Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 230 February 14th
Compared to Quirrell, the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart is undoubtedly more satisfactory.

Shortly after the second attack, he opened a dueling club.

It was purely accidental that Harry revealed his ability to talk to snakes; he did indeed teach the young wizards something useful.

Not only that, he also incorporated a lot of content about fighting "monsters" into his classes.

What's frustrating is that the vast majority of it is still dialogue-driven.

In any case, no one has been able to master his complicated wand-waving technique to this day.

Even a top student like Hermione couldn't do it.

The reason is simple: he teaches his students different movements each time.

As for the truly useful content, it remains the same as the previous teaching process, making up only a very small part.

Even for this small part, the young wizard had to muster his energy and accompany Lockhart in performing the stage play.

Besides demonstrating his abilities to students, Lockhart also showed them off to other professors on more than one occasion during this period.

His current catchphrase is:
"I don't think there will be any more trouble, Minerva/Felius/Pomona/Snape."

It's worth mentioning that Lockhart, like Dumbledore, insists on calling everyone by their first name.

Only when Snape expressed strong opposition and disgust did he change his address from "Severus" to "Snape".

The other professors also disliked his overly familiar behavior, but none of them could bring themselves to speak harshly to him like Snape did, so they could only let him be.

However, after hearing his boastful talk, one still can't help but frown.

"The locked room will never be opened this time. The criminals must already know that I will catch them sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."

It's wise to give up now before I even begin to deal with them.

“That’s more like what Sherlock said,” Ron said with a disgusted look. “Who does he think he is?”

“Ron, you overestimate me,” Sherlock shook his head. “Besides, I don’t think they’ve given up.”

"what do you mean……"

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Harry immediately tensed up.

Don't say it, please don't say it out loud!

"The attacks will definitely continue unless we can find the secret room before then."

The other side hasn't made a move yet simply because they haven't had the opportunity.

Finished!

In the end, I said it anyway.

Harry looked at Sherlock with a dejected expression, wanting to say something, but ultimately held back.

Just then, Lockhart and Professor McGonagall walked past them.

Their conversation reached their ears:

"I think you should know that right now the school needs to boost morale and erase those things from memory!"

"Minerva, I can't say much to you right now, but I believe I have a clear plan..."

He tapped his nose as he spoke and strode away.

Professor Flitwick also overheard their conversation, and watching Lockhart's flamboyant retreating figure, he murmured:

"He wouldn't be going to..."

At this moment, he recalled the fear he had felt when Lockhart dominated him back then.

February 14th, Valentine's Day.

In the magical world, this holiday seems somewhat out of place compared to Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.

Because not everyone celebrates holidays.

The primary target audience is still older students.

However, no one expected that Gilderoy Lockhart would actually turn this holiday into one for everyone.

That morning, Sherlock and Neville finished their morning exercise and went to the auditorium with their roommates.

They were astonished to find that the four walls were covered with large, dazzling pink flowers, and many heart-shaped confetti were constantly falling from the light blue ceiling.

"Sherlock, this is..."

Before his roommates could react, they all turned their attention to Sherlock.

Sherlock, however, only glanced at it and immediately understood that it was Lockhart's masterpiece.

After all, according to Professor Flitwick, he already had a criminal record during his student days.

Professor Flitwick's earlier words clearly foresaw this behavior.

Sherlock looked toward the faculty's long table and saw Professor Flitwick with his face buried in his hands, seemingly ashamed of having taught such a student.

"I think this is Lockhart's way of boosting morale."

Sherlock spoke calmly, but his roommates' expressions became quite interesting.

Ron looked on with disgust.

Not long after Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table, a beaming smile appeared on her face as she sat down next to Sherlock.

There are quite a few little witches like her, some of whom even have a silly grin on their face from the moment they sit down.

Hermione is at least somewhat normal; she's not that infatuated.

She looked around and, noticing that Harry hadn't come with Sherlock and Ron, asked:
"Where's Harry?"

“We trained Quidditch until very late last night. When we called him just now, he said he wanted to sleep a little longer.”

Ron said sternly, "Hermione, could you please stop laughing? Your front teeth are showing." Hermione ignored him and turned to Sherlock, saying, "Sherlock, what do you think of Professor Lockhart's idea? Isn't it brilliant?"

"Indeed wonderful."

Sherlock glanced again at the teacher's table.

On this special day, Dumbledore, who had been absent for a long time, finally made an appearance.

