Chapter 18: A Slugtacular Interlude

The restaurant was less impressive than Harry had thought. For being a magical restaurant there was a distinct lack of magicalness . The waiter and staff had all been, well, muggle. If you changed their wizarding attire this could've been a muggle restaurant. They were seated at an ordinary table, drinking out of standard wine glasses and using cutlery like normal. For Harry's first time at a magical restaurant, it was disappointing.

He wasn't sure what he was hoping for. It's not like he was expecting a giant floating fish tank with an ongoing epic battle of grindylows versus sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Aside from that being an absolutely deadly idea, his expectations weren't off the charts here.

While the atmosphere was lacking, he hoped his meeting with Slughorn would be decidedly not . The two had settled in with mostly small talk of current events and pleasantries about the tournament so far, not that those were much different to their brief discussion at the Yule Ball.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me, when you said we should meet so I could hear about my mother I was excited, nobody has told me much about her."

"Of course, I knew her well, as I told you she was a favourite of mine…" He trailed off, appearing to have difficulty putting his thoughts into words, as though something pained or hurt him to speak about Lily and Harry resolved to find out what it was, he wanted to know everything about her.

"Did you have issues with her being a muggleborn student? You'd commented on it at the ball." He hadn't come off as an elitist who believed in purity of blood, like a Nott or Malfoy would, but the comment had seemed odd to Harry. Possibly a leftover resentment from Hermione's difficulties from the prejudice against her.

Slughorn's eyes narrowed, "Against Lily? No! And not anyone else!" He said affronted. "There is nothing wrong with muggleborn students." The laid-back man was irritated with reddened cheeks.

Harry leaned back in his seat when the man had raised his voice in response to his question. "Sorry! I hadn't meant to offend. I just don't understand why you commented about her status as a muggleborn student," Harry placated.

A visibly calmer Slughorn sat back and took a sip of his water. "Your mother's brilliance was all the more impressive due to the disadvantage that all muggleborn, or raised, students have."

That confused Harry, he wasn't fully comprehending what the man was saying.

Horace hummed in thought. "I thought your associating with the Pavlov and Delacour ladies would have helped. But I can see you're in the same situation your mother was in too. Albus has always been seen as the 'Champion' of the muggle-borns, of the half-bloods, but he is not. We clashed regularly because I would take the promising students under my wing and correct the issue."

"Where to start… where to start?" He asked rhetorically.

"Right now we are in a wizarding establishment. We are in England but two different countries reside within England. The muggle and wizarding worlds are distinct, separate and this of paramount importance.

"Muggle-raised often fail to understand this. They are in a new world, a new country, a new country, and there are different laws and ways of life. It is almost sad we don't speak another language, it would be intuitively understood then." He mused aloud.

"A different language? Why would that help?" Harry asked, scepticism lacing his words.

"When you go to another country with a totally different language you automatically understand things are, and will be, different. You question what you know and if you know anything about their culture, values, norms and way of life."

Okay, that made sense to Harry. But, it also did not seem significant, or at least not as significant as Horace was making it out to be.

"This but one of the many disadvantages muggleborn students have, they fail to recognize that they are in a different world. Wizards are not muggles who just happen to be able to use magic, you are not a muggle with an extra ability! No, you are now a dual citizen of two completely different countries!"

The man continued on without pause, he was worked up, impassioned even, with this topic. "More than that, you are like Captain Cook and Sir Francis Drake. You should be explorers. Explorers to a totally new world, an alien world, and almost none of you recognize this, the importance of it and how it affects you. It took me years to get this across to your mother. But in the end, she understood it, she embraced it and was better off for it. She was my prized pupil, the one who should have been the brightest of suns, not the fleeting shooting star she became." He finished with a remorseful tone and immediately took a healthy gulp of wine.

Harry wasn't quite sure he was getting the point still. He was aware there were differences between both worlds but he did not see why this was such a disadvantage, what were those drastic differences.

"Can you give me an example of that? Like something that proves she really understood what you are saying." Harry clarified his question.

Slughorn raised his eyebrows at the question before a smile formed. "Oh ho, I have just the one! Do you know your parents' history together at Hogwarts?" he asked, pleased with the question.

Harry frowned in response, he'd heard the same from everyone. "I heard from two of my father's best friends how it happened. That my mother didn't get on with my father until near the end of their time at Hogwarts. They started dating and were engaged then married shortly after." He recalled hearing from Remus and Sirius about it, how they'd teased him for years about his infatuation with Lily Evans. Then they'd been merciless when he finally got with his long time crush.

"Two friends?" The former potions professor asked with narrowed eyes and a gleam of intelligence in his eyes. He paused, shook his head quickly, and took the slow blinks before saying something, "No, mustn't get sidetracked, we'll come back to that." He said the last part sternly, eyes boring into Harry's.

Harry was trying to keep himself calm, to keep his face from going red and not look shocked by the comment. He may have just given his godfather away, though the lack of freaking out would indicate there was a dangerous intelligence he'd underestimated within the man. He may be unassuming in his old man sweater vest, the portly look and his dopey eyes but he was far from what he presented. He was sharp, astute, shrewd .

"Back to it, the stories you've heard are from close friends of your father and those who know things about your parents but did not know them overly well, I presume?" He asked, though the way he asked he already knew the answer.

