The Marauders Year Five Part 2 #Wattys2017

Slughorn's Favorite Student

Slughorn's Favorite Student

Horace Slughorn pushed himself out of the plush chair be sat in, abandoning his box of candied pineapple and vials of student potions, and he waddled across the room as quickly as he could, past all the rows of desks, to where Lily Evans stood, sobbing, leaning against the door of the classroom. She had her hands covering her face as she shook her head and shivered. Slughorn hesitated when he reached her, pulling a handkerchief from the tiny pocket on the front of his vest, shaking it out and waving his wand to dampen the cloth before gently drawing her hands away from her face. He carefully dappled the cloth over her brightly flushed cheeks, tears pouring from her eyes. "My dear," he said, his voice as soothing as he could bring it to be, "My dear, Lily Evan, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, not trusting him enough to tell him the truth. Had it been McGonagall, sure, but not Slughorn. "I've had a row with Severus Snape," she choked out the half-truth.

Slughorn clucked his tongue and he handed the damp cloth to her, slid his arm about her shoulders, and pulled her into him, hugging her as she fell into him, crying. "My dear girl," he said, "It's only a row, you needn't cry like this over a little row. Friends have rows all of the time. Even very dear friends. Why, I had a row with my best mate - terrible row, ended with us attempting to hex one another! Practically a duel. And yet we're friends to this day." He chuckled and patted her shoulder, "It will blow over Miss. Evans."

"I don't think this one will, sir," she struggled to get the words out. "Not this time."

"Ah we always think such things in the throws of our emotions!" Slughorn said. He stared at her as she continued on crying.

Every time she closed her eyes, she could see that moment of hesitation, that flicker of temptation that had crossed Severus Snape's face... and it shattered her all over again. He'd been the one to give her magic, to make her see the wizarding world, to open her mind up to it. It had been Severus Snape that had told her of the Hogwarts Express, of post owls, of wands and potions and hippogriffs and spells. It had been Severus Snape that held her hand in the little boats coming across the water to the castle, up the stairs, and into the Great Hall, to the Sorting Hat that very first night. It had been Severus Snape that had said he would always be there to catch her if she fell. Well now she was falling and it was Severus Snape that had pushed her.

Slughorn sighed heavily. "My girl.. My girl... it will be alright, you must calm yourself down before you've hurt yourself. Come. I have a potion that will help." He drew her gently to the front of the room and put her in his plush chair. She sat and held the cool handkerchief to her face as he went to a trunk that opened up and had many many expanding drawers and cupboards within that he opened and dug through until he produced a vial of soft yellow liquid and carried it over. "Here we are, some cheering potion." He drew the cork out of the vial and handed it to her, waving for a second chair. "Here... here, this will help wash it down..." and he produced a bottle of matured mead and two short glasses, the bottle pouring itself - a little in her glass and a generous amount in his. "Just a bit..." he smiled warmly at her and patted her knee awkwardly as she drank the cheering potion. She felt warmth spread through her and things suddenly seemed less dismal.

"Thank you," she whispered, putting the vial onto the desk, empty.

Slughorn lifted his glass and nodded, "Of course, my dear, of course. Can't let my favorite student feel dreary, now can I?" He smiled and took a sip of his mead after raising it in cheers at her.

"Your favorite student?" Lily asked, "Me?"

"Of course, my dear." Slughorn chuckled, "Brightest witch in the school, you are."