A friendly day at Hogwarts

"Earlier or later, it doesn't really make much difference." Dumbledore said with a smile, "I am confident that I can successfully convince you today, Horace."

"What a coincidence." Slughorn curled his lips, "My opinion is exactly the opposite of yours."

Dumbledore smiled nonchalantly and said, "To be honest, you've come all the way, and you're not even going to invite us to sit down?"

"I'm not as rude as you." Slughorn said arrogantly, "Sit down, I still understand the basics of hospitality."

As he spoke, he rubbed his sore waist from packing his luggage, kicked the suitcase out of the way, and came to a cabinet.

The cabinet door was opened, and inside was a full collection of various wines. It was obvious that he was also a wine lover.

He paused to select for a while, holding a bottle of aged Ogden Fire Whiskey in his hand. After hesitating for a few seconds, he put it back and replaced it with a bottle of elderflower wine.

There's a little bit of worldliness, but not much.

Obviously, even if Dumbledore was the guest, he would not be willing to share the most valuable treasure.

"Thank you for your generosity." Dumbledore didn't care what kind of wine he was holding. He waved his hand to conjure three goblets and winked at Glenn. "You probably don't know yet, Glenn, when I see you Among all the people who have ever lived, Horace is the best at collecting fine wines, and every bottle of wine he has is a rare fine wine.”

Glenn immediately understood the meaning of his words and quickly said: "If that's the case, Professor Slughorn, I have a few old bottles at home. They are said to be quite good. When I return to Hogwart, Ci, I would also like to ask you to help me taste it."

Slughorn was obviously stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect this child to be so good at talking. His eyes fell on Glenn's face, with a faint flash of expectation.

But this level of temptation was obviously not enough to make him change his decision. He quickly shook his head and said, "I'll say it again, I didn't promise you to go to Hogwarts."

He placed the wine on the low table next to the sofa, waved his wand, controlled the bottle, and poured half a glass for each of the three of them.

Dumbledore took a sip with a smile, put down the cup again and said, "Don't think of us as being so purposeful, Horace, we are just catching up on old times. How have you been feeling well lately?"

"Reminiscing about old times?" Slughorn snorted with disbelief, "It's not as good as it used to be. Asthma, rheumatism, memory is getting worse... You know, as people get older, big and small problems arise. They will come looking for them all."

"I'm afraid it's a bit inappropriate for you to say these words to me, right? You know, I'm dozens of years older than you!" Dumbledore said "You can't fool me" on his face, "What's more, you just danced He stood up and pointed the wand at me, but his agility was inconsistent with your description!"

As a veteran who is proficient in thick and black knowledge, Slughorn will naturally not blush with embarrassment just because a little lie is revealed.He seemed to have not heard anything and said to himself: "So, I would like to suggest that it is time for you to enjoy a wonderful retirement life."

"In this situation, I'm afraid it's not the right time yet." Dumbledore shook his head and said, "Speaking of which, it's not easy to find you."

Slughorn is not Fudge. Ever since Dumbledore first announced the return of Voldemort to the public, he immediately began to make plans for his own safety.

"Borrowing" in an empty Muggle house, never staying in one place for too long, and having enough protective spells to cover the entire village.

"To be honest, you are the first person to find me in the past six months." He said, "I have been elusive and never stayed in one place for more than a week."

"I see," Dumbledore nodded. "If we had been half an hour later, you would have appeared in another village far away, right?"

"Absolutely." Slughorn put the cup to his mouth again and took a sip. "To be honest, the climate here is much better than in the north. The house is also nice. You don't have to worry about the owner coming back. Muggles think it is deserted. In an old house, almost no one would accidentally set off those alarms.”

"It's indeed good." Dumbledore raised his head and looked around. "You have arranged it very carefully, but in my opinion, the office in Hogwarts is obviously more comfortable than here, isn't it?"

Slughorn's expression changed slightly and he said nothing. Glenn took this opportunity to stand up and pretended to be interested in the row of photos hanging on the wall.

The people in those photos were moving and clearly did not belong to the former Muggle homeowners.

"As far as I know, Horace, Voldemort seems to be very interested in you, the old professor," Dumbledore continued. "His subordinates are often trying to find you and recruit you into his group, right?"

"I don't want to talk about this, Albus."

Slughorn was obviously touched. As a former Hogwarts professor who unintentionally provided a lot of help to Voldemort's rise, he had always resisted this, but Dumbledore knew these things very well.

"Sorry, Professor," Glenn interrupted the two of them at the right time, pointed to one of the photos and asked, "Is this the captain of the Holyhead Harpies? If I remember correctly, his name is Gwe. Nog Jones, isn’t it?”

"That's right, kid," Slughorn got excited again when he mentioned the protege in his teaching career. "I was his favorite professor when he was a student. As long as I want, he can provide me with anything for free." Best seats for a game.”

His eyes swept around the photo album-like wall and he introduced it proudly.

"These are all my former students, all signed photos. There's Barnabas Guffey, who was the editor of the Daily Prophet; that's Ambrosio Froome of Honeydukes Candy Shop; On the far right is Damocles Belby, the man who invented Wolfsbane; and..."

Seeing Glenn, a boy with outstanding talent, showing "adoration" in his eyes, Slughorn couldn't help but feel happy.

"They are very grateful for the help provided by me as a professor. Every Christmas and my birthday, they will send a lot of gifts and pile them up next to my bed. It takes a long time to sort them out. What a happy trouble!" He looked a bit recalling the past.

"But... if you never stay in one place for too long..." Glenn showed his acting skills again, showing a blank expression that didn't understand the world. "Can they still find you and send you gifts like they used to?"