"That would be a fair description," Harry responded neutrally.

"If you will listen to a story, really listen, not interrupt and contrast it with what you've been told then I will tell you of your mother, the reality of who she was, I dare say, there is none left lingering in our world who would know of it, other than I." The harshness of the statement brought a distasteful air about the man. He readily gulped down the rest of the wine and then filled it again, taking another drink too large to be characterized by a sip.

"I'll listen," seeing the raised eyebrow, he reassured further, "really listen," he added earnestly.

"Lily Evans came from an unassuming background, red of hair and bright, so very bright." He spoke wistfully.

"A muggleborn whose sister was her best friend. A best friend that doted on her younger sister, Lily, and the two were inseparable. Inseparable until she was visited by a representative from Hogwarts. Like all meetings it is just the parents, representative and the child in question. From the very start, the two flowers were separated. Petunia left to toil alone without her Lily. Lily plucked from the garden, her home, and was thrust into a new reality." Slughorn grimaced then. "Thus, the separation from her family began. Petunia upset her sister was going to be leaving her, or I surmise it was so, began to lash out, be nasty and belittle her little flower. The Lily she'd always befriended, loved and looked out for, she sought to punish."

"Lily sought seclusion and time to ponder what she had done to upset her big sister so. One fateful day she meets her neighbour, a child her age. A boy black of hair and a kindred spirit, a lonely boy. Estranged from his family, he stayed away from the combative atmosphere, or so I was told, and the two became friends, not for much more than seeking the company of another individual. She was a witch and he a wizard, it didn't take long for that to be learned, between them, and a friendship was born, Lily Evans and Severus Snape, the newly formed best of friends."

Harry gasped. "Snape and my mother!? Best friends?!" The outburst slipped out of his mouth before he'd even realized he'd said something.

Horace placed his glass of wine down on the table. He slowly tore his eyes away from it and looked up at an incredulous Harry. He raised an eyebrow, "I'll listen, really listen?" He asked, quoting Harry's earlier words with disdain.

Harry flushed, a little, in embarrassment, ducking his head and tightening his eyes. "Sorry" he added with regret.

The aged man picked up his wine glass again twisting it between his thumb and forefinger. The deep red liquid swirled around the glass catching both parties attention. Horace watched the lines form as the wine returned to its resting position now that the glass had stopped twirling. He sipped at it slowly, drawing out the suspense as to whether he would continue talking or not while Harry's unease built second by second.

He returned the wine to its resting position, while still holding it, and brought his attention back to Harry. "Lily and Severus became close friends shortly before coming to Hogwarts. They sat on the train together and were highly disappointed when they were sorted into opposing houses.

Their unfortunate circumstances grew from there. Sirius Black," the name noticeably drawing Harry's attention, "joined the red and gold. His family took this poorly, including his older cousins, all of them Slytherins. Andromeda wasn't nasty to him but Bellatrix and Narcissa were, they encouraged people to show their displeasure as well, I'm sure of that, always strictly off the record of course," he sighed and got lost in his thoughts twisting his wine glass again, swirling the liquid.

"Sirius was fast friends with your father, eventually Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew too. When Sirius was targeted by older Slytherins they fought back the only way they could. They pranked the first year Slytherins. There was no kindness between the houses and with the Black scion in Gryffindor, it escalated, it was personal. We talked about it in staff meetings and were always given the same direction, we were always told, ' let them be children, it's all harmless' .

"Severus was a target Slytherin schoolboy, a loner, who befriended a Gryffindor girl, a pretty one at that. That is not to say he was not blameless himself; Snape gave as good as he got, escalating the feud.

"Now, your mother, she wasn't a shy girl, she stood out. Fiery long red hair, outspoken when prodded, and she could hold a grudge, oh ho, could she ever. From the first class they were partnered together it caused waves. Over that first year, she became an outcast for befriending a Slytherin and Severus was much the same, though not to the same degree. Lily never took part in the back and forth and was never targeted by either house, at first. Your mother had one female friend she was close with, in Gryffindor, Marlene McKinnon. But let me continue and not get lost in old memories."

"The two shone early in potions, always partnered together. They were a remarkable duo and spent significant time working to improve or perfect things, the margins of their books were always full of helpful scribbles. They received perfect marks and both were talented with a wand, Severus towards the darker side and Lily, well, she just had an intuitive understanding of magic, it came as naturally to her as breathing. She could adapt charms even in third year, her OWL year she presented altered spells, improved formulae and mastery level potions." He reminisced fondly, his gaze dropping back to his wine with his eyes having a faraway look.

"Err, Horace," Harry said to get his attention, "if that's true, why were her grades not as vaunted as mine? Did she not score with Dumbledore and Riddle? Were there many students that have scored as I, or we, have?" Harry asked, a little reserved, he'd already interrupted but thought it was a fair question, not an interruption.

Slughorn focused back on him, "She did not match those grades, overall. Your mother was intuitive, not knowledgeable in the way many in academia are so as to be called brilliant. She didn't have exhaustive theory memorized to ensure her marks were flawless. She loved magic, she loved pushing its boundaries and being creative with it. Don't let these words dissuade you, she was among the top-scoring academic students, she was Head Girl after all, but she cared not for achieving marks. Such a shame she was stolen from us, she was too talented for that dreadful end," Horace swallowed hard, abruptly downing his wine. He took a moment to collect himself again.

