Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 216 Is Justice Delayed Still Justice?
News of Colin Crevy's attack and his hospitalization like that of Mrs. Lorris quickly spread throughout Hogwarts.

This reignited the rumors about the locked room, which had already subsided, and suddenly rumors spread all over the campus, making students feel insecure.

First-year students, in particular, are now always clustered together in groups of three or five.

It was as if they were afraid of being attacked if they acted alone.

Meanwhile, everyone started chattering and exchanging amulets, talismans, and other items to protect themselves.

Of course, all of this was done behind the teacher's back.

But there is one exception.

That's Gilderoy Lockhart.

Because he mentioned in his autobiography that something very similar had happened in Waggadugu.

At the time, a series of attacks occurred, and he provided the residents with all sorts of amulets, which solved the problem immediately.

Professor Lockhart's performance in the Defense Against the Dark Arts course greatly increased the credibility of the stories in his books.

Lockhart seized the opportunity to introduce a group-buying model, allowing young wizards to team up with friends and family to purchase amulets at a lower price, thus enjoying additional discounts.

This practice quickly became popular in schools.

Even Neville Longbottom bought a stinking onion, a sharp amethyst, and a rotting newt tail.

The others in Gryffindor told him that there was actually no danger.

Because he is one of the twenty-eight pure bloodlines, he is immune to attacks.

However, Neville didn't think so. His round face was filled with fear: "Everyone knows that I'm practically a Squib, and they probably won't let me go."

Sherlock naturally looked down on Neville's approach.

However, the immense pressure also seemed to have motivated Neville.

During this period, he practiced with Sherlock every morning and made rapid progress.

His talent in fencing was gradually discovered.

In addition, Harry has been busy with Quidditch training lately, and he even seems to be gaining an advantage.

It was a pleasant surprise.

As for Sherlock, he had been waiting for Dumbledore to come to him ever since the night he discovered Colin.

He felt he was already quite understanding.

A student being attacked is a completely different matter from a pet cat being attacked. As the headmaster, Dumbledore must be facing pressure from all sides during this period.

However, several days passed without him even seeing a glimpse of Dumbledore.

That's going a bit too far.

Just as Sherlock was about to go to Dumbledore, Watson sent him a letter.

[Dear Sherlock, recent events have forced me to temporarily leave the school. I will personally inform you of the details upon my return.]

Believe me, justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied.

"This is... Mr. Dumbledore?"

Harry looked at the unsigned letter and asked.

"I was waiting for him to come to me, but it seems I was too narrow-minded. I never imagined the principal was so busy!"

Sherlock said with a self-deprecating tone, "But it's understandable. After all, the headmaster is not only the headmaster of Hogwarts, but also the president of the International Magical Union, the president of the Wizarding Society, and a first-class wizard of the Order of Merlin!"

"Uh……"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged bewildered glances.

Sherlock's words were so offensive that they were momentarily at a loss for words.

After a moment, Hermione still felt it was inappropriate and cautiously offered her advice:
“Sherlock, I don’t think you should talk about Mr. Dumbledore like that. He’s actually very busy…”

"So busy that you don't even have time to see me? That can't be, can it?"

"Uh……"

"And what about the saying that justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent?"
How absurd! Can justice that's delayed still be considered justice?

Sherlock said with a disdainful look, "This is simply a self-deceiving logical paradox."

What does he think justice is? A puppet on a stage, worthy of applause as soon as the curtain is drawn?

When the murderer is chewing on the tears of the victim's family in court, when the evidence is rotting into dust in the evidence room, when the bones of the innocent are overgrown with weeds in the nameless graves, do you call this "not absent"?
Please remember, my friend, true justice needs no excuse—it either arrives in time or it never exists at all.

○|￣|_
This time, even Hermione was speechless.

Seeing that something was wrong, Harry quickly asked, "Then... why isn't Mr. Dumbledore coming to find you?"

"He's busy, but he's definitely not so busy that he doesn't even have time to meet with me and explain the facts."

He just hasn't figured it out yet, just like with the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell last year.

Sherlock said calmly, "Hmph, his actions remind me of Gemma."

Trying to be responsible for every student is actually being irresponsible to none of them; there's been absolutely no improvement compared to last year!

"I completely agree with that!"

Ron raised his hand and said, "I think Malfoy did this, or if not him, he must be involved!"

Harry asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that?"

"Old Ha, you forgot, you're the one who told me this!"
When you, Hermione, and Neville saw Lady Norris, what did Malfoy say?

'You're next, Mudbloods!'

Look at his family, they're all in Slytherin, and he always brags about it.

