Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 244 Bravely Entering the Women's Restroom
Professor McGonagall said sadly:
"The heirs of Slytherin have left another message, just below the last one—'Come to me if you want to save them, or their bones will remain in the Chamber of Secrets forever.'"

"Them?" Sherlock frowned. "More than one person?"

"That's why I called you here, because the people who were kidnapped are Miss Hermione Granger and Professor Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Who?"

Harry and Ron couldn't help but gasp again.

Sherlock frowned as well.

Now that things have come to this point, I can be certain that my deduction was correct.

Pansy Perkins, who first left words on the wall, was only temporarily controlled. Lockhart was initially unwilling to do it, and Tom Riddle's compromise was to replace her with someone else.

Since then, she has had nothing to do with the whole thing.

This aligns with Dumbledore and Snape's observations of her during this period.

As for Professor Lockhart, the fact that he was able to enter the Chamber of Secrets as a victim means that he was ultimately completely controlled by the dark magic artifact left behind by Voldemort.

This inevitably made Sherlock feel somewhat regretful.

I thought he was doing a good job sticking to his principles a while ago...

Unfortunately, personal will ultimately could not withstand the corrosive influence of dark magic.

However, if we consider the period before the start of the semester, being able to hold on for so long is already quite remarkable.

"A teacher and a student were both taken to a secret room, and the attackers even left provocative messages. This was more serious than previous attacks, and to make matters worse, Dumbledore wasn't there..."

Professor McGonagall looked at the three of them. "I doubt any of you can explain this."

Harry and Ron both looked at Sherlock.

"Professor, I'd like to go there and take a look."

“No, I have to escort you back to the Gryffindor Tower. I have a speech to the students later, and I specifically called you here because Granger is your good friend…”

"Then, before you escort us back to the Gryffindor Tower, please take us to see that inscription."

“Sherlock Holmes…” Professor McGonagall emphasized.

"If you remember what happened near the end of last semester, you should believe me."

Sherlock looked intently at Professor McGonagall: "Professor, you don't want Mr. Dumbledore to lose his job, do you?"

(°-°〃)
Professor McGonagall's expression shifted several times, as if she had thought of something, but she finally made up her mind:

"You guys come with me."

Sherlock was all too familiar with the location of the first crime in the entire incident.

Despite Filch spending a lot of time here, his understanding of this place is far less than Sherlock's.

Upon arriving, Sherlock immediately walked over to the wall with the writing on it and took out a magnifying glass to examine it closely.

Harry and Ron didn't go over; they just stared blankly at the two lines of text on the wall.

The secret chamber has been opened. Beware of those who oppose the heir.

Come see me if you want to save them, otherwise their remains will remain in the secret chamber forever.

"All students must be back in their college's common room by 6 p.m."

No student may leave the dormitory building after this time, and each student must be escorted by a teacher to class.

No student may use the washroom without a teacher present.

All Quidditch practice and matches have been postponed, and no further activities will be held in the evenings.

The Gryffindor students crowded into the common room, listening silently to Professor McGonagall speak.

She rolled up the parchment document she had just read, and then said in a somewhat choked voice:
"Actually, you all understand what's going on without me having to explain. I've rarely been in this much pain before."

The school will likely have to close unless the perpetrators who planned these attacks are caught.

I urge everyone who believes they know something to come forward.

As she awkwardly climbed over the portrait hole, the Gryffindor students immediately began to murmur among themselves.

"The rooster and the mirror really worked; the attack didn't happen—but they still managed to kidnap someone!"

“Granger is a Muggle-born witch, and I’ve heard that Professor Lockhart is also a half-blood wizard…”

"Damn it, even someone as capable as Professor Lockhart has been captured. What are we supposed to do?"

“Mr. Dumbledore should never have left! If he were still at the school, this would never have happened!”

"Those Slytherin guys are hoping he leaves as soon as possible. I even heard Malfoy say that today..."

Sherlock, Harry, and Ron ignored the whispers around them and hurried away from the common room toward their dormitory.

Neville and Dean were still in the common room, which provided them with a rare convenience, allowing them to discuss things in peace.

"Sherlock, what should we do now?"

Harry and Ron almost simultaneously turned their gazes to Sherlock, their eyes filled with anticipation, like soldiers waiting for their general's orders, eagerly awaiting the Lion King's instructions.

Everyone was on high alert, wary of the basilisk's attack, but no one expected that it would use such a drastic measure.

More importantly, the person who was arrested was their good friend.

"I have to say, his way of dealing with it really surprised me."

Back in their dormitory, Harry and Ron were surprised to find that Sherlock was unusually excited.

His cheeks flushed slightly, like an unbridled cheetah, as he paced back and forth in the dormitory, his steps quick and powerful, as if the floor itself were imbued with a rhythm.

Doesn't he worry about Hermione's safety at all?

