Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 228 The first thing I saw when I arrived was...

The office of the Gryffindor Headmaster.

Harry hesitated for a moment after hearing Sherlock's question before slowly replying:

"As soon as I walked in, I saw Ron's brother Percy, pinning Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater against the wall, and the two of them were kissing."

Harry looked very embarrassed, mainly because it was best not to go into too much detail about the matter.

He never imagined that Percy, who was usually serious and rigid, and Penelope, who always gave off an air of wisdom and calmness, could be so passionate and unrestrained...

"what?!"

Professor McGonagall was immediately alarmed upon hearing this: "Two prefects, how could they do such a thing..."

“Calm down, Professor McGonagall.”

Compared to Professor McGonagall, an adult, Sherlock, a minor, was much calmer.

He raised his hand and waved at McGonagall: "They're upperclassmen now, so it's not surprising that they did something like this—besides, kissing won't get you pregnant."

Harry, please continue.

Harry noticed that Sherlock's words made Professor McGonagall's jawline tighten even more.

But in the end, she simply pulled a handkerchief embroidered with a lion from her sleeve and gently wiped her glasses, meaning she did not object to Sherlock's words, or at least not explicitly.

He glanced at Sherlock, expressing his sincere admiration for the latter's courageous act of interrupting Professor McGonagall, and then continued:

"They were indeed quite frightened at first, but they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was me."

Prefect Penelope smiled, greeted me, and then left.

Percy pulled me aside and nagged me for a long time, telling me not to tell anyone about it, and I naturally agreed.

But I never expected that when I went back, I would encounter something like this!

At this point, Harry's voice unconsciously rose a few decibels, and his emotions began to surge again.

Sherlock and Professor McGonagall both leaned forward, knowing that Harry was about to say the key information.

"I went up the stairs and turned into another corridor, where the light was particularly dim."

I noticed that it was because a window pane wasn't properly installed, and cold wind was blowing in, extinguishing all the torches in the corridor.

I forgot to cast the Illumination Charm, and as a result, I tripped over something lying on the floor halfway there.

When I turned around to see what had tripped me up…

Harry's facial muscles twitched involuntarily as he recalled the horrifying scene.

As Sherlock said, Harry does indeed have a talent for summarizing.

As he described it, even Professor McGonagall felt as if she were there.

"At that moment, I felt as if my stomach acid had turned into water."

Because I saw Cho Chang, who had taught me magic not long ago!

Harry's face showed terror, and he suddenly spoke faster:
"Qiu lay on the floor, his body cold and stiff, a look of utter terror frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, just like Mrs. Lorris who had been petrified!"
Beside her was another person, Prefect Penelope, whom I had met not long ago.

Penelope lay there motionless, just like Cho, her eyes wide open in a daze.

At that moment, Harry seemed to be transported back to that instant. He remained silent for a long while, took a deep breath, and then continued:
"That's not all, there's another humanoid figure next to them."

That was Nick, who was almost headless, but he was completely different from usual; he was no longer the clean-cut, semi-transparent figure he was.

He was completely black, with wisps of black smoke rising from him, and he lay there suspended in the air.

Do you remember the height above the ground?

Sherlock suddenly spoke, his pen pausing beside the simple sketch of the "black smoke ghost".

"It's about six inches."

"And your expression, is it also one of terror?"

"Yes, his head was drooping, almost half of it was falling off, and the look of terror on his face was exactly the same as Cho and Penelope's."

"In other words, by the time you got there, the case had already occurred."

"Yes, that's right!"

Sherlock glanced at Professor McGonagall.

They were the first to arrive at the crime scene, and both victims, Cho Chang and Penelope, had interacted with Harry before the incident.

If I didn't know the truth, I would have listed Harry as the prime suspect myself.

However, this also proves once again that my decision two years ago was not wrong.

As long as you're by the side of this savior of the magical world, you'll never lack material.

"So, what did you do next?"

“I thought about running away because no one knows that I was ever here.”

But I felt I couldn't just leave like that, because Cho and Penelope were lying there like that, and I couldn't abandon them. I had to find someone to help me.

But I'm also worried that no one will believe I'm not involved, because of the Dueling Club incident, everyone suspects I'm Slytherin's successor..."

