Keep Breathing ♢ James Potter

15 | Slughorn's Dinner Party

Hermione and Harry had been invited to Professor Slughorn's dinner party for the evening. The dinner overall was not very interesting. Harry found himself falling asleep as Slughorn talked about Cormac's uncle and Hermione's parents' job as a dentist. The most interesting thing happened when he became a blubbering idiot and stood up as Ginny Weasley walked into the room. Harry had looked to his side and found Hermione smirking and softly giggling at Harry's actions.

As the dinner finished, Harry stayed behind. He watched as the students began to leave Slughorn's office as his professor bid them goodbye.

"Goodbye. Bye-bye." Slughorn closed the door and turned back around. "Potter!" Slughorn said, slightly surprised as he thought all the students had left.

"I'm sorry, sir," apologized Harry. "I was just admiring your hourglass." Harry knew that he did not stay behind to admire an hourglass, but Slughorn didn't need to know that.

"Ah yes, most intriguing object," Slughorn began to explain as he walked towards Harry and the hourglass. "The sand runs in accordance with the quality of the conversation. It is stimulating, the sand runs slowly. If it is not..."

Harry politely interrupted. "I think I'll be going, then."

"Nonsense. You have nothing to fear, dear boy. " Slughorn lightly pats the side of Harry's arm. "Some of your classmates... Well, let's just say they're unlikely to make the shelf."

"Shelf, sir?" questioned Harry. He was not entirely sure what shelf his professor was talking about.

"Anyone who aspires to be anyone hopes to end up here. But then again, you already are someone, aren't you, Harry?"

Harry watched as Slughorn slowly approached a shelf gesturing to all the students' frames that were pictured there. As Harry's eyes traced the photos, he noticed something familiar. There was the same photo from Slughorn's house of the boy and girl running around the Quidditch pitch on the shelf. The students seemed familiar, but Harry couldn't exactly place his finger on who they were.

As Slughorn poured himself a drink, Harry turned towards Slughorn and asked abruptly, "Did Voldemort ever make the shelf, sir?"

Noticing Slughorn's shocked stance, he continued. "You knew him, didn't you, sir? Tom Riddle? You were his teacher."

"Mr. Riddle had a number of teachers who were here at Hogwarts." As Slughorn responded to Harry, it was noticeable how tense he had become at the mention of Tom Riddle. It was noticeable that Slughorn felt uncomfortable, this made Harry want to dig deeper to find out why.

"What was he like?" Harry continued, "I'm sorry, sir. Forgive me. He killed my parents."

"Of course," said Slughorn as he tried to brush off the tension in the room. "It's only natural you should want to know more. But I'm afraid I must disappoint you, Harry. When I first met young Mr. Riddle, he was a quiet, albeit brilliant boy, committed to becoming a first-grade wizard. Not unlike others, I've known. Not unlike yourself, in fact. If the monster existed, it was very deep within."

With that, Harry's eyes drifted away from Slughorn and followed the hourglass sitting across the room. He then dismissed himself from the office before heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

As Harry gathered his stuff from his dorm to go to the Room of Requirement, he was shocked to find Ron awake still awake.

"Where are you going," questioned Ron. "We have Quidditch practice tomorrow morning. We have our game against Slytherins on Friday." Ron was half asleep as he talked to his friend.

Harry fumbled with finding an excuse that would make Ron not be suspicious of Harry sneaking out at night.

"Oh, uh, I am going to the Kitchens," Harry explained. "I haven't seen Dobby in a while, so uh I thought I can go visit him. Possibly pick up a pumpkin pastie or two."

"Alright, I guess," Ron seemed to visibly shrug it off as he got back into his bed. It was obvious that he was too tired to give Harry's excuse any thought. "Goodnight Harry."

"Goodnight Ron," said Harry as he threw his invisibility cloak over him and rushed to the Room of Requirement before anyone else can have the chance to stop him.