Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 185 The Badger Infiltrates the Lion Pride
As time went by, Sherlock's routine gradually became more regular.

Every morning, I take Harry to practice boxing and swordplay, training the savior of the magical world to become a melee wizard.

After breakfast, I attend class on time and no longer miss individual classes like I did last year.

I go to the Forbidden Forest every three nights to continuously update and improve the map of the Forbidden Forest in the Memory Attic.

As for the weekends, I would spend time at the library with Hermione to further deepen my understanding of the magical world.

It's fair to say that, apart from the evening forest excursion, it was almost identical to the previous semester.

If I had to name one, it would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts course.

Last year, he only attended two Quirrell classes before starting to skip classes, and only promised Professor McGonagall that he would stop missing classes when he helped Harry get into the Quidditch team.

This year, he attended every single Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Professor Gilderoy Lockhart's performance had already spread throughout Hogwarts.

Aside from his second year, where Sherlock was, he also performed admirably in Defense Against the Dark Arts courses in other years.

Just like the freezing spell used against the elves, the spells he casts in class are often the kind that are simple, direct, and can solve problems quickly and efficiently.

All the students were amazed; it seemed they had truly encountered a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Even the professors who were originally extremely unhappy with him reduced their intense hatred to some extent.

The reason they weren't all put away was because Professor Lockhart had to complete that ridiculous little quiz on the first day of each year's first meeting.

Apart from the last few questions, most of them were short-answer questions that were more like those from the Lockhart Institute than Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Without a doubt, no one except Hermione could finish that test.

Even though there are quite a few young witches who admire Lockhart like Hermione, they still can't remember all of Lockhart's hobbies.

Even Sherlock couldn't get the last part of the serious test questions right.

Before each formal lesson begins, Professor Lockhart displays his most charming smile to everyone.

Even after he officially started teaching, he would still intersperse his lessons with stories of his adventures from the book.

For the boys, this was something they were speechless about.

It's so greasy, absolutely greasy!

But for girls, it's quite the opposite.

They generally believe that it is precisely because of Professor Lockhart's magical adventures in the book that this handsome and dashing Defense Against the Dark Arts professor becomes more down-to-earth and more perfect.

As for the older young wizards, they were very satisfied with Professor Lockhart, regardless of gender.

They dared not ask for more.

I really don't dare.

Hogwarts has had professors of Defense Against the Dark Arts who were even more perfect than Professor Lockhart.

Before Sherlock's class of young wizards entered the school, some professors of Defense Against the Dark Arts were more capable than Professor Lockhart.

Take those Cornish elves, for example. If it were the professors, even if there were twice as many elves, they wouldn't have made the situation so chaotic.

With their abilities, they can certainly maintain order at the scene while allowing the young wizards to train.

Of course, some of Professor Lockhart's fans have already started defending him.

He said he did it intentionally, to give the young wizards a chance to practice.

This view has gained considerable acceptance.

Because after that Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Professor Lockhart was able to maintain control of the situation in the following lessons.

He even brought some creatures that were more troublesome and dangerous than the elves into the classroom.

Among them are creatures classified by the magic department as ××× or even ×××× level.

Examples include the chameleon snail, the big-headed hairy monster, the evil spirit, the kappa, and the horse-shaped water monster.

Even so, his classes never again saw such chaos as the sprites.

As the course progressed, he seemed to be handling it with increasing ease.

Under these circumstances, Professor Lockhart's reputation naturally improved.

Especially with last year's Quirrell as a benchmark, it set a high bar.

However, this is not the most important thing for older young wizards.

The most critical problem is that, ever since they arrived at Hogwarts, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has been changed every year.

Although Voldemort has disappeared, the curse he left behind remains.

Such a frequent turnover rate has made truly capable wizards unwilling to come and teach anymore.

After all, nobody wants to encounter situations like their wife divorcing them and taking half of their assets, or suddenly falling ill due to an unexpected event, just because it's a job.

Even if the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is incredibly skilled, what's the point if he only teaches for a year and then leaves?

So having a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor like Gilderoy Lockhart who can teach them real skills is already very, very good.

Compared to his strengths, his weaknesses are insignificant.

Therefore, they also reminded their younger schoolmates to cherish every moment.

Lockhart, use him if you can!
"Harry, where did you hear all this from?"

When Harry recounted these events in detail, Ron looked on incredulously. "Why haven't I heard anything about this before?"

"Uh... Qiu told me all of this."

