Professor Slughorn and an Excess of Seamus

Prompt: Professor Slughorn Spends Time in the Astronomy Tower with Seamus Finnegan

Title: Professor Slughorn and An Excess of Seamus

Horace Slughorn had a secret, an obscure fact known only to a very few. He rubbed his pudgy hands together as he plotted the best way to implement this exciting titbit of information to the best advantage of "Sluggy".

*

"Slughorn invited me to a meeting," Seamus remarked.

"No offence, Seamus, but what have you got that Slughorn wants?" Hermione said, lifting her head from the book in her lap, a gleam in her eye.

"His transfiguration skills?" Dean teased good-naturedly.

"You never know. Me rum is as good as Ogden's." Seamus only exaggerated a little. After six years of effort, he had finally turned water into very acceptable rum.

"It might be, actually," Hermione contradicted with conviction. "Fine liquors appeal to Slughorn's tastes and vanity, I believe."

"You know, that might be true," Harry mused. "Okay, we'll go together, Seamus."

*

Slughorn swept down on the pair of Gryffindors. Harry braced himself, but Slughorn elbowed him out of the way to place a weighty arm around Seamus' shoulders and draw him aside. "My boy, come and meet Lionel Davenport. He is from the Department of Imports. My dear Lionel, here is Mr Finnegan; his mother was one of the Ballhallow Morgans."

"Really? Colleen, daughter of Connor Morgan?" Davenport asked with a growing interest.

"Aye, me Mum was a Morgan, and Granda's called Connor," Seamus admitted cautiously.

"Ah, and you would have been named for your Uncle Seamus," Davenport said almost playfully. "How is Seamus these days? I haven't seen him since the Dublin Accords Conference."

Seamus nodded and smiled, while he tried to remember what had happened at that Conference. He knew it had been very bad but he couldn't recall. Fortunately, Harry saw his desperate plea and came to rescue him, even allowing Seamus to push his 'Boy-Who-Lived' status when the man seemed determined to conduct what was becoming too much of an interrogation for Seamus' liking.

Professor Slughorn handed both boys glasses of pumpkin juice, waiting until they seemed to sip it before pinning Seamus with a sapient eye. "Mr Davenport here wants to meet with your uncle as soon as possible. Harry, you will use your influence to help Seamus organise a meeting."

Both boys nodded and left the meeting without looking back.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked as they escaped into the corridor. They still carried the pumpkin juice that had been thrust into their hands, but neither had actually drunk any. Seamus was about to really swig his off when Harry stopped him, the caution of experience making him wary. "We'll let Hermione have a look at this stuff before we drink it, okay?" he said flatly.

"I'll send an owl to me mum and find out what Uncle Seamus has been up to," Seamus replied grimly as they made their way back to the Gryffindor tower.

*

'Astronomy Tower, 10pm Thursday.' The note was terse, but it made Slughorn smile widely as he crumpled the paper and carefully burned it up. This was going to be a very interesting meeting indeed.

"He took the bait," Dean muttered, as he passed his friends in the corridor. Seamus smiled tightly and let out a slow breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. When Hermione told them there was liquid Imperius in the pumpkin juice he had been ready for a fight. The owl from his mother had made it clear that the information he was asking for was volatile and a follow-up Floo call from Hogsmeade had been enlightening.

*

Slughorn stopped a third of the way up the Astronomy Tower steps to wipe his forehead with a large silk handkerchief. If he had realised how much effort he was going to have to expend to secure his former student Hepsazah Lowandorf in the Department of Imports, he would have been less enthusiastic. Still, ensuring the pineapple flowed, regardless of the global conditions and tightening importation laws was worth a little discomfort! Davenport had agreed to leave his agent alone if Seamus Morgan met with him. Using Finnegan to contact his uncle had been brilliant, although he was mildly curious as to why.

*

Davenport followed the struggling figure up the stairs, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak. The dupe had contacted Morgan who might be the 'Don Ho' of the Dublin Crystallized Pineapple Mafia, but he was also the upstart half-blood who was threatening him.

