Lies and Illusions chp. 2
Lies and Illusions
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I'm just having some fun with her characters.
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Chapter 2
Slughorn Exposed
McGonagall asked Harry and Hermione to wait with her for a moment after they got out at Hogsmeade Station. Hogwarts
students filed past them heading towards the scarlet train that would carry them back to King's Cross in London.
Before long, Ron Weasley joined them.
"Hey guys, did you find out what McGonagall wanted?" he said, not noticing her presence.
Harry responded, "Yea, she wanted to talk to me."
Harry and Hermione quickly brought their friend up to date about their ride from Hogwarts castle. He swore under his breath when they mentioned how Snape lied to get Harry into extra trouble. They barely reached the headmistress' questions about Slughorn when the fat, bald wizard with an enormous silver mustache walked up to them.
"My lovely Minerva, you wanted to see me? Can you make it brief? There are some people waiting for me, do you remem...."
"You can drop the cock-and-bull routine, Horace. I didn't buy it as a student and I won't except it now."
Her voice held the icy tone normally reserved for students who were in more trouble then they could possibly imagine. Harry had seen her talk to another teacher like this only once before, during his career counseling session last year. That time, his ever-proper Transfiguration teacher had traded barbs with a certain sadistic, toad-faced bitch. But Umbridge didn't really count as a professor on second thought -- in her entire year at Hogwarts, she didn't teach anyone a damn thing.
Ron muttered, "Bloody hell -- what set her off?" His friends only shrugged.
The fat wizard stopped short. "I...is there something wrong?" His enormous mustache twitched in surprise.
"In a manner of speaking. I have just received some interesting information concerning the recent improvement in Mister Potter's Potions grades. Particularly involving the rather unique copy of Advanced Potion-Making he received when you admitted him to your class." For some reason, McGonagall reminded Harry of a detective describing a crime scene on a Muggle television show. "A copy that contains notes describing more current potion making techniques than the ones you, and your now disowned protege, normally teach."
"Protege? She doesn't mean Snape, does she?" Ron asked his friends, barely containing his shock.
"Who else?" Harry answered, "He was in the Slug Club as a student, that's why he was at the Christmas party. It's probably how he came to Voldemort's attention too."
Slughorn gasped at the insinuation, "Now don't you get the wrong idea, Harry! There was no way I could know - "
"- That your club is a recruiting ground for the Death Eaters? Don't know why anyone would think that, just because half of them used to be in it...." Harry finished sarcastically.
Hermione asked after a brief silence, "Professor McGonagall, what did you mean by 'more current' techniques?"
"Things change, Miss Granger. Members of the magical community are constantly experimenting with new magic and improvements to existing spells and potions. I'm not a Potions expert, but I do know the textbook you've been using hasn't been revised since I was a student here. It's been in desperate need of replacement for some time now.
Minerva paused for a breath as she turned her gaze to Harry.
"Your description of the book, and how you received it, is a pattern I saw a great deal of during Professor Slughorn's previous tenure at Hogwarts. He was well-known for coaxing many highly promising students into that club of his, and gaining prestige merely by associating with them. Very few people realized that his true talent lay not in teaching or his influence -- but in chicanery, play-acting, and slight-of-hand. What magic I've personally known him for is of a similar nature, full of trickery and false images." She glanced at Ron, "Not unlike the sort your brothers specialize in Mister Weasley, except Fred and George freely admit it."
Hermione's eyes widened as she started digging through her purse. Harry felt a sinking feeling as he watched her pull out a little glass bottle a few seconds later. She briefly examined the contents, a tiny amount of what looked like liquid gold. It was all that remained of the precious Felix Felicis: a potion that gave incredible, unfailing good luck. Harry had won it in the first Potions class of the year, thanks the the Half Blood Prince's book.
Without saying a word, she tapped the bottle with her wand and the golden color faded away.
"What did you do?" Ron asked with his mouth hanging open.
"I canceled the spell," an equally amazed Hermione told him. "It wasn't really a potion at all, just water disguised with an Illusion Charm. They're the wizard equivalent of the tricks Muggle magicians do with mirrors -" She shared a knowing look with their head of house. "- and slight-of-hand. It's far more effective of course...the charms can look, sound, smell, even taste like the real thing, and last indefinitely when done properly. The only thing is -"
Professor McGonagall broke in, "- They don't really change the nature of the object they're cast on, only Transfiguration can do that. Also, you can't transfigure something into a magical substance like a potion."
Harry gently took the bottle from Hermione. Staring at it, he realized just how much this walrus-faced prat and his cronies had affected his sixth year. To be honest, Harry had never been very concerned about Slughorn -- he just didn't seem all that important with Voldemort on the loose. But now it seemed like just about everything he'd done had been connected to the Potions teacher in some way: from Quidditch to helping Dumbledore. It was hard to believe the lengths this guy had gone to trying convince Harry to join that stupid club of his.