Their eyes met, and Sherlock immediately knew that he would finally get the answer he wanted today.

Hermione, upon hearing Sherlock's answer, exclaimed excitedly, "I knew you understood me!"

"What are you talking about? Who understands you?"

Harry, who had rushed to the Great Hall, overheard their conversation and asked in confusion, "And what's going on here? I thought I'd come to the wrong place!"

"Shh~"

Hermione made a shushing gesture, indicating that Harry should look ahead.

Harry looked in the direction Hermione was pointing and saw Lockhart wearing a bright pink robe that matched the decorations.

Although the color is flashy, Lockhart is undeniably handsome, so he gives off a surprisingly good vibe at this moment.

However, the teachers sitting with him all had stern faces.

Professors McGonagall and Snape were the most prominent among them.

A muscle on Professor McGonagall's cheek bulged out.

Snape looked even more exaggerated, as if someone had just given him a large cup of Bone Spirit.

Only Dumbledore's expression remained relatively relaxed.

When Harry looked over, he even gave Harry a smile.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Just then, Lockhart exclaimed, "To date, sixty-four people have sent me greeting cards, and I would like to express my gratitude to them!"

So I took the liberty of arranging this little surprise for everyone—and that's not all!

Lockhart clapped his hands as he spoke, and twelve gloomy-faced dwarves strode in through the doors leading to the foyer.

Unlike ordinary dwarves, Lockhart gave them all golden wings and carried harps.

"My friendly little Cupid with the greeting card!"

Lockhart said gleefully:
"They're going to be wandering around the school today, handing out Valentine's Day cards!"

The fun doesn't stop there! I'm sure my colleagues would love to join in!
So why don't you all ask Professor Snape to teach you how to make love potions?

If you're interested, Professor Flitwick is more skilled in psychedelic magic than any wizard I've ever met—that cunning old dog!

As soon as he finished speaking, Professor Flitwick buried his face even deeper.

As for Snape, judging from his expression, if anyone actually went to ask him for the recipe for the love potion, as Lockhart said, they would surely be forced to drink the poison.

Even the professors who weren't mentioned by Lockhart all had stern faces, a stark contrast to the cheerful Lockhart.

As soon as the so-called ceremony ended, the faculty members stood up and left, as if their seats were under a spell.

They simply couldn't stay there any longer.

Even though the hall was packed with people and the dwarves were running around, few people noticed Sherlock.

Including Hermione and Harry, who were standing next to Sherlock.

By the time they realized Sherlock had disappeared, he had already followed Dumbledore to the headmaster's office.

“Not bad stealth skills, Sherlock—but isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to skip class and come looking for me now?”
If I remember correctly, the first class in the morning was Minerva's Transfiguration!

"On my first day back at school after the holidays, I told Professor McGonagall that I would look for you as soon as Headmaster Dumbledore returned to school."

I made sure she saw me leaving with you, and she didn't stop me, which means she agreed.

Furthermore, more than this matter, I would prefer that the principal tell me all the information this time, rather than withholding anything from me.

Sherlock gave a heads-up beforehand because Dumbledore was practically a repeat offender in this regard.

Key information is always only revealed in half, with only half revealed at a time.

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile and gave the command: "Sizzling Bee Sugar".

The dripping stone beast jumped aside, and the two rode the automatic spiral staircase to the top.

As Sherlock approached the principal's office, his first glance fell on Fox.

Compared to last time, Fox has grown a bit and is no longer a fledgling, but he still hasn't recovered to the beautiful state that Dumbledore described.

Sherlock glanced at him briefly before looking away, his gaze fixed on Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles and long nose, waiting quietly for him to speak.

Then Dumbledore dropped a bombshell right off the bat: "Fifty years ago, it was Hagrid who opened the Chamber of Secrets."

After a moment of silence, Sherlock looked at Dumbledore with a mocking expression:

"Headmaster, are you kidding me?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow: "Sherlock, why do you say that?"

"Is Slytherin's successor a Gryffindor or a half-giant?"

I remember saying something to you once, and I might as well repeat it now:
If that's really what you're thinking, I suggest you go to the jungles of Uganda and play sumo wrestling with the mountain gorillas.

Maybe after that hard slap, your mind will clear up a little."

Hearing Sherlock's insults, Dumbledore laughed, and laughed heartily:
"But... that's what the Ministry of Magic believed fifty years ago."

(End of this chapter)