translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 1274: The Power of Harry
🕑 Added 2024-10-25 20:55:11 +0000 UTCHarry possessed extraordinary power, and Slughorn seemed to have already recognized this.
Everyone else was clearly focused, and they were very interested in the topic. Everyone knew that a few months ago, Voldemort himself had appeared in the Ministry of Magic, which was considered a landmark event of his resurrection and the beginning of the war.
There were many rumors about the Battle of the Ministry of Magic, but all of them mentioned the existence of a mysterious Prophecy Orb.
Voldemort wanted to get that Prophecy Orb, and many said that it hid secrets of great power.
Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Harry could not see any way out of this without flatly lying.
He couldn't just tell them the truth, that only one of him and Voldemort could survive...
Voldemort tried every possible means to get this information, but ultimately failed.
It would be ridiculous if he told everything here!
So Harry nodded, but still said nothing.
This seemed to have the opposite effect, and Slughorn beamed at him.
“So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond — So, as for the Prophecy Orb you took away in the end, I got the full account of what happened from an insider at the Ministry, including that spectacular battle; it was truly amazing and thrilling. They say you snatched the Prophecy Orb from You-Know-Who in the end..."
"Yes, I gave it to Professor Dumbledore," said Harry.
“Oh, you don’t know what the prophecy inside was? Dumbledore didn’t tell you?"
“No!” Harry lied, looking into Slughorn’s eyes.
"That’s likely from him. Dumbledore is a very cautious man. I know him. Maybe he feels that it is not the right time to tell you everything," said Slughorn with a smile. "But, regarding those super powers..."
"I don't know what it is," said Harry. "I don't have any great powers. Maybe you’re talking about Evan."
"Yes, Evan has done a lot of incredible things. For a fifteen-year-old wizard, it is really amazing, but he should not be a match for that man, and this is somewhat different from the information I got," Slughorn continued. "In the Daily Prophet..."
"That newspaper often makes up news," said Ginny bluntly. "All baseless nonsense. Hermione told me that the sales of Hogwarts Magic surpass those of the Daily Prophet because we insist on telling readers the truth."
"You're right. The Daily Prophet often exaggerates, of course. ..." said Slughorn. "They've paid a heavy price for it, haven't they? No super powers, then?"
"Yes," Harry said with certainty.
"So, this is another rumor made up by the Daily Prophet?!" Slughorn said, sounding a little disappointed. "Oh, yes, speaking of the Daily Prophet, I remember dear Gwenog telling me (Gwenog Jones, I mean, of course, Captain of the Holyhead Harpies) —"
He meandered off into a long-winded reminiscence, but Harry had the distinct impression that Slughorn had not finished with him, and that he had not been convinced by what he said, nor were the other students.
They all looked at him with strange eyes, as if trying to figure out what that powerful force was.
In the prophecy about Harry, it was mentioned that Voldemort would choose him and give him power...
Harry wasn’t sure if that was what the great power referred to. Dumbledore had once said there was a room in the Ministry’s Department of Mysteries where all the powers belonged to him — mysterious and powerful forces, of which Voldemort had not a bit.
Also, Harry suddenly remembered the prophecy that Evan had once told them: Voldemort would return once more, and with the help of the Chosen One, he would gain power beyond imagination, bringing terror and disaster to the world.
If Harry was the Chosen One, if he possessed a power that he himself was not aware of, then...
He felt very bad. What would happen in the future?
As Harry was thinking, time passed.
Slughorn asked every student in detail about the famous figures in their families. When it was Neville's turn, it was a very unpleasant ten minutes, for Neville’s parents, well-known Aurors, had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and a couple of Death Eater cronies, which caused quite a sensation.
At the end of Neville’s interview, Harry had the impression that Slughorn was reserving judgment on Neville, yet to see whether he had any of his parents’ flair.
His attitude towards Neville was noticeably colder, just like it had been after Belby's answer.
Ultimately, the gathering lasted the entire afternoon, and Evan, Hermione and Elaine never came back.
After asking about everyone's situation, Slughorn told many anecdotes about illustrious wizards Slughorn had taught, all of whom had been delighted to join what he called the “Slug Club” at Hogwarts.
It was so annoying, especially when the students were hypocritically agreeing with Slughorn.
Harry could not wait to leave, but couldn’t see how to do so politely.
Finally the train emerged from yet another long misty stretch into a red sunset, and Slughorn looked around, blinking in the twilight.
“Good gracious, it’s getting dark already! Good times always pass so quickly. I didn’t notice that they’d lit the lamps! You’d better go and change into your robes, all of you. McLaggen, you must drop by and borrow that book on nogtails. Harry — any time you’re passing. Remember to call Evan, Hermione, and Elaine. Same goes for you, miss,” he twinkled at Ginny. “Well, off you go, off you go!"
As he pushed past Harry into the darkening corridor, Zabini shot him a filthy look that Harry returned with interest. He, Ginny, and Neville followed Zabini back along the train.
“I’m glad that’s over,” muttered Neville. “Strange man, isn’t he?"
“Yeah, he is a bit,” said Harry, his eyes on Zabini. “By the way, Ginny, what was that Bat-Bogey Hex he mentioned?"
“He saw me hex Zacharias Smith,” said Ginny. “You remember that idiot from Hufflepuff who kept bothering you and Evan at the D.A. meetings and who was after me for a while. I ran into him in the corridor after I'd separated from you, and he kept pestering me with questions about random things, trying to get inside information, and in the end he annoyed me so much I hexed him — when Slughorn came in I thought I was going to get detention, but he just thought it was a really good hex and invited me to lunch! Mad, eh?"