Slughorn flashed his most harmless smile and talked really fast, "Now Harry, there's no reason to be upset. It was a simple mistake, I accidentally gave you the wrong bottle. But you have to admit the book I gave you -"
"Was far more trouble than it was worth," Harry said flatly. "I don't suppose you bothered to see exactly what Snape wrote in it? Forget it...stupid question," he muttered under his breath, "you wouldn't know Dark Magic if it hit you in your fat arse."
Ignoring Ron's laugher, Harry stepped closer to the wizard he was addressing. Hermione's soft hand held him back for a moment, her brown eyes warning him not to do anything foolish. Giving her a wry smile to ease her concern, he slipped out of her grasp and approached the quivering Potions master.
Standing as close to his face as he could, Harry stared down at the old man and told him loud enough for everyone to hear: "I have only one thing to say to you, Slughorn: Stay away from me. I want nothing to do with you or your club. So just crawl back under your rock, and find some other wizard to put in your trophy case."
He rejoined his friends just as a loud whistle sounded on the Hogwarts Express. "It would seem that we've finished our business just in time. The train is about to leave and you should all get on board." McGonagall brightly told them. She then gestured towards her colleague. "I'll see to him...Hmm, perhaps his 'influence' could help him clean out the Room of Requirement? Have a pleasant summer, and try not to get into too much trouble."
They quickly said their goodbyes and turned to walk to the nearby train. Before they took two steps they heard Slughorn say, " Oh well, at least the year wasn't a total loss. Zambini is a respectable fellow who will go far, and Miss Granger.... You know what, she may yet change Potter's mind! Even if she doesn't; there's no doubt she's destined for great things, despite her Muggle heritage of cours-"
He was abruptly cut off by a bright stream of light striking him in the face . Two of his upper front teeth grew down the sides of his mouth, stopping an inch below his jaw.
Harry and Ron were too shocked to laugh at Slughorn's new tusks, which completed his walrus-like appearance. Instead they gazed slacked-jawed at Hermione, who now had her wand out and pointed at the old teacher.
"Whatever I do, good or bad, you won't profit from it!" she told him angrily. Curling her lips into a cheeky smirk she then added, "And you should consider that to be my resignation."
**********
"I still can't believe she hexed that wanker!"
Ron had been carrying on about the events at the train station since the Express had left Hogsmeade. Now, late in the afternoon and about halfway to London, Harry was growing tired of hearing it. Instead he quietly sat in his Muggle clothes and gazed blankly out the window. Crookshanks was curled up next to him, casting a look of feline annoyance across the cabin from time to time. Other than Ron, the only noise at the moment came from the birdcage above his head where Pigwidgeon was hooting his little head off, as usual. Hedwig's cage was empty, Hermione had borrowed her to send a quick message to her parents after the funeral.
"You're not still on about that are you?" Hermione said as she came back in, now dressed in jeans and a light pink t-shirt. Putting her folded robes in her trunk, she told Ron in a tired voice, "Even the best joke loses it's appeal if you've heard it a hundred times, you know."
After a minute of fiddling with the contents, she slid the trunk back under the seat. Gathering up her big ginger cat, she sat down in his place next to Harry.
"It's all right Harry, there's no way you could have known what he was doing." She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. "You shouldn't blame yourself."
Harry patted her hand as he answered her. "Did I tell you that Dumbledore warned me about Slughorn last summer? He told me that he'd have a special interest in me because he liked to 'collect' people. It never occurred to me that he'd try something more than just asking me to join his club. I'm okay, just feeling a bit stupid."
"I know what you mean." Hermione supplied in a guilty tone. "When you started using the notes in that book, I was so mad because you didn't have to work like the rest of us for your grades...but it never crossed my mind to blame Professor Slughorn for giving it to you. Between that and not realizing his 'Slug Club' wasn't really a group for the best and brightest students in the school.... I suppose you weren't the only one being a bit thick this year."
"At least you noticed the kind of spells Snape wrote in that bloody book of his. If I tossed it like you wanted..."
Ron interrupted his best friend, "No offense mate, but I'm kind of glad you didn't listen to her...." He shivered a bit as he recalled his most recent birthday. Preferring not to finish his comment he asked, "You don't suppose that old fraud wanted Hermione in his club just so she'd pull you into it as well?"
"Probably at first; until he figured out how brilliant she is, anyway."
Her cheeks turned bright pink as she added, "If so, I doubt that I'm the only one he did it to."
Recalling the first Slug Club meeting, a couple of names came to Harry's mind. "Well, I can think of two people he might have used that way: Neville and Ginny. Neither of them was connected to anyone famous, except me."
The other young man groaned, "Ohhh, she's going to be pissed...youtellherHarry." He said the last part very quickly.
"Me? Why me? She's your sister!"
"But you're her boyfriend, she's less likely to hex you." Ron smiled at his friend.
Harry let out a loud breath when he heard this.
"Not anymore," was his flat reply, "we broke up right after the funeral."
Ron's eyes widened in surprise, "Why? You two seemed to be getting on just fine."
