A friendly day at Hogwarts

At Slughorn's strong request, the largest office in Hogwarts fell into his hands.

However, judging from the current layout, this place does not look like an office at all——

Desks, bookshelves, and all the things needed for office work are piled in the corners, making the entire office look a bit more spacious.

Low-hanging drapes hang from the ceiling and walls, just like the tents used to host the World Cup.

Dark floor-to-ceiling curtains were drawn on the windows to block out the sunlight, and were only illuminated by the golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and candles suspended in mid-air. The time was clearly noon, but there was a dinner party atmosphere here.

There were two rows of armors brought from unknown places standing beside the wall, but what they held in their hands were not swords and weapons, but various musical instruments, playing slow and long symphonies.

A large round table was placed in the center of the room. The table was filled with a variety of dishes, which were even a bit richer than yesterday's dinner.

It can be seen that Slughorn has obviously put a lot of effort into this welcome lunch. With his high requirements for the quality of life, the house elves in the kitchen must have put a lot of thought into it.

Glenn and Qiu arrived not too early, and there were already many people around the table, including a few familiar faces, such as Cormac McLagan, who was in the same grade, and Cedric Diggory, who looked puzzled. .

Eddie and Marcos had just arrived and were sitting not far away waving to them.

"Oh! You must know each other, right?" Slughorn noticed them immediately and said cheerfully, "The Carmichael family has been very popular recently, Glenn, and the Ollivander family stands tall in Diagon Alley. Over the years, you must have heard of that second-hand store, right?”

"Of course!" Glenn nodded with a smile on his face.

Of course he would not say that Mr. Carmichael's opening of the store was only possible with his suggestion and help.

"Who would have thought that a humble little store would develop so well in just two or three years! I heard that they are planning to open a branch in Hogsmeade!" Slug Horn said, moving the armchair back a few inches so that his round belly would not be squeezed on the dining table, "If you ask me, young Eddie will definitely have a bright future!"

"Thank you, Professor." Eddie smiled "shyly and kindly", showing no sign of the philistine who usually cares about a few West Coasts.

"And dear little Mr. Belby, I had the honor to teach his uncle Damocles back then. His talent in potions is amazing. He is definitely one of my most proud disciples." Slughorn En continued, "Speaking of which, Marcos, how is your uncle doing?"

"Not bad!" Marcos, who had received some advice from Glenn in advance, quickly put down his knife and fork. "Every time he comes to our house as a guest, he can't help but talk about your kindness. I heard him say that the second-level Sir Merlin You have been a big help in receiving the regimental medal, otherwise with his qualifications, he would only be able to get a third-level medal at most..."

"He is so humble!" This flattery really hit Slughorn's heart. He laughed loudly, stretched out his fat hand, and made a gesture that Korean men hated deeply. "I just helped a little bit, just a little bit. He definitely deserves his medal!"

Seeing that they were chatting enthusiastically, Cormac McLagan, who always liked to show off but had always been ignored, couldn't help but loudly said to Cedric next to him: "Have you paid attention to the news from the Ministry of Magic recently? Fudge won't be around for long. If nothing else happens, Rufus Scrimgeour is the most popular candidate right now..."

As he expected, these words quickly attracted Slughorn's attention.

"In fact, as far as I know, Scrimgeour's immediate boss, Ms. Bones, our beautiful girl's aunt, is the most suitable successor." He pointed to Susan Bo, who looked confused. Enns said, "Of course, dear Cormac, considering your uncle Tiberus..."

When the name was mentioned, McLagan visibly puffed out his chest.He always liked talking about this uncle with people because he had a good relationship with Scrimgeour, the director of the Auror Office.

However, he could not wait for Slughorn's next words, because the office door was knocked again, and the person who came in undoubtedly stole the limelight that he almost got.

"Oh, Harry! You're finally here!"

Slughorn stood up with an exaggerated expression, his round belly bumped into the dining table inadvertently, and the goblet in front of him shook. Thanks to Glenn's agility, the red wine was not spilled on him.

"Thank you, Glenn!" He said with a smile and patted the other seat next to him. "Come on, Harry, sit here!"

As for Neville, who walked in with him and hadn't figured out the situation yet, he naturally didn't get such good treatment and could only sit in the empty seat opposite the table.

The luncheon lasted for several hours, and Slughorn spent most of the time chatting with Glenn and Harry, only occasionally looking at other people and chatting about the current situation of their elders in the family.

This kind of business blowback made Glenn extremely tired, and he couldn't help but recall the life of a social animal that he had not experienced for more than ten years.

Fortunately, this day is a Sunday, so there is no need to rush to class.

"I don't understand," Harry couldn't help but mutter under his breath as they left Slughorn's office together, "What's the point of this slug club..."

"A network of relationships," Qiu explained succinctly.

Harry didn't seem to understand, and asked again: "Relationship network? What do you mean?"

"To put it simply, it is to make more students who are likely to help him." Glenn said, "You must have noticed that among the people who came today, except for Qiu and Digory, almost all of them have prominent family backgrounds. Yes, and then he will absorb some more talented people and train these people into successful people, bringing him a higher reputation."

"What's the use of his reputation?" Harry frowned, "Does he want to use these people to help him gain power?"

"That's not true." Glenn shook his head, "He probably just enjoys this feeling. You know, this club existed many years ago, and he once served as the dean of Slytherin, but he still He took the initiative to choose to retire. If Dumbledore and I hadn't tried every means to convince him this time, he wouldn't even be willing to come back..."

"What a weirdo..." Harry commented thoughtfully.