So I think they are very likely descendants of Slytherin, and his father was evil enough. Their family may have held the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries, passing it down through generations…

Remember the Malfoy elf? Maybe the dark magic item it mentioned was the key to the Chamber of Secrets!

"Yes, that makes all the sense of it."

Harry immediately looked like he had just realized something.

"There's only one truth: the murderer is Malfoy!"

After saying that, he and Ron looked at Sherlock, eagerly waiting for him to make a decision.

Hermione looked at the two of them, then turned to look at Sherlock, and seeing that he had no intention of explaining, could only say speechlessly:

"Have you forgotten the pre-school inspection? No dark magic items were brought into the school at all!"

However, Ron countered, "That's hard to say. What if the key to the secret chamber isn't a dark magic item?"

Harry pondered for a moment and said, "Slytherin is one of the founders of the school, so it's not impossible for them to evade those instruments."

“Well said, old man! You know what I’m thinking? He’s been sullen ever since the Quidditch match, and clearly, he’s taking it out on Colin this time.”

“That’s not impossible… Sherlock just mentioned Prefect Farley, which reminded me of something. Didn’t she say last time that Malfoy was going to apologize to Harry and Colin? Now that Colin is like this, wouldn’t that mean…”

"You mean Malfoy chose to attack Colin so as not to apologize to him?"

Ron clapped his hands loudly: "Hey, you know what, you really shouldn't have said it!"

As we talked, each of us chimed in with our own thoughts, and the more we discussed it, the more sense it made.

Hermione no longer wanted to talk to the two of them, and simply glanced at Sherlock.

Seeing Hermione's questioning gaze, Sherlock shook his head.

"The secret room was not opened by Malfoy."

"Why?" Ron asked immediately.

"Because he lacks the necessary conditions; he lacks all of them."

With Sherlock's approval, the topic was put to rest.

The group then discussed the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, and Hermione offered what she considered a very insightful observation:

"Maybe it can make itself invisible, or it can disguise itself—turn into a suit of armor or something. Remember the ghoul we saw at Ron's house?"

"No way, you doubt that thing can hurt Mrs. Lorris?"

Ron said with an incredulous look, "I'd bet you a Galleon, it's no match for that cat!"

“I didn’t mean ordinary ghouls, I mean… I’ve read about color-changing ghouls in books.”

"You've read too many books; you've become a jack-of-all-trades."

Ron offered a rant.

Although Dumbledore left the school, the attacks did not recur.

Time has come to the second week of December.

Just like last year, Professor McGonagall came to collect a list of students who would be staying on campus for Christmas.

This time, both Harry and Ron signed the list.

For Harry, although his relationship with the Dursleys has been repaired with Sherlock's help, he would still choose to stay at the school if he could.

Around this time last year, the Weasleys went to Romania to see Charlie, and this year they plan to go to Egypt to see Bill.

So all the Weasley children stayed at school.

However, Percy's reasons differed from others.

He stated that his decision to stay for Christmas had nothing to do with his parents' departure; it was simply because, as an all-around excellent student, he felt it was his responsibility to support his teachers' work during this turbulent time.

The Weasley twins and Ron dismissed his claim with disdain.

When Mrs. Holmes learned that Harry and Ron planned to stay at school, she once again extended a warm invitation to the two, hoping they could spend the New Year at the Sherlock's house, just like last year.

However, both of them politely declined Mrs. Holmes's invitation this time.

In this situation, only Sherlock and Hermione among the four still need to go home.

However, just before the holiday ended, another event attracted the attention of all the students in the school.

One morning, when Sherlock and Neville returned to their dormitory after their morning exercise as usual, they were surprised to find that Ron and Dean, who were usually still sleeping at this time, were already up and having a heated discussion about something.

"The school is going to start a dueling club! Tonight is the first gathering!"

Ron said excitedly, "Sherlock, you know what? I've always wanted to go for morning exercise with you guys."

Sherlock: (_)
Noticing Sherlock's gaze, Ron said sheepishly, "It's mainly because getting up early is just too difficult for me..."

"You are quite self-aware, my friend."

"Ahem, anyway, it's wonderful that the teachers are going to teach us dueling now, and we don't have to get up early!"

“But I don’t think the Slytherin monster would fight us,” Neville said weakly. “It’s not a wizard…”

"It will always be useful."

Dean grabbed Neville and said, "Stop talking and let me play with your stick first!"

Even Xiao Heizi couldn't resist a long, straight stick.

"Sherlock, are you going this time?"

Ron bypassed Dean and Neville and leaned over to ask, "You're not going to give up like you did last time, Ghost Death Day, are you?"

Sherlock smiled slightly and, under Ron's expectant gaze, gave an affirmative answer:
"I go."

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(End of this chapter)