Talk:Horace Slughorn

Slug Club
Is it really necessary to put that he was the head of the Slug Club at the end of the See Also section? He was the only one to head the slug club because he is Professor slughorn. I just do not think it is necessary. Freakatone 12:26, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree, there wouldn't be anyone else to head it because it was his personal fan club. Mafalda Hopkirk 18:41, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I erased that portion of the article. Freakatone 14:36, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Heads of Slytherin
Do we know for a fact that Snape was Slughorn's immediate successor as Head of Slytherin?This would mean there were no other Slytherin faculty when Slughorn stepped down.Being Head of House in his 30s is meteoric enough for Snape,there could well have been someone in between who retired after Snape had spent some years at Potions before adding the Headship!--Louis E./le@put.com/12.144.5.2 00:52, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

No it doesn't, any number of teachers could have been Slytherin and horase simply picked Snape for the postion. Its never actually said how the position of head of the house is passed on. In all likely hood either the previous head of the house does or the headmaster. Seeing as how there is no mention of a Head of Slytherin between Slughorn and Snape we can only assume there is none.

Slughorn born
Hello, when did Horace Slughorn born? I think in interviews with Rowling, Rowling not spoke about Slughorn born. Karutalk 09:43, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Slughorn in Hiding
I was reading the Half-Blood Prince and read that Slughorn had only been in hiding for a year, presumably since he heard (probably from Dumbledore) that Lord Voldemort had returned. Someone will have to change the claim that he's be hiding since 1981 Ztyran 04:31, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Relationships?
I think there is enough information about Slughorn to add a Relationships category, possibly including; Albus Dumbledore, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, Harry Potter, and Tom Riddle. --Parodist 16:54, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Natural flair
The article says that Slughorn liked Lily for her "natural flair" at Potions making. I think that since it is completely possible that Snape gave her tips on Potions making while they were children, and was wondering if we should remove the word "natural" to be safe. --Parodist 21:22, 17 July 2009 (UTC)


 * If Lily's exceptional performance in Potions class had depended entirely on help from Snape, her marks would've plummeted once she started her sixth year, as she was no longer on speaking terms with Snape then. ★ S t a r s t u f f (Owl me!) 11:42, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * There is a debate about this on the Severus Snape page which should be removed thaen. --Parodist 14:08, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Maybe 5 years of help from Snape she had learned enough that she was good on her own and didn't need his help anymore, just a thought. --BachLynn23 22:47, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

Teachers' blood status
"As Muggle-born students were banned from Hogwarts during the 1997-98 school year, it is unlikely that the Death Eaters would have let a Muggle-born professor stay without being shoved into Azkaban. Since Slughorn was an active member of the Hogwarts faculty during that time, it is unlikely that he is Muggle-born." That's the reason this article assumes Slughorn is a half- or pure-blood. If we're abiding by this, why do we not assume the same for the other Hogwarts teachers? -Chogyokko
 * They use the same logic on the Minerva McGonagall page, but I think that, as they were removing Muggle-borns from Hogwarts to keep them from learning magic, it would have been completely pointless to remove Muggle born teachers, who already knew magic. Personally, I assume Slughorn has magical ancestry, judging by his surprise about the skill of Muggle-born students, and his Sorting into Slytherin. Not to mention in the Half-Blood Prince film, when Hermione says her parents are dentists, Slughorn asks if that's considered a dangerous job in the Muggle world, so I would think he's a pureblood. --Parodist 14:19, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I think they removed it from Minerva's page. And yes, Slughorn definitely seems like he's a Pureblood, with not only what you mentioned but there's the fact that he's a Slytherin, and that the Death Eaters had been trying to recruit him for years... Still, what about the Muggle-born Registration Commission? Teachers at Hogwarts certainly would've been imprisoned, methinks. So doesn't that mean they're all at least half-blood?


 * I don't think being Sorted into Slytherin or being pressured to join the Death Eaters are definitive proof that someone is pure-blood. There are Muggle-born Slytherins, though they're rare (DH22), and we know of at least one half-blood, Snape, who was allowed to join the Death Eaters. In an interview, JKR said that Voldemort tried to recruit James and Lily, so it seems he was willing to overlook Muggle-born status, if he deemed someone useful enough.


