would you be interested in participating?"

Professor Slughorn's smile froze on his face. Fortunately, he possessed remarkable composure and immediately adopted a regretful expression, frantically racking his brains to come up with four plausible excuses for not being able to attend this grand event. "What a pity, what a pity!"

LOL, what's there to regret?

Slughorn's forehead was beaded with sweat. Edmund suspected that the headline of the prophetic newspaper the day after Christmas had already appeared in his mind: "Shocking Fact: Former Virtuoso and Current Deputy Minister of Magic in Germany Found Dead in His Home, and the Murderer is...!"

"Alright." Edmund sighed, then rallied his spirits. "I truly feel sorry for the Potions Masters who would be there that day; they missed the opportunity to make your acquaintance!"

Slughorn waved his hand, a hint of reluctance in his smile: "It's alright, it's alright—I really can't get away for Christmas, but if there's another chance next time—"

If Dumbledore does accept the invitation to Soman Manor this time and still fails to hand over old Soman to Nurmengard-Slughorn, he might actually consider befriending old Soman.

Otherwise, he would never have gone against Dumbledore's wishes to get close to old Soman. Even if Slughorn was very tempted,

They wouldn't ruin a carefully cultivated workplace relationship for a few days of pleasantries.

Slughorn's expression was incredibly complex, but he quickly composed himself and gave a reassuring smile.

"It would be great to be home, Edmund! If you need to bring back some British souvenirs, I might be able to consult Mr. Marco in the Foreign Affairs Department. He's a very talented Ravenclaw—I can have him help you find some worthwhile British souvenirs to take home."

"Oh, right! I should send you some Honeydukes candies as a gift. If you don't like sweets, you can also pick out a potion from my potion cabinet before you leave school."

Edmund was both amused and exasperated by his compensatory attitude. Just a few days ago, Hagrid had treated him like a child, but now, because of a Christmas party that was destined not to cause any deaths, he was being treated lightly by the ever-smooth Professor Slughorn.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony,” Edmund said, his tone becoming more assertive. “I need to thoroughly review my textbooks and choose the most complex potion to take back and study—ah, speaking of which, Professor.”

Edmund's tone made it seem as if he hadn't come there to ask that question at all.

Do you know that ghost that's always in the women's restroom on the second floor?

2

Slughorn was preoccupied with thoughts like, "What is old Soman thinking? Does he want to die?" He didn't realize who the ghost was and simply gave a light "hmm."

"I only found out a few days ago from Hagrid that she was a Hogwarts student, just like us. And she died tragically on campus before she even graduated."

Slughorn shuddered and snapped out of his daze when he heard the word "horrible death."

The old walrus suddenly realized who he was talking about, and in less than half a second, Slughorn's expression froze.

"Why are you asking this, Edmund?"

But he was an old man with a sharp mind, and the next second he showed a worried look and shook his head awkwardly.

"That's true, alas! That was indeed a tragedy."

Edmund looked puzzled.

"But, well, I heard she was killed by the 'Slytherin Heir'." This question was very much in line with his identity. "But Hagrid is a Gryffindor. I really don't want to believe that the Slytherin Heir is a Gryffindor."

Upon hearing this, Slughorn's lips twitched violently, as if he almost couldn't hold back.

"...Sigh." The old headmaster shook his head helplessly. "Look, 28 years have passed!"

"I'm sorry, I brought this up again. If I hadn't asked, you probably would have almost forgotten about it."

"How could that be!"

An eerie silence fell over the air for a few seconds. Edmund, sensing the old professor's attitude had softened, lowered his tone again and asked softly:

"Did you teach her, Professor?" he added considerately. "I'm sorry to have made you feel bad."

Actually, judging from Professor Slughorn's expression, it wasn't just "uncomfortable." The genie, upon closer examination, sensed a mixture of guilt and regret in the old wizard's expression, and upon digging deeper, even a hint of fear.

More often, however, is a strange numbness.

“Yes, I did teach her,” Professor Slughorn said softly. “Myrtle—”

"Warren, I'll still call her Warren. She's a thoughtful, average-looking girl. To be honest, she's just like any other Muggle-born wizard—not particularly remarkable, with no special talents, but not unlikeable either."

"So, yeah, who could have imagined it? Who could have imagined that she would be killed by some, some 'Slytherin's successor'? It's ridiculous, utterly absurd."

Professor Slughorn's tone became stern at this point.

"This is Hogwarts! Okay, I admit it, even if I don't want to speak ill of the deceased, I have to admit to you: the previous headmaster, Deppet, was far less astute and talented as Dumbledore! But even so, this place, this castle, should not have been the site of such a murder."

The headmaster of Slytherin looked at the little snake before him, his eyes now clear of any confusion.

More importantly:

How could someone be killed by the "heir of Slytherin"?!

"This is slander—this is a despicable tactic used by the murderer to escape punishment! It's a misunderstanding! The Slytherin students are innocent!!"