Hogwarts has a new professor, and he’s hiding in an armchair. Andrew, Eric, Micah, and Laura unpack Chapter 4 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, “Horace Slughorn.”
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Catch the full episode in the player above, and read on for our favorite moments and theories from the discussion.
A Quiet Muggle Village Hiding a Wizard
Dumbledore takes Harry to the sleepy village of Budleigh Babberton to track down an old colleague. Laura loved the setting. “This is a Muggle neighborhood, so we’re getting a glimpse of normal life after the chaos of the previous book,” she said. That suburban calm feels strange when the wizarding world is falling apart.
The hosts also caught Dumbledore’s double standard. He tells Harry it would be rude to Apparate straight into someone’s home, but he had no problem barging into the Dursleys’ house. “He does have respect for fellow wizards. He’s not gonna Apparate into their homes, but the Dursleys, he’ll just waltz right in,” Andrew said. Eric wondered what stops a wizard from popping into your bathroom unannounced, and the hosts joked that the wizarding world needs some kind of magical doorbell.
Are the Ministry’s Safety Pamphlets Really So Bad?
Harry and Dumbledore both have a laugh at the Ministry’s new safety leaflets, but Eric came to the leaflets’ defense. Slughorn is exactly the kind of person who should be following the Ministry’s advice. “Just because a solution that’s touted out is not 100% foolproof,” Eric said, mocking it only makes fewer people take it seriously.
Andrew understood why Harry and Dumbledore roll their eyes. They spent a whole year being called liars about Voldemort’s return, and now the Ministry finally cares. Still, he agreed it’s good advice. Laura’s take was that it’s too little, too late.
Slughorn the Armchair
When Harry and Dumbledore walk into the house, it looks like a crime scene. Furniture is smashed, feathers are everywhere, and there’s blood on the walls. Then Dumbledore pokes an armchair, and it turns out to be Horace Slughorn in disguise. It’s one of the funniest reveals in the series, but it also shows how scared Slughorn really is. Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance have been killed, and he knows he could be next.
Dumbledore’s plan is to bring Slughorn back to Hogwarts, and Harry is the bait. Laura called it another of Dumbledore’s chess moves. Andrew thinks Dumbledore knew exactly what he was doing. “He knows parading Harry in front of Slughorn is going to do the trick,” he said. Micah pointed out that the deal works out for Slughorn too. “I think the move is good for Dumbledore, but it’s also really good for Slughorn,” since Hogwarts is probably the safest place he could be.
Is Slughorn a Coward?
With the rest of the book in hindsight, the hosts had strong feelings about Slughorn sitting on that memory of Tom Riddle for so long. Micah thinks Slughorn feels responsible. “I think he truly, you know, is holding himself accountable deep down inside for the fact that Voldemort is who he is right now,” he said, and that guilt is what’s holding him back.
Eric was tougher on him. “He’s also a man of startlingly low conviction,” he said. Even after he returns to Hogwarts, it takes him an entire year to do the right thing. Laura called him self serving, and Andrew didn’t want to call him a coward exactly, but described him as someone “content with sitting on the sidelines and just waiting for it to play out.”
Andrew also thinks all that moving from house to house is about more than safety. It may be a way to “distract him from the realities that he’s afraid to confront.” To be fair, the hosts did give Slughorn credit for staying to fight at the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows.
“You Mustn’t Think I’m Prejudiced”
The most uncomfortable moment of the chapter comes when Slughorn talks about Harry’s mom. Lily was one of his favorite students, and he admits he was shocked to find out she was Muggle-born because she was so talented. Laura said his love of collecting gifted students simply outweighs “his casual bigotry.” It doesn’t make it go away.
Eric shared a rule of thumb he’s picked up over the years: “If you have to start a sentence with ‘you mustn’t think I’m prejudiced, but,’ you’re lost.” Andrew pointed out that Slughorn is saying all this about Harry’s dead mother without realizing how it sounds.
Harry handles it well, pointing out that one of his best friends is Muggle-born and the best in their year. Eric compared the moment to Draco warning Harry about “the wrong sort” in Sorcerer’s Stone. Five years later, Harry is still rejecting that way of thinking.
The Slug Club: Networking or Favoritism?
Slughorn loves to brag about his famous former students, from Quidditch players to the editor of the Daily Prophet, and the free gifts they send him. Eric had his doubts that the Prophet editor really takes his calls every time. Andrew thought plenty of those people probably do enjoy Slughorn’s company.
Andrew was less sure about the Slug Club itself. Students who aren’t picked could easily feel “insecure and like I’m less than these other students,” he said. Micah saw more of an upside, since Slughorn’s connections can open real doors for students once they graduate. The hosts didn’t settle on a verdict, which feels right for a character as complicated as Slughorn.
Dumbledore’s Hand and Other Clues
Micah counted several mentions of Dumbledore’s blackened, injured hand in this chapter, and Slughorn even notices the ring he’s wearing. Readers who know how the story ends can see exactly where that’s going.
Andrew also wondered about Slughorn’s reaction when Voldemort’s name comes up. Harry assumes he’s just afraid of the name, but there may be some guilt in there too, given his history with Tom Riddle. It’s a great example of how much Chapter 4 sets up. On the surface, it’s a funny recruitment mission with a man pretending to be an armchair. Underneath, it introduces the memory that will drive the rest of Half-Blood Prince.