"Fifth year was the start of the estrangement that grew between them. You-Know-Who began his tyranny and people started noticeably disappearing. There had been unrest and rumours of a Dark Lord since 1970 but it took time to ramp up hostilities. Snape was stuck with a muggle-born friend in a hated house and a pureblood crowd supporting their parent's pro-pureblood agenda. Lily was not immune any longer when things became nastier. Sixth year Marlene McKinnon's family was targeted and that drove a wedge between them. Marlene refused to be around Severus, since he was friendly with the side that had gone after her family. Lily could not tolerate his excuses when she had become a target of his friends and Marlene's parents by theirs.

"Sixth year their friendship ended, permanently. Marlene's family was murdered, brutally so." He closed his eyes with his eyelids trying to force their way through his face. "Those were rough days…" He said after a time, his voice rough and gravely. He refilled his wine glass, again, and took a deep drink before refilling it once more, not even half a bottle remained now.

"It was then that the real point of this story comes. Your mother was lost, the magical world was alien to her, she had such little understanding of what was going on, where her place in the world would be. Her family could not help, they were muggles whose only experience with magic was Diagon Alley and whatever Lily was able to show and tell them."

"It's the problem with muggleborn, and raised," he added, nodding at Harry, "they don't understand the culture, the history and how our world works. I took her under my wing then, she was my dearest student," he added forlornly. His cheeks were gaining a red tinge and some of the sharpness in his eyes had slipped away, the man was by no means drunk but their food had not come and he'd had a fair amount of wine so far.

"I taught her history, economics, politics, and she took to it like a fish to water. She understood the world and her place in it, her lack of backing. Talent will not get you far on its own. It was the following Summer where she made a decision, one she was uncomfortable with at the time but I know she wouldn't have changed." He paused and gave a knowing smirk to Harry.

"What did she decide?" Harry knew he was playing into the man's theatrics but he wanted to know too badly to stay silent. He was on the edge of his seat, leaning forward, and wouldn't have noticed much beyond the next words to come out of the older man's mouth.

"She signed an agreement with House Potter." He stated, smirking at the look of surprise that Harry couldn't keep from adorning his face.

"An, an, an agreement?" He asked, not knowing what to make of that at all.

"Yes." The elder man was enjoying this, he was still smirking at the Triwizard Champion.

"Wh-, wh- what kind?" Harry's mouth wasn't closing fully when he wasn't speaking, his mind was running a thousand miles a second trying to make sense of these words.

"A courtship contract." He stated as if it was simple bland words.

"What?!" Harry's surprise had an equal measure of disbelief in it bringing the word shooting out of his mouth, almost to the point of him having shouted the word out. "No way!"

Slughorn had a look about him, the very same look found on a cat feasting on his caught canary, "I advised it and it was a total secret."

"Why? Why would she need to do that?" He asked, his forehead creased and cheeks contracted.

"Several reasons," he started out casually, "one of the main concerns was the magical protection of her family. Muggleborn parents had no real defence against Death Eaters and having a family like the Potters would ensure their protection was a primary goal of the arrangement."

Harry nodded, understanding that a seventh-year student did not have the funding or knowledge to ensure adequate protective measures to be setup.

"Then there was Lily's future to think of. She wanted to keep learning and pushing the envelope in understanding magic, all types of it. The Potter's are an old family with centuries of knowledge and, at that time, were more than wealthy enough to fund her continued studies for the rest of her natural life. There were many terms in the agreement but I'll give you the basics.

"For six months they would date and if neither side called it off it would turn into a betrothal, announced or unannounced, it mattered not. Within two years of betrothal they would marry and within five years an heir must be born, with honest attempts beginning no later than three years past the betrothal. Your mother's family would be protected magically and financially supported in case they were unable to work due to their protection. Lily's research would be generously funded and she had almost unhindered access to the Potter and their allies libraries. Those were the basics. Economic support, protection for her family and setting out the future for herself and future family."

"My mother married James Potter for money and access to libraries?" He asked, hoping it was a lie. Sirius and Remus hadn't told him anything like this. His mother was not so shallow, was she? Protecting her family was a noble action but marriage for that?

Slughorn's demeanour softened and his voice grew gentle, "I know she didn't love your father when they were engaged and I don't think she loved him when they married; but, it is my belief, she did grow to love him. Of course, our correspondence broke when hostilities grew too heavy. Your parents went into hiding right after graduation and we had very little contact then. I'm telling you this not to say your parents didn't love each other, because I believe they did, but to explain how pragmatic Lily was, especially for a muggleborn."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that. So he didn't; he kept his mouth shut awaiting to hear more, he doubted Horace would have liked him interrupting at this point too.

"The magical world is not the muggle one. People do business with their friends and the wizarding community is small, comparatively. People hire friends, friends of friends, or even children of friends. They marry off as part of politics, economics and love. The muggle ideal of being a self-made-man is a fallacy for wizards and witches. Anyone can learn to be a decent wizard, everyone can find gainful employment but to go beyond that? To set yourself apart, to learn the lore of magic from the greatest minds of the previous generations? No, muggle-borns don't have that. They aren't raised with magic from their crib, they don't understand the nature of magic, the laws governing the wizarding world, and they are lead astray by their muggle sensibilities," he sneered the final two words.

