Harry Potter 06 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

great power and influence over young witches and wizards. Perhaps he had gained the idea from Professor Slughorn, the teacher with whom he was on best terms, who had demonstrated how influential a role a teacher can play. I do not imagine for an instant that Voldemort envisaged spending the rest of his life at Hogwarts, but I do think that he saw it as a useful recruiting ground, and a place where he might begin to build himself an army.’
    ‘But he didn’t get the job, sir?’
    ‘No, he did not. Professor Dippet told him that he was too young at eighteen, but invited him to reapply in a few years, if he still wished to teach.’
    ‘How did you feel about that, sir?’ asked Harry hesitantly.
    ‘Deeply uneasy,’ said Dumbledore. ‘I had advised Armando against the appointment – I did not give the reasons I have given you, for Professor Dippet was very fond of Voldemort and convinced of his honesty – but I did not want Lord Voldemort back at this school, and especially not in a position of power.’
    ‘Which job did he want, sir? What subject did he want to teach?’
    Somehow, Harry knew the answer even before Dumbledore gave it.
    ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was being taught at the time by an old Professor by the name of Galatea Merrythought, who had been at Hogwarts for nearly fifty years.
    ‘So Voldemort went off to Borgin and Burkes, and all the staff who had admired him said what a waste it was, a brilliant young wizard like that, working in a shop. However, Voldemort was no mere assistant. Polite and handsome and clever, he was soon given particular jobs of the type that only exist in a place like Borgin and Burkes, which specialises, as you know, Harry, in objects with unusual and powerful properties. Voldemort was sent to persuade people to part with their treasures for sale by the partners, and he was, by all accounts, unusually gifted at doing this.’
    ‘I’ll bet he was,’ said Harry, unable to contain himself.
    ‘Well, quite,’ said Dumbledore, with a faint smile. ‘And now it is time to hear from Hokey the house-elf, who worked for a very old, very rich witch by the name of Hepzibah Smith.’
    Dumbledore tapped a bottle with his wand, the cork flew out and he tipped the swirling memory into the Pensieve, saying as he did so, ‘After you, Harry.’
    Harry got to his feet and bent once more over the rippling silver contents of the stone basin until his face touched them. He tumbled through dark nothingness and landed in a sitting room in front of an immensely fat old lady wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a brilliant pink set of robes that flowed all around her, giving her the look of a melting iced cake. She was looking into a small jewelled mirror and dabbing rouge on to her already scarlet cheeks with a large powder puff, while the tiniest and oldest house-elf Harry had ever seen laced her fleshy feet into tight satin slippers.
    ‘Hurry up, Hokey!’ said Hepzibah imperiously. ‘He said he’d come at four, it’s only a couple of minutes to and he’s never been late yet!’
    She tucked away her powder puff as the house-elf straightened up. The top of the elf ’s head barely reached the seat of Hepzibah’s chair and her papery skin hung off her frame just like the crisp linen sheet she wore draped like a toga.
    ‘How do I look?’ said Hepzibah, turning her head to admire the various angles of her face in the mirror.
    ‘Lovely, madam,’ squeaked Hokey.
    Harry could only assume that it was down in Hokey’s contract that she must lie through her teeth when asked this question, because Hepzibah Smith looked a long way from lovely in his opinion.
    A tinkling doorbell rang and both mistress and elf jumped.
    ‘Quick, quick, he’s here, Hokey!’ cried Hepzibah and the elf scurried out of the room, which was so crammed with objects that it was difficult to see how anybody could navigate their way across it without knocking over at least a dozen things: there were cabinets full of little lacquered boxes, cases full of gold-embossed books, shelves of orbs and celestial globes and many flourishing pot plants in brass containers: in fact, the room looked like a cross between a magical antique shop and a conservatory.
    The house-elf returned within minutes, followed by a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognising as Voldemort. He was plainly dressed in a black suit; his hair was a little longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed,