Her (Harry Potter x Reader)

A Poisonous Celebration

He was sitting at a round table with a couple students. It looks like a slug club party.

"Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?" One of the boys asked. 

"Now, Tom. I couldn't tell you if I knew, could I?" Slughorn responded as he took a bite of pineapple. "But how did you know?"

"Intuition." Tom answered lowly.

He looked a lot older then he did the last time Dumbledore showed me a memory of him. He looked 15, maybe 16? 

The clock on the wall chimed.

"Gracious. Is it that time already? Off you go, boys, or Professor Dippet will have us all in detention." Slughorn instructed. 

He and the boys got up from the table and said their goodbyes. Tom was the only one to not exit the room. 

"Look sharp, Tom. Don't want to be caught out of bed after hours. Is there something on your mind you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes, actually. You see, I couldn't think of anyone else to go to. The other professors, well, they're not like you. They might misunderstand."

Slughorn looked a little concerned with his words. 

"G-go on."

"I was in the library the other night in the Restriced Section and I read something rather off about a bit of rare magic, and I thought perhaps you could illuminate me. It's called, as I understand it...."

His voice trailed off. I could still see his lips moving and Slughorn could still clearly hear what he way saying.

It was almost as if it were blocked for some reason.

"I beg your pardon? I don't know anything about such things, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Now, get our of here at once, and don't let me ever catch you mentioning it again!" Slughorn yelled.

Everything began to fade and I could feel myself being pulled out of the memory. 

"Confused?" Dumbledore asked. 

I slowly nodded, still trying to process what just happened.

"I'd be suprised if you weren't."

"Well, I don't understand. What happened?"

"This is perhaps the most important memory I've collected. It is also a lie. This memory has been tampered with by the same person whose memory it is, our old friend Professor Slughorn."

"But why would he tamper with his own memory?"

"I suspect he's ashamed of it."

"Why?"

"Why, indeed? I asked you to get to know Professor Slughorn, and you have done so. Now I want you to persuade him to divulge his true memory. Any way you can."

"I don't know him that well, sir."

Dumbledore twirled his finger in the liquid of the pensive as he looked down at it.

"This memory is everything. Without it, we are blind. Without it, we leave the fate of our world to chance. You have no choice. You must not fail."

~

After dinner, I immediately made my way to the potions classroom.

If the memory is that important, I want to get it as soon as possible. Once I have it, we'll be that much closer to stopping Voldermort once and for all.

"Aha. If it isn't the prince of potions himself." Slughorn greeted once I came into view. 

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"