Memories of the way they were

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 17

Sign me up for Apparition lessons. Apparating from place to place is the most magical of all magic tricks. Sam did it on "Bewitched" all the time. Just think, with a little wiggle of your nose:

• You would have shorter commute times.
• You could work in a cold climate but spend the rest of your time in a tropical climate.
• You could take a thousand short vacations without scheduling time off.

That's just a short list. I'm positive all of us could add to it with a little thought.

The reason for this chapter, not coincidentally I'm sure, has a lot to do with now-you-see-me, now-you-don't.

Harry's first post-Christmas "lesson" with Dumbledore are about memories that act a lot like my own dreams. They're fuzzy, in and out of focus and difficult to remember.

Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort, murdered his muggle father and grandparents while a prefect at Hogwarts. There must be a word or phrase in the magical world for juvenile delinquent. Of course, Voldemort was already much worse than that, and he was building a following like a cult leader does.

Imagine if the ministry had dug deeper after those murders. Instead, it accepted Morfin's confession and moved on while the real killer went free. Voldemort at that age probably wouldn't have been powerful enough to stay out of Azkaban. Would've saved everyone a lot of trouble if Columbo had been on the case.

Don't know what to make of the second memory starring Slughorn and the murderous young Tom Riddle. What did Riddle say that caused Slughorn to bury the memories?

Don't ask me. That's Harry's job to discover. Maybe he'll start going to all of those Slughorn parties he's been working so hard to dodge. That's what Columbo would do.