Chat Chapter 128 (Kidnapping can also be used on adults)

Ashley and I had a nice quiet evening alone. We talked bonded and did what any other couple would do when they missed each other. The prominent activity there was more adult-oriented but it was still a pleasant evening. 

Actually I think those activities at the end made that evening even more pleasant than it would have been otherwise. 

Still, well it was a nice relaxing activity I have things I had to do. Slughorn had agreed to meet me in the morning and I was getting prepared to do that currently. 

There was not a lot of preparation to be had. I just stuck most of my recipes inside of my inventory and got dressed oh and cleaned up as well. The amount of sweat that I had to get off of my body required at least a long hot shower. 

I kind of regretted arranging a meeting in Diagon Alley. The actual location was at that ice cream joint that everyone raved about. I figured meeting the professor in a nice public area was for my best interest but now that I'm thinking about it that was not quite the case. 

I have a dark lord coming after my head and I agreed to meet in a public area because I wanted to. Voldemort was not exactly someone that I was fearful of any longer but I probably shouldn't tempt fate like this. 

Well, at least I could make this meeting a little more private than expected. I could remain invisible until Slughorn arrived at our location. Once he showed up I could make our meeting a little more clandestine. I really had to think my new and improved Alpha stigmata as it allowed me to copy the enchantments on the invisibility cloak. 

The fucking item itself scared the shit out of me but I could at least use its abilities with my own magic now. Since I now understood the principles I could be far more versatile with the spell than what the invisibility cloak could provide me. 

I wouldn't be able to taste the ice cream that everyone bragged about but that's the price I had to pay for security. I mean I still had memories of Snape eating some of the ice cream from Floreans but I wanted to eat the ice cream myself.

I suppose there is always the future to go for ice cream once I deal with this dark lord problem. I did not want to get involved with this but if Tommy boy was after my head then he was going to find I was far more prickly than he understood. 

I traveled to Diagon Alley rather quickly once I was ready. I would say that the place was as rowdy and crowded as it usually was but it was honestly far more tense. I don't know if it was from my own actions fighting the dark lord in such a public area but the reality of the war was setting in here. 

It was no longer an issue that the magical populace could push to the back of their mind. War was coming and every single person here was scrambling to hide themselves away from the coming conflict. 

I would begrudge them for their cowardly behavior but I understood it. I could look down upon their fear from my position because I had strength but they had none. Most people are not epic warriors or powerful mystic scholars. No most people live simple lives with simple choices and when conflict comes to their doors they would rather hide from it. 

Every single person in magical society had the potential to change the world around them and to protect whatever they wished to protect. The thing is they just had that potential and pursuing it is a rather hard goal that will require Blood, Sweat, and everything in between that. That type of effort is not born of someone who is enjoying the comforts of a peaceful realm.

No strength is born in adversity and it is in conflict that the true monsters rule. Most people don't have the stomach to face the rivers of blood and the deaths of those familiar to them to advance themselves into a higher position. There's no reason to risk a goddamn thing when life was so simple to them. 

I did not think their reasonings were right but I could understand them. To me you had to be strong in order to live as you wished. If you didn't have the strength to struggle then you would be pushed and pulled in whatever direction others wanted you to be in. In which case was that living at all when none of your decisions were your own?

Whatever the case may be Diagon Alley was now silent from the lack of people going about their business for the day. 

It was going to make arranging a private location here rather difficult. Maybe I should just kidnap Slughorn when he showed up. With my sheer speed and the abilities of my magic, it should be a rather easy task.

I'm sure he'll be rather cross with me if I do do that but I figured he would understand the danger of what this street represented. Everyone and anyone here was watching each other with a hint of weariness and paranoia bleeding through every action. I’m sure if Slughorn showed up at Floreans and suddenly disappeared people would notice. 

They would still notice as I kidnapped Slughorn now but at least in that case we would be able to be out of this location. No magical cops on my door or Death Eaters messing around in my location as I tried to meet with the dude. 

Yeah, it was probably for the best of everyone that I kidnap my professor. I'm probably also going to get a kick out of kidnapping him and seeing his face. 

So I sat around one of the chairs with my invisibility cloaking around me. I would worry about someone trying to sit in the seat that I was sitting as they could not see me but that seemed unlikely. 

