It wasn't Slughorn

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 141512

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Kemper <iam.kemper at g...> wrote:
>
> Or so I think.
> .
> Slughorn said of Sirius that he had hoped to have him in his House
> because he wanted the set of Blacks. By guess is that Regulus was 
> quite accomplished for Slughorn to want Sirius. Maybe Regulus was 
> quite good at potions. It would make a good tie to the Locket. 
> Regulus made the potion for Voldie. He probably knew the antidote 
> which would make it easy for him to steal the Locket.
> .
> Or I could be wrong...
> .
> Kemper

bboyminn:

As always, I'm jumping off on a side note. 

Slughorn chose his 'Sluggies' for their social prominance more than
the scholatic ability. I think his criteria has more to do with power
and influence. Of course, when he is appling it to students, he has to
take part of it from the student's family history, and the rest is a
projection of the likelihood of that student obtaining a postion of
power and influence in the future. When he finds these students with
'power and influence' potential, he helps them get just that, and in
turn, they are very greatful, and more importantly, very considerate
of Slughorn. So Slughorn has power and influence by extension.

So, the fact that Slughorn desired association with both Sirus and
Regulus is no indication of their potions ability. Of course, that
doesn't deny or denounce the possibility that Regulus was indeed very
good at potions. 

However, I suspect he was able to get to the Locket Horcrux because he
gained inside information about how to get it. It's possible the
Voldemort. like all good 'programmers'. left himself a 'backdoor',
some shortcut means of getting in and out, that only he would know. In
any event, I'm still betting that Regulus (assuming it was him) had
inside information that allowed him to either get past or by-pass the
protective enchantments, and that's how he got the locket and escaped
with his life (sadly, only to lose it later).

On the Horcruxes in general, the whole process of tracking them down
seems too complex and time consuming using normal methods. Somehow
there has to be a shortcut, either the Horcruxes don't have the
significants that we currently believe, or Snape will find out how to
destroy them and help Harry do so, or Voldemort will get paranoid and
move the Horcruxes all to one location and that will simplify Harry hunt. 

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn