Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 241 Easter Eggs

"Myrtle was wearing glasses, so why did she die after seeing the basilisk's eyes?"

When the three discussed Myrtle's death, Harry immediately raised a question.

Ron, on a sudden inspiration, immediately seconded, "Harry is right!"

“I’m sorry, Harry, your glasses won’t save your life if you make eye contact with the Basilisk.”

Sherlock smiled and pointed to Harry's round-framed glasses:
“We can explain this from an optical perspective: even if you are wearing glasses and looking directly at the basilisk, your gaze can still pass through it, which is completely different from the optical phenomenon of reflection through mirrors, cameras, water surfaces, and even the body of a ghost.”

Harry thought for a moment and then nodded.

Ron frowned and thought for a long time, still looking half-awake and half-confused.

In short, with Myrtle's help, Hermione successfully found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

The result was rather awkward.

Because the entrance to the secret room is in the girls' restroom where Myrtle is.

“Mr. Tom is quite meticulous,” Sherlock said with genuine admiration, “He can even find it in places like this.”

Harry, Hermione, Ron: "..."

In addition, Gemma also asked Ron to bring Sherlock Pansy Parkinson's handwriting.

It doesn't quite resemble the writing on the wall.

However, due to the large quantity, Sherlock, through analysis, determined that the text was indeed from her hand.

Now everything is ready, except for the final push.

Once Dumbledore pretends to leave like he did last year, they can storm into the Chamber of Secrets and wreak havoc!
Easter has arrived before we even realized it.

Just like last year, the vast majority of students do not plan to go home.

Compared to last year, in addition to a huge amount of homework, second-year students have new things to consider.

They should choose the third-year courses.

Hermione believes that the choice of courses needs to be taken seriously: "This will affect our entire future."

This statement is not an exaggeration.

By the time they reach third grade, they are no longer considered lower-grade students, and their course choices will greatly influence their future career paths.

Harry only wanted to pass Potions class, while Ron planned to drop Defense Against the Dark Arts.

However this is impossible.

Because the courses in the first and second years were originally compulsory.

They will continue until at least the sixth grade.

If you want to continue your studies after entering sixth grade, it depends on the requirements of your respective teachers.

For example, Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class only accepts students who have achieved an "E" (Good) or higher in the OWL exam. If you do not get an "O" or "E", then no matter how strong your personal desire is, Professor McGonagall will not allow you to continue studying Transfiguration.

It may seem like differential treatment, but it is actually fair and reasonable.

If you don't have the skills, don't take on the job.

After all, metamorphosis is the most complex and dangerous discipline.

The situation is similar for other subjects, though some teachers might...

Unlike sixth graders who actively choose courses and are passively enrolled, second graders only need to select two or more new courses.

Since it's a completely new course, there are naturally no grade requirements.

In such situations, wizard children from pure-blood families have an advantage, since their elders can offer advice and suggestions.

However, having too many relatives and friends is not a good thing either.

For example, Neville Longbottom.

As a member of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families, the male and female wizards in his family wrote to him one after another, offering many different opinions and suggestions on the issue of course selection.

However, Neville is an introverted and indecisive little boy, and the courage buried deep within him cannot be used in this situation.

So the barrage of opinions and suggestions left Neville bewildered.

In particular, some relatives held completely opposite opinions.

"Dealing with Muggles is a degenerate act for the Weasleys; the Longbottom family should remain pure."

"Nonsense! Muggle research is the future trend. Wizards and Muggles are interacting more and more frequently, and mastering Muggle knowledge can enhance competitiveness."

“Ancient runes are at the heart of magical history and pure-blood culture. Studying this course will continue the family’s tradition of studying ancient magic.”

"Wrong! Ancient runes are meaningless; it's better to learn something practical than to study a bunch of dead texts."

"..."

Under these circumstances, Neville was extremely busy.

He sat there, nervously comparing the course list with his family's suggestions, and then asking around if arithmetic divination was more difficult to learn than ancient magic script.

However, compared to other students, Neville's performance was already considered good.

At least he was thinking.

Like Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione, Dean Thomas grew up in a Muggle family.

His method of selecting courses was unique; he would close his eyes and randomly click on the list with his wand.

Others would point to the part they didn't understand, but he would just select whichever course he pointed to.

Seeing this, Harry couldn't help but smile wryly to himself.

Although his relationship with the Dursleys has been repaired, it's easy to imagine they wouldn't have a good word to say if he were to discuss his magical endeavors with his averse to magic, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Fortunately, he still has Sherlock and Hermione to consult.

But before he could even speak, Percy Weasley, as a prefect and someone who had been through it all, eagerly began to impart his wisdom to him through words and deeds:
"The final choice is where you want to go, Harry."

Everyone needs to plan for the future early, so I recommend divination to you; it can help you see the future clearly.

Some say that choosing to study Muggles is a foolish act, but I personally believe that wizards should have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of non-magical societies.

Especially if they want to do work that is closely related to Muggles—look at my father, he has to deal with Muggle affairs all the time.

As for my brother Charlie, he has always enjoyed outdoor activities, so he chose the class on protecting magical creatures.

So, in the end, you still need to play to your strengths, Harry.

Harry thought it over and over and realized that the only thing he was really good at was Quidditch, but that had nothing to do with the courses they were going to choose.

Then he was surprised to find that Hermione had signed off on all the subjects without taking anyone's advice.

He rushed to Sherlock's side, "Sherlock, look at this..."

“Percy makes a lot of sense, brother.”

Sherlock, of course, knew what his good friend was thinking, and before he could speak, he took the initiative to explain:

"You don't need to be too nervous about this. Just focus on two things: your own interests and your own strengths."

"But I think the only thing I'm good at is Quidditch. As for my interests... I think every subject is quite interesting."

When facing Sherlock, Harry could easily say things he was too embarrassed to say to Percy, without fear of being laughed at.

"That's even simpler, you can learn from her."

Sherlock pointed at Hermione.

"Select all?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Sherlock, are you kidding me?"

"In fact, I selected all the courses."

Seeing Harry's surprised look, Sherlock fiddled with the Easter egg in his hand, turning the side with the smiley face towards Harry:
"Just like this Easter egg, you never know what's inside until it's broken."

Instead of listening to others' opinions, try it yourself.

"..."

Harry looked at Ron again and realized that his other good friend was much more straightforward.

The school required at least two elective courses, so he only chose two.

Harry subconsciously wanted to follow Sherlock as before, but worried that he didn't have the same abilities as Sherlock and Hermione.

If he chooses the same courses as Ron, then if those two courses are difficult to learn, at least there will be someone willing to help him in a friendly way.

But then I thought about it again, and it seemed that Ron's friendly help wasn't very effective.

After all, this guy usually completes his homework by copying Sherlock Holmes.

Only courses that would obviously be discovered by the professor to be copied verbatim would be checked by Hermione, just like he did.

So after careful consideration, he also selected all options.

"Are all three of you a full cultivator?"

Ron's eyes widened even more than Harry's had before. "Are you all crazy?! Are you all planning to get 12 OWL certificates by fifth year?"

"If necessary."

Ron was completely speechless upon hearing Sherlock's answer.

Even if it were necessary, I couldn't do it!
“Ron, why don’t you choose all of them too? Sherlock said we can choose all first and then eliminate some,” Harry coaxed.

"Is it possible to give up after making a choice and finding it unsuitable?"

Ron pondered for a moment, then shook his head under Harry's expectant gaze:

"Let's just forget about it. Knowing full well that you can't do it, don't force yourself—I'll support the three of you in spirit!"

Ultimately, Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione all chose all five elective courses:
Muggle studies, ancient runes, divination, arithmetic divination, and the protection of magical creatures.

Ron only chose two subjects: Divination and Protecting Magical Creatures.

The four best friends' choices of third-grade courses ended with Ron's energetic encouragement.

In addition to a heavy workload, the Quidditch teams of each college also follow tradition by scheduling their training during the Easter break.

Under the leadership of Captain Oliver Wood, Gryffindor surpassed all other houses.

He first changed the training schedule from once every three days to once every two days, and then during the latter half of the Easter period, he changed it to training every evening after dinner.

In this situation, Harry had almost no time to do anything other than train and do his homework, compared to the other second-year students in Gryffindor.

However, it must be said that training is becoming more and more manageable, or at least I'm not getting wet in the rain as much anymore.

It is said that seeing an object reminds one of a person, but for Harry, seeing a curse reminds him of a person.

He was able to keep his body refreshed during training thanks to the water and fire immunity spell that Qiu Zhang taught him.

At times like these, Harry would involuntarily think of Cho Chang, who had been petrified, and his hatred for Voldemort would deepen.

Fortunately, the mandrake was about to ripen, and Harry knew he would soon be able to thank Cho Chang in person.

Perhaps Cho Chang can still make it to the last Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

Harry thought it would be very interesting to compete against Cho Chang in a Quidditch match.

To everyone's surprise, just after the Easter holiday ended, a piece of terrible news arrived.

(End of this chapter)