Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 454, Section 449: Slughorn's Slug Club

"Albus, thanks to this miraculous 'Death Potion,' we can easily identify wizards controlled by the Imperius Curse."

On the second day of Hogwarts' official opening, Grindelwald (hereafter referred to by his real name) arrived at Dumbledore's office with great excitement. With the help of the Dementor Potion, he found many 'traitors' in the Ministry of Magic.

"The Aurors are fine; those Death Eaters don't seem willing to waste their time on them."

"The main problem is that many employees from other departments have been afflicted by the Soul-Stealing Curse."

Upon obtaining the potion, Grindelwald immediately used it to conduct a major purge within the Ministry of Magic, which naturally uncovered a group of Ministry officials who had been placed under surveillance without their knowledge.

This was even with most of the Death Eaters having gone to Transylvania. One can imagine that if the Death Eaters had remained in England, they might have had to find officials who were not under control among those already under control.

Of course, it's impossible to know how many of these uncontrolled people were Death Eaters and how many were loyal to Voldemort.

However, Fudge did not rush to arrest them all and search for the controllers' whereabouts. Instead, he placed them under surveillance.

These are just small fish; Grindelwald doesn't intend to act rashly before catching the real big fish.

Dudley, the inventor of this magical potion, was sitting in a room with many young wizards.

The door to this room has a sign that reads "Slug Club".

Yes, Slughorn invited many young wizards he considered outstanding or whose families had exceptional talents to come here.

It was called a dinner party, but in reality, it was a way to get to know each junior wizard through conversation. This kind of banquet wasn't just happening once; he would invite (or expel) qualified (or unqualified) junior wizards every now and then.

Slughorn had actually wanted to hold this party on the first day of school, but he and Dudley had spent too long brewing potions the previous few days, so much so that he was almost asleep all day and nearly missed the classic Sorting Ceremony.

Dudley, Harry, Neville, and Draco were all on the invitation list, along with several other students of similar age from well-off families.

"Oh, let me take a good look at who this is? The boy who survived, the savior of the wizarding world—Mr. Harry Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you before our first class."

Upon seeing Harry for the first time, Slughorn spoke in a very exaggerated tone, warmly welcoming Harry and showing great interest in him.

"Me too, Professor Slughorn." Harry was a little unaccustomed to the other's enthusiasm.

Nothing to do is to commit crimes or to steal.

Harry always kept in mind the words Dudley had told him.

Slughorn was secretly surprised by Harry and the others' tall stature. How come all the outstanding young wizards at Hogwarts were so robust? Or was this some new trend he was unaware of?

"I hope to see you perform well in Potions class tomorrow," Slughorn said to Harry meaningfully.

Slughorn still remembers what Dumbledore told him before: that all the fifth-year students (now the sixth year) are elites, so he's going to verify it tomorrow.

Slughorn has replaced Snape as the Potions professor, while Snape, the former Potions professor, has taken the coveted position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Then we'll probably need to look at tomorrow's topic on medicine."

Harry was puzzled, but he still answered honestly, after all, he was very unbalanced in his studies, and his best skill was making poison.

After exchanging a few words with Harry, Slughorn turned his attention to Draco. The Malfoys were a highly respected family throughout the wizarding world, and Slughorn naturally wouldn't overlook the only son of the Malfoys.

After a brief conversation, Slughorn also concluded that Draco was a wizard with great talent for potions, and thus became even more enthusiastic.

Then there was Neville, who was invited because of his grandmother, Mrs. Longbottom.

This is a very famous witch, and Slughorn wants to confirm whether he has inherited his grandmother's gifts.

The answer surprised him; there was no doubt that Neville was also a very talented wizard.

Aside from being a little large, it is quite enormous.

Dudley, Harry, and Neville sat in a row, looking more like they were there for some kind of fitness competition than wizards.

Afterward, he approached several junior wizards whom he considered to be from prominent families or exceptionally capable, and subtly inquired about their information.

Without exception, these young wizards performed exceptionally well, far surpassing their peers in both spells and other skills.

Slughorn was secretly pleased with himself. After all these years, his eye for people was still as sharp as ever. He had spotted the most promising student among the group of students at a glance.

However, there was one thing that puzzled him: whether it was Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or even Gryffindor, they all treated Dudley with unusual respect. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but they seemed to be even more respectful to him, their professor.

Was it Mr. Dursley's excellence that impressed them?

After all, not just anyone can become a Wizengamot before graduating, and even being nominated as the chief wizard is not an option, not even for "that person" from decades ago.

Overall, Slughorn was quite satisfied with the gathering.

After seeing off the young wizards, Slughorn changed into his distinctive crimson robe, sat on his soft, plush chaise lounge with its thick cushions, and enjoyed a delicious glass of whiskey.

He seemed to be in a very good mood today.

Indeed, nothing is more interesting than discovering more talented people. He had been doing this for decades in his teaching career and enjoyed it immensely. So he planned to continue to dig deeper into the undiscovered talents at Hogwarts. His intuition told him that there were definitely more than just these few in the school.

This year's sixth-grade students are definitely the most talented Hogwarts has had in nearly a century.

For some reason, Dumbledore's words suddenly popped into Slughorn's mind.

He smiled and shook his head. Albus was exaggerating; how could such a thing be possible?

After resting in the rocking chair for a while, he finished his whiskey in one gulp, put on a slightly flamboyant nightcap, and snuggled into his warm bed.

Soon after, a snoring sound, neither too loud nor too soft, began to rise.

Slughorn had experienced so much hiding and fleeing this past year that he hadn't slept so comfortably in a long time.

(End of this chapter)