Harry sat thinking it over. If it was true, that his mother had signed a contract he could understand.

"The greatest wands are never self-made. There is no great Albus Dumbledore without his apprenticeships in Transfiguration and Alchemy by the very top master in the two fields. His discoveries in alchemy were all due to his apprenticeship with Flamel, the greatest Alchemist there ever was. His prodigal skill in Transfiguration? A gift from apprenticing his Transfiguration Master. Don't get me wrong, he is skilled, almost beyond belief, in magic, but without the knowledge to learn Alchemy from the greatest there ever was? To learn Transfiguration from the Transfiguration Master of his generation? He would be skilled, he would be good, but he would not be the famed figure that is Albus Dumbledore, it was his academic and wanded prowess that got him those opportunities but without them, he is not the living legend we know today." The sincerity of belief was carried by his fervent tone.

Slughorn sat forward in his chair, his voice lowered and his eyes were shining with purpose. "Our world, Harry, is more alike to the muggle feudal world than modern muggle one; to divorce yourself from a muggle mindset, to understand the importance of alliances, the necessity of playing political games, and the foundation that families are in the wizarding world is not so easy. You weren't raised to understand it, you were taught different ideals, norms, traits and to divest yourself of them, to change your identity, your way of thinking, it is a tall task. So few ever do, but Lily, your mother, she did. It took a war, a shattered friendship and the loss of her closest friend's family for it to truly hit home for her, but it did."

"This is a lot to take in, especially for an orphaned young man like yourself and yet, I can't just let this be. You have untold opportunity in our world, you have connected with powerful families and your magical potential is exceptional. Let me help you on your way to greatness, let me help you as I did for your mother; I can teach you the background information you need, I'm well connected and can mentor you. I wish to do this as a favour to my favourite former student, as this could be my last chance at redemption.

Un, deux, trois.

Un deux trois.

Un deux trois.

Un deux trois, at least this time he could switch at the right time.

Ever since Lacroix had harped on him, incessantly counted to three in French, in his head, he couldn't break the habit of counting in threes. It didn't even make sense. He was supposed to stir clockwise four times and then counterclockwise four times. Counting in threes didn't make any sense, only every fourth iteration worked! It was just like trying to learn the ridiculous musical theory for 3:4 timing. Three beats per measure but there are four parts to it? It never made sense; if only Dudley had not destroyed all his music notes…

Not that any of this mattered with the results he was achieving. Really, he was just having errant thoughts to keep his mind occupied while he was learning how to better brew potions. Here he was brewing a technically arduous potion and, on his first try, it was going exactly as it was supposed to, or so Harry thought. If he went by the exuberant expression on Slughorn's face, err… Horace as he'd been asked to call him, he didn't think any different.

He'd been at it for four straight hours now and the actual brewing work was just about to complete. Difficult distillation was still required but he wouldn't be taking care of that. Horace would look after completing the potion.

"Oho! Excellent Harry! Simply marvellous! Such talent, just like your mother." The retired Potions Master beamed at him.

Harry couldn't help but feel gratified at the man's praise. He might be a total suckup for those with talent, power, and prestige but there was no denying he was a celebrated master of his craft. He was no longer pursuing research himself but he was still at the forefront and his opinion sought after.

After the dinner in which Harry had learned more of his mother, following his offer of mentorship, he'd agreed to return to the man's home for a potion's lesson. Through general discussion at dinner, Harry had told him he was improving on his own and then the man half demanded half wanted to know by how much he was progressing, compared to his mother, so they went to his home and Slughorn had him brewing by seven. It had been quite an unexpected dinner with this twist at night. His goal had been to learn more of Tom Riddle but it hadn't felt like the right choice of topics. A gut feeling that he would be making a mistake pressing the man for it. Instead, unexpected fruit had been borne; potion lessons and an opportunity to learn from the man if he so chose.

Slughorn might be, well, a slug, gross and slimy, nevertheless, slugs are still an important part of an ecosystem, they have their uses, even if they aren't the most pleasant to be around. Harry was going to treat him like that. He might play a pivotal part in his ongoing development or he might not, it was yet to be seen. While the possibility was there, he would be sure to not misstep in their burgeoning association. He knew he'd probably even end up doing some favours for the man but he'd also gain in the exchange. There was already fruit born of their time together. He knew more about his mother than he'd learned in the previous years of his life. Finding out her final close friends had died made sense. Marlene McKinnon murdered in the war and Alice Longbottom in the long-term care ward, Alice becoming a close friend through Frank and James' friendship.

"Thanks, and thanks for this too, it's great learning from you, the best potion lesson I've ever had." He could see how learning from Horace would have made his time in the dungeon a whole lot better, he might even had come to like potions. Merlin wasn't that was a weird thought.

The teaching by Salazar had been good and he'd always suspected he was better than his previous grades but it was just so hard to care about the class. Snape was always going to give him a horrid mark, and do his best to crush his spirit, so what was the point of even trying? He'd not been able to come up with a good answer for that. If he'd really needed something to do with potions he had Hermione to ask, a lazy attitude, sure, but it worked. Now though…. He had not hated brewing the potions for rituals and this was kind of fun, rather useful as well.

