Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 261 Everyone has their own misfortunes

After hanging up Harry's call, Sherlock gave a thoughtful look.

The Weasleys have won the grand prize—700 Galleons!
This is incredibly lucky!
Sherlock remembers clearly that before the start of the school year last year, the Weasleys were still worried about buying school supplies for their five children.

By the time Ginny started school, she had bought many of her things secondhand.

Of course, this is mainly because Gillot Lockhart's books are just too expensive.

I was hoping the books would be cheaper this year, but before the book list even arrived, my family members had already hit the jackpot.

That old saying is absolutely true.

Everyone has their own misfortunes and their own happiness. Who can say that their misfortune won't be happiness?

For the Weasleys, 700 Galleons was indeed a huge sum of money.

As for their decision to travel to Egypt after winning the lottery, one can only say that everyone has their own ambitions.

If it were the Dursleys, they would definitely use the jackpot to improve their lives.

"Your friends had a great holiday!"

Just as Harry had imagined, Gemma was lounging on the sofa with a smile on her lips.

Through Sherlock and Harry's conversation, she already knew what had happened:
"First Miss Granger went to France, and then the Weasleys are going to Egypt... Speaking of which, aren't you planning to go on a trip too? After all, summer vacation is only halfway over."

Sherlock put the phone down and turned to look at Gemma.

The sunlight streaming through the window cast a halo of light on Gemma's chestnut-colored hair, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

As she spoke, she poked at the lemon tart on her plate with a silver fork, her posture as elegant as if she were sitting in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

"travel?"

Sherlock raised an eyebrow and looked at the uninvited guest: "I thought you would be more concerned about the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup next semester."

“Dear Sherlock, the duties of a prefect don’t extend into summer vacation,” Gemma said slowly, swallowing her dessert, the tip of her fork tapping crisply on the plate. “Besides… knowing you as I do, you should be interested in the ancient magical ruins of Egypt.”

Her drawn-out voice was like a cat's claws gently scratching, and her sea-blue pupils gleamed mischievously in the backlight.

“I do find it interesting,” Sherlock did not deny, “but that doesn’t mean I have to go there.”

"That being said, it's always a bit boring to stay at home all summer!"

“I don’t always stay at home…sometimes I go out,” Sherlock paused, “So, what exactly is the reason you’re here today?”

It's early July now, just over a week since the start of summer vacation.

Gemma's sudden visit was indeed unexpected for Sherlock.

"Can't I come to you if there's nothing wrong?" Gemma put down the porcelain plate and smiled mischievously at Sherlock.

Even when faced with Gemma's playful smile, Sherlock remained expressionless.
"Every individual has a purpose in doing things; there is no such thing as a purposeless act in this world."

"Can't I just be bored and want to visit a friend's house?"

"That's to kill time, that's also a purpose."

"To kill time..."

Gemma glanced at Sherlock with a hint of helplessness.

This boy, who is three years younger than me, has a maturity and rationality far beyond his peers. When you are with him, you always forget his age.

"Fine, just consider me as someone who came here to kill time—tell me about the secret room."

Sherlock nodded.

now it's right!

Even if they are friends, they wouldn't go to the trouble of traveling halfway across England to see me.

So Sherlock had already figured it out; Gemma had clearly come prepared this time.

This is quite normal, after all, Gemma is just like me, a very curious person.

At the banquet before the holiday, he had promised Gemma and Luna that he would tell them about this, so when Gemma asked, Sherlock didn't hide anything and told her the whole story in detail.

Although Sherlock noticed that Gemma's expression was somewhat resentful, he didn't pay much attention to it, assuming that she felt she had spoken too late and hadn't considered any other possibilities.

However, as Sherlock continued his explanation, Gemma's originally resentful gaze gradually turned serious.

Sherlock, however, laughed after recounting the whole story:

“Dear Gemma, my descriptions pale in comparison to those of Harry, Hermione, and Ron.”

Although their descriptions are somewhat superficial and do not strictly adhere to facts and data, they are very appealing to listeners like you.

