- "He used to handpick favourites at Hogwarts, sometimes for their ambition or their brains, sometimes for their charm or their talent, and he had an uncanny knack for choosing those who would go on to become outstanding in their various fields. Horace formed a kind of club of his favourites with himself at the centre, making introductions, forging useful contacts between members, and always reaping some kind of benefit in return..."
- —Description of the Slug Club[src]
The Slug Club was made up of Horace Slughorn's most well-liked and sometimes famous students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor Slughorn, who taught Potions at Hogwarts from the 1920s-1981 and again from 1996-pre 2016, sought students who were well connected, held fame, and/or showed true promise in some field(s) of magic in his eyes.
These select students were invited to parties (such as the particularly lavish one held on the 20th of December, 1996) where Professor Slughorn would then weed them out further. He was sure to keep in touch with those who "made the cut", even after they had graduated, as they would often provide him with useful information and/or various luxuries.
Meetings
- "Harry, Harry, just the man I was hoping to see! I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We’re having a little party, just a few rising stars, I’ve got McLaggen coming and Zabini, the charming Melinda Bobbin — I don’t know whether you know her? Her family owns a large chain of apothecaries — and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger will favour me by coming too."
- —Horace inviting Harry Potter to a Slug Club gathering[src]
Along the course of the school year, Professor Slughorn would hold various club get-togethers (most often dinners with fine food and around 10 student-attendees). Slughorn would lead the conversation in order to get to know the members better and encourage them to associate with one another. For the grander parties he would invite famous former members, such as professional Quidditch player Gwenog Jones
Professor Slughorn's aim was to cultivate talent and give his favourites a nudge toward fame and fortune, hoping to reap the benefits of his connection to them once they became the "high fliers" he expected them to be. On the 20th of December, 1996, there was a lavish party for past and present Slug Club members held in Professor Slughorn's office at Hogwarts. It was the only get-together of the club that Harry Potter attended. After Harry's failed attempt to get a particular memory out of the Professor, Slughorn apparently stopped these meetings in order to prevent giving Harry another attempt.
It is unknown what became of the Slug Club when Severus Snape became headmaster during the 1997–1998 school year. It may have been disbanded due to the return of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four, though the decree technically only affected student-founded clubs (such as Dumbledore's Army). Under the authority of Minerva McGonagall beginning in 1998, it is likely that Professor Slughorn stayed as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. Due to his nature, the Slug Club was likely reinstated (if it was ever disbanded).
Slughorn's first tenure as Potions Master
| Wizard(s) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Adrian Abbott | Class of 1978, became a photographer for the Daily Prophet |
| Ambrosius Flame | Owner of Honeydukes, sends Slughorn sweets. |
| Andromeda Black | Member of the highly-influential and wealthy Houses of Black and Rosier. |
| Arcturus Black lll | Member of the highly-influential and wealthy Houses of Black and Gamp. Received an Order of Merlin, First Class for his donations towards the rebuilding of the Wizarding World after the Global and First Wizarding Wars. |
| Lycoris Black | A member of the wealthy and influential Black Family |
| Clarence Avery | Member in the 1940s, part of Tom Riddle's gang and became a Death Eater. |
| Barnabas Cuffe | Editor of the Daily Prophet (as of 1996). |
| B. C. | Mountain climber. |
| Dahlia F. | (Unknown). |
| Dirk Cresswell | Former Head of the Goblin Liasion Office who had insider information of Gringotts, killed during the Second Wizarding War. |
| Dirk Gibbon | Invited for his skill in spell combination and creation. Joined the Death Eaters in the First Wizarding War and was imprisoned in Azkaban in the aftermath. Died in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower |
| Eldred Worple | Writer of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires. |
| Gwenog Jones | Captain of the Holyhead Harpies (as of 1996-97). |
| Reinhard Lestrange | Member in the 1940s, part of Tom Riddle's gang, became one of the first Death Eaters. |
| Cyrus Lestrange | Member in the 1940s, part of Tom Riddle's gang, became one of the first Death Eaters, perishing in the Dark Lord's service. |
| Emmeline Vance | A skilled Potions student who served as a member of both Order of the Phoenixes before her death during the Second Wizarding War |
| Lily Evans | A good student, with particular talent in Potions that led her to become one of Slughorn's favorite students. The mother of the famed Harry Potter and member of the First Order of the Phoenix. Murdered during the First Wizarding War. |
| Abraxas Malfoy (possibly) | An old friend of Slughorn's. Draco used his name in an unsuccessful attempt to gain access to the club, but, due to the Malfoys fall from grace after Lucius's arrest, Abraxas's name was worthless. |
| Astor Goyle | Member in the 1940s, part of Tom Riddle's gang, became one of the first Death Eaters. |
| Lucius Malfoy | Of the rich and influential Malfoy family, a Death Eater (until the end of the Second Wizarding War), a respected high-ranking Ministry of Magic official, and for a time a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. |