"I knew Severus was such a talented potioneer but I always had my doubts that the boy could teach, he never had the personality nor patience for children… but given your talent…." He trailed off muttering while carefully observing Harry's stirring.

"Err… you weren't wrong…" Harry let him know, uncertain it was a good idea to burst his bubble.

"No?" He questioned a bit dopey eyed.

Oddly the look reminded him of Dobby for some reason. He suppressed a chuckle, maybe it was just getting late… He blinked away the stray thought and answered the elder man. "He's marked me between dreadful and troll mostly, though I think I got a poor once or twice, and he's hated me since I stepped into his class the first time, he even glared at me during the welcoming feast in my first year, now that I think about it." He scratched the back of his neck, not forgetting to keep up his counting, un deux trois….

"Not with your innate talent, surely not!" He exclaimed, it was a little hard to tell if the red tinge to his face was in anger or from the casual and continued drinking of wine at this point, the man wasn't blind drunk or anything but he'd certainly had a few cups.

Harry gave an eye smile, "He never liked me and never punishes the students from his own house. If someone threw something into my cauldron he'd ignore it and fail me for having brewed a ruined potion. After three years of the same, I'd given up on Potions. Really, not since I started self-study did I actually become decent."

Was he still upset at Snape? Not quite as much now. He understood his mother and Snape were close. If Slughorn was correct, and he assumed he was, then Snape would have hated his dad and all those comments about him being like his father now made sense. He's still an utter bastard for taking something out on him that was leftover from his parents but what was he to do about it? Snape was a spiteful, pitiful man. He seemed to hate his own existence, not to mention everything else too. That was punishment enough, why hate and try and get payback when the man was a broken shell of one already. He was torturing himself enough, living in the past, if the mere appearance of a schoolyard rivalry was still causing this much ire.

"A shame… a total shame. Her talent but your father's looks… we can't have that." Having made up his mind Slughorn straightened out of his musings and clapped his hands together, almost startling Harry out of his irrational french counting.

"It can't be! Your mother never got the chance to flourish but you will!" He'd morosely mentioned Lily but finished and started his sentence with aplomb.

"Err… what do you mean Horace?" That still felt odd to say, calling a professor, even a retired one, by his first name, like they were friends.

"I'll tutor you in Potions too! By the end of the year, you'll be NEWT level, or beyond! I'll apprentice you and we'll let the press know just how good you are, thanks to my tutelage, of course." He belly laughed as he finished, his eyes alight with the prospect, a more boisterous and disturbing response than Harry had wished for but help in another class…

"Thanks!" He tried to smile believably even if he was internally cringing. He loved learning about his mother but the man loved to toot his own horn. "I'll let you know once I've decided."

"Jolly good!" He exclaimed and in his excitement, not to mention his inebriated state, he stumbled forward when he tried to offer his hand to Harry, to seal the arrangement between them. Harry was able to grab his upper arm and stead him as he stumbled forward.

"Are you alright?" He asked, helping push the man back fully upright.

"Yes, yes," he said regaining his balance, "But, maybe we should sit, another cup o' wine too…" He mumbled the last part, loud enough that Harry could easily make it out.

Slughorn ushered Harry out of the room where his potion was brewing after he negligently flicked his wand out and did something to the brewing process.

He led them through his lavish home. Pictures of him with various individuals littered the hallway. Harry caught sight of a quidditch play in full uniform and a younger Slughorn. A young dark-skinned witch clutched her broom and beater bat beside the younger version of him, they were both grinning ear to ear.

Horace noticed Harry's eyes linger on the photo and stopped their descent down the hall. "That's Gwenog Jones, Holyhead Harpies beater and captain." He stated pompously. "I introduced her to the manager and this was taken right after she signed her first professional contract with them. She always has tickets for me, a whole box if I requested it." His eyes gained a glint that made Harry uneasy.

"Yes, we should go! You're quite the seeker too, aren't you? Holyhead is an all-girls team, don't ya know," he elbowed Harry, thinking it was somewhat humorous. "I could invite Lynch too, Krum might have embarrassed him but he's a top-quality seeker, a good chum too, owes me for the bit of potions work I did for him… yes that could work…"

Harry watched as the man seemed lost in a daze muttering to himself.

"Barnaby could come… Adrian, Gwenog, Barnabus, yes, yes.. just a few more too… fill the whole box…"

There may not be any monetary compensation for this but being dragged around to events that seemed more political and showing him off than anything didn't sound appealing. If only the guy wasn't such a great opportunity for him. He'd already learned quite a lot tonight and that's without even counting that he learnt he's been stirring a little too quickly and dipping too far into the potion with that specific stirring method. Different methods and patterns required precise movements, which he was already aware of, but not doing perfectly. Harry figured he could become a competent brewer from Salazar's notes and supplementary texts, but Slughorn could teach him to be an excellent one. More than likely, he'd never be a prodigy like Severus Snape, or his mother, but he had no plans to go into research nor mastery studies in potions.

Slughorn had started walking, lost in his thoughts and planning, and had taken them to his living room. He sat himself into an armchair that was form fit for him after years of generous use.

