Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 257 The Source of Pain
"Getting up early is not difficult; what is difficult is sticking to getting up early."

Upon hearing Ron's complaint, Sherlock immediately provided the answer:
"Whether in the Muggle world or the magical world, as long as you persevere, you have already defeated more than 80 percent of people."

“Sherlock is right!” Neville said with admiration.

Harry didn't speak, he just nodded.

"Yes, yes, how could Sherlock be wrong?"

In the past, Ron might have felt ashamed to hear Sherlock say that.

But now...

Ron said lazily, "Then let me do the 80%! It's so nice not having to take exams!"

There are three people for morning exercise during the day, but only two people can go on an evening adventure.

With the Basilisk threat gone, Sherlock began taking Harry on nighttime expeditions into the Forbidden Forest.

Since Sherlock had already scouted the route before the attack, it was much easier for him to follow it.

However, since Sherlock had given the Invisibility Cloak to Harry, he didn't take Harry deep into the Forbidden Forest right away, but instead led him around the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Forest first.

Let's explore further when we enter the third grade next semester!

Even so, Harry's knowledge and experience began to grow rapidly.

He also began to try fighting some creatures with lower danger levels one-on-one, and achieved good results.

And so, the summer semester ended in a joyful atmosphere.

After Sherlock once again helped Neville find his pet Rafer, the day of parting arrived again.

The Hogwarts Express.

This time, there were several new people in the box that originally belonged to Sherlock, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

They are Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood.

Since solving the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Cho Chang's relationship has grown stronger.

With no exams and no Quidditch practice, Harry suddenly had a lot more time.

Aside from regular classes, morning exercises, and evening strolls, Harry would spend time with Cho Chang.

Of course, given their current ages, their current situation doesn't qualify them as dating.

When they get together, they often discuss Quidditch or practice the Water and Fire Immunity Spell.

On the other hand, Colin became even more fanatical than before because he insisted that Harry had saved him.

In this situation, Ginny fully utilized her initiative and helped Harry intercept Colin on several occasions.

Over time, she finally stopped blushing whenever she spoke to Harry, unlike before.

That's why Cho Chang and Ginny ended up in this carriage.

As for Luna, she came to see Sherlock.

She never forgot what Sherlock had said at the celebratory dinner.

According to Luna, the time spent on the Hogwarts Express was more than half a day, which was enough for Sherlock to explain everything related to the Chamber of Secrets.

Moreover, the privacy of the Hogwarts Express cabins is much greater than that of banquets held in the Great Hall.

At least you no longer need to deliberately use earplugs to listen to mantras.

So Luna, who was always alone in the last carriage, chose to take the initiative.

Halfway there, they ran into Cho Chang, who was looking for Harry.

Since they were both Ravenclaws, they asked each other about the situation and decided to come over together.

Unexpectedly, after arriving at his destination, he ran into his good friend Ginny.

Thus, Luna experienced double the happiness for the first time.

“It’s a real shame, those two spots were originally ours,” Fred Weasley said, looking at the newly joined Cho Chang and Luna.

“It’s alright, we’ll give them some of the hard work pulling out the fireworks, then we’ll go find Little Leonard,” George said after glancing at Ginny.

Once the Weasley twins left, the box immediately became lively.

They played with popping bombs and set off the last few hard-to-pull fireworks the Weasley twins had given them.

Harry then began to recount the entire story of the Chamber of Secrets to the people in the carriage.

He spoke very seriously for more than half an hour.

The entire private room was completely silent, and even Sherlock and Hermione, who had already experienced everything, listened intently.

By the time Harry finished telling the whole story, his voice was hoarse.

"Have some water, Harry."

Seeing that Harry had finally stopped, Cho Chang immediately handed him a glass of orange juice.

"Thank you."

Harry took it and drank it all in one gulp.

His action brightened Ginny's eyes, who had also prepared a drink but was somewhat annoyed at being a step behind Cho Chang.

Here, take some more!

"Uh... thank you, Ginny."

Harry glanced at Ginny with some surprise.

However, he was indeed thirsty, and he could drink another glass of water.

After Harry gulped down two glasses of water, Sherlock spoke up:

“Harry, you do have a talent for summarizing and generalizing. Every time you recount something, I always make new discoveries.”

"really?"

Harry looked at Sherlock with delight.

“I don’t lie in the vast majority of cases, and obviously, that still applies now.”

"So what did you discover?"

"Tom Riddle's Diary".

Sherlock smiled slightly. "It may be more important than we think, as can be seen from Dumbledore's attitude toward it."

"Sherlock, you mean..."

"Based on my deduction, Dumbledore should now have a conjecture, but that idea is not yet mature enough."

Dumbledore was still studying that diary when we left the school.

However, we should have new things to do next semester.

At this point, Sherlock's gray eyes gleamed.

A new storm has emerged, how can we stand still!

Magic is so interesting!

"Oh, by the way, Malfoy's father was kicked out of the school board!"

Ron laughed and said, "You didn't see how dejected Malfoy was during that time. The more proud he was before, the more frustrated he became." "That was inevitable. When Dumbledore decided to leave the school, Lucius's fate was already sealed."

Sherlock explained, "Dumbledore also warned him not to spread any more of Voldemort's old stuff from his student days."

