Chapter 323

The night of the gathering.

Harry changed into a decent outfit and appeared in Professor Slughorn's office.

It was still the large round table, filled with various exquisite snacks and steaming delicacies.

As soon as Professor Slughorn saw Harry, he smiled until wrinkles piled up at the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, Harry, I thought you were going to stand me up."

"If you hadn't come, I would have gone to Gryffindor to find you."

He came to Harry's side and patted Harry on the shoulder with his chubby hand, saying.

"Professor, you've wronged me there; I just felt I should dress up a bit before coming to your gathering."

Harry also responded with a slight smile, and upon hearing this, Professor Slughorn laughed heartily.

Then Harry turned his head to look at the banquet hall Professor Slughorn had prepared.

At this time, several students had already arrived at the banquet hall.

Two he had seen before, Zabini and McLaggen.

And Neville; he didn't recognize the others.

John and Hermione had also arrived long ago and were standing in front of the shelf Professor Slughorn specifically used to display his excellent students.

The two were looking at the photos filling the shelf, whispering about the life stories of these famous people.

Seeing Harry arrive, they also turned around and walked toward Harry's side.

"Professor, I didn't lie to you, did I? Harry has come, hasn't he."

John said to Professor Slughorn with a smile.

Because Harry hadn't arrived for a while just now, Professor Slughorn had been asking John whether Harry was coming at all.

"Good, good, good. The time has come, sit down quickly."

Professor Slughorn smiled and directed everyone to take their seats.

Everyone sat down one after another, Harry sat next to John, and John smiled and teased.

"Do you regret not coming before? You missed out on such delicious food?"

Harry smiled awkwardly, while Professor Slughorn, sitting opposite, laughed.

"It's alright, Harry. There will always be good food when you come in the future."

Professor Slughorn didn't hide his favoritism toward Harry at all; the others wouldn't get this treatment.

Of course, they also knew their own worth compared to Harry.

The atmosphere of the banquet was getting better and better, and Professor Slughorn was also in the zone, starting to chat freely with everyone.

Until the end of the banquet, Professor Slughorn suddenly stood up and said to everyone with a smile.

"Oh, by the way, I mentioned before that Filch gave me a bottle of good wine. It just so happens there isn't much, so let's each have a glass and share it."

"Except for you, John. You are still young and cannot drink this wine."

John immediately said unconvinced: "How am I young!"

The youngest person present was a student like Harry, who was 16 and only a few months away from being an adult; only John was 14.

He was indeed the youngest.

Professor Slughorn continued: "You have come to my gathering, so I must ensure the health and safety of the banquet. John, you must understand my good intentions."

"In two years, when you are of age, I will prepare a bottle of good wine for you separately, alright?"

Hearing this, John curled his lips, and Hermione also chuckled and patted his head, as if soothing a puppy.

"Did you hear that, John? You are still young, you can't drink those strong spirits."

John rolled his eyes at Hermione speechlessly.

Who was it last time that drank two glasses of butterbeer and ended up hanging on him, drunk?

Thinking of this, John immediately raised his hand.

"Professor, Hermione can't drink either. Her alcohol tolerance is too poor. For her safety, it's better to change it to juice for her."

Hermione was stunned for a moment and said anxiously: "No way! I... I..."

She seemed to really want to explain that her alcohol tolerance wasn't poor, but wouldn't that be admitting she had deliberately pretended to be drunk last time?

Although it was pretty much discovered last time anyway...

Professor Slughorn laughed heartily.

"Fine, I'll listen to you, John. Miss Granger, if you want to drink, you can wait until it's just you and John left."

As he spoke, he winked at Hermione, as if teasing something.

Hermione, who already had a guilty conscience, reacted immediately, and her face turned red instantly.

The professor was implying that she could wait until she was alone with John to drink, and then pretend to be drunk even more unscrupulously.

He understood the minds of these teenagers too well.

Soon the professor poured a glass of wine for John and Hermione each.

John and Hermione were poured juice.

"Come on, cheers to tonight's gathering!"

Professor Slughorn raised his glass, the amber liquid shimmering in the candlelight.

Others also stood up one after another and raised their glasses.

"Cheers!"

Afterward, everyone tilted their heads and drank the wine in one gulp.

Harry and Neville, who hadn't drunk much pure alcohol, both scrunched their faces into a ball.

But after smacking their lips a few times, they felt the taste was alright.

Professor Slughorn hadn't drunk yet; he watched everyone drink the wine in one gulp with a smile, and was amused by Harry's expression, laughing out loud.

Only then did he raise his glass, preparing to drink.

However, at this moment.

"Uh... cough cough......"

Zabini, sitting next to the professor, suddenly covered his throat and coughed violently, his face turning red instantly, and the wine glass beside his hand tipped over with a "clatter."

Then the second, the third; all the students who had drunk the wine showed the same symptoms.

Including Harry and Neville as well.

Their expressions twisted into painful spasms, cold sweat seeped from their foreheads, and then one by one they fell to the ground, their bodies convulsing uncontrollably while foaming at the mouth.

The smile on Professor Slughorn's face froze suddenly, the wine glass suspended in mid-air.

John and Hermione's expressions also changed, and they stood up abruptly.

"Harry! Neville!"

Hermione anxiously squatted down and patted Harry and Neville's cheeks, attempting to wake them up.

"Professor! What is going on?"

Professor Slughorn's face was also very ugly; he didn't understand how they had all fallen down so suddenly.

The first thing that came to his mind wasn't checking the situation to save people, but thinking that his future was about to be ruined.

"They are poisoned!?"

John immediately checked their condition and found that they were all foaming at the mouth, their faces turning purple.

He immediately thought of that bottle of wine; only those who had drunk the wine showed symptoms of poisoning.

John and Hermione hadn't drunk the wine, and Professor Slughorn hadn't had time to drink it yet.

"Hermione, go notify Madam Pomfrey immediately!"

Now was no longer the time to think about why Professor Slughorn would bring a bottle of poisoned wine to entertain them.

John directly took out his portable Seamless Expansion Pouch and instructed Hermione.

Afterward, he waved his hand, and several silver-bright emergency potions flew out automatically, along with various medicinal powders and inhibitors.

With such a violent reaction to the poison, there was simply no time for him to prepare the corresponding antidote.

He had to first inhibit the spread of the poison.

Hermione also understood that staying here was useless, so she nodded immediately, turned, and rushed out of the office, running toward the school infirmary.

John began to treat his classmates.

As the emergency potion was poured into the mouths of each poisoned student, their convulsions temporarily stopped.

He took out that valuable Bezoar, directly divided the Bezoar into several pieces, and dissolved them into the inhibitor.

Then he poured it into the mouths of each poisoned student again.

This time the effect was significantly improved, and the students' faces gradually turned from purple to green.

The universal antidote, Bezoar, could powerfully neutralize the poison they had ingested, while the inhibitor delayed the further invasion of the toxins into the nervous system.