Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 209 People, You Must Rely On Yourself

Since the attack on Mrs. Lorris, Hogwarts has not seen any other victims for a long time.

Filch didn't give up and persisted in trying to find the murderer, even coming to Sherlock for advice several times.

However, time eventually heals all wounds.

Under these circumstances, the hype surrounding the locked room gradually subsided.

"Hogwarts: A History" was also returned to the library by the young wizards.

It's another Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

This time, Professor Lockhart cast Neville as a werewolf.

This is a challenge for Nawei.

Lockhart not only required him to imitate the loud howl of a werewolf, but also to express the reluctance and submissiveness of someone facing an aggressor.

Fortunately, Lockhart was very satisfied with Neville's performance.

"Well said, Neville, keep going, it's so similar!"
Look closely, this is how I pinned it to the ground with one hand and held my wand to its throat with the other...

"Very good, it's your turn to read your lines!"

Neville struggled to recall the contents of the book "Wandering with Werewolves," and said in a weak voice:
"No...not there..."

"great!"

Lockhart was clearly quite pleased with Neville's timid performance and continued to display his heroic bearing:

"Then I took a breath and used the remaining strength to cast a very complicated spell to restore human form."

It groaned loudly… Neville, then cried out, his voice even louder!

Even though the whole class was already used to Lockhart's unique teaching style, they still found this scene unbearable to watch.

Everyone looked at Neville with pity.

What is a hero?

This is!
In order to enable everyone to learn something truly useful in a short period of time, Neville Longbottom made a huge sacrifice!
Finally, its fur disappeared, its large fangs retracted, and it became a human again.

See, it's that simple and effective.

Another village will forever remember me as a hero, for I freed them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks.

The whole class applauded enthusiastically, and Professor Lockhart generously added thirty points to Neville's score.

Then we move on to the practical courses.

He certainly couldn't produce a werewolf, so he had to use a big-headed monster instead.

Even so, the students were extremely excited.

For them, this is the essence of the Defense Against the Dark Arts course!
Lockhart taught the young wizards to use sleeping spells and kicks to drive away the magical creature, and everyone had a great time.

Until the bell rang, Professor Lockhart stopped the students who were still engrossed in their conversation and even assigned them homework:

"Write a poem about my victory over the Vogvagva werewolf! The best poem will win one of several copies of 'Me, the Magical One,' autographed by the author!"

As the students gradually left the classroom, Professor Lockhart kept Harry behind alone.

This made Harry a little nervous. Could it be that he wanted Harry to write letters to his fans again?
Unexpectedly, Lockhart asked about Quidditch:

"Harry, tomorrow is the first Quidditch match of the season, right?"

"Yes, Professor."

"If I remember correctly, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I've heard you're a very good player, is that right?"

“Yes…uh, no,” Harry almost blurted out, then quickly said, “I was just lucky. Gryffindor just happened to need a Seeker, so I joined the house team…”

"That's too modest! Actually, I was a Seeker back then. They wanted me to run for the national team, but I preferred to dedicate my life to eliminating the Black Magic."

"Y-really?"

"Of course! If you feel you need some extra help, just come to me. I'm always happy to share my experience with players who aren't quite there yet..."

When Harry told his friends about it, Ron immediately said dismissively:

"Are you kidding me? You'd be better off believing Merlin than him!"

"Ronald, why don't you still believe Professor Lockhart?"

"Please, Hermione, if such a thing really happened, Lockhart would definitely write it into the book, okay?"

“Harry, ignore him. Didn’t you say last time that Professor Lockhart’s method for dealing with Colin was very effective? Why don’t you go ask him about it this time?”

The method Lockhart taught Harry last time was indeed useful.

After putting his theory of celebrities and fans into practice, Colin Crevey, while still a huge fan of Harry, no longer caused Harry the same trouble as before.

Even so, Harry felt that the matter needed to be considered.

As the saying goes, when in doubt, consult Sherlock.

But when he instinctively tried to look for Sherlock, he found that he wasn't with Hermione and Ron.

"Where is Sherlock?"

"He said he had thought of something during class, and then ran away as soon as get out of class ended."

"Oh, I see..." Harry couldn't help but show a disappointed expression.

Seeing this, Hermione coaxed, "Harry, since Professor Lockhart said so, he must be confident in this matter. I still think you should ask him."

Ron: "I don't think so."

Encouraged by Hermione, Harry went to see him anyway, just to give it a try.

After all, Slytherin now possesses seven Nimbus 2001s, and he really hoped Lockhart could offer some constructive advice.

Lockhart was overjoyed when he saw that Harry had actually come to find him.

“Good timing, dear Harry! You’ve come to the right person—I once used a ‘twisted bell dive’ to score the winning goal against the Seeker of the Hungarian Weasels in the Ouagadougou League!”

"Uh-huh."

"Listen, the key to dealing with a nobody like Malfoy is your aura!"

"Uh-huh."

Hearing this, Harry focused his attention, while Lockhart drew his wand and gestured in the air:

"First, when you do a backflip on the broom, remember to swing your charmingly messy hair, because the screams from the audience will make the Golden Snitch throw himself into your arms!"

"what?"

Harry's eyes widened, a vague feeling creeping in that something was amiss.

