For Shadowycat from Horace

[therealsnape]

Dear Shadowycat,

My warmest congratulations on this, your birthday! May the new year be filled with laughter and sunshine.

And perhaps this little gift of mine will be a first step towards laughter, or at least a wry chuckle ...

It's not much of a story. It all started back in September, when TRS approached me, all starry-eyed enthusiasm, with a request to use my correspondance in a story for you.

Of course I acquiesced. I like that little Christmas do of hers, and one always tries to contribute. And I also thought it would not be a bad thing if you were to think of me a bit more - Minerva and Severus may be famous war heroes, but there are more stories to tell, and, perhaps, pictures to show.

You'll forgive an old man his vanity, I'm sure.

But alas, the story was beyond TRS's meagre talents, and she, too, ended up scribbling about what we oldsters begin to call The Golden Duo.

For your birthday, I've selected some of those letters I gave TRS. Together, they offer a little vignette - it really isn't much more than that, but one hopes to please, regardless - of a small yet not quite insignificant thread in the grand tapestry of Hogywarts' History.

Enjoy, my dear Shadowycat, have a wonderful birthday and a wonderful year! TRS joins me in the congratulations, of course.

Yours most fondly,
Horace Slughorn

Title: How Gilderoy Got Hired
Summary: assorted correspondance of Horace Slughorn, edited by TRS and properly edited by kellychambliss, who did a brilliant job. All remaining flaws are TRS's. What can one say? The poor thing really tried.

Below the cut you'll also find the wonderful illustration shadowycat did for this story.





Letter from Horace Slughorn to Garrick Ollivander

Mickleton, 1 July 1992

Dear Garrick,

Thank you for your postcard of Budapest – it certainly looks beautiful. Makes me want to visit it myself. I was glad to hear there were some interesting forests in Hungary as well. Bit of a busman’s holiday, as the Muggles say, wasn’t it? But if finding really good wood makes you happy, my dear fellow, then I’m happy, too.

Over here things were peaceful. Until early June, that is. Then I got a new neighbour. At first I thought it would be a most delightful experience – for guess who has moved in old Murpledon’s little cottage down the road? The famous Gilderoy Lockhart. Notable author and Dark Arts fighter and a most charming fellow. I must admit, he really is charming. Up to a point.

As you know, I have a bit of a weakness for famous people. I thought Gilderoy would not just be a pleasure to know, but also someone who might be quite useful in my little network. I’m always on the lookout for people who can help those promising youngsters who are … Well, not everyone is born into the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and these days not even all of the old families have the necessary funds and connections to achieve their full potential. One always strives to do a little good. I looked forward to meeting the fellow, I really did.

Gilderoy has been here now for nearly a month. He’s charm personified and has this amazing gift for being the centre of attention. Two things I already noticed about him when he was in my Potions classes. At that point in his life, he was otherwise a most unremarkable student.

Not all his fault, perhaps. When young Lockhart started at Hogwarts, Lily Evans was in her fourth year, and Lily was the student to rave about. And then there was Severus Snape, in that same year, would you believe it, and he was … well, one stops raving, one just watches in awe. He was my once-in-a-lifetime student, and I was lucky enough to realise it at the time. How I enjoyed guiding that soaring talent!

I well remember the day Albus told me Severus was to be my successor at Hogwarts. I’d lost sight of him in the first years after he left school. Difficult times, and he made some … well … rather difficult and injudicious choices. Albus felt there might be some controversy among the staff following his appointment, and he asked me to mentor him.

That made sense, of course, for while his colleagues might have helped him with the pedagogical aspects of his work, he couldn’t really ask them about setting up the potions curriculum, choosing text books, or such practical things.

At first our relations were a bit strained. There was the elephant in the room, of course. The choices he had made during those dreadful years. It was awkward, and Severus wasn’t much use in awkward situations. Still isn’t, really. A tad on the surly side, even, on occasions. So I took him for a drink in the Hog’s Head – I felt that would at least help us to make the transition from a student/teacher relationship to that of two adults. And to my surprise I found him good company.