For example, when I mentioned the key clues like the crawling speech, water stains, and spiders, I was very direct and blunt. If they were to present them, it would be very captivating.

On the way back from Hogwarts Express, it was Harry's statement that drew everyone's attention in the carriage, and it also led me to a new discovery.

Gemma paid no attention to Sherlock's praise of his three friends, and instead muttered to herself:
"Mysterious man, basilisk, fifty years ago..."

Before she arrived at Sherlock's house, she hadn't realized the matter was more serious than she had imagined, and she pressed for further details:
"So, what about Quirrell and the Philosopher's Stone last year..."

"He's Voldemort too." "Can you tell me?"

"of course."

Gemma: ヾ(o)ヾ
After Sherlock finished recounting his two encounters with Voldemort...

Gemma fell into a long silence.

There was no way around it; there was just too much information, and she needed to process it.

"Kids, stop chatting and have some drinks!"

Just then, Mrs. Holmes came over with a tray of food.

When she saw that Gemma had finished eating the snacks she had just prepared, her eyes immediately turned into crescent moons.

Gemma, regaining her senses, immediately stood up, took the empty porcelain plate with both hands, and handed it to Sherlock's mother: "Madam, you are too kind."

"Etiquette is essential when treating guests."

Mrs. Holmes put down orange juice for the two of them and took away the empty plates.

Just as she turned around, she paused, gave Gemma a kind smile, and said, "Miss Gemma, it's already this late, why don't you stay and have some dinner before you leave?"

"Is that okay?" Gemma asked, her eyes lighting up with delight.

“Of course, you’re Sherlock’s friend!” Mrs. Holmes laughed even more heartily than she did.

"Then excuse me."

Mrs. Holmes carried the plate back to the kitchen and immediately began whispering to Mr. Holmes. Judging from their occasional glances over, their conversation was clearly about Sherlock and Gemma.

In fact, this is exactly the case.

Gemma's unexpected visit today was indeed a surprise to Sherlock.

But for Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, it was a huge surprise.

Neither of them had ever imagined that Sherlock would have other female friends besides Hermione.

She is such an outstanding girl.

While it might be unfair to Hermione to say this, in terms of appearance alone, Gemma Farley is far superior to Hermione Granger.

Of course, judging people by their appearance is a very superficial behavior, but if a person has both excellent qualities and a good appearance, then 1+1>2.

Gemma Farley is exactly that kind of person.

The only thing that gave the couple a headache was that their son treated Gemma exactly the same way he treated Hermione.

Fortunately, these three children are still young, so they will have many more opportunities in the future.

Gemma looked on with envy as she watched Mr. and Mrs. Holmes.

"My uncle and aunt are such nice people... My father and mother also have a very good relationship, but because of their work, they often don't get to see each other often."

“I can tell,” Sherlock said without looking up.

Upon hearing this, Gemma immediately looked on with curiosity: "How did you figure that out? Was it deductive reasoning again?"

Are you sure you want me to say it?

Seeing Gemma nod slightly, Sherlock picked up his orange juice and took a small sip.
"Actually, this is not a big deal, because you have revealed far too much information."

You've told me more than once before that the Christmas presents your parents sent you came from different places.

Of course, this is only one of the reasons; your performance today alone is enough to reveal something:
The stitching on the second button of your shirt is crooked, unlike the neat stitching of the other buttons, which indicates that you hastily sewed it on yourself.

Normally, this task is done by the mother, unless she is often not around.

Your hair is neatly trimmed, but the ends are slightly split.

Knowing you as I do, it's impossible for me to overlook such details, unless the person who usually takes care of your hair can't be around you often.

Also, there are three obvious scratches on the dial of your watch, while the strap is brand new and shiny.

This usually happens when the old watch strap is replaced because it is severely worn out.

However, judging from the distribution and depth of the scratches, these damages have accumulated over at least six months.

The fact that you haven't changed your watch strap until recently suggests that your parents haven't reminded you to take care of your personal belongings.

The most reasonable explanation is that they spend little time together due to work, and therefore