 * We know that JKR vetoed the line about Dumbledore's girlfriend that the screenwriters put in an early draft of the Half-Blood Prince script, so if the dentist question didn't reflect Slughorn's actual background, she probably would have said something. Thus, I take it as canon that Slughorn was completely unfamiliar with Muggle dentistry, and interpret this as evidence that he must have been raised in an all-magical household. If he'd come from a Muggle-wizard household, then he would have shown at least a rudimentary familiarity with the Muggle world. Snape, for instance, knew what a matchbox was (CoS11), when Arthur Weasley didn't know how to light a match (GoF7), and also knew that "only Muggles talk of 'mind-reading'" (OotP22).


 * Yes, Slughorn tended to underestimate the ability of Muggle-borns, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that one of his parents was Muggle-born. After all, Kendra Dumbledore was Muggle-born, but she apparently denied it, and, in hiding away her daughter for fear it would be revealed she was a "Squib," proved that it doesn't take a pure-blood to advance old wizarding prejudices. So, Slughorn might very well have been brought up by a Muggle-born, who either denied their Muggle heritage or scorned it, presumably in an effort to fit in and not be thought of as having "weak" magic.


 * The only source that says Kendra Dumbledore denied being a muggle-born and that she hid away ariana because she was a squib, was Aunt Muriel at Fleur and Bill's wedding, and being that it is later shown that Ariana was not a squib, but unable to control her magic, it is quite possible that it was also untrue that she denied her Muggle born heritage. --BachLynn23 22:56, July 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * My point ultimate point, after three paragraphs, is that we shouldn't rule out the possibility that Slughorn is half-blood. :) ★ S t a r <font face="Times" color="green">s <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">t <font face="Times" color="green">u <font face="Times" color="dimgrey">f <font face="Times" color="green">f <font face="Times" color="darkgreen">(Owl me!) 05:36, 15 August 2009 (UTC)
 * My only point is that the reason that Slughorn is listed as half-blood or pure-blood is because he wasn't shoved into Azkaban when Death Eaters took over, so if we're going by that logic, the same should apply to every other teacher at Hogwarts, but it already has, so... all good. Jules R. J. Blake 11:55, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Chamber of Secrets
Shouldn't it be mentioned that Slughorn was teaching at the school when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened? Butterfly the rabbit 16:42, September 13, 2009 (UTC)

Black family teacher
Horace mentioned in front of harry, that he was the teacher of every Black member, except Sirius Black. Is this a blooper or not? And if not, do we put it in the story?--Station7 19:14, November 20, 2009 (UTC)

I seriously think it's a blooper! He's not that old.--Intrudgero98 20:16, December 7, 2009 (UTC)

I think what is ment by that is that he Taught all of the Black Children not every single member of the Black family. --Hogwarts09 19:58, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

It wasn't that he didn't teach Sirius, it was that Sirius was the only Black that wasn't in his House (Slytherin). Because unless Sirius didn't take potions at all, which i thought was a required class until after 5th year, and being that Slughorn was the only potions teacher the entire time Sirius was in school, clearly he taught Sirius. --BachLynn23 22:59, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

If Slughorn taught all the Black family, even the children (all adults were children once-that may sound surpising) than he would have been around 40 years old in 1826 (that's when Misapinoa Black, Siuris' great-great-grandaunt, was born).Happychickenvermin 07:36, December 17, 2010 (UTC)]]

I have a feeling he means that Sirius wasn't a Slytherin but, more likely he means he wasn't in the Slug club. Since Andromeda wasn't a Slytherin either and he said all the Blacks. By which he means Regulus, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa plus their fathers.76.73.199.66 22:51, October 1, 2012 (UTC)CrazyMJ

Relationships
I think he need a relationship section like: Harry Potter,  Hermoine Granger, Rubeus Hagrid, Ron Weasley, Albus Dumbledore.. More?--Station7 19:50, December 22, 2009 (UTC)

In The Sixth Book and Film
In the Sixth Film is Horace head of Slytherin or is it still Snape just wondering--Hogwarts09 19:59, December 29, 2009 (UTC)

I'm fairly sure that it is still Snape until the 7th book when Snape is appointed headmaster --BachLynn23 23:00, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

