"Professor, you're joking. How could a little student club like mine possibly be of much help to you?" Wade said modestly.
"Haha, Wade, don't pretend. I know you understand perfectly well — we were just talking about this topic a moment ago..." Professor Slughorn said with a smile.
Wade touched his chin and then said, "Professor, are you referring to… the matter of reorganizing Slytherin House?"
"Exactly! Haha… you little rascal, pretending not to know, but you've clearly got it all figured out in your head!" Slughorn chuckled, patting his round belly.
Wade replied with a reserved smile, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I really wouldn't have realized."
"Sigh, you…," Slughorn sighed. "Now that you've started this student club, and considering how famous you are right now, I believe many students in the school will be willing to join. Especially the non-pureblood students in Slytherin."
"They were previously intimidated by those pureblood family kids, which is why they didn't dare approach you. But now, you've beaten those purebloods into submission. So the ones who were still hesitant before are bound to be tempted."
"Once they join you and have your protection, Slytherin will no longer be a place with only one dominant voice. This is the perfect time for me to push forward with reforming Slytherin House."
"Wade, you'll protect them, won't you?"
Wade nodded. "Anyone who joins our club is one of us. The mutual support we offer isn't just academic — it includes daily life as well."
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you, Wade!" Slughorn said, then after a moment's pause, asked, "Do you have a faculty advisor for your club yet?"
Every student club could have a faculty advisor to provide guidance and support to the students within the club.
Of course, this rule wasn't mandatory — after all, there were only so many professors in the school.
Their workload wasn't exactly light either, and some of them even had their own clubs, which left them with even less time to participate in student activities.
"Not yet..." Wade noticed the expression on Professor Slughorn's face. "Professor, would you be willing to be our club's advisor?"
"I was just about to suggest that!" Professor Slughorn said happily.
Wade let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had originally been thinking of inviting Professor Dumbledore...
This guy is much easier to fool than old Dumbles.. Good thing he held back in time!
"That's wonderful! With you on board, I believe many students will be even more eager to join us!" Wade said sincerely.
He had wanted to invite Professor Dumbledore mainly to borrow the weight of his reputation — with Dumbledore as their advisor, at the very least, no one would dare cause trouble.
But now, getting Professor Slughorn was just as good — in fact, probably even better.
As the Head of Slytherin House, Slughorn had a natural authority over the pure-blood students.
They might not submit to Dumbledore, but they would definitely respect Slughorn!
…
After seeing Wade off, Slughorn returned to his seat and pondered for a moment. Then, he stood up again, picked up his coat, and left his office.
It wasn't long before he appeared outside another office door.
As he knocked, Dumbledore's voice came from within.
"Come in."
Slughorn pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Ah… Horace! Welcome! No banquet today?" Dumbledore stood up and greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, Albus. The banquet is this evening — will you come?" Slughorn smiled.
"Hmm… as you can see, Horace," Dumbledore gestured to the scattered papers on his desk, "I still have a lot of work to do."
Slughorn glanced at the papers and grumbled a little, "Those Ministry fellows are even handing these trivial matters off to you now?"
Dumbledore said helplessly, "There's no helping it, Horace… the situation is not looking good. The Muggle world is about to fall into chaos. We need to take many precautions to ensure that innocent wizards don't get caught in their war… There are many places where I'm needed."
War was about to break out, and to protect the wizarding population, the Ministry of Magic had indeed been overwhelmed lately. Many large-scale protective enchantments truly required Dumbledore's assistance.
At the same time, there was also Grindelwald lurking on the sidelines, watching like a predator...
The magical ministries of various countries were all having a tough time.
"This is what happens when there's a gap in generations... Albus, there hasn't been a prodigy in the younger generation of the wizarding world like you in ages. So whenever something happens, the Ministry turns to you..." Slughorn sighed.
Dumbledore pulled out a jar of candied jackfruit from the cupboard and offered some to Slughorn.
"Horace... what's the matter?"
Slughorn let out a deep sigh. "That little rascal Wade — I assume you've heard about what he did yesterday? I remember you've been paying close attention to him."
