Slug Club

"He used to handpick favourites at Hogwarts, sometimes for their ambition or their brains, sometimes for their charm or their talent, and he had an uncanny knack for choosing those who would go on to become outstanding in their various fields. Horace formed a kind of club of his favourites with himself at the centre, making introductions, forging useful contacts between members, and always reaping some kind of benefit in return..."

- Albus Dumbledore on the Slug Club

The Slug Club is an informal name for Horace Slughorn's favourite students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Slughorn taught Potions at Hogwarts during two different stints; both times, he singled out students he thought had potential, either because they had influential relatives, such as Neville Longbottom and Cormac McLaggen or they themselves possessed fame or talent of some kind, such as Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. He invited these select students to parties, notably to a lavish one at Christmas, and kept in touch with them even after they had graduated, as they could provide him with insider information or various luxuries.

Meetings
"A toast, to Hogwarts' brightest and best!"

- Horace Slughorn

During the course of the school year, Professor Slughorn would hold various get-togethers of the club. These were usually dinners with fine foods, during which Slughorn would lead conversation in order to get to know the members better and to encourage them to associate with one another as well. Sometimes he would invite famous former members in as well, such as when he introduced professional Quidditch player Gwenog Jones at a dinner in 1996. Slughorn's hope was to cultivate talent and to give his favourites "leg-ups" in their careers, hoping to reap the benefits of being connected to them once they became the "highfliers" Slughorn expected them to be. These benefits came to him in various forms, such as being able to recommend people to Ministry of Magic positions to receiving various gifts and perks, such as excellent seats to any Quidditch match he cared to attend. However, some members tend to let Slughorn down once they grow up and graduate, such as Lucius Malfoy and Tom Riddle, both of whom became Dark Wizards.

On 20 December, 1996, there was a lavish Christmas party for past and present Slug Club members held in Slughorn's office at Hogwarts. It was the only get-together of the club that Harry Potter attended, and reluctantly, at that.

Members during Slughorn's first tenure as Potions Master

 * Adrian – class of 1978, became a photographer
 * Ambrosius Flume – now owner of Honeydukes, who sends Slughorn sweets
 * Avery – member in the 1940s, became a Death Eater
 * Barnabas Cuffe – now editor of the Daily Prophet
 * Dahlia F. — Unknown
 * Dirk Cresswell – former Head of the Goblin Liasion Office with insider information on Gringotts, killed during the Second Wizarding War
 * Eldred Worple – author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires
 * Gwenog Jones – now Captain of the Holyhead Harpies
 * Lestrange – member in the 1940s, part of Tom Riddle's gang, became one of the first Death Eaters
 * Lily Evans – top student, excellent at Potions, killed during the First Wizarding War
 * Lucius Malfoy – good student, later a Death Eater under the mask of a respected Ministry of Magic official.
 * Mr. Nott – Theodore Nott's father, who Slughorn inquired about and referred to as an old friend
 * Regulus Black – Slytherin Seeker, became a Death Eater (later betrayed Lord Voldemort and was killed trying to destroy Salazar Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes ).
 * Severus Snape – excellent student, brilliant at Potions and creating new charms. Became a Death Eater, but defected. Succeeded Slughorn in the post of Potions master at Hogwarts, killed during the Second Wizarding War.
 * Tom Marvolo Riddle – very promising student with excellent marks, later became Lord Voldemort, killed during the Second Wizarding War
 * Unidentified individual – class of 1967, became Minister of Magical Transportation
 * Wendy Slinkhard – author

Members during Slughorn's second tenure as Potions Master

 * Blaise Zabini – His mother is a beautiful witch, who has been married and widowed at least seven times and has thus inherited a great deal of gold from her former husbands.
 * Cormac McLaggen – Uncle Tiberius is well connected within the Ministry of Magic
 * Flora and Hestia Carrow
 * Ginny Weasley – talented in casting the Bat-Bogey Hex
 * Harry Potter – 'The Boy Who Lived' and 'The Chosen One', son of Lily Evans a former 'Slug Club' member.
 * Hermione Granger – the best student in her year
 * Melinda Bobbin – family owns a large chain of apothecaries

Students who were invited for an "interview", but didn't make the cut

 * Marcus Belby – his uncle Damocles invented Wolfsbane Potion, but Marcus hadn't spoken to him in a while since his father and uncle weren't on good terms
 * Neville Longbottom – his parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom were great Aurors, but Neville was held not to show their talent.

Slughorn’s Benefits
When helping others become famous, which, if successful, gained him influence and/or benefits from them, such as being able to recommend the next junior member of the Goblin Liaison Office, free Quidditch tickets or a box of his favourite crystallised pineapple. Horace preferring to be a "back-seat driver", obtaining things he desires by using his contacts makes his life comfortable cosy.

Students
To students being in the slug club is an honour and opportunity because of its exclusiveness and with Slughorn’s connections they would have future first-rate careers after Hogwarts set.

Behind the scenes

 * Twins Flora and Hestia Carrow have only appeared in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
 * Sybill Trelawney and an unidentified female teacher may have been members of the Slug Club.
 * It is possible that Slughorn chose mainly pure-bloods for the club as in the sixth film. Hermione mentions that her parents are dentists, but nobody (besides Harry) knows what they are. However, this remains highly unlikely.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Notes and references
Club de las Eminencias Club de Slug Клуб слизней Kuhnukerho