One of Harry Potter's Strongest Wizards Is Always Forgotten and Overlooked by Fans

Summary:

• Harry Potter fans criminally underestimate Horace Slughorn when talking about the most powerful characters.
• Apart from Potions, Slughorn was highly skilled in Transfiguration, Charms, Occlumency, non-verbal magic, and even Dark magic.
• To add to the list, Professor Slughorn successfully defied both Voldemort and Dumbledore several times and didn’t suffer any consequences.

When we talk about powerful Harry Potter characters, we typically mention OP folks like Dumbledore, Voldemort, Grindelwald, etc. Sometimes, we remember Kingsley, Snape, Moody, and Bellatrix. But one positively walrus-looking Potion Master keeps evading these tier lists as efficiently as he used to evade Death Eaters back in the day. In vain, too — because just like Dumbledore, we’re onto his secrets.

Introduced in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Horace Slughorn definitely didn’t look — or behave — like a powerful wizard. From his physical description to his personality, he was more of a tired, childlike old man who posed no threat.

But that was just an illusion.

Professor Slughorn Was a Dangerous Man

Horace Slughorn was a wizarding beast in his own right, but an underappreciated one. We tend to believe that he preferred it that way to avoid unnecessary attention.

Slughorn was a master of Transfiguration: he transfigured an entire house, its contents, and his own body into intricate and well-thought-through forms in just a couple of minutes under pressure when Harry and Dumbledore arrived. Slughorn was a master of Occlumency, strong enough to successfully resist Albus Dumbledore’s attempts to sniff around in his memories.

Slughorn was a master in… Many areas, really. Very few people even knew the word “Horcrux,” and the Potion Master actually had an idea how to make them. He was also skilled in non-verbal magic — and, of course, he was a brilliant Potioneer.

Why Did Slughorn Hide His Talents?

At this point, you might think: Why would Horace Slughorn, such an ambitious man who loves being under the spotlight, hide his many talents from the world?

The truth is that Slughorn’s ambitions didn’t extend further than his house and his classroom. He saw himself (and was) more of a spider that collected the juiciest flies and enjoyed pulling the strings; he didn’t need others to know how great he was. He was a kingmaker content enough with having others in his debt and grateful to him.

Revealing his talents was dangerous for Slughorn, especially when Voldemort was around. When we first meet him, the Potion Master is on the run from the Death Eaters; he knows that Voldemort wants him either in their ranks or dead because of his knowledge about the Horcruxes. He didn’t want to give Voldemort more reasons.

Slughorn Was Voldemort’s Worst Frenemy

While we’re at it, let’s also applaud good old Slughorn for two other achievements: he managed to successfully evade Voldemort for many months without being discovered (which Karkaroff, for instance, failed to do) — and even survived a duel against the Dark Lord when he thought alongside McGonagall and Kingsey.

Few people could boast even one of the things we mentioned; Horace Slughorn had and did them all. Proficient in many areas of magic, subtle and smart, Slughorn defied Voldemort and Dumbledore on his whim — and lived to tell the tale.

What an absolute beast, this man. What a menace. What a walrus.