| Phillip Rosecrest | A talented, witty and charismatic student and a member of a influencial family, a Death Eater and a former Senior Member of the Wizengamot before his loyalties were revealed. |
| Petra Rosecrest | Of the rich and influencial Rosecrest Family, a Death Eater spy and dismissed Unspeakable who was dismissed after she was revealed to have been a Voldemort spy (although she was able to plead innocence and escape incarceration). |
| Sebastian Nott (possibly) | Theodore Nott's father, who Slughorn inquired about and referred to as an old friend. One of Tom Riddle's first Death Eaters who fought in both Wizarding Wars (until his defection prior to the Battle of Hogwarts). |
| Regulus Black | Slytherin Seeker, later became a Death Eater (though he betrayed Lord Voldemort by trying to destroy Salazar Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and was killed in his attempt). |
| Severus Snape | A good student who was brilliant at potions and making new spells. Became a Death Eater, but defected. Succeeded Slughorn in the post of Potions Master at Hogwarts. He was murdered by Tom Riddle in the Second Wizarding War. |
| Tom Riddle | A very promising student with excellent marks, later became known as Lord Voldemort, the most powerful and feared dark wizard of modern times, who was defeated killed at the end of Second Wizarding War by Harry Potter. Slughorn told Tom the details of Horcruxes, which were key in his rise to power. |
| Unidentified individual | Class of 1967, became Minister of Magical Transportation. |
| Cassandra Moon | A promising young witch of influential birth who excelled at all of her classes. Became a skilled, high-ranking Auror and member of the First Order of the Phoenix who perished several months after the war's sudden end. |
| Philippa Tremblay | Members of the Ancient House of Tremblay, a large wizarding family which had connections all over Europe who were invited both for their clan's influence and the skill at Transfiguration (Philippa) and Care of Magical Creatures (Boudica) |
| Boudica Tremblay | |
| Donovar Crane | A extremely skilled wizard who originated from a ancient and powerful clan. Joined the Aurors and First Order of the Phoenix, but resigned from the Office after the Wizarding War, which had resulted in his wife's death and younger brother's imprisonment. Employed as the teacher of Illusions Class at Hogwarts School |
| Joseph Chamberlain | Member of an extremely well-connected family who became a close friend of Horace Slughorn. Served as the Death Eater before he defected and was known to have aided in uncovering several of his previous comrades. Eventually rose to the rank of Head of the Department of Magical Equipment Control and join the Second Order of the Phoenix, participating in multiple battles against the Dark Lord, including the Battle of Hogwarts. |
| Rupert Wilkes | Member in the 1970s who join the Death Eaters and perished at the hands of Aurors during the First Wizarding War |
| Wendy Slinkhard | Writer, and kin to Wilbert Slinkhard. |
| Louisa Parkinson | Part of an ancient wizarding family and a skilled and charming student. Served as a well-connected woman in the Ministry who's funds provided her with many contacts in the Ministry. Supported Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War. |
| Tiberius Ogden | Achieved high-marks and was thus invited to join the Club. Eventually rose to become a distinguished member of the Wizengamot prior to his resignation in 1995 and a well-connected wizard who eventually joined the Second Order of the Phoenix, participating in the Battle of Hogwarts and was later employed as Hogwart's new Defence Against the Dark Arts and the Head of Gryffindor. |
| Sybill Trelawney | The great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Cassandra Trelawney and a Seer, though she only displayed her future-sighting abilities later in life. Eventually became the Divination Professor of Hogwarts |
| Cassius Lestrange | Member of a distinguished pure-blood family. Joined Gellert Grindelwald's Alliance during the First Global Wizarding War and died in the dark wizard's service |
| Ulyssa Burke | Member of a influential pure-blood family. Became one of Gellert Grindelwald's acolytes during the First Global Wizarding War and died resisting arrest. |
| Rita Skeeter | A cunning and vivacious Slytherin who expressed a high level of charm. Eventually became a Daily Prophet gossip correspondent and journalist and a successful writer |
| Ogden Rutter | A Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Went on to play as a Beater for the England International Quidditch Team |
Slughorn's second tenure as Potions Master
| Wizard(s) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Arnold Jacksson | His high skill in various subjects got him in to the Slug Club. |
| Blaise Zabini | His mother was a beautiful witch who has wedded and been widowed at least seven times, thus inheriting a great deal of wealth from her former husbands. |
| Cormac McLaggen | Their uncle Tiberius was well-connected within the Ministry of Magic, having been a former distiguished member of the Wizengamot. |
| Dempsey McLaggen | |
| Flora Carrow | Member of a highly-influential family with multiple well-placed contacts and friends, including the Slughorn Family. Both were chose because of this and because both were highly skilled in the art of Transfiguration (Flora) and Charms (Hestia). |
| Hestia Carrow | |
| Ginny Weasley | Caught Professor Slughorn's attention when she cast the seemingly difficult Bat-Bogey Hex on the Hogwarts Express in 1996 and invited to join the Club, despite her family being rather low in wizarding wealth and influence. |
| Harry Potter | "Boy Who Lived", "Chosen One", son of Lily Evans, who had a particular talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. A hero to the Wizarding World who rose eventually to the position of Head of the Auror Office and Department of Magical Law Enforcement in a whole. |