You see, I had decided to address the elephant by not addressing it at all. Albus thought Severus could be trusted, and who am I to gainsay him? So, I simply treated him for what he was: an incredibly talented potioneer. For he is one of the few people who is as knowledgeable as I am on Potions, and who has the same passion for them.

And then I found that he was – and is – a sparring partner with whom I can exchange ideas, and who will even challenge my notions, and it wasn’t until Albus brought us together that I realised how much I had missed such a person in my life.

We’ve remained … yes, I think one can call it ‘firm friends’. Severus isn’t one for personal confidences, but three or four times a year we spend an evening together talking about the things that interest us. I look forward to those evenings, and so, I think, does Severus. He probably wants a good sparring partner as much as I do, and in those first years he may also have enjoyed the company of one who just saw him as a potioneer.

But I digress. Suffice to say that in the cases of Severus and Gilderoy both, one can say that the child truly was the father of the man. Gilderoy Lockhart is still as much charm personified as he was during his Hogwarts years, and he does everything in his power to endear me to him. Respect for an older man, interest in my tales, just the right amount of we two famous wizards, even though we both know it’s not my smile that is spread across the Witch Weekly. He does it brilliantly, too. Even when he annoys the living daylight out of me, I have to admire his skill.

But I know enough of favours and the obtaining thereof to look through the wonderful shopfront Gilderoy Lockhart presents to the world. What it boils down to is this: the poor chap is broke. True, he’s a best-selling author, but he sells within the fairly limited population of the wizarding world. And he has a very expensive life style. All those trips abroad, the fashionable wardrobe, first-class everything. Whatever his talents are, careful budgeting isn’t one of them.

He’s currently working on a new book and plans to travel again as soon as it is finished. Meanwhile, the fellow has to eat, and he has cultivated the art of dropping by around mealtime. Again, he does it beautifully. As a result, I’ve been feeding him dinners, I’ve been pouring him wine – and jolly good wine it was, too, can’t let the side down, after all. Let no-one say Horace Slughorn is a skin-flint. He’s been borrowing my possessions; he’s at my little place morning, noon, and evening.

And he’s driving me mad.

One may like a brilliant performance, one may enjoy, up to a point, the flattering things he says, even though one knows everything is said with a purpose. But at some point one craves a little peace and quiet. Some alone-time.

I’m beginning to dread the ringing of the doorbell. I’ve been casting darkening spells on the house on some evenings, pretending I’m not in. The strain of it all! One feels positively beleaguered.

That book may take another year to write. It doesn’t bear thinking of. So your invitation to spend a few days with you is even more of a godsend than you knew. The pleasure of seeing you would in itself be a reason to grab my meagre belongings and Floo over at once. But just about the only thing in the world that could be better than spending time with you, one of my oldest and most interesting friends, is spending time with you and not seeing Lockhart for a few days.

You may expect me tomorrow, then. Today will be devoted to selecting the best bottle of mead in my collection – yes, my dear Garrick, I insist, it’s the least I can do – and writing a most urgent letter to our old friend Albus Dumbledore. Whatever his shortcomings, a talented chap like Gilderoy Lockhart deserves some help; I’m as willing as always to do some little good. And I think I can see a win-win situation in everybody’s future – even Albus’s.

Yours, in keen anticipation,
Horace

Letter from Horace Slughorn to Albus Dumbledore

Professor Albus Dumbledore OMFC, SMICW, CWW
Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogsmeade

Mickleton, 1 July 1992

Dear Albus,

This will be a very short letter – I know what an exceptionally busy man you are. Straight to the point, it has come to my attention that you’re looking for a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Again. What a blight on your life, this whole DADA misery! What a burden, my dear friend.

That’s why I am so glad to be of some small assistance. A few weeks ago I ran into Gilderoy Lockhart, the notable author and Dark Arts fighter. He is currently between expeditions. An actor might call it ‘resting’, but of course Lockhart isn’t resting at all, he’s finishing a book on his most recent exploits. I think he is more or less at the editing stage by now, or I wouldn’t even suggest this.

But while he crosses his final ts, he could do with a job to tide him over. He told me how passionate he is about transmitting his knowledge, and I know he would like nothing better than a year (or perhaps even several years, one never knows) at Hogwarts.

Do see him, my dear friend. It might solve your problems. His current address is Alveston Grange 23, Mickleton, Gloucestershire – just a few doors from where I’m currently staying. It was a happy day that brought Gilderoy here and allowed me to be of some little assistance to you.

Warmest regards,
Your old colleague,
Horace

Letter from Albus Dumbledore to Horace Slughorn

Hogwarts, 8 July, 1992

Dear Horace,

It is always a pleasure to hear from you, but your letter of 1 July was especially welcome. Indeed, we were all most shocked by the demise of Mr Quirrell. However, I must tell you, in the strictest confidence of course, that his appointment turned out to be a sad disappointment for more reasons than one. Quirinus had a most unfortunate and unexpected side to him, and we would have been forced to part ways regardless of the regrettable events of last June.

But on to gladder tidings. I followed your excellent recommendation and spoke with Gilderoy Lockhart today. (I really must get used to calling him Gilderoy, rather than Young Lockhart or Mister Lockhart – a problem I face more and more often as the number of old boys and girls one encounters in a professional capacity grows. I suppose it’s the same for you.)

Gilderoy was, indeed, as keen as you said. I was pleasantly surprised at the speed with which I could set up the interview. Of course, I know he’s in a bit of a financial pickle. As always, your way of putting it was most careful, but written between old friends such as ourselves, it was also most clear.

I did expect Gilderoy to play the notable author card a bit more. But there wasn’t a hint of ‘hard to get’ in his attitude. Just keenness for the job – the keenness of a man who has done it all, and who would now like the new challenge of teaching and transmitting his knowledge.

Obviously, a teaching position at Hogwarts will add some lustre even to a CV as impressive as Gilderoy’s. But there is nothing wrong with seeking a good position, and most of us have to work for a living.

Gilderoy danced the ritual dance of the job interview in a perfectly gracious and satisfying manner, and I’m very glad to announce that he will take up the DADA position on 1 September. I have offered him the use of his rooms as of 15 August, so that he can prepare his classes and cross those ts in his book in the peace and quiet of a student-free Hogwarts.

I’ve also allowed him to use his own works as set books. As he pointed out, it will go some way to increasing his salary which, in his first year of teaching, is perhaps not all he hoped for. It was the only request he made, and I think it’s quite a modest one. Someone of his fame might have made quite a few more demands. I would not have met them, not if he had asked for something truly extravagant, but this, too, impressed me favourably.

I wonder which book he will select for which year – they all deal with rather advanced subjects. But I’ll leave that decision to him; he knows his own works best.

Thank you, dear Horace, for presenting me with such a satisfactory solution to my little problem. One of these days we really must get together, open a bottle of Ogden’s Old, and indulge in that pastime so beloved by men our age: evoking happy memories.

Yours with warmest greetings,
Albus Dumbledore

Letter from Horace Slughorn to Garrick Ollivander

Mickleton, 9 July, 1992

Dear Garrick,

Thank you so much for a delightful few days. You truly are the best of hosts. It was great to see you and to go to a few plays together. Here in the depths of Gloucester one is a bit in a cultural desert. There’s nothing like the West End! Truly, the man who said “when you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life” knew what he was talking about. Your invitation has done me a world of good.

And when I got home, there were even more glad tidings. Yesterday evening I got a letter from Albus. He has hired Gilderoy Lockhart! Most becomingly grateful Albus was, and quite enthusiastic. Gilderoy will move to Hogwarts around 15 August and life will resume its normal, peaceful course.

Thank you again, my dear friend, for your wonderful hospitality.
Warmest greetings,
Horace

Letter from Horace Slughorn to Severus Snape

Hogwarts, 31 August, 1992

Dear Severus,

Just a quick note to wish you strength on this auspicious day. I know one should talk of new beginnings, clean parchments, bright dawns, and the eagerness respectively to transmit and to soak up knowledge. But I have never been a motivational speaker, merely one who has taught for over thirty years, so I realise that a day of staff meetings, followed by tomorrow’s arrival of students who have brought all the things they shouldn’t bring and forgotten the things they need is not all joy.

So let me just express my hope that this year’s meetings are bearable and that our House, at least, arrives with some semblance of order. And may the Sorting Hat be with us and give us some interesting additions!

