Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 445 Harry's Scheme

"So you mean..." Hagrid asked, puzzled.

“We want to go into the Forbidden Forest to practice our spells,” Harry said with a grin. “Now that Aragog is dead and those giant spiders no longer recognize you, so… you shouldn’t mind if we hurt the spiders, right?”

“But he is Aragog’s child after all…” Hagrid glanced at Aragog, whose legs were curled up.

“Aragok has entered its spider empire.” Professor Slughorn patted Hagrid on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, he has ascended to the spider’s paradise, where seventy-two wives are waiting for him… Of course, he would be happy if he knew you were thinking of him so much.”

After saying that, Professor Slughorn repeated the poem he had just written for Aragog.

"That's...that's...too beautiful!" Hagrid cried out, collapsing onto the dung heap and weeping even harder.

“Alright, alright,” Slughorn said, waving his wand. The large mound of dirt rose up, weighing heavily on the dead spider and forming a smooth hill. “Let’s go in and have a drink. Help him over there, Harry… oh… get up, Hagrid… okay…”

They helped Hagrid to a chair at the table, and Tooth, who had been hiding in the basket throughout the funeral, gently came over and, as usual, rested its heavy head on Harry's lap.

Slughorn popped open a bottle of wine he had brought.

“You’re old enough to have a drink,” Professor Slughorn said. “A few months earlier or later doesn’t matter, you’re of age anyway.”

“One for Harry…” he said, pouring the second bottle of wine into two glasses, “…and one for me. Okay,” he raised his glass high, “for Aragog.”

The three of them raised their glasses together and took a sip of wine.

Harry doesn't really like whiskey; the taste doesn't interest him.

He actually prefers beer, especially fruit-flavored beer, to whiskey.

Sitting at the same table with a child is considered acceptable.

“I raised him from an egg,” Hagrid said sadly, covering his face. “He was so small when he first hatched, only about the size of a pug.”

“So cute,” Professor Slughorn said, but how much of that “so cute” was genuine was hard to say.

"I used to keep him in a closet at school, until... sigh..."

Hagrid's face darkened, and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle had orchestrated the Chamber of Secrets incident, framing Hagrid and resulting in his expulsion from school. But Slughorn seemed not to be listening; he was simply staring at the ceiling, where several brass kettles hung, along with a long, smooth, glossy white tuft of hair.

"It's not unicorn fur, is it, Hagrid?"

“Oh, it’s unicorn fur,” Hagrid said casually. “Torn from its tail, it got caught on a tree branch in the forest…”

Professor Slughorn suddenly looked at Hagrid with the same gaze one would give an alien.

"But my dear friend, do you know how much that's worth?"

“I use it to bandage animals when they’re injured,” Hagrid said, shrugging. “It works really well…it’s really strong, you see.”

Professor Slughorn took another swig, his eyes carefully searching the hut. Harry knew he was looking for more treasures that could be exchanged for lots of oak-aged mead, pineapple preserves, and velvet smoking shirts.

Harry didn't care, though. Even without Professor Slughorn, someone else would be eyeing Hagrid's stash sooner or later—and Professor Slughorn obviously wouldn't do Hagrid a disservice—after all, he was there to keep an eye on things.

Professor Slughorn refilled Hagrid's and his own cups, and asked about the creatures that now lived in the forest, and how Hagrid managed to take care of them all.

Under the influence of alcohol and Slughorn's flattery, Hagrid became more cheerful, stopped rubbing his eyes, and began to talk enthusiastically about raising Bowtruckles. Of course, he didn't forget to mention Newt Scamander... If it were anyone else, Hagrid might have kept quiet about this person, but Professor Scamander was different; he was the man Hagrid admired most.

Professor Slughorn, after all, has lived for so many years; he's a shrewd man.

As the saying goes, "old people are cunning, and old horses are slippery," and that's exactly the point.

He flattered Hagrid the whole way, making the conversation very comfortable.

As we all know, people tend to get carried away when they're having a good time chatting.

Hagrid then became agitated and drank fourteen barrels of wine in a row—Harry was completely mesmerized.

He had guessed Hagrid could drink, but he never imagined Hagrid could drink this much.

Hagrid was now slumped over the table, his eyes crossed, but he was still shouting about drinking.

Professor Slughorn was similar; his eyes were already darting around, yet he still held up his glass, ready to toast with Hagrid.

"For Dumbledore!" Hagrid roared.

"Dumbledore!" Professor Slughorn clinked glasses with Hagrid.

After downing a glass of wine, Hagrid paused for a moment, then roared, "For the wine brewed by the house-elves!"

"House-elves!" Professor Slughorn slammed his cup against Hagrid's, spilling half a glass of wine.

"For Harry Potter!" Hagrid roared again.

“Harry Potter!” Professor Slughorn smiled happily, and this time he didn’t sell the wine, but obediently drank the glass of wine.

Then, he sighed sadly.

"W-what's wrong, Professor?" Hagrid asked, his tongue slurring.

“No, I was just thinking of one of my students.” Professor Slughorn’s eyes were fixed on the ground. “She was so outstanding and so kind. I remember she even gave me a little fish when I was in fifth grade.”

"Really?" Hagrid asked, his tongue slurring. "What happened to her after that?"

“I put the little fish in a beautiful fish tank,” Professor Slughorn said, his gaze still fixed on the fish. “One morning when I woke up… the little fish suddenly disappeared, ‘poof’—it was like…”

He trailed off, unable to continue, and downed a mouthful of wine.

He looked at Harry again and said sincerely, "Harry Potter... I didn't let you join the Slug Club entirely because of your fame, but also because of your mother... she's the student who gave me the little fish."