Slytherin?
Was he really in Slytherin? Do we have a source for that? I would say that he's better in Gryffindor.--Station7 22:13, January 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, Slughorn was in Slytherin. See this. -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 22:18, January 4, 2010 (UTC)

Even though that is a good point Slughorn dosen't really act as a slytherin but on the other hand when he was younger he might of been bad then chose a new leaf like R.A.B (not bothering spelling his name). 20:09, February 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * JKR, points out that not all Slytherin are evil and that Slughorn is an example of a good Slytherin. --<font face="Times" size="4" color="Black" >JKoch Ravenclawcrest.jpg(<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="1" color="Red">Owl Me! ) 20:15, February 21, 2010 (UTC)

I think Horace is pretty amazing person. :D

He is intelligent, but there is something in him that really turns me down.

It is said that "Slytherins tend to be ambitious, cunning, and achievement-oriented. They also have highly developed senses of self-preservation." Slughorn is definitely cunning, and he prefers to surround himself by people who are extraordinary or special in some way, people who excel above and beyond, who have the potential to become somebody. That and considering how far he went to hide himself the year prior to being convinced to come back and teach at Hogwarts shows that he has a keen sense of self-preservation, definitely shows he probably would not have been picked for Gryffindor where they look for courage and bravery. Also, most Heads of Houses end up being the head of the house that they were in when they were in school. --BachLynn23 23:31, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

Middle Initials
Where did the "E.F." come from? --<font face="Times" size="4" color="Black" >JKoch (<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="1" color="Red">Owl Me! ) 00:13, July 20, 2010 (UTC)


 * Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7. -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 00:20, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

Middle Initials
I think the E.F. is Eric Frederick.

Age
Does anyone know how old Slughorn is, when was Slughorn born? I am for sure that he is younger than Albus Dumbledore. Or Is Slughorn older than Cornelius Fudge, or Umbridge?? Just want to know. 76.95.131.60 18:48, December 17, 2010 (UTC)


 * Not 100% sure, but I do know that he wouldn't have been a potions master at Hogwarts in 1920s, as listed, if he was born in 1920! One of those needs to be corrected.

Master Herbologist
I think Horace was a master herbologist, because he knew many things about the plants. He was a master potioner too, so he had to know the plants, which were ingredients for his potions. But if you think that he isn't a master herbologist, let's make a compromise with this: he was at least expert herbologist. User:Domynyk 19:53, January 7, 2011, (UTC)

Also, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi is a textbook used for both Potions and Herbology, so clearly the subjects are intertwined so anyone teaching Potions would need to know Herbology. --<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="4" color="Purple" >BachLynn (<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="2" color="Purple">Accio! ) 19:04, January 7, 2011 (UTC)
 * I would avoid the word Master, honestly, I think many users are blowing the abilities of our characters out of proportion. --<font face="Times" size="4" color="Black" >JKoch Ravenclawcrest.jpg(<font face="Monotype Corsiva" size="1" color="Red">Owl Me! ) 19:08, January 7, 2011 (UTC)
 * I recently edited Grindelwald's skills and abillity's section for this same reason. What exactly constitutes a "master" herbologist anyway? Or a "master" anything for that matter? Certainately he had some knowledge of herbology, and it should probably be added to his list of skills, but, apart from that I don't see anything in the text that supports him being masterfull at it. Jayden Matthews 19:29, January 7, 2011 (UTC)

Overtaking?
"...and Harry saw Charlie Weasley overtaking Horace Slughorn, who was still wearing his emerald pyjamas." I didn't quite understand what that line meant. Does it mean Charlie and Horace engaged in a duel and Charlie won? Does it mean that Slughorn and Charlie were running up to fight and Charlie was faster? Does it mean that they were playing hopscotch and Charlie threw his stone further??? Just wondered. Thanks. 174.115.144.39 22:54, August 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * They were playing hopscotch, definitely. ;)
 * Seeing as Charlie and Slughorn were on the same side, the line means that they were running to the Great Hall and that Charlie was faster than Slughorn (which is no surprise, really, as Slughorn took forever to catch up to the other Heads of House during the Ousting of Severus Snape, a few hours before). -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 23:12, August 29, 2012 (UTC)

That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. I knew they were playing hopscotch! By the way, he didn't take that much longer to catch up (just a couple of weeks). -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Hunnie Bunn <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post!