"You mean Qiu Zhang? When did you become so close to her?"

"I ran into her yesterday when I went for my morning exercise with Sherlock, so we chatted for a bit..."

Harry blushed slightly as he said this. Since the start of this term, his relationship with Cho Chang had become even better than the previous term.

The two already had a lot in common, and this has only increased since Cho Chang officially became the Chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Academy this year.

Hermione snorted, her tone tinged with displeasure:

"Professor Lockhart originally graduated from Ravenclaw, which is the house with the highest percentage of female students, so they are definitely the most supportive of Professor Lockhart."

Unfortunately, even in Ravenclaw, no one has been able to break my perfect score record to date.

Not only is it not there now, it will not be there in the future.

Because Professor Lockhart has already finished his first lessons for all seven grades!

"That's hard to say, Hermione."

Ron said irritably, "Who knows what new tricks this professor might come up with—don't forget, last time he made us memorize long passages of his amazing writing in the book!"

With proper preparation, getting a perfect score on this level of test isn't difficult.

"That's true, but it's pointless because until now, I'm the only one who can do it!"

"That's because nobody bothers to do it!"

Ron was shocked: "Dude, what are you so smug about? Is this something to be proud of?"

"Hmph, I think you're just jealous!"

"I'm jealous of him? Are you kidding me? Why would I be jealous of him!"

"Of course because..."

"Shut up!"

Just as the two were arguing, Sherlock suddenly spoke up, "You're disturbing my thinking."

As soon as Sherlock spoke, the two men turned away in annoyance and stopped talking to each other.

However, Hermione soon pulled Sherlock aside to discuss the knowledge points in "A Thousand Wonders of Herbs and Mushrooms".

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and shrugged.

They were already used to this.

The second-year curriculum is indeed more difficult than the first-year curriculum, but the difficulty is not too great.

As time went by, the young wizards gradually adapted.

However, there are differences in ability among students; for example, Gryffindor students.

Students like Sherlock and Hermione can quickly get into the swing of things at the start of the school year and perform with ease in every class.

Adaptation period? What is the adaptation period?
Harry and Ron needed two to three days to adjust, but they fully recovered within a week.

It took Simon and Dean a whole week to adjust, and then a weekend at school, before they were ready to return to summer vacation.

As for Neville... he is still in a daze.

“Potter, why didn’t you remind Mr. Longbottom to wait until the medicine in the crucible had completely cooled down before stirring it?”
Do you think his mistake will make you look good? Because of your mistake, Gryffindor has lost another ten points!

"I'm sorry, Potter..."

After class, Neville apologized to Harry with a look of regret, "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been scolded by Professor Snape."

“It’s none of your business,” Harry reassured him. “Even if you do nothing, Professor Snape will still deduct points from my score.”

"But... I really forgot to wait until the medicine cooled down before stirring it..."

"Just remember that next time."

“Holmes, you’re absolutely right!” Neville looked at Sherlock with a mournful face. “But… but I just can’t remember!”

"Navie, if you ask me, you shouldn't worry about these details!"

Just like Harry said, even without you, the old bat would find other reasons to lose points.

"Poof! Who told you to stir the potion with your left hand? Ten points deducted from Gryffindor!"

Ron's imitation of Snape was so perfect that the air around them instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere when he opened his mouth.

Seeing that everyone else was laughing, but Neville still looked sullen, Hermione comforted him:
“It’s alright, Neville, you’ll get those points back from Professor Lockhart’s class soon.”

Hermione has her reasons for saying that.

By now, Professor Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts course has become a fixed routine.

As soon as class started, he showed everyone his charming smile and boasted about his past adventures.

The class officially began with students reading aloud long passages of his own works with great expression and reciting excerpts from them.

Once he finishes memorizing, the young wizards will help him complete the adventures he experienced in the book.

It's euphemistically called a recreation of classic scenes.

This left everyone feeling extremely helpless.

Please, this is Defense Against the Dark Arts, not a stage play, okay?
But it was precisely because of this step that Professor Lockhart fell in love with Neville.

In his view, Neville Longbottom was clearly a badger cub that had infiltrated a pride of lions—docile, obedient, and lacking any desire to perform.

When he plays villainous roles such as werewolves, vampires, and ghosts, his clumsy demeanor is the only way to showcase his kingly style.

This is why Neville always manages to earn a lot of points for Gryffindor in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

Even more than his best subject, herbalism.

This was truly an unexpected surprise.

(End of this chapter)