As if seeing through their doubts, Sherlock stopped and calmly looked at Harry and Ron, saying:
“My dear friends, don’t worry, Hermione will be fine—he took Hermione away and left that message, which is clearly a challenge to me.”

"Who?" Harry pressed, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes. "Giddy Lohart," Sherlock uttered the name with certainty.

"What?" Ron's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. "But wasn't he also kidnapped and taken to the secret chamber?"

"Uh, that's not quite accurate. It should be Lockhart being controlled."

I think that at this moment, he has probably become Tom's complete puppet...

Dear Harry, thankfully you didn't go with him when he came looking for you, otherwise we would be in a difficult situation now.

However, this makes the whole matter clear.

“Sherlock, you mean…” Harry asked tentatively.

"Since the other party has taken the initiative to challenge me, I will naturally accept the challenge."

Sherlock's gaze hardened, and he stopped, turning to Ron. "We need to go meet Voldemort now, and we're short a henchman. Ron, would you like to come along?"

"A mysterious person?!"

Ron gasped, feeling a chill run up his spine from his feet.

He struggled to suppress the fear surging within him and stammered, "Sherlock, you...you mean, we might encounter the mysterious person in the secret room?"

“Highly likely.” Sherlock nodded solemnly.

"I'll go with you!"

After hesitating for a moment, Ron gritted his teeth, his eyes revealing determination, and said, word by word.

"Excellent!" Sherlock's lips curled into a satisfied smile; Ron's answer was exactly what he had expected.

He quickly took out paper and pen, the pen tip dancing rapidly across the paper as he hastily wrote a few lines, then handed the paper to Watson.

Watson let out a joyful cry, flapped its wings, and disappeared out the window.

"Sherlock, what are you doing?"

Ron watched this scene with a puzzled look in his eyes and couldn't help but ask.

"Some final preparations."

Sherlock's answer was somewhat ambiguous and puzzling.

Immediately afterwards, he stood up and straightened the hem of his clothes:
"I have to leave for a while. You all get ready too. We'll meet in the girls' restroom where Myrtle is."

“But Professor McGonagall instructed us that we must stay in the tower unless we go to class…”

“That’s no obstacle for me, my friend. I want to leave here, and nobody will even notice.”

“Of course I know you have a way, but Harry and I…”

“I think it’s time to take out my dad’s old invisibility cloak.”

“Harry, you’ve definitely improved a lot since you’ve been with me for so long.”

Hearing Harry's words, Sherlock smiled with satisfaction, his eyes full of admiration.

Since she stopped going to explore the Forbidden Forest at night, Sherlock returned the Invisibility Cloak to Harry.

Now, it's finally time to use it.

Sherlock was the first to leave the dormitory.

Harry and Ron made some preparations after he left—more of a mental preparation than a preparation.

Harry is much more experienced than Ron in this regard, after all, he has faced Voldemort more than once.

The two put on their invisibility cloaks, quietly crossed the corridor, and headed towards the restroom where Myrtle was.

The journey was not pleasant.

Because Professor Snape was on guard duty along this road, they had to tread carefully and it took them much longer than usual to reach the door of Weeping Myrtle's washroom.

Snape was there mainly because of the unusual location of this bathroom.

It happened to be right next to the site where Mrs. Lorris was attacked, the very place Professor McGonagall had just shown them.

At this moment, a large area of ​​water spread out, occupying half of the corridor, and water continued to seep out from under the door of the washroom where the weeping Myrtle was.

Harry and Ron had heard Hermione describe the bathroom in detail before, so they weren't too surprised by what they saw.

However, Ron still kept a straight face and muttered with disgust, "If it weren't for saving people, I swear I would never have come here."

"Hermione said this is Moaning Myrtle's territory, and no one will be here."

Harry's tone was somewhat reassuring; on this matter, he was much more open-minded than Ron.

He ignored the large sign that read "Out of Order" and instead carefully reached out and grasped the brass ball handle, slowly pushing open the door.

Harry appeared bold and proactive, but in reality, he was also a little flustered.

However, he knew in his heart that he absolutely could not perform worse than Ron at this time.

Sure enough, seeing Harry's confident look, Ron gritted his teeth, tried to overcome his discomfort, and followed Harry stealthily into the women's restroom.

Harry couldn't help but pause slightly as soon as he stepped into the bathroom.

The place was extremely dark and gloomy. Below a large, stained, and cracked mirror was a row of stone pools with the coating peeling off.

The floor was wet, and a few candle stubs flickered weakly on the holder, making the floor look particularly gloomy.

The paint on the wooden doors of each individual room was peeling off and covered in scratches. One of the doors had its hinges come loose and was hanging there crookedly, as if it might fall at any moment.

Harry suppressed his discomfort and, recalling Hermione's words, walked towards the innermost private room.

Upon reaching the private room, he leaned slightly forward, trying to soften his voice, and whispered, "Myrtle, how are you?"

(End of this chapter)