Ron was in a dilemma.

Although they had united in driving Umbridge out last year, he still disliked Malfoy.

That face.

After being beaten so many times, aren't you willing to change? You are clearly doing human things, but you just don't speak human words.

"How does he plan to purge Slytherin?" Harry asked.

"Purge" is a very interesting word. Usually, the Gryffindor Quidditch team will use this word with a strong sense of exclusion when it plays against the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Ron shook his head: "I don't know."

"But it doesn't look like it will be peaceful. Parkinson was beaten black and blue. Malfoy really didn't hold back at all."

Harry shook his head. "I mean, did he say what he wanted Slytherin to be like? Like, not like make it Voldemort's Slytherin, or make it a pure-blood Slytherin? Malfoy's Slytherin? Or Hogwarts' Slytherin?"

Ron tried to recall: "He said it was the Slytherin who made Slytherin into Slytherin."

The words were a bit confusing, and Ron's cheeks felt a little sore from hissing.

"Isn't that just their Slytherin thing?" Hermione shook her head. "We haven't had the House Cup for several years. This is a good opportunity."

Ron suddenly realized.

He counted on his fingers and began to ponder.

"Luckily George and Fred have graduated," he whispered, "otherwise they would have missed this fun."

"Let me think about who else is dangerous."

He took out parchment and began to write and draw, writing down the names of those little lions who were easily "interested in watching the fun".

Just then——

There was a knock on the door.

A well-dressed third-year little witch pushed open the door and said in a pinched voice, "Excuse me, I have an invitation to send to Mr. Potter, Granger and Weasley."

In the carriage, three people looked up.

The little witch placed the two invitations in her hand on the table and hastily pushed them in front of Hermione and Ron.

He carefully took out another invitation from his pocket and gently placed it in front of Harry.

"Whose invitation?" Hermione raised her wand and cast detection magic.

"A professor I haven't met." replied the little witch.

New professor?

There was no scent of curse on the invitation. Hermione shook her wand and the invitation gently unfolded.

The little witch took a deep breath and said, "Potter, I am a third-year student in Slytherin. My name is Viola Spencer. I can..."

"Okay, Miss Spencer. I'm sorry to interrupt you." Hermione interrupted her and smiled slightly, "But this new professor invited us to his carriage now. We have to get ready. After all, we can't be rude when meeting a professor."

The little witch felt lost and nodded reluctantly: "Oh, okay."

As she held the door open, she spoke again eagerly and emphasized, "Mr. Potter, it is an honor to speak to you today."

The clatter was slow, and after several seconds, the door was finally closed.

"Harry, did you say anything just now?" Ron shook his head. The little witch's last words made him think he was hallucinating.

"Harry is very popular now." Hermione twirled her hair. "What did Yennefer say? A good man is bound to be involved in flowers and plants, whether he wants to or not."

Harry opened his invitation: "Hermione, you can't let Yennefer lead you astray."

"She's a good mother," Hermione emphasized.

Harry said nothing, looking at the words on the invitation.

"Dear Mr. Porter:

It would be my honor to have afternoon tea with you in Box C.

Yours kindly and faithfully, HEF Slughorn."

Ron also opened his invitation and muttered, "Who is this Professor Slughorn?"

Although he and Hermione received the same invitation as Harry, there were slight differences in the contents.

"Dear Ron,

I would be very happy to have afternoon tea with you in Box C.

Professor HEF Slughorn."

The slight difference made Hermione curl her lips in dismay. She did not have a very good impression of the new professor.

"Slughorn is a skilled potion master. He is one of the few people in the Potions Association who can communicate with Professor Snape." Harry explained simply, "He has all the glory that a potion master can have."

Ron exclaimed slightly.

Harry paused, his tone becoming profound: "Of course, the thing that impressed me most about him was that he was once a professor at Hogwarts."

"It's Tom Riddle's Potions Master."

"He was also the Head of Slytherin at the time."

"He was the Potions Professor until Professor Snape came on board."

Both of them looked solemn.

"Voldemort's professor and dean?" Ron whispered, a reasonable suspicion arising in his heart.

Harry stood up, waved his wand, and changed into his school uniform: "Since he invited us, let's go and take a look."

Ron and Hermione waved their wands as well, flicking them to remove the Transfiguration Charm from their robes.

They walked out of the carriage and headed towards Box C.

This carriage was particularly large and had been cast with a traceless extension spell. When the door was opened, there was not only the unmasked Professor Slughorn, but also many other people.

Neville from Gryffindor, Blaise Zabini from Slytherin, and many other people Harry had met but didn't have a very deep impression of, even Ginny.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor Slughorn breathed a sigh of relief and walked over quickly. "You are finally here. I wrote the first invitation to you. I thought you would be reluctant."

He was about the same build as Fudge, round, with a big belly that looked like he was twelve months pregnant. His facial features were different, and the professor was obviously more handsome, but they both had the same shrewdness in their eyes.

Hermione whispered, "Professor Slughorn, it was a wrong decision for you to let a little witch deliver the invitation to Harry. I think she must have spent half an hour putting on her makeup."

Slightly complaining words.

Professor Slughorn was not angry at all. He chuckled, "Miss Granger, they all say you are very serious. To be honest, I have a headache dealing with Gryffindors like Minerva, but they obviously have some misunderstandings about you. You are a very humorous little witch."

Hermione smirked.

"Harry, what I'm most looking forward to is meeting you." Professor Slughorn said enthusiastically, "The heir of Gryffindor, an exceptionally outstanding young wizard. I have never tried to teach a Dumbledore-like student."