Lockhart then lowered his voice and said mysteriously:

"Second, apply some Felix Felicis... oh no, I mean anti-slip solution to the broom handle! Back in the day when I competed against the vampire team..."

He was speaking when he was suddenly interrupted by thunder outside the window. "Uh, Merlin's beard! The essence of fighting in the rain is—you need to shout 'Lockhart will win!' while diving!"
Because of the blurred vision, Malfoy will definitely be frightened by you. Remember, you must project a strong presence!

"..."

An hour later, Harry left Lockhart's office with a stiff expression.

"I'm stupid, really."

Back in the common room, Harry raised his lifeless eyes and said to his two friends:

"I only knew that Professor Lockhart liked to boast about his adventures, but I didn't know he was the same way about Quidditch..."

After hearing Harry recount Lockhart's experience, Ron was overjoyed and burst into laughter, slapping the table.

"Hermione, are you still going to speak up for Lockhart?"

Hermione hesitated for a moment, "Actually, he's just giving advice in his own way. Maybe it would be effective for him to do these things, but it's just not suitable for Harry..."

"That's right, at least the idea of ​​Felix Felicis wasn't bad..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Hermione said seriously, "Harry, the use of Felix Felicis is strictly prohibited in the competition. If you are caught using it, you will be banned from the competition for life. Don't do anything stupid!"

“I know Lockhart probably misspoke when he said Felix Felicis; he later said it was actually anti-slip liquid.”

"Hehe, I think his slip of the tongue was his true thought. Alright, alright, I won't say anything more..."

Seeing Harry and Hermione glaring at him, Ron promptly backed down and changed the subject:
"Hermione, what has Sherlock been up to lately? We've been missing him all the time."

“I don’t know either. He always says he’s thinking of something, and then he can’t be found.”

Ron chuckled self-deprecatingly, "At least he'll tell you before he leaves—by the way, he's not going to skip Harry's match, is he?"

"impossible!"

Hermione said with certainty.

"Absolutely impossible!"

Needless to say, Harry's eyes were so determined, it was as if he was about to join the Party.

Saturday morning arrived as scheduled.

Harry woke up very early; it wasn't even dawn when he opened his eyes.

Once he woke up, he couldn't fall back asleep and just stared blankly at the ceiling.

"I can feel that you are nervous now."

"Sherlock!"

Harry turned around in surprise when the familiar voice rang out.

He saw a pair of gray eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Sherlock went to the Forbidden Forest again last night, and Harry didn't even know when he came back.

"When...when did you get up?"

"Even earlier than you."

Harry nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "Hey, didn't you go for your morning exercise today?"

"I'm not going today."

Harry smiled.

Although he didn't say why, he knew that Sherlock was definitely doing it for him.

He continued to stare silently at the ceiling, and Sherlock did not speak.

As the sky brightened a bit more, Harry suddenly spoke up: "Sherlock, if we lose..."

He couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.

At that moment, his mind was filled with Nimbus 2001.

The team I'm facing all rides the fastest flying broomsticks that money can buy.

Can you win?
"I know what you're worried about."

Sherlock's voice rang out again, and this time he even sat up abruptly:

"In fact, the difference between Nimbus 2001 and Nimbus 2000 is much smaller than you think, look."

Harry hurriedly took the roll of parchment that Sherlock tossed to him, paused for a moment, and then quickly began to read it in the morning light.

"In the history of flying brooms, the Koh-Roh series is considered one of the best flying brooms, produced by Koh-Roh Flying Broom Company, which was founded in 1967."

The Lightwheel series represents a major advancement in the history of flying brooms. The initial model, the Lightwheel 1000, could reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour and could rotate 360 ​​degrees on the spot, making it a highly reliable performer.

后期型号（1001、1500、1700）和光轮1000的功能都近似，直到光轮2000问世才有大幅改进。

The birth of the Nimbus 2000 is considered a milestone event for flying brooms. It has a smooth and shiny appearance, a mahogany handle, and long, straight, and neat twigs at the end of the broom.

Everyone thought that Nimbus Flying Broom Company would rely on Nimbus 2000 to survive for a long time, but unexpectedly they launched Nimbus 2001 the following year.

As an upgraded version of the Nimbus 2000, its flight capabilities have been enhanced.

A comparison of the performance differences between the Nimbus 2000 and Nimbus 2001 in various aspects...

Speed ​​increased by approximately 5% year-on-year, stability increased by approximately 3% year-on-year, and price increased by 30%...

Harry quickly glanced at the parchment Sherlock handed him, then looked at Sherlock with a puzzled expression:

"Sherlock, this is..."

"See? The biggest improvement of the Nimbus 2001 over the Nimbus 2000 is actually the price."

Sherlock said in a mocking tone:

"Only when pursuing data to the extreme can one percent be considered a complete victory."

In a real match, the difference between the two is almost negligible.

Of course, compared to other flying broom models, the Nimbus 2001 is indeed a significant improvement.

but……"

Sherlock's grey eyes were fixed on Harry:

"If you want to beat Slytherin, get rid of useless ideas and put all your energy into the game. That's all you have to do."

Harry blushed as Sherlock stared at him.

"I know, but..."

"No buts. As long as the gap between the other players isn't so large as to be hopeless, then in Quidditch, you only need to look at the Seeker."

Sherlock spoke again, in an unquestionable tone:

"People must rely on themselves."

(End of this chapter)