Relantionship with Albus Dumbledore and age.
I think Slughorn borns in just a few years after Dumbledore, like he saids Slughorn is an old friend and collegue, like Pomona Sprout and Minerva mcGonnagall(Two yeras pf difference). I cannot thought in Slughorn as a studant in the same year than Albus, because Albus best friend was Elphias Doge

Hogwarts staff
If Slughorn started about the same time as Dumbledore I think it's safe to assume that many of the teachers were former students of his. Also probably safe to assume he tried to "collect" McGonagall. Tjb173 (talk) 05:21, May 17, 2013 (UTC)
 * Entirely possible, but purely speculative without any proof to that effect. Also, please remember to sign your posts using four tildes. ProfessorTofty (talk) 03:50, May 17, 2013 (UTC)


 * Okay so the only four teachers we know attended Hogwarts during his time as Potions master were McGonagall, Sprout, Snape and Lupin. Given McGonagall's impressive record as a student she would have gotten Slughorn's attention. And I am sorry I forgot to sign my post I'll try to remember in the future.Tjb173 (talk) 05:21, May 17, 2013 (UTC)

According to Pottermore and timelines, Minerva McGonnagal was at the same age as Tom Riddle. Dumbledore and Sughorn were full adult at that time, implying that Slughorn and Dumbledore are in the same age line (NOT IN SAME AGE, JUST AGE LINE). Snape studied decades after McGonnagal, and still taught by Slighorn. Sprout was two years youngerthan McGonnagal. Flitwick was also at a similar age of McgOnnagal, but i'm not sure aout him. We do not know much about Trelawney. Hagrid was at the same age as Tom. Lupin was a the same age as Snape. He probably taught all present-day staff, but Binns (He's a ghost).

Birthday
So, Dumbledore started teaching shortly after Grindelwald fled in the August of Dumbledore's eighteenth birthday. I'm assuming September of that year? So he started in 1899. Molly Weasley states that Slughorn and Dumbledore started teaching at the same time, yet it is well known that Slughorn isn't as old as Dumbledore. If you ask me, he would have been born anytime in 1882, or else in November or December 1881? Is this too speculative to put in the article? If not, it at the very least will help us marshal our thoughts. --Hunnie Bunn (talk) 00:09, November 16, 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure, though, where is it stated that Dumbledore started teaching in 1899? Besides, what Molly says is that "He [...] started around the same time as Dumbledore" (emphasis added), so it's not certain if they both started teaching on exactly the same year or give or take a few years apart. -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 00:25, November 16, 2013 (UTC)


 * Dumbledore seems to imply this in chapter thirty-five of Deathly Hallows (while I busied myself with the training of young wizards, Grindelwald was raising an army), and we know Grindelwald started his army shortly after he left Godric's Hollow.
 * And while I did misread that line, would it be too speculative to add "1882 - 1885" to BTS or similar for a birth-year? We know he was born after Dumbledore and thus started either the same year as him or after. --Hunnie Bunn (talk) 00:32, November 16, 2013 (UTC)


 * My reading of Dumbledore's line is somewhat different -- Grindelwald must've been raising his army for a very long time indeed, since the global wizarding war had its roots in the 1890s and only ceased in 1945. If Dumbledore was talking about, say, the 1930s (the earliest known dates we know for sure he was working at Hogwarts), then it would still fit (Dumbledore would be teaching, Grindelwald raising an army on Continental Europe), and would not necessarily imply that he started working right away. Note that I am not saying that he didn't start working at Hogwarts right away; I am saying that we don't know if he did.
 * I have two problems with 1882-1885: One is that Slughorn could, concievably, have been born in 1881, after Dumbledore. All we know is that he is younger than him, not how much younger. My other problem is the 1885 year. I'm not sure, exactly, where it comes from. -- <font style="color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 01:17, November 16, 2013 (UTC)


 * That's right, now I stop to think on it. I'm like Rowling in that I suck at maths. One less question in my already overflowing brain full of questions :) --Hunnie Bunn (talk) 01:21, November 16, 2013 (UTC)

Teaching for 50 years?
The article uses as reference for his latest possible birthyear to be 1913, the fact that "Slughorn was Potions Master for more than 50 years by the time he retired in 1981".