"You should have experience." Harry replied softly, "After all, you have taught many outstanding students."

Slughorn's face froze.

He could tell what Harry was saying.

"My father and mother were also your students." Harry took a breath, kept the secret, and continued.

Slughorn's expression changed, and then he relaxed again. "Of course, James, and Lily, I dare say that you must have inherited your mother's strengths. She is an extremely outstanding witch. I look forward to her becoming the youngest female Potions Master of this century, or even the youngest Potions Master."

“What a pity.”

Harry smiled.

Slughorn didn't dare let Harry speak again, and immediately looked at Hermione: "And Miss Granger, you are the second person I am looking forward to."

"I dare say that it is inevitable that you and Harry are together."

"Lily was like you. She had a poor background, but she also showed extraordinary talent in magic."

"To be frank, the younger generation is always better than the older generation. Twelve 'O's. Whether it's me or Dumbledore, we were not that good back then."

Hermione answered him politely: "But Professor Slughorn should be very experienced? After all, the two students who got all 'O's' were both taught by you."

Harry helped her add, "Under your guidance, Slytherin has become exceptionally good. This year, we Gryffindor want to compete for the House Cup, but if you come back, I'm afraid we'll have a headache."

Slughorn's face froze again.

He looked from Hermione to Harry.

When Dumbledore invited Harry, he once mentioned that he should be careful with Harry's mouth.

No one said to be careful of Hermione Granger!

and……

I still underestimated how hurtful words can be.

"Professor Slughorn, are you returning to Hogwarts this time to take over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" A seventh-year Slytherin student read a not-so-subtle atmosphere and asked a question.

Slughorn quickly turned his head, looked at him, and answered with a smile: "No, my Defense Against the Dark Arts skills are probably worse than Neville's, not to mention Harry's."

He looked at Neville, who was sitting in the corner, silent.

Some little wizards were surprised.

"That incident was not published in the newspapers. May I tell you about it, Neville?" Slughorn asked.

Neville shook his head.

He went on, "I'm afraid you all would never have imagined that this summer, on his birthday, Neville encountered Bellatrix, who had fled to Godric's Hollow. I mean, the notorious Death Eater of the Lestrange family. One person, only Neville, killed her single-handedly."

"If I were to do it, I'm afraid I wouldn't be a match for Lestrange."

The young wizards looked at him in surprise.

If the protagonist of this incident was named "Harry Potter", they would all be able to accept it, but... Neville?

Can he do it too?

"Only a true master of Defense Against the Dark Arts is qualified to be your professor." Slughorn shook his head. "Besides, have you heard of that rumor?"

"The curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship."

The young wizards nodded.

But no one dared to mention the words "mysterious man".

Slughorn chuckled again. "That rumor has been changed in recent years. The curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class is that every new professor will be beaten by Mr. Potter."

"Not many people would dare to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts these days."

The little wizards' faces turned strange and no one laughed with him.

"Could that rumor be true?" Slughorn's heart skipped a beat as he keenly noticed the change in their expressions.

A Hufflepuff wizard spoke to Harry: "Potter, did you walk past Professor Black last year?"

"Yes." Harry nodded.

In the evening practical classes, Sirius dueled with him many times, and Harry would not hold back just because he was his godfather.

Hufflepuff pursed her lips: "Then it seems that this is not just a rumor."

"Who is this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

Slughorn whispered back, "Luckily I'm here to teach Potions. Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is Professor Snape."

The little wizards nodded.

It sounded normal, Potter and Snape fighting, of course.

In fact, many young wizards found it incredible that they didn't fight every year. During every class, the two of them were sarcastic and the power of their words was enough to overturn the classroom. Professor Dumbledore must have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

Slughorn waved his hand: "Well, I think everyone should know Harry."

"Harry, let me introduce you to the others."

There were more than twenty people in the carriage, and Hermione discovered a pattern - she was the only wizard who came from a completely ordinary family like her, while most of the other wizards were pure-bloods, or half-bloods of prominent status. Slughorn didn't even invite those pure-bloods whose families fell into decline.

They didn't see Draco Malfoy.

Slughorn took them on a journey of reminiscing about the past.

The childhood stories of many outstanding wizards he taught, and a club he organized called "Slugs", which only recruited sixth and seventh grade wizards who were exceptionally good at potions - of course, Cornelius Fudge was also a member of this club, which immediately reduced the value of this club a lot.

Until the train gave the hint.

Slughorn clapped his hands and said softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it had come to this."

"Okay, kids, hurry back home and get ready for the start-of-school dinner."

He greeted everyone one by one.

Harry was the last.

It was also the one he treated most enthusiastically: "Harry, I am looking forward to our communication in the Slug Club after school starts."

They got out of the car.

"I don't like him at all." Hermione said bluntly, her face downcast, "He can almost be compared to Lockhart. Look at what he has done."

"That Babyl!"

"She just said that he wasn't familiar with his uncle. Did you see what he did? She immediately ignored him and didn't even refill his tea when it was finished."

Ron scratched his face. He didn't feel that way.

Slughorn was fairly enthusiastic towards him, though not nearly as enthusiastic as he was towards Harry.

"Harry, will you join his Slug Club?" Hermione took a deep breath, turned her head and looked over, trying to make herself feel happier.

Harry nodded. "Of course."

"He's a Potions Master."

"Professor Snape's research is at a critical juncture. It is a great fortune to have another Potions Master, especially one with such rich experience."

Ron suddenly realized and clapped his hands: "Harry, you want to put him in detention."