With a flick of his wand, another bottle of wine floated to him, he uncorked it and had it pouring into his no longer empty glass. The casual display of magic floored Harry, mentally. It wasn't that this was some kind of groundbreaking magic or anything like that. It was the ease of the fine control and manipulation, even after the man had been well into his cups. The man didn't have all his wits about him, he was still muttering and even then his magic was strong, resolute and, above all, precise. It was second nature to him, from the repeated nature of that specific task, and that was the point.

A lot of what Harry did in his day he did as a muggle. He tied his own shoes, physically. He made his bed with his hands, he brushed his teeth, scrubbed himself in the shower, and so on. All those minute tasks could be done by magic. Sure he had gotten into the habit of summoning books but what about turning pages, holding it, and positioning it on his desk. The adage 'practice makes perfect' wasn't lost on him. The opportunity for enhancing his capabilities was immense.

This could be one of the best lessons the man may ever give him.

Every mundane exercise could be learning to exercise his intent, his willpower, his creativity and refining his magical power.

Harry returned from his epiphany and caught the man's attention before asking him a question that could help him immediately. "Sir, is there a difference between basic veritaserum and what is used for questioning?"

"Horace, my dear boy, Horace. You may learn from me but we will be friends, not master-apprentice, you already have an apprenticeship," he lightly reprimanded Harry. "But I digress, yes, there is quite a difference as the basic veritaserum is a potion that only allows a person to speak perceived truths whereas the one used by the DMLE has a babbling potion mixed into it forcing the person to respond at the questioners prompts," he chuckled", though they often get more than they bargained for."

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned further.

"Well, when one is questioned and they have ingested even a mild form of babbling potion they often add things beyond the scope of the question. For example, say you are being questioned by the DMLE and they ask you what you know of Albus Dumbledore you would divulge anything you perceived as true about the man. You would say things like he is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he is Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, he is old, he has a long white beard, he has outlandish fashion sense in robes, he likes tart sweets, and so on and so forth. You see the point now?"

Harry nodded. "The babbling potion would influence them to speak of things that the questioner has no interest in," Slughorn beamed at him. "But what do you mean by perceived truths?" He tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke.

"Ah, the downside of veritaserum. Calling it a truth serum is a misnomer; magic can do many wondrous things but it has limitations. The truth serum cannot give the ingester knowledge. If they have a factually wrong belief, they can state it as if it were a truth as long as they fervently believe it to be true. A Chudley Cannon supporter could delude themselves into believing they are among the favourites to win the Quidditch league whereas any neutral observer would tell you it could only ever happen if something like every other team is simultaneously struck down by lightning, making the Cannons the winner by default."

Harry laughed fully understanding the joke as Ron had always insisted they had a chance each year before going on to have another horrid losing season. "So if someone believes something is correct they can say it under truth serum but it doesn't change the fact that their belief is wrong?"

"Exactly so." He praised him again, reddened cheeks pulled into another large smile.

"Is Veritaserum used for criminal trials then?" Harry asked while wondering himself.

"No." He shook his head, "It isn't. The benefit for law enforcement is to ensure the person says what they believe to be true. In conjunction with the babbling potion they learn everything that they believe to be true. Thus the issue still stands, is their testimony correct or not?"

"The testimony under veritaserum is not absolute. Just like with Pensieve memories, things are not always as they seem. Further, getting authorization to use veritaserum on anyone unwillingly requires approval from with Wizengamot. With the babbling potion addition it is so rarely approved because it can cause unrelated secrets to be given up and nobody would want to be in that position. Only in rare circumstances is it permitted to be forced on someone."

"Oh, that makes sense…" Harry responded, thinking more on how Natalia had given him correct information about the potion and was voluntarily willing to use the normal version.

"Would people use standard veritaserum to try and trick the courts?" He asked, thinking again of Natalia and her offer.

"Why yes of course they do!" Slughorn rumbled his response out. "The reason the babbling potion was added was because the chance of deceit without it is too great. Telling a partial truth and purposefully withholding aspects of it can paint a very different picture from the reality. Questions need to be direct and have limiters, qualifications and often require special knowledge to be effective. Many prosecutors try and cage them into responding with only the options of yes or no."

"So they don't ask them to speak about something, like 'What do you think about ice cream?', for instance, instead you would ask: 'Do you like ice cream?'", Harry put his inner thoughts into words.

"Yes… that is the general idea but your example may not be specific enough, the cage too broad. They could answer no they do not like ice cream thinking of a flavour they do no like or yes they love it even if they do not as long as there is some truth to it." Slughorn explained further.

"Would it work for something like: Do you like Chocolate Chip ice cream?" Harry asked, trying to flesh out any chance at misunderstanding this valuable insight.

"No, no no. Not quite," Horace chuckled. "Even more specific, you'd want to ask even more specifically: Do you like Haagen-Dazs' brand Chocolate Chip Ice Cream? If it wasn't specific they could think of a brand they have not tried and honestly answer they don't like it, as they have not tried it, leaving that bit out.

Harry sighed, "I can see how it would be troublesome. On the surface it seems so simple. You force someone to say only truthful things but the reality of it is far more complex. It can be a useful aid, but only in the right circumstances."

"Indeed, my boy, indeed. Well done." Horace affused him with approval.

Harry smiled back at him in thanks for the genuine praise. He saw the man look far away, his mind elsewhere.

