The Real Truth
Series 2 Chapter 12
They appeared on the corner of a street. Harry looked around, getting a bad feeling in his stomach.
"Wands out." Dumbledore told them.
Harry and Hermione shared a look before they pulled out their wands. Harry mentally rolled his eyes at Dumbledore, as far as that man knew Harry and Hermione were underage and couldn't use magic outside of school. The group proceeded cautiously, Dumbledore blasted open a door to the nearest house. It was wrecked. Blood stained the walls, hangings were crooked or had fallen off and now lay on the floor, broken. The furniture was turned over and some of it torn up. All of a sudden Dumbledore lounged at a green chair poking it with his wand. The chair morphed into a pudgy man.
"What gave me away?" The man asked, "And did you have to poke me so hard?!"
"Chairs don't usually wear shoes, Horace." Dumbledore told him, ignoring the fact that he'd just hurt his so called "friend".
"And the lack of a dark mark." Harry added, drawing attention to himself.
The man, who Harry now knew was Horace Slughorn, took one look at Harry and his brows furrowed.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing Albus! I already told you my answer was no."
"Please, reconsider. Hogwarts is one of the safest places there is."
Harry looked at Hermione. She looked at him. They both had to quickly cover up their laughs.
"If Hogwarts is the safest place then I wouldn't want to see the most dangerous place." Harry whispered to her.
"Definitely." Hermione agreed.
While they weren't paying attention the furniture had shifted to form a seating area for them all. Harry and Hermione sat on the sofa, not really bothering to listen to the exchange between the two adults. Though, they got the main details. Harry almost let out a breath of relief when Dumbledore excused himself to use the bathroom. He took his chance.
"My father told me you taught him when he went to Hogwarts." Harry told Slughorn.
"James? Oh, he was horrid at potions. Though your mother, Lily, she was brilliant. Could've gone into potions if she hadn't been so drawn to Charms." Horace told him.
"Actually, I wasn't talking about them. See, Lily and James adopted me."
"Oh," Slughorn paused, "My apologizes, I had no idea."
Harry shrugged, "It's ok. I didn't even know myself until last year. You taught my real father, told him about Horcruxes."
Hermione didn't know what Harry was doing, though she imagined he'd been put up to it by Voldemort.
"You don't mean..." Horace paled.
"Yes. Tom Riddle is my father. When Dumbledore asked me to accompany him tonight I told him. He had spoken highly of you and even asked me to try to convince you to teach again. He believes you to be the only one capable of helping me, seeing as I'm rotten at potions."
The last part wasn't entirely true, but Harry needed Slughorn to teach at Hogwarts.
"Did he now?" Horace seemed to be intrigued, "Tom always was a brilliant student. I can't imagine you're as bad as you say you are."
YOU ARE READING
The Real Truth
Fanfiction-COMPLEATED- Harry has just completed his fourth year at Hogwarts. It was that summer that he received a two year early creature inheritance and went to Gringots. After a series of tests he finds out that the Potters had blood-adopted him at age 4...
