Slug Club: Term XXIV, Activity 2: A Snake and his Ladder: Voting
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Activity Name:A Snake and his Ladder
Deadline: 29th September 11.59pm UTC voting~
Points: 1st/2nd/3rd/Participation Only: 50/40/30/10 points. 2 points for voting.
Details:Write a drabble describing when Slughorn realised he could use his social skills to climb the social ladder using others. 100 - 150 words.
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1. When Slughorn was three his mother signed him up for a group playdate with kids his age. His older brother was made to attend as well. Horace was petrified. He'd never met the other children. What if they didn't like him? What if they teased him for his already developed facial hair?! Horace vowed to stay close to his brother.
Soon he began to notice something...peculiar. The other children seemed awed by his brother. They followed him like puppies would follow someone whose hair smelled of bacon! As long as Horace was near his brother the children would smile and look him in the eye, not the moustache! Eventually he was able to be awed without his brother nearby. Just mentioning his brother was enough to impress his playground chums!
And that's how Horace Slughorn learned that using the awe and success of others could help him best of all.
2. On Chestnut Way, there was a garden. It wasn't any ordinary garden; the fountain sang and the birds spoke English. Five-year-old Horace passed it every day. He was determined to someday see inside. The garden's owner, however, was a recluse named Rainda MacNair. She would not even speak to Horace.
One day in class, a new student arrived. The boy-- Walden-- had no friends. He spent recess dismembering dolls he captured from unsuspecting girls. Horace would have avoided the weird boy, but the boy's surname had intrigued him.
At recess Horace approached Walden: "Are you related to Rainda Macnair?"
Walden responded with a nod but didn't look up from his attempts to tear the limbs from a porcelain doll. When the cloth wouldn't rip, Horace offered his pocket knife.
Walden seemed to see Horace for the first time. Before taking the knife, Walden asked, "You want to see the garden?"
Horace nodded. Walden answered, "Alright."
3. It started with a boast in The Three Broomsticks
“I have an uncle in the Ministry,” said Horace casually. “Perhaps I could speak to him for you.”
The seventh year looked sceptical but there was a creeping note of hope in his voice when he said, “Could you? They’ve answered none of my owls.”
“Of course,” said Horace, like it was the easiest thing in the world.
It took most of an illicitly gained bottle of Firewhiskey, but Horace talked his uncle into sending the young man an owl offering him a position.
Afterwards, he promptly passed out on the chaise longue and forgot about the matter until the summer, when a young wizard appeared at his desk. He glanced at the boy’s newly gained N.E.W.Ts and packed him off to the Aurors.
And when Christmas rolled around, a Ministry owl brought Horace a heavy box of crystallised pineapple.
4. "Thank you, Horace, for another wonderful evening!" Professor Armando Dippet stepped out of the potions master's office with a smile, "by the way, I've heard that several students, especially your Slytherins, are rather jealous of our weekly staff dinner parties. They might have become famous already," he added chuckling before he turned around to leave, closing the door behind his back. Horace Slughorn would only shake his head, laughing. His dinner parties, famous? He was in doubt that his students even knew about the staff's small get-togethers, but if it were true? If the Headmaster hadn't only told him these things to flatter him - couldn't he just begin hosting parties for his students, too? Only selected students, of course, those who deserved being part of an elite. He'd surely profit of it as well, a club like this, would soon gain the status of a loved, generous teacher. Sure that one day his students would return his favour, sure that one day his generosity would pay off, even if, yet, he did not quite know how.
5. It's late, Horace Slughorn is returning from his third soiree that week. He’s not as merry as was after the first; he’s not quite sure how much longer he can keep such a sociable calendar, especially when he seems to be the most interesting wizard there. Wearily, he begins changing into his pyjamas when suddenly a note flies in the open window.
“Dear Prof. Slughorn,” he reads aloud. “You are cordially invited…” He stops reading as the magnitude of the invitation hits him. He vaguely remembers hearing someone mention that they knew the British Quidditch team, but he never imagined being invited to a team member’s party!
He carefully places the parchment into his top drawer, thinking of ways to invent a potion to give energy. After all, he must keep such a sociable calendar, especially when there may be the chance to meet wizards far more famous than himself!
6. Her name was Pashmina Jones-Edmonson, a double-barreled surname to represent just how important both the Jones and Edmonson families were in British wizardry. The Joneses operated much of Cardiff's Wizarding high street; the Edmonsons operated a publishing company that controlled the publication of most of the Hogwarts textbooks. Pashmina had leaned over to tell Horace one day in class, having thoroughly bored everyone else with bragging about how marvelous her family was.
"Y'know, my mum's family's the reason we've got these books," she said proudly, her eyes bright, a grin on her face framed by a halo of luminous blonde hair. Blimey, Horace thought she was gorgeous. How had he not noticed her before? She was in Slytherin, after all. From that day, Horace decided he was going to ask Pashmina how to get ahead in the world. It seemed like she would be quite good at it.
7. Five-year-old Horace Slughorn stared in awe around the living room of Theodora Penelope Primrosian. Everywhere he looked were portraits of Theodora smiling next to people Horace had seen waving to him from the front page of The Daily Prophet while his parents read it over breakfast.
Important people, Horace knew.
“How do you know all these people?” he blurted out.
“Horace!” his mum admonished, but Theodora laughed.
“Dear, child!” she said. “In this world, it is all about who you know! Connections are everything. If you know famous people, you, too, are famous!”
Theodora picked up a kettle. “Tea?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” said Horace, her words already echoing in his small head.
Connections are everything.
Horace had a feeling Theodora knew what she was talking about. He also knew that someday he was going to far surpass her example.
And connection number one: Miss Theodora Penelope Primrosian herself.
8. The new potions professor couldn't believe the power he had. He was expecting the kids to do what he wanted, but it was a shock the first time he realized he could have adults in his pocket too. After hearing that his son Abraxas had barely scraped by with the lowest passing score, A-, on a Potions essay, Romulus Malfoy himself would be asking Professor Slughorn for advice. It only took a little time after that for Slughorn to realize that by designating kids now as being likely to succeed, he could get them to remember them later after they had already done so... and so the "Slug Club" was born. Of course, it took a few more years for it to fully work as planned (hooking up the next generation with the successes of the past) but its success was assured from the start!
9. It was, needless to say, like magic. Horace didn't even realize that he had a sort of charm to his nature until he got sorted into Slytherin. He wasn't very well known to most of the kids in his year or the older students, but what he did have a knack for was seemingly coming out of nowhere and chumming it with anyone around. He might have been not well known, but he wasn't pushed away either. The older students found it rather funny- and Horace played that like his ace. Little favours came naturally- someone mentioning that if only they could get some sugar-quills to nibble on would find a little bundle on their desk, others looking for knick-knacks that were hard to find wasn't very hard for little old Sluggy. It didn't take very long for him to gain attention and become rather reliable- and through that he became rather well known and made their connections.