"Smarter than I'd first thought… Less naive in some ways, and more in others… Grades mediocre, mostly, until this year… Dormant talent that is so very reminiscent, both parselmouths… Magical but muggle raised, average until OWLs, surrounding themselves with powerful families, and such potential… why Tom, why?" He drained the glass and used his wand to pour another, right away.

Harry listened carefully. He doubted the man would have ever said anything like that if he hadn't consumed so much wine.

"Horace, could you tell me about the Potter and Black families?" If the man was saying he could help on the economic and political side then he wanted to see what kind of help he could be. With alcohol loosening his tongue it could be helpful. The man hadn't seemed less sharp even with all the wine.

"Black? Oh right, Sirius Black! We were going to talk about him!" Slughorn asked, perking up.

"We were?" Harry asked, internally cringing, he'd forgotten near the start of their dinner he'd screwed up and mentioned two of his father's friends.

"Why, of course! Two living 'best friends' of your fathers that know about him and your mother? While Monsieur Delacour knew the Potter family they were not especially close. Given the war at the time, France was distancing itself and I'd wager their friendship was maintained in the way of an owl. So he would not be a source, but that is not a wholly compelling argument." Even with glassy eyes, a sharp glimmer had returned, his wits had not been fully dulled by the alcohol just yet.

"Your father had few friends. Those he did have were fiercely loyal and they were like brothers in him. He was an only child and with the closeness of his Hogwarts friends you'd be hard-pressed to say he did not understand what it was like to have multiple brothers. Specifically Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Those four bonded from the first day of Hogwarts and drew closer all the way to their last."

His grin grew predatory, "It is from this that I can infer who the two are. Peter Pettigrew is long dead, Remus Lupin was your professor last year; the same year Sirius Black was a fugitive at large. Here we are, over a year later, and the manhunt for Sirius Black has by and large been dismissed. Most shockingly after he had successfully broken into Hogwarts and later been captured. The result? He escaped custody of the minister within Hogwarts . I may have aged, I may be into my cups but there is nought you could do to convince me that Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, did not have a hand in Sirius Black escaping custody with his life. I already know he was behind the push to quiet the man-hunt."

He sat back in his chair, heavily, both arms perched on the armrests. He raised his glass in a toast, "A toast to Sirius Black, the unscrupulous scoundrel, the innocent fugitive, and, most importantly, the godfather of Harry Potter." He drained the rest of his glass and sat in his chair the epitome of smug.

Harry sat there blank-faced, eyes wide. He sat there stunned and doing his best to work out how Slughorn had figured it all out. He was probably told about Sirius being his godfather. The innocent part was the more difficult issue. Why guess when he could just ask?

"My mother told you about him being the godfather." He stated. Slughorn nodded slowly twice and gestured for him to go on.

"I understand why you'd believe Dumbledore was involved if you knew he also had the manhunt suppressed, I'd not considered nor put together the fact he was no longer posted all over everywhere wanted dead or alive. In fact, the newspapers have had little to say on him, aside from the after events of the Quidditch World Cup," he stopped and rubbed his chin in thought.

"You're doing well. You are thinking and making connections but you are out of your depth here to put it all together. Sirius Black is innocent and has been since his lack of trial. He held the smoking gun and he was such an easy scapegoat. This is why I tell you politics is important, you must learn them."

Harry nodded and stared back, he knew the man well enough by now to know he was about to be given more information. Slughorn loved to talk.

"Barty Crouch was the head of the DMLE back then. Black's lack of trial followed right after Igor Karkaroff informed the Wizengamot that his son was in a Death Eater cell. A Death Eater cell with none other than Barty Crouch Junior and Regulus Black." Slughorn sipped at his wine further and let his words sink in.

Harry's eyebrows had risen to the top of their height on his forehead when he heard that. "He blamed Regulus for his son's position?" He guessed aloud.

"Oh ho! Right on the button with that one! Barty Jr and Regulus were the best of friends in Slytherin. They were almost inseparable. Regulus followed the rest of the Black family under this misguided leadership of Pollux and Orion Black. Against their Lord's wishes, the Black family supported the Dark Lord and Arcturus was in too poor of health to do anything about it. It was a miracle he held on long enough to see the war concluded."

"Regardless, I've strayed off the main topic. Sirius Black was arrested and with enough evidence to paint him as guilty on the surface. Given the absence of a trial, I would assume there was little to no evidence that he actually perpetrated what they accused him of."

Harry couldn't sit idle and listen at this point. If Slughorn knew he was innocent, or even guessed at it, why did he not act? His blood boiled with these thoughts running through his head and he had to voice them. "If you knew he was innocent, why didn't you stand up for him?! Why didn't you help my godfather?" He demanded to know.

Slughorn didn't rise at this, instead he maintained his unnaturally calm demeanour. "The question you should have asked, my boy, is why did nobody else stand up for him?"

Harry forced himself to come down from his fury. He needed to think straight. Horace Slughorn was informing him, trying to teach him. There was more here than just getting upset at injustices over a decade old. "Where were his friends? Why didn't anyone help him?" he asked after a minute.