The crowd was hurrying around and doing the tasks assigned to them with utmost urgency. Not a single soul here was going to sit down and relax in this tense and frightening atmosphere. 

No, if they wanted to relax they would definitely do that at home not here. 

It only took 20 minutes of waiting before Slughorn showed up. 

He looked like I expected him to. The same overweight frame and the same almost balding head. I did notice that he was rather nervous about coming here but he was determined to see this through despite any misgivings he had.

He started to walk towards Floreans but I was not going to let him get there. Before he even noticed I was by his side and I grabbed his shoulder. I could tell that he was tensing even as I started pulling him to the mansion with a flash of flames as we traveled away.

I could have used elf transportation as it was more subtle but I figure Slughorn being kidnapped in a flash of flames would bug Dumbledore. Give him a couple of hours of panic as one of his professors was kidnapped in broad day light in a method only he should be capable of using.

He would eventually find out it was me that did it and that I had the capability of using Phoniex Travel but that was a price I was willing to pay to mess with him.

As soon as we arrived in my prepared lab Slughorn spun around with his wand glowing with a spell already leaving his lips. I shifted my hands from his shoulder and grasped his wand in a swift motion that disarmed him before he could blink.

Slughorn was far more savvy than I expected but I still outclassed a regular human with very few issues.

“Sorry professor. I learned recently that I had called some attention to myself and I was not looking forward to dealing with that. So I brought you here instead of having a public meeting.” I quickly explained to the man who was already paling in fear but he was getting back into regular order with my explanation. I also made a point of handing him his wand to give him some measure of control.

It would not really help him as I could simply disarm him quickly again if he did do something. It was more of a placebo effect. Of course, I was not going to tell him that as it would ruin the effect.

Slughorn took a deep breath and tried to settle his unsettled nerves but it was a slow process. I gave him all the time he needed as I was not going to further upset the man that I respected. 

Eventually, he recovered and looked back at me.

“You must have shaved off 20 years from my life Severus. But I understand that things are….rather tense right now. I should have arranged a more private location instead of following your terms but I was unsure if you were willing to meet without it.” Slughorn spoke out with a nervous energy that I had never seen from him before but I did startle the hell out of him.

“I would always be willing to meet you Professor.” I let out seriously as I was going to have this guy in my life more often. If only to have me avoid the mundane discussions that would bore me to death.

Slughorn looked at me with thoughts flashing in his eyes but he gave me a disarming smile on his face.

“That’s good to know my boy. You disappeared so suddenly that I thought you were….in a rather tough spot. Then I heard that the Dark Faction was looking for you at all costs and I thought I was wrong about you.” Slughorn let out with a wince on his face but he was not going to hide his opinion from me. It was a good call to make as I would have found out about this eventually so it was good to get out of the way.

From what Slughron knew Lily was a mess from our relationship falling apart and I disappeared off of the map. So it would only be logical to assume that I was pushed into the Dark Lord’s camp. Slughorn knew the only thing holding me back from that path was Lily and clearly that was no longer the case.

“I wanted to get away from everything to clear my head. The tense air in Magical Britain was killing me and all I wanted to do was work on my potions in peace.” I explained a motive to him even if it was not even remotely true. Slughorn looked me over as if trying to read the reality of my words but I was able to masquerade my emotions pretty well by this point.

“As it should be Severus. War is for those fools with no talent, Potion Masters like us should stay out of this nonsense.” Slughron shot out an opinion that fell in line with my thoughts. I did not know if that was how he actually felt or if he was parroting those lines to increase our closeness.

Either way, I appreciated the sentiment.

“So where have you been my boy? You missed out on most of your final exams. You passed on most of your classes from your previous grades but you just passed. If you want I can arrange for a make-up exam and we can at least fix your grades in my class.” Slughorn offered with a concerned look on his face.

He was prying into my business but at the same time he was an adult who was concerned about one of his students falling off of the grid.

“Well, I was still in Britain but I hung around in the muggle side of things while I researched some potions.” I explained lightly and Slughorn’s eyes lit up at the thought of new research or potions but held back for the most part.

He knew I had the potential to be great but he thought I was a long way from creating my own brews.

“I have several recipes that I’m excited to show you, Professor.” I let out with a sharp smile as I was about to get what I wanted.