Dumbledore's hand paused. "Yes, I've heard... he was rather reckless this time, but I believe there must be a reason. I hope you'll investigate thoroughly before—"
"Albus, don't tell me you think I'm here to punish Wade?" Slughorn interrupted with a bit of irritation.
"Oh? So you've already looked into it?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing special — same old story... those brats have been used to acting high and mighty for too long. This time they planned to go after Wade's friends, and the little guy found out in advance, so... he struck first."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow slightly at those words. "So… you're here to tell me…"
Slughorn grew serious. "At Hogwarts, I believe Wade can handle things himself just fine. But… don't forget, the parents of those little brats aren't pushovers either. When they were in school, they weren't much different from their children!"
"I'm worried they might go after Wade when he's off-campus... Albus, you know this — Wade is just like you were back then. A prodigy with astonishing talent! I don't want him to get hurt in some meaningless conflict."
A smile once again appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Horace, don't worry. I've already found a place for them to stay — and I've cast the Fidelius Charm on it."
"What? The Fidelius Charm? Isn't that a bit extreme?" Slughorn was stunned. Even if they were worried about revenge from the parents of those pure-blood kids, using the Fidelius Charm seemed excessive.
What's more, from the sound of it, Dumbledore had already cast the charm on their residence even before Wade stirred up any trouble.
"If it were just those parents, then no, it wouldn't be necessary. But… Wade and his friend have caught the attention of someone else." Dumbledore frowned. "Grindelwald."
"What! Grindelwald's watching them?!" Slughorn shot to his feet.
"Calm down, Horace…"
"How can I possibly stay calm, Albus… if that madman has his eyes on them…" Slughorn's plump frame trembled slightly.
"Though we don't know the exact reason yet, with the Fidelius Charm in place, they'll be safe," Dumbledore said firmly.
Only then did Slughorn slowly sit back down. "Who's the Secret Keeper?"
"I am," said Dumbledore.
Slughorn completely relaxed. "If it's you…"
Dumbledore smiled. "Horace, it seems you value Wade quite a lot as a student."
"A student like that — would you not like him?" Slughorn countered.
"You're right…" Dumbledore said. "Wade, and Tom… I have high hopes for them. As you said, the wizarding world is in a bit of a lull between generations. I only hope that while I'm still able to hold things up, they'll have the chance to truly grow."
Slughorn looked at Dumbledore in surprise.
These words meant that Dumbledore intended to nurture Wade and Tom as his potential successors… (P.S. Who's gonna tell him?)
…
After leaving Professor Slughorn's office, Wade headed straight to the Room of Requirement.
Their announcements and flyers had long been prepared!
Now that they had received official approval, it was time to act!
Just before setting out, Wade added a line to the notices and flyers using a spell.
"Faculty Advisor: Professor Slughorn!"
As someone who had just made a "big move," the moment Wade and his group stepped out of the castle, they drew nearly all the attention of the students passing by.
Of course, most only dared to whisper from a distance. Very few actually had the courage to walk over and greet them.
But Wade didn't mind. On the contrary, he took the flyers and actively walked toward them.
Some of the students were startled when they saw Wade approaching — they thought they'd been overheard gossiping behind his back and that he was coming to settle the score.
Instead, Wade greeted them pleasantly and handed them each a flyer…
"…Student Mutual Aid and Support Hub? Members of the club help each other, encouraging mutual growth in academics, dueling skills…"
—S.M.A.S.H!
Club President: Wade Reynolds; Vice President: Tom Riddle; Secretary: Anne Rosier; Faculty Advisor: Professor Slughorn!—
When these key details were read by the students holding the flyers, each of them became visibly excited.
Other houses might be thrilled by terms like "dueling skills" on the flyer.
But for the Half-blood Slytherins, every single detail on that flyer was exciting!
This seemed to mean that if they joined… they would truly have someone to rely on!
Once it was known that Wade and his group were planning to post a notice, many people voluntarily followed behind them, eager to see what the notice said.
Most importantly, everyone wanted to know what the requirements were to join the club — and whether they qualified!
_________
Hey guys! My weekly tests have started, so updates will not be the same as before. BUT, I'll try to post every day.
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