I understand there will be a new colleague, too. In fact, I recommended him to Albus. His CV is clearly impressive, and he could do with the job, so I was glad to help. You may remember him; his Hogwarts years partly coincided with yours. But then he was several years younger and not in our House. I hope you’ll like this new addition to the staff.

I wish you all the best, and if at some point you feel like meeting up for a drink, let me know. It’ll be a pleasure to see you again. Did you read Rougemont’s article on Amortentia? Montpellier really seems the place to be right now – they do fascinating work. I’d love to hear your opinion.

Yours affectionately,
Horace

Letter from Severus Snape to Horace Slughorn

Hogwarts, 2 September 1992

Horace!

What on earth possessed you?

Don’t bother to answer. I’m not entirely devoid of intelligence; I worked it out. Lockhart told us (about twenty times) that he’s writing a book; he mentioned the eagerness of his publisher to receive the final version (about thirty times), and his own willingness to forego the delights of London and rusticate in the country, in order to “absent me from felicity awhile to tell my story,” as he put it.

And then he raved endlessly on the beauties of the Cotswolds “for one must see beauty, one cannot live without beauty.” If I have to hear that one more time, I’ll be sorely tempted to get in touch with my Muggle roots and ram a honey-coloured stone into that award-winning smile.

Since you currently reside in Mickleton, Gloucestershire, I presume he lived near you. And I understand your desire to be rid of him. But did it have to be here?

The man is a complete idiot. I’ll save you the lyrical speeches on moulding young minds; I’ll save you the description of his ridiculous outfits. Suffice to say that Albus asked for the name of his tailor.

Yesterday we suffered for the entire day of the staff meetings. At one point I started to think of the reckless Gryffindor courage as our salvation – yes, it got that bad.

But unfortunately Minerva has an amount of self-control one reluctantly has to describe as ‘admirable’, so even when Lockhart suggested showing her “some interesting Transfigurations she might teach her students, if she were to practice a bit,” she did not hex him into the next century. She merely landed him with patrolling the next two Hogsmeade Saturdays, “where our students will benefit from the presence of a man of the world, who can lead by example,” as she so deftly put it.

I often think Minerva would have been a credit to our House.

And now classes have begun, and we’ve seen this passionate transmitter of knowledge at work. One should not, perhaps, judge a man by his first lessons. But so far, Lockhart has announced his intention to expose our students to “the foulest creatures known to wizardkind,” and he has let loose a mischief of Cornish pixies.

As a result, the DADA classroom has needed several Reparos from the man himself and several more from Filius, and a student ended up hanging from the candelabra. There is always one, and it’s usually the same.

Yes, one of these days I would like a drink. At the Hog’s Head, the special Ogden’s Aberforth keeps for the discerning customer. And you shall pick up the tab.

Severus

Comments

[shadowycat]

LOL! Oh, Horace, one cannot help but be a tiny bit concerned that you might have put a foot wrong by admitting that it was you who suggested Gilderoy for the position of DADA professor. The staff of Hogwarts are a clever bunch, and they have very long memories and a very large store of patience... ;D

This was delightful! Thank you so very much for creating it for me. I honestly can't remember the last time I received a gift fic that wasn't part of an exchange, which makes this one all the more precious and valued. The smile you've given me will last a very long time. Thank you again for the fic and your good wishes. I treasure them both!

[therealsnape]

Another busy week and a late reply, but I'm so glad you enjoyed your story so much. Horace and I were both sorry it didn't work out in December, and we wanted you to have some letter-fic after all.

[magnetic_pole]

HA! Ah, Horace. "Win-win," indeed. As usual, I'm never sure whether Albus knows just how much havoc he's wrecking. (Now, *he* would have been a credit to Slytherin, just as much as Minerva.)

Horace is such a master of the tag-along compliment: how he enjoyed guiding that soaring talent!

I can never understand why Horace isn't more popular as a character. Thanks, TRS! And thank you for the lovely illustration, shadowycat! Like TRS, I appreciate the deep indulgence of quills that do the writing of you. M.

[therealsnape]

I've always had a fondness for Horace, and I've written him several times. So I was totally delighted to have a portrait by none less than Shadowycat!