Slughorn's Guest List (was Re: Was Severus in the Slug Club? )

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 154529

Regardless of whether Snape was invited as a faculty member, 
a former Slug Club member, or Slughorn's successor as Head of 
Slytherin House, it is Trelawney's presence that interests me.

The general consensus seems to be that Trelawney was invited 
becuase of her famous great-great-grandmother, but that just 
doesn't wash with me.  Slughorn is interested in people who 
can be of *use* to him.  Of what use is a famous ancestor. 
As small and inbred as the WW is, surely just about everyone 
has at least one notable ancestor.

No, I think Slughorn wanted to know the prophecy.

We are led to assume that Slughorn is interested in Harry 
because he is famous and Slughorn likes to collect celebrities.  
What if there is more to it than that?  In chapter seven, 
he showed a great deal of interest in the prophecy.

******************************
He contemplated Harry for a moment as though he was a 
particularly large and succulent piece of pheasant, 
then said, "'The Chosen One,' they're calling you now!"
Harry said nothing.  Belby, McLaggen, and Zabini were 
all staring at him
"Of course," said Slughorn, watching Harry closely, 
"there have been rumors for years....I remember when--
well--after that /terrible/ night--Lily--James--and 
you survived--and the word was that you must have 
powers beyond the ordinary--"

[Then he is interrupted momentarily by a confrontation 
between Blaise and Ginny, but Slughorn comes right 
back to the prophecy]

"But the rest of the stories--so sensational, of course, 
one doesn't know quite what to believe--this fabled 
prophecy, for instance--"

[Neville says they never heard a prophecy.  Ginny jumps in and asserts 
the _Prophet_ is just printing rubbish, and Slughorn drops the subject 
and starts talking about his connections with Gwenog Jones.]

[Then, later, in the Slytherin compartment]

"He invited /Longbottom/?"
"Well, I assume so since Longbottom was there," 
said Zabini indifferently
"What's Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?"
******************************

Slughorn embarked on a seduction of Harry from the time 
they were introduced.  What if it was not Harry's *person* 
in his collection that Slughorn wanted, but information 
that Harry had.  It would be funny if Slughorn were engaged 
in a campaign of flattery against Harry for information at 
the same time that Harry was trying the very same methods 
in order to get information from Slughorn.  And both got 
what they wanted. "I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him," 
Harry told Slughorn After the Burial. And Slughorn gave 
Harry the memory.

How does Slughorn know for sure that there is a prophecy?  
"We are not allowed to talk about it, don't ask me anything," 
one agitated Obliviator was quoted as saying in the _Daily 
Prophet_.  No one outside of the Order of the Phoenix and 
Voldemort and his Death Eaters knew for sure that there 
*was* a prophecy involving the Dark Lord and a child born 
as the seventh month dies. And yet Slughorn's interest 
in Neville suggests that he may actually have heard the 
first half?  How?

How does he know that Sybill Trelawney made the prophecy.  
IIRC, it is likely that no one but Dumbledore, Harry, Snape, 
Aberforth, and (probably) Voldemort know the identity of the 
seer who made the prophecy.  Maybe Slughorn just guessed 
correctly, after meeting Trelawney, that DD must have her at 
Hogwarts for some other reason than her brilliance at divination.

I don't know what all this is tending towards. I just think 
there is more to Slughorn than meets the eye.  I'm curious.  
I hope we will learn more in book 7.