Is there a quote to back this? I thought the article said that he taught for 50 years since he was known to have been teaching in the 1930s and that's roughly 5 decades before 1981, not because it was cold, hard canonical fact that we could use in this sort of calculations. -- <font style="background:#FFFFFF;color:#333333;"> Seth Cooper <font style="background:#333333;color:white;"> owl post! 17:37, August 11, 2014 (UTC)


 * That's correct. The only thing we know for sure is that he started teaching around the same time as Dumbledore, which was sometime between 1899 and 1936 (Dumbledore was at least eighteen when he started teaching, and being born in 1881 he would have been eighteen in 1900; Riddle started at Hogwarts in 1936, at which point Dumbledore was already a teacher and had been for at least an additional year). There's no proof Slughorn started in the 1930s. --Hunnie Bunn (talk) 18:00, August 11, 2014 (UTC)

Later Life worries
In the section "Later Life," it says that it can be assumed that he stayed to teach after the 2nd war. I'm not sure this is a safe assumption, as he had retired once, and the 2 reasons he came back (Harry Potter and protection from The Dark Lord and the Deatheaters) were now gone from Hogwarts.

Restarting: c. Birth Year
If he began teaching in the 1920s, there's no way he was born in or around 1921. So should we change the birth year to just "late 19th Century"? --KiumaruHamachi (talk) 04:15, September 27, 2015 (UTC)KiumaruHamachi

Personality section woes
The personality section reads horribly. The fact that he gathered possibly talented and famous students for his own benefit is listed at least 3 times, and the fact that his personality shows how a Slytherin can have a positive outlook is mentioned twice. It seems to find a way to say the same thing for the first 3 straight paragraphs. I don't feel I have the experience to rewrite a large section like this, but I think someone who can should consider making it a bit less repetitive.Goofyd00d (talk) 13:19, December 24, 2015 (UTC)

Teaching
If Slughorn indeed started at the same time as Dumbledore, this, coupled with the new information from the FB film, should mean that he sterted teaching between 1899 and and 1915, and was was born between summer 1881 and the 1890s. Should we change the article accordingly?

--Rodolphus (talk) 19:45, April 28, 2016 (UTC)


 * There's been a lot of discussion about this previously. We know that he is younger than Dumbledore (so born after summer 1881), but that he began teaching "around" the same time. We know Dumbledore was teaching at some point during Newt's timeframe for Hogwarts (1908-1915), but can we say that Slughorn had to start teaching by 1915? Would 1920 also be around the same time? He is also described as being the potions master for over 50 years (ending in 1981) so he had to start to teaching earlier than 1931 and hence born by 1914 to be 17 yrs old by 1931. I agree that it should be earlier than the current 1921 (calculated from Riddle's start date) just not clear how best to set the range. --Ironyak1 (talk) 20:45, April 28, 2016 (UTC)


 * I did some searches through PM, HBP, and DH and couldn't find an explicit mention of fifty years as Potions Master (doesn't mean it's not there, I just didn't find anything). I found other websites that used the "50 years as Potions Master" summary, but nothing with a reference.


 * Nonetheless, given that Dumbledore was teaching Newt sometime between 1908 & 1915, and Slughorn started "around" the same time (giving some leeway say within a decade, of the latest possible date - 1925), he would still have to be born before 1908 or so. Fuzzy math to be sure, but having the 1910s as his latest birth date seems more reasonable that 1920s IMHO. (His infobox says Potions Master from 1920s so there is some reconciling to be done anyways) --Ironyak1 (talk) 01:26, April 29, 2016 (UTC)


 * Well, if "fifty years" is accurate, then the latest he can be born in 1914. However, as he and Dumbledore started around the same time, and Dumbles had begun approx. c 1910, if we assume Slughorn started at 17, then we get 1893 as a D.O.B. There's no more than eleven years older than that -- otherwise he'd be the same age as Dumbles.--HarryPotterRules1 (talk) 01:38, April 29, 2016 (UTC)

Slughorn's actual date of birth can be calculated a bit closer on one situation. Slughorn mentions the minister of magic (a HE) by name. So, between 1881 and 1914, when were there male ministers? That puts Slughorn's d.o.b closer to being truly worked out. --HarryPotterRules1 (talk) 20:19, October 22, 2016 (UTC)