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Hiding
Shortly after the conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts (which
Slughorn had been following with rapt attention in the press), the wizarding
world erupted with fresh rumours. Harry Potter had survived the competition
under dubious circumstances, returning to the Hogwarts grounds clutching the
body of a fellow competitor, whom he claimed had been killed by a reborn
Voldemort.
While Harry’s story was widely dismissed by both the Ministry of Magic
and the wizarding press, Horace Slughorn believed it. Confirmation came
three nights after the death of Cedric Diggory, when the Death Eater Corban
Yaxley arrived at Slughorn’s house under cover of night, clearly intending to
recruit him, or take him by force to Voldemort.
Slughorn reacted with a speed that would have astounded those who had
watched him grow slower and fatter through the years of his retirement.
Transfiguring himself into an armchair, he successfully evaded Yaxley’s
detection. Once the Death Eater had left, Slughorn packed a few necessities
into a bag, locked up his house behind him, and went on the run.
For over a year, Slughorn moved from house to house, often squatting in
Muggle dwellings when the owners were away, because he did not dare stay
with friends who might subsequently betray – whether willingly or under
duress – his whereabouts. It was a miserable existence, made still more
wretched by the fact that he did not know precisely what Voldemort wanted
from him. He thought it most likely that his old student simply wanted to
recruit him to his army, which was still small compared to what it had been at
the height of his previous power; in his darkest moments, however, Slughorn
wondered whether Voldemort did want to kill him, to prevent him ever
betraying the source of the latter’s continuing invulnerability.