Quotes by Horace Slughorn

When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.

There can be no light without the dark. And so it is with magic. Myself, I always strive to live within the light.

Dumbledore: "I must say, Horace, you make a very convincing armchair."
Slughorn: "Oh, thank you. It's all in the upholstry. I come about the stuffing naturally."

Slughorn: "What about you, Miss Granger? What do your parents do in the muggle world?"
Hermione: "My parents are dentists."
Slughorn: "Fascinating. And is that considered a dangerous profession?"

"Professor Umbridge ran afoul of our centaur herd," said Dumbledore. "I think you, Horace, would have known better than to stride into the Forest and call a horde of angry centaurs 'filthy half-breeds'."
"That's what she did, did she?" said Slughorn. "Idiotic woman. Never liked her."

Taking up a post at Hogwarts just now would be tantamount to declaring my public allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix! And while I'm sure they're very admirable and brave an all the rest of it, I don't personally fancy the mortality rate.

Well, you split your soul, you see, and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form...-

"I am not proud..." he whispered through his fingers. "I am ashamed of what - of what that memory shows... I think I may have done great damage that day..."

Please don't think badly of me when you see it. You have no idea what he was like... even back then.

Ten Galleons a leaf to the right buyer! Not that I'm familiar with any such back alley transactions, but one does hear rumors. My own interests are purely academic, of course.

The Three Broomsticks and I go way back. Farther back than I care to admit. I can remember when it was just one Broomstick!

"Yes, indeed," cried Slughorn a little thickly, "Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who - well - something of that sort," he mumbled, and drained his mug, too.

I'm an old man, Albus. A tired old man who's earned the right to a quiet life and a few creature comforts.

The whole Black family had been in my house, but Sirius ended up in Gryffindor! Shame - he was a talented boy. I got his brother Regulus when he came along, but I'd have liked the set.

You shouldn't have favourites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. Your mother. Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my House. Very cheeky answers I used to get back too.

It was a student who gave me Francis. One Spring afternoon I discovered a bowl on my desk, just a few inches of clear water in it. Floating on the surface was a flower petal. As I washed, it sank. Just when it reached the bottom, it transformed into a wee fish. It was beautiful magic, wondrous to the behold. The flower petal had come from a Lily, your mother. The day I came downstairs, the day the bowl was empty, was the day your mother...-

"But I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions!" said Slughorn. "Instinctive, you know - like his mother! I've only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that, Sybill - why even Severus -"
And to Harry's horror, Slughorn threw out an arm and seemed to scoop Snape out of thin air toward them.

I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy; more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are.

Farewell, Aragog. King of the arachnids. Your body will decay... but your spirit lingers on and your human friends find solace, the loss they have sustained.

"And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad."
"...terrible," Hagrid grunted and his great shaggy head rolled sideways on to his arms and he fell asleep, snoring deeply.
"Sorry," said Slughorn with a hiccough. "Can't carry a tune to save my life."

Now, Amortentia doesn't create actual love, that would be impossible. But it does cause powerful infatuation or obsession, and for that reason... it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room.

If you're going to tell me my life would be more peaceful at that pestilential school, you can save your breath, Albus!

Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine.

Attention to detail in the preparation is the prerequisite of all planning.