"How can you ask me that? You know what I...we have to do, how dangerous it is." His bright green eyes traveled back to the window. "Ginny thinks I'm going after Voldemort because I want to, because it's what the 'Boy Who Lived', the 'Chosen One', or whatever bloody title they'll hang on me next week has to do. She doesn't have a clue what this is really about and has no business being in this mess."
"What about us?"
He turned to face Hermione with a lopsided grin.
"If I suggested leaving you behind again, you'd hex me. Right?"
A smirk of her own appeared on her lips, "And don't you forget it."
Their friend laughed, "Nice to know everything's back to normal, it was kinda scary there for a bit." After a brief pause Ron turned more serious, "I know what you're saying Harry, and you're right about keeping Ginny out of this. If anything happened to her, mum would kill us.
A sudden thought crossed his face, "You know, it was kinda weird the way you two got together. She tried to get your attention for years and you didn't notice her. Not to mention the way you couldn't say more than two words after snogging Cho Chang last year without turning red, and then you kiss my sister in front of the whole Gryffindor common room without batting an eyelash. For a while there I wondered if she didn't slip you one of those love potions Mum goes on about."
"Cho kissed me once under the mistletoe, I wouldn't call it a snog." Harry corrected him.
Hermione spoke up next to him.
"People blow things out of proportion all the time. Back in fourth year, I went out with Viktor once and ever since the stupidest rumors have been going around. If one more person asks me what it was like to snog Viktor Krum, they're going to wish they had Marietta Edgecombe's problem." The girl in question still had the word SNEEK written across her face because she gave away their secret Defense group last year - courtesy of one of Hermione's jinxes. "Maybe if they didn't insist on constantly talking nothing but Quidditch around him...."
"What's wrong with that? He's the best professional seeker in the game! Harry could beat him with his eyes closed bu...." was Ron's indignant response.
"I wouldn't go that far," Harry countered.
Hermione hung her head. Naturally the Quidditch fanatic wouldn't understand why someone might tire of the game.
Harry heard an odd sound come from the other side of the cabin door. Getting up to see what it was, he found a familiar girl crawling on her hands and knees, peering intently at the floor. From time to time she made some kind of strange undulating sound like a weird bird call. Although he couldn't see her face, the mane of dirty blonde hair and the wand tucked behind her ear left no doubt who she was.
"Hello, Luna."
With a loud cry, Luna Lovegood burst into motion. Several minutes of bangs, thumps, and incredulous looks passed before she returned - brushing off her blue trimmed robes. Once she was satisfied, Luna sat down in the unoccupied seat next to Ron.
"I almost had it. I know some of them live on this train, but they're very shy and won't come out if there's too much noise," she said in a dreamy but disappointed voice.
For some reason Ron asked, "What did you almost have?"
Whatever answer she gave, it would be odd to say the least. Luna was a very strange girl, even for a magical world full of weird people and creatures. Many of her classmates thought she was positively insane the way she'd go on about imaginary animals and unlikely conspiracies like the wizard magazine her father ran. Then again, maybe she just saw the world differently then everyone else.
Her big, misty eyes shined as she answered, "A Striped-Backed Iglanotti. They're rare and hard to catch because they burrow into soft things and then pull the ...."
Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes, she'd never gotten along with the odd Ravenclaw. In her lap, Crookshanks gave the blonde girl the most bewildered look Harry had ever seen on a cat.
"Are you well? Did you get bitten by a...." Luna asked her with a sudden concern.
"She's had a long day, and the funeral was hard on her." Harry explained, rubbing his friend's back . "I didn't see you by the castle."
"I took one of the earlier carriages. Normally; I don't go to funerals at all, since they're so sad and unnecessary, but I made an exception in this case. Did you know that a lot of the people there didn't even like Professor Dumbledore? I suppose they came just so others could see them," Luna said in an off-handed tone.
Harry thought to himself, Why does Luna seem even weirder when she makes sense?
"Not to be mean or anything," Hermione ventured with a narrowed gaze, "but how can you call a funeral 'unnecessary'?"
"Just because someone dies doesn't mean they go away," she answered brightly. "We talk to ghosts all the time, and there's the archway we saw last year that the others hide behind. We only miss people who die because we can't see them anymore, which is silly -- there's all kinds of things we never see at all. But they're still with us as long as we remember them, and those memories will help us find them again when we need to."
Ron gave her an admiring look, "Wow, don't think I've ever heard anything like that. I like it."
"It may sound weird, but it sounds like something Dumbledore told me a long time ago." Harry's eyes traveled from Luna, to Ron, before finally settling on Hermione. "He said that the dead who loved us never really leave and we find them in ourselves when they're needed. I don't know if it makes any sense...."
"It makes perfect sense," the odd Ravenclaw answered, "far more then Harry suddenly mimicking Ginny's crush on him anyway."
Hermione's head snapped in her direction. "What did you say?"
"You didn't know?" Her brow furrowed as she pulled a copy of The Quibbler out of her robes. "I'd thought you did, what with that weird thing you do...."
Ignoring the three sets of eyes staring at her, Luna Lovegood buried herself in her father's magazine. She didn't say anything more during the rest of their trip.
**********
end chapter 2