"Why indeed? Let's look at it. James Potter, the man's staunchest ally, was dead, supposedly at his doing. Augusta Longbottom didn't stand for him like her son or daughter in law would have had they not been in St. Mungos. The left who else? Remus Lupin, a man without the backing of wealth or political power who was known by a few to be a werewolf? Nobody would have listened to him and speaking out would have ensured his secret was spilt. Pettigrew was 'killed' and Black had spent the better part of his life spurning his family and anyone who would have helped a son of House Black. Really, in the end, there was only one person who would have, who should have, and that was Albus Dumbledore. When he did not, why would anyone else? If Dumbledore did not ensure a trial as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, who else would?" Slughorn let the words sink in.

"Do you see it? Why politics are so important?" He asked awaiting a reply from Harry.

"If he'd had more political power he could have kept himself out of prison but because he lacked political capital and allies he was unjustly imprisoned due to a grudge against his family?" Harry asked having done his best to respond.

He smiled at the younger man. "You are astute, you are learning quickly. You are young though and there is a larger point here."

"Sirius Black was the firstborn son. Pollux did not have any sons and Wallaburga did. Sirius was in place to be the heir to the family. It was well known Arcturus did not get on with anyone but Dorea and Cassiopeia by the time Sirius was in Hogwarts. He could have positioned himself to be the heir, to be the person in the family Arcturus could trust. Instead he spurned everyone with the name Black. He pushed away and turned his back on politics. Sirius could have wielded the wealth of the Black family, he could have done so much more for his friends, against the Dark Lord, had he not turned his back on his family."

"Wealth and political power matter in war. They had properties to store material, safe houses, wealth to buy whatever supplies they needed, money to bribe, and political power to protect themselves and reduce their enemies position. Did you know that the aurors were only allowed to use deadly force if it was first used against them? They entered every conflict at a disadvantage all because they ensured the laws would not pass to resolve this issue. They stalled and had legislation defeated that would worsen the position of the Dark Lord. They even used connections and bribes to keep the ICW out of the conflict."

"If Sirius Black had cultivated any favour using his position he could have avoided Azkaban. If he'd taken his responsibilities to his family seriously, he could have been in a position to have helped his friends far more than he could with just his wand. Arcturus detested the decision to join the Dark Lord after he'd previously cultivated an alliance with the Potters to join forces and help depose Grindelwald. Then a couple of decades later, his own family undoes all his hard work? They turn their back on him. But if Sirius had been responsible, if he'd been around, Arcturus would have had an ally within his house, someone he could trust. Instead, he was on an island, only his wife and sister to aid him. Their time past and the younger generations wholly opposed or unwilling to deviate from their parents' wishes."

He stared hard at Harry. "I tell you this because of your position now. You are internationally famous, you come from a distinguished line, the Potters, you are Regent Black, yes I know about that," the man enjoyed seeing another look of surprise on Harry's face, "and you are being sought after by at least two powerful families, the Delacour's and Pavlovs. You need to proceed carefully. You have the potential for greatness across the entire spectrum, magical, wealth and politics. Both families are associating with you for political reasons, do you know what they are?"

Harry sat back and thought. He already knew some of it but he was keenly interested in Slughorn's view on the matter. He decided it best to be honest, he was not certain how trustworthy Slughorn was but he'd already proved valuable and could very well continue to do so. His mother had trusted the man and he should be able to verify the contract with the Potter account at Gringotts.

"I have some thoughts on it, sir, but I'm sure I don't know all the reasons," he started.

"It is good to know when you recognize you don't know everything, youth often believe they know everything," Slughorn commented quickly then waved his hand to continue, a little sheepish that he'd cut Harry off.

Harry shot him a smile in thanks for the compliment before continuing. "I believe the Delacour's have a history with the Potters. That they are closer from my Grandfather being involved with a Delacour in the Grindelwald conflict. I'm not fully sure on why Fleur is so interested in me, romantically speaking. She's a couple of years older, supremely talented and beyond beautiful."

"And the Pavlov family?" Horace prompted him to continue.

"Well, from what Natalia says, they want to use me to rehabilitate their image. After backing Grindelwald they changed sides and have been reviled by both ever since. They have a strong standing still but their family reputation could use my image to help rehabilitate it. They've proposed a contract between myself and Natalia as well," he shrugged, not really sure what else to add.

"On a surface level it's a good overview but, again, you lack the whole perspective, there is much more to this. Let me start with the Delacour's recent history. Politically, they have been taking a beating since he took a veela for a wife. There is a long history with veela that I will not get into now but it suffices to say it's contentious. They are in decline politically and that also hurts their economic outlook. Then we have the Pavlov family. Their interest in you is beyond obvious. You are the Regent Black. Before their fall from grace, they were steadfast allies with the Black family. Simply put, they were on opposite sides of the Grindelwald conflict and would love nothing more than the return of their alliance with a resurgent Black family led by a Potter of all things."

Harry's eyebrows were almost close enough to knit together, his face scrunched in concentration. "What do you mean a 'resurgent Black family led by a Potter of all things'?"

Slughorn had a lazy smile on his face now. "For that, you'll have to visit another night. I've drunk my fill and these old bones are telling me it's past time to retire. You'll just have to take me up on my offer, perhaps we can go watch the Harpies together, I can plan a soiree afterwards too."

Even if the hour was late and though he'd consumed generous amounts of wine, Harry had been played. He was baited, hook, line and sinker. There was going to be another meeting, they both knew it.

"I'll watch for your owl," Harry told him.