How Morgan had found out Davenport was responsible for Agnes Bones' pregnancy was beyond him; no one had seen them slip away and he had threatened Bones with Obliviate as soon as she had revealed her pregnancy. How was he to know she was related to Morgan or that she would jeopardise his other business? My God, crossing Morgan was tantamount to political and commercial suicide! So now Morgan had to be Obliterated, and he would never know what hit him!

*

"Are you sure you want to do this, Seamus?" Harry asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, he's been threatening my uncle and cousin and refusing his responsibilities. No one messes with our family," Seamus said harshly as he gulped the foul Polyjuice Potion Hermione had acquired for him. There had been no time to brew it.

Changing into his uncle wasn't hard, as he was very like his namesake. A set of good robes instead of his school robes and he was set to meet the wizard who was endangering his family. Harry nodded and slipped under his Invisibility cloak, ready to watch Seamus' back as footsteps sounded on the stairs and Sluggy rose into view.

"Ah, good, you're here," Slughorn exclaimed, rubbing his hands together happily.

"What's this all about?" Seamus demanded angrily.

Slughorn frowned. "Why, Mr Davenport asked me to arrange the meeting but he seems to be a little late. I'm sure he will be here in a moment. He didn't tell me why he wanted to see you, so I asked your nephew to set up the meeting."

"Really? Backed by an Imperius compulsion, no less," Seamus snarled. He was surprised to see shock written on the fat face before him.

"I would never..."

"No, the fat fool would never...," a voice said, and a wand and head appeared out of thin air. "But I would, Morgan. I told that stupid cousin of yours not to open her big mouth but did she listen? 'You have to help me, Lionel; you know it's your child.' No offspring of mine would ever come out of a Mudblood! And then she threatened me with you!"

Harry could hear Seamus' teeth grind but before he could do anything, there was a disturbance and another copy of Seamus Morgan appeared as a Disillusionment charm was finished.

"So you finally admit to seducing our cousin then?"

"Who the hell are you?" Sluggy demanded as Davenport stared at the two copies of Seamus.

"You used an Imperius Potion on Agnes, then seduced her, a helpless victim to your machinations." There was another ripple and yet another Seamus Morgan appeared!

"What the Hell is this? Damn you, Slughorn! How many people did you tell about this meeting?" Davenport demanded, glancing about wildly.

"Does it matter?" Harry asked, lowering his cloak and pointing his wand. "You tried Imperius Potion on Seamus and I, and we have proof of that. If Agnes says you did the same to her, then you are finished."

"Morgan will go down with me!" Davenport screeched. "Did he tell you he runs the Irish Mafia? Did he tell you how he smuggles werewolves in and out of Ireland? Bet he didn't tell you how he smuggles goods into England, but we've caught his agents!"

"Only those who could not produce the bribes you demanded. That was why you seduced my cousin in the first place; to make her look less credible when she testified against you!" Seamus snarled bitterly.

Slughorn's wand faltered between the three Seamus', unsure of where he stood. As they continued to screech, he realised his Pineapple connection was not in question. He finally chose a side, pointing his wand at Davenport, who didn't seem to realise he was badly outnumbered.

"Her big mouth, supported by your network, would destroy my blackmail and bribes ring completely, thus endangering my livelihood. I cannot allow that to happen, so I bid you adieu," Davenport said with a maniacal laugh, his wand moving.

Two Expelliarmus and one bludger spell hit him before he could complete the movement, Slughorn's Jelly Legs jinx going wide and Harry's Petrificus Totalus probably saving Davenport's life as the bludger spell hit him on the head.

Slughorn stared at the three Seamus clones, demanding 'who the hell are you?' as a circle of broomsticks rose, each bearing a red-clad rider; the Aurors had arrived.

"Seamus Finnegan, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, actually," Harry announced smugly. "You didn't think we would let a friend down in a crunch, did you?"