The Other Potter

CLXI. SLUG CLUB

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It was the first dinner party Mia and Harry had gone to. The ginger girl was wearing a black cropped top with a pair of white flared trousers. She had black heels and her hair was tied up in an elegant bun with simple, yet effective makeup on.

Slughorn was stood at the head of a table, a goblet raised to the students seated before him. Mia was sat in between her brother and Hermione as she looked around the table. There was Marcus Belby, a seventh year Ravenclaw, Cormac, Neville and a pair of female twins who Mia had never seen before. She recognized a Slytherin from their year, Blaise Zabini, a tall black boywith high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes. A distinctive crystal hourglass was sat in the center of the table as Mia exchanged looks with her brother.

"To Hogwarts' best and brightest!" Slughorn said as Mia was staring at a candle, not paying much attention. 

"Here, here!" Cormac said as Mia snapped back into reality and exchanged a wry look with Hermione. The twin girls made -- and drank -- their toast in perfect unison while Neville stared hopelessly at the vast array of forks, knives and spoons placed beside his plate. 

"So tell me, Cormac," Slughorn said one dinner had been eaten. "See much of your Uncle Tiberius these days?"

"Yes, sir," Cormac said as Mia looked at him annoyed. "In fact, I'm meant to go hunting with him and the Minister for Magic over holiday."

"Well, be sure to give them both my best," Slughorn said before he turned to Belby. "What about your uncle, Belby? Working on anything new?' He turned to the rest of the table. "For those of you who don't know, Marcus' uncle invented the Wolfsbane Potion." Mia looked at him and felt a grate feeling of gratitude towards his uncle. 

"Dunno," Belby said, not looking up from his plate once. "He and me dad don't get on. Probably because Dad thinks potions are rubbish. Says the only potion worth having is a stiff one at the end of the day."

"And you, Miss Granger?" Slughorn asked as Mia looked at her. "What is it your family does in the Muggle world?" 

Hermione hesitated as Mia looked around the table, ready to start a fight if someone made a comment. 

"My parents are dentists," she said, "they tend to people's teeth."

"Fascinating," Slughorn said as Mia smiled. "And is that considered a dangerous profession?"

"No," Hermione said with a smile. "Though, a boy named Robbie Fenwick did bite my father once. Needed ten stitches"

Slughorn nodded and grinned and before anyone could say anything else, the door opened. Everyone turned and Ginny walked in. 

"Miss Weasley!" Slughorn said with a smile. "Come in, come in."

"Sorry, I'm not ordinarily late," she said, hesitating as Mia looked at him. Her eyes were red and she looked flustered. 

"No matter," Slughorn said with a smile. "You'll be just in time for dessert. That is, if Belby leaves you any." 

Ginny smiled as Mia looked at her. 

"Look at her eyes," Mia whispered to her brother. "They've been fighting again, her and Dean." 

Harry nodded and as Ginny reached the table, Harry stood up. Mia groaned as she put her head in her hands as Harry eventually sat back down as Hermione looked at him amused. 

"What is wrong with you?" she muttered as Harry looked at her. 

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The dinner had ended and one by one, the students had left this office. All except Mia and Harry. Slughorn shit the door and was startled when he saw the twins standing there.

"Oh, Potters," he said as the twins looked at him. 

"Sorry, sir, we were just admiring your hourglass," Mia said with a smile.

"Ah, yes. A most intriguing object," Slughorn said, "the sands run in accordance to the quality of the conversation. When it is stimulating, the sands run slow. When it is not. . . ."

"I think I'll be going then," Harry joked as Mia smiled.

"Nonsense," Slughorn said with a smile. "You have nothing to fear, twins. As for some of your classmates, well, let's just say, they're unlikely to make the shelf."

"The shelf, sir?" Mia asked as Slughorn began to make a drink. Slughorn gestured to the photographs Mia saw earlier in the year, now ranged like a menagerie atop a low bookcase. Once again, her mother and Regulus Black were up front. 

"Anyone who aspires to be anyone hopes to end up here," he said, "then again, you both are already someone aren't you."

"You know it," Mia said at the same time Harry said, "I don't really know how to answer that, sir."

"You're exactly like your parents," Slughorn said, "your mother was modest too. Your father not so much." Mia chuckled. "As you can see, he did not make the shelf." Mia furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Slughorn. 

"How come he didn't?" Mia asked. 

"He took pride in things he shouldn't have," Slughorn said as Mia looked at her brother.

"So do I," she said as she looked at the photographs. "I'm a lot like him, or so I've been told."

She looked at the photos and winked at her brother.

"Did Voldemort ever make the shelf, sir?" she asked as Slughorn stiffened, his back to the twins. His hand began to tremble and the ice slips from the tongs. 

"You knew him, didn't you, sir?" Harry asked. "Tom Riddle. You were his teacher."

"Mr. Riddle had many teachers while here at Hogwarts," Slughorn said as Mia smirked lightly. 

"What was he like?" Mia asked. "Did you ever think he would do the things he did?" Mia pursed her lips when Harry subtly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, "forgive us. He killed our parents, you see."

"Of course, Slughorn said nodding, "it's only natural that you should want to know more. I'm afraid I must disappoint you, twins. When I first met young Mr. Riddle, he was simply a quiet, albeit brilliant, boy committed to becoming a first-rate wizard. Not unlike the others I've known. In fact, not unlike, you. If the monster existed, it was buried deep within."

Mia nodded as she looked at the hourglass and saw the conversation had died.