| Hermione Granger | The best student academically in her year. Eventually became Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and later on, Minister for Magic. |
| Aquila Black | Member of the highly-influential and wealthy House of Black |
| Rhiannon Venning | A charming witch with exceptional bargaining skills, who, during her 6th year, exchanged muggle money for their worth in wizarding money, before selling the coins on to a muggle jeweller for their worth as gold, taking that money back to Gringotts to exchange again and repeat the process, allowing her to secure more riches in her account, quickly founding Venning Industries after her graduation, one of the most successful and wealthy wizarding companies, and a billionaire in wizarding money. |
| Ulf-Harald John | Ulf's academic soul and skill gained him an invitation to the Slug-Club. Became a Magi-archaeologist post-Second Wizarding War |
| Melinda Bobbin | Her family owned a large chain of apothecaries. |
| Mara Abasolo | Daughter of Francisco Abasolo, a representative of the Filipino Ministry of Magic. Became a member of the Society Against Dragon Poaching and Exploitation and famous writer |
| Killian Scamander | Grandson of famed Magizoologist Newton Scamander (paternal) and renowned firewhisky manufacturer Kevin Findlay (maternal) and a skilled potioneer, both at school and later in life. |
| Leonard Switchwalk | His family are actually distant relatives to Slughorn family. The Switchwalk family were or still are also incredibly skilled Alchemists if not one of the most skilled of England, only being outmatched by Alchemists outside England such as Flamel. Leonard´s father Haytham was part of the Slug Club and the same was for Leonard´s grandfather Bartholomew. Became an Alchemist who managed to live up to his family´s legacy and beyond post Second Wizarding War |
| Mary Jones | The niece of Gwenog Jones who commonly received visits from her Quidditch-playing aunt and a member of the D.A. |
| Molly Roper | A intelligent and vivacious young Muggle-born girl who developed a skill in Herbology and Potions |
| Amber Lestrange | A intellectual genius and top grade student invited despite her relatives and apparent direct family (the Malfoys) Death Eater connections. Unbeknownst to Slughorn at the time, Amber was in fact the daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange who had been taken in soon before her parents arrest. Amber eventually rose to become a high ranking member of the Ministry and Head of one of the most influential families, the Lestranges (who's reputation Amber near-single-single-handedly restored). |
| Thea MacIver | Invited to join the Club after Horace Slughorn witnessed her incredible Quidditch skills, which eventually lead to her becoming Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. |
Students not accepted
- Marcus Belby – His uncle Damocles invented the Wolfsbane Potion, but Marcus had not spoken to him in a long while as his father and uncle were not on good terms. Belby was nevertheless invited to one of the club's supper meetings, but by the time of the Slug Club Christmas party, Slughorn had Belby passing out towels in the loo.
- Neville Longbottom – His mother and father (Alice and Frank Longbottom) were once well-known and loved Aurors, but Neville showed none of their talent in this field (presumably his adeptness for Herbology never came up in conversation). Neville would later became a skilled wizard and member of the Auror Office, despite his magical faults
- Theodore Nott – His father was an old friend of Slughorn's, however after being outed as a Death Eater Slughorn presumably decided against inviting Nott into the club.
Benefits
Benefits for Slughorn
Helping others become famous gained him influence (such as being able to recommend the next junior member of the Goblin Liaison Office) and various benefits (such as free tickets to any Holyhead Harpies match or a box of his favourite crystallised pineapple). Horace forechose to obtain things he desired by using his connections to make his life comfortable and cosy, rather than obtain them directly.
Benefits for students
Being in the Slug Club is both an honour and an opportunity due to its exclusiveness, and with Professor Slughorn’s connections they would likely have first-rate careers ahead of them (if they possessed proper talent to begin with).
Disappointments
Although Slughorn has an eye for talents and potential, there are times where such students disappoint him. Slughorn has no desire to affiliate himself with criminals, and as such, when Lucius Malfoy and Nott were caught red-handed as Death Eaters, he severed ties with them and did not invite their respective sons to his gathering (although, after seeing her skill, Slughorn invited Lucius's supposed daughter, Amber (in actuality the daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange), showing he valued (at least in some) skill more than family reputation). He also thought he could trust Severus Snape, until the latter murdered Albus Dumbledore, which greatly shocked Horace, until Snape's name was cleared a year later.
One of Horace's most disappointing students was Tom Riddle, who did not take up Slughorn's great job offers and instead worked as a shop assistant, and then severing contacts with the professor, thus leaving no benefits for either, much to Slughorn's chagrin. When Riddle resurfaced as the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort, Slughorn became visibly disturbed, especially when he learned that Voldemort used Slughorn's information to create multiple Horcruxes. So much shame that Horace felt for misjudging Tom that he resigned from his post as professor and modified his memory to give himself a sense of false comfort.