Sherlock noticed a hint of disapproval on Professor McGonagall's face. "Just as I was hesitating, Peeves burst through the door next to me with a bang."

After seeing this, he started yelling despite my attempts to stop him, attracting everyone nearby.

Then the professors and the students who stayed at the school all came. Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, and Professor Sinesta from the Department of Astronomy carried Cho and Prefect Penelope to the hospital.

Professor McGonagall conjured up a large fan and handed it to Professor Sprout, instructing her to fan the nearly headless Nick up the stairs.

Just then, you entered the castle.

I was eager to tell you this, so I came all the way here to find you. You know the rest.

After saying this, Harry let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back.

It's definitely been much easier to tell everyone everything now.

After listening to Harry's account of the whole incident, Sherlock thought for a moment and then turned to Professor McGonagall:
"I want to go to the site and see for myself again."

"What's the reason?"

"Harry does have a talent for summarizing and generalizing, but if I may be so bold, his observation skills need improvement."

At this point, Harry lowered his head in embarrassment.

Sherlock, I'm so sorry to have disappointed you!
"Based on Harry's description, only a little over an hour has passed since the incident, and I think there should still be some clues left at the scene."

“Mr. Holmes, I think you should understand very well that this is not in accordance with school rules.”

"Rules are meant to serve us from the very beginning, not to bind us."

Sherlock said nonchalantly, "Unless you really believe, Professor, that Harry did it and I'm the one eager to help him clear his name."

"It's not impossible."

"what!"

Hearing Professor McGonagall say that, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh.

"Professor, let's speak frankly and openly:"
Whether fifty years ago or now, only Slytherin's descendants have been able to open the Chamber of Secrets.

You don't really think the Sorting Hat would send someone like that to Gryffindor, do you?

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Professor McGonagall's face revealed a complex expression.

When Sherlock caught this scene, he was taken aback: "You actually think so?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Professor McGonagall rebuked him, then stood up. "I'll take you there."

At this point, the students, under the supervision of their prefects, returned to the common rooms of their respective colleges.

So the corridor was completely empty at that moment.

Sherlock arrived at the crime scene and took out his magic magnifying glass to examine the surrounding environment.

As with his previous two inspections of Mrs. Lorris and Colin, he examined the site environment very carefully.

He also observed things very carefully that Harry and Professor McGonagall might not have needed to pay attention to.

Even so, he quickly stood up.

Under the expectant gazes of Harry and Professor McGonagall, Sherlock slowly spoke:

"It can be confirmed that Mrs. Lorice, Colin, and this time the two students and a ghost were all killed by the same murderer."

The killer was able to turn to stone the moment they met; this was a powerful form of black magic.

If I'm not mistaken, the other party should be the monster Slytherin imprisoned in the Chamber of Secrets. I'm still missing some clues; I'm just waiting for Professor Dumbledore to fill in the gaps.

"Mr. Holmes, are you sure the locked room has really been opened?"

“That’s obvious, Professor McGonagall.”

Sherlock said calmly, “There is sometimes only a fine line between a bad imitation and a real crime, but unfortunately, this time it is the latter.”

Harry couldn't help but ask, "But Sherlock, if Dumbledore hadn't stayed away, wouldn't we have been unable to find out anything?"

"of course not."

Sherlock vehemently rejected the idea, saying, "My dear Harry, you must remember that there is no perfect crime in the world."

This won't change just because we've come to the magical world. The reason I haven't found the culprit yet isn't because the perpetrator is particularly clever, but simply because I've never heard of this method of crime before.

Now, with just a few clues, I can piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle.

However, Dumbledore's presence greatly accelerated my progress.

At this point, he turned to Professor McGonagall:
“Professor, given this, if Headmaster Dumbledore returns to the school, I will go to see him immediately.”

Professor McGonagall did not respond to Sherlock, who took it as her tacit agreement.

With things having come to this point, there was no point in him and Harry staying any longer. After saying goodbye to Professor McGonagall, they returned to the Gryffindor common room.

On the way back, Harry couldn't help but ask:
"Sherlock, are you saying... if Mr. Dumbledore had told you about the Chamber of Secrets sooner, then Cho and Prefect Penelope wouldn't have..."

Sherlock didn't answer, but Harry understood everything.

The blame lies entirely with Dumbledore!
(End of this chapter)