If these things continue to circulate, it won't be as simple as just being expelled.

"Well done!" Ron slapped his thigh happily. "But how's that little guy named Dobby?"

"House-elves must obey their masters' commands, so once it is released back into the wild, even if it is unwilling, it will do as Lucius commands. Therefore, it is still kept in Hogwarts."

Hermione suddenly interjected, "Speaking of which, it did provide us with a lot of help in solving the Chamber of Secrets problem."

"Objectively speaking, that is true, but its interception of our letters to Harry and its unauthorized prevention of Harry from going to school caused Harry a lot of trouble."

Harry nodded repeatedly.

Dobby the elf, Colin Creevey, and Gilderoy Lockhart—besides Voldemort himself, they were the source of his suffering this semester.

Fortunately, with Dobby locked up and Lockhart unconscious, Colin wouldn't have to face this for a long time, which immediately improved his mood.

After recounting everything about the locked room, at Luna's request, Sherlock began to talk about his time as a consulting detective at school, helping other students.

Some of these things were unknown even to Harry and Ron, who shared a dorm room with him.

So everyone listened with great interest, and their relationships with each other became much closer.

"The only regret is that I didn't get to see Bogut."

"it does not matter."

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Cho Chang explained:
"Understanding and defeating Boggarts was originally a second-year topic; Professor Quirrell did teach us about it last year."

Unfortunately, he only attended theoretical classes…

At this point, Qiu Zhang paused.

That semester, Voldemort was glued to Quirrell's head. If he could control Quirrell like he controlled Lockhart, he might give them a practical lesson.

"In short... since you didn't learn it this semester, a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will definitely make up for it next semester."

"That depends on what kind of teacher Mr. Dumbledore can find for us."

Ron said irritably, "After dealing with Quirrell and Lockhart, I've given up hope on this course."

“Don’t say that, Ron. Lockhart is actually quite good.” Ginny was somewhat displeased with Ron’s disparaging remarks about Lockhart.

"The one who performed well wasn't Lockhart, but the mysterious person who controlled him!"

“That’s still better than Quirrell!” Hermione said bluntly.

This time, everyone in the carriage nodded in agreement.

The most powerful dark wizard of that era personally taught the lessons; how could they not be powerful?

Then everyone started chatting again.

"Ron, you didn't know Luna lived nearby?"

"Isn't this normal? I know Diggory and Fawcett live nearby, but I haven't spoken more than a few words to them at school..."

“But Luna is different; she’s my friend!”

"Okay, okay, I understand now."

“If Ron doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on around here, then it’s understandable that he doesn’t know about this. Although Luna and I are in the same academy, I only found out today that she also lives in Autri-Saint-Cachipol Village.”

"..."

After that, Hermione suggested that everyone make the most of the last few hours before the holiday when magic was allowed to be used.

The main focus is on practicing offensive magic.

These are all things Lockhart and Snape taught them.

In particular, there are disarming spells that can remove the opponent's weapons.

Harry is now very skilled at performing this magic.

However, when it came to the protective spell "Obstacles," things became less than ideal.

"Harry, why are your movements always different?"

Ginny's question made Harry feel a little embarrassed.

He tried many times on his own, and the spell would not work if he did not perform a complicated prelude beforehand, but instead simply recited the incantation "obstacles upon obstacles".

The spell only takes effect when the specific movements are performed.

Harry didn't understand what was going on either, feeling as if he had learned the wrong things—learning from Voldemort and Lockhart, and mastering the essence of both of them.

"A defensive spell doesn't really matter."

Cho Chang noticed Harry's embarrassment and kindly comforted him, "You can change your approach and use your complicated movements to confuse the enemy—after all, no one will think you're casting magic."

"Hahahahaha!"

The carriage was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere.

And so, the Hogwarts Express gradually slowed down and finally came to a stop.

"This is my phone number."

Harry suddenly remembered something, quickly pulled out his quill and a piece of parchment, wrote down his phone number, and handed it to Cho Chang:

"Besides communicating with me via owl, you can also call me."

“Okay.” Cho Chang smiled sweetly at Harry.

Seeing this, Ginny hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up her courage and asked, "Harry, can I call you too?"

"of course can."

Harry returned the smile Cho Chang had given him to Ginny:

“I’ve already given Ron my phone number. I also told your dad how to use the phone last summer, he’ll understand.”

"Ok!"

Ginny blushed and nodded emphatically.

The group got off the train and joined the crowded flow of people, slowly walking towards the enchanted partition wall.

Compared to their previous returns to the Muggle world from the platform, this time Sherlock and his friends have a much larger group.

Ron and Ginny walked in front, followed closely by Cho Chang and Luna, with Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione bringing up the rear.

The same principle applies: too many people can cross the platform at once, otherwise it will attract the attention of Muggles.

Crossing the platform, we entered the Muggle world.

The parents were already waiting for their children.

By this time, the young wizards were practically indistinguishable from Muggles.

Especially those from mixed-race and Muggle families.

Thus came to the end of the second year at Hogwarts.

　Thank you to reader 20230501190818347 for the donation. Your support is my motivation to update (≧≦) It's the second day of the holiday. Has everyone arrived at their destination yet?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)