At this point, Professor Slughorn's eyes welled up with tears.

"Honestly, she is one of my favorite students over the years."

“Yes, Lily!” Hagrid raised his glass and said sadly, “Lily and James, two good people, what a pity, what a pity… It’s all that bastard Peter Pettigrew’s fault!”

As he spoke, he slammed his fist on the table, almost breaking it.

For a while, Hagrid and Slughorn sat side by side, embracing each other, and sang a soothing, melancholic song. It was about a dying wizard named Odor.

"Ah, good people don't live long."

Hagrid muttered as he slumped onto the table, his eyes staring more intently than those of the cross-eyed Bodrick, while Slughorn continued to sing in a trembling voice.

“My dad died so young…and your mom and dad too, Harry…”

Large tears welled up from Hagrid's wrinkled eyes as he grabbed Harry's arm and shook it.

"...Among wizards of their age, they were the best couple I've ever seen...terrible...terrible..."

Harry was like a rag doll, letting Hagrid grab his shoulders and shake him around.

It feels like my brain is being shaken to its core...

Beside him, Professor Slughorn was still singing sadly:

The hero Odo was carried back to his hometown.
They carried him to a place he knew well from his childhood.

Turn the hat inside out and bury it.

A magic wand broken in two, how sad...

“…Terrible,” Hagrid groaned, his disheveled head rolling into the crook of his arm, where he began to snore softly.

“Sorry,” Slughorn said with a burp, “I’m always off-key.”

“Hagrid wasn’t talking about your singing,” Harry said softly. “He was talking about my mom and dad’s deaths.”

"Sigh..." Professor Slughorn sighed deeply, "It's all Tang... the mysterious man's fault..."

He then asked, his tongue thick with slur, "By the way, you mentioned before that your Duel... Duel Hut, what kind of event do you want to hold in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes, Professor."

Harry finally remembered his ultimate purpose for staying here—partly to keep Hagrid company, and partly to find an advisor for the Duel Hut.

“I started this organization called the Duel Hut in first grade.” His tone was persuasive. “I gathered together the most promising students in our grade and gave them special training…”

Professor Slughorn indeed showed a very interested expression.

“You know, Professor,” Harry continued, “generally speaking, fourth-year graduates have a hard time dealing with Level 5X magical creatures, right?”

“Yes, Harry, yes,” Professor Slughorn nodded. “It’s not an exaggeration; in fact, even seventh-year students might not be able to do it…”

“But the students at the Duel Hut can do it,” Harry said with a laugh. “During their fourth-year summer vacation, they can defeat trolls on their own—or even in groups of three, defeat chimeras…”

"What?" Professor Slughorn jumped to her feet, utterly astonished.

You mean dealing with giants is one thing, but a chimera is something a fourth-year student can handle?

Professor Slughorn, having lived for so many years, certainly knew what a chimera was—a magical creature native to Greece, extremely bloodthirsty and violent, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a fire-breathing dragon, and a very fiery temperament.

There is only one recorded instance in history of a wizard successfully killing a chimera, but that wizard later died from exhaustion after falling off his own winged horse.

The famous Cafey's Flying Crossbow Quidditch player, "Dangerous" Day Llewellyn, was killed by a chimera while on vacation in Greece.

Now, Harry is saying that the students in the Duel Hut can actually work together to kill a chimera?
This is fucking...

Professor Slughorn felt he was really drunk.

“I still have the video from the summer after fourth grade,” Harry said, pulling out his phone and sitting down next to Professor Slughorn to show him how his classmates fought the chimeras.

Professor Slughorn squinted at the screen on his phone, showing students in groups of three battling a chimera.

The three of them worked together perfectly, their spells were coordinated flawlessly, and their timing was impeccable...

“Excellent, excellent!” Professor Slughorn sobered up instantly. He patted Harry on the shoulder and said, “It’s really good, Harry, fantastic…this dueling hut…”

“Of course, Professor.” Harry revealed his final trump card. “As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and traveling ten thousand miles is not without the guidance of a master teacher… Professor, if you have some free time, could you spare some time to guide them?”

“Of course, no problem!” Professor Slughorn assured him, patting his chest. “By the way, who’s in your dueling hut? I’d like to invite them to my club… You know, Harry, I love outstanding students…”

“No problem.” Harry gave an OK sign.

See, Professor Slughorn has taken the bait.
“By the way, Professor,” Harry added, “we’re planning an event next Saturday, to participate in trials in the Forbidden Forest… What do you think?”

"Of course." Professor Slughorn hadn't yet realized something was amiss.

Harry silently gave a thumbs-up in his mind.

That way, someone can act as a nanny and take care of everyone.
Of course, besides Professor Slughorn, Harry planned to recruit a few more people.

Besides Professor Slughorn, we could also invite Professor Dumbledore... Oh right, Professor Snape seems to have a lot of free time too, so why not invite him as well...

Eh?
Right!

Now that video platforms are booming, aren't they?

Why don't I make a video of this Duel Hut trial and upload it to a video website?
Firstly, it would showcase the strength of the Hogwarts students; secondly, it could attract some sponsors for the Duel House and also boost its popularity on video websites...

Just do it!

With that in mind, Harry told Professor Slughorn, who was still watching Ron, Seamus, and Neville fight the chimera, about it.

"You mean video websites?" Professor Slughorn's interest grew even stronger. "Could you explain to me in detail what video websites are? You know, I'm getting on in years, and I'm not very familiar with new things..."

Hearing him say that, Harry felt that the matter was definitely settled.

As everyone knows, this professor doesn't really have any other hobbies, except for his pursuit of fame... which is truly incomprehensible.

Video websites happen to be a place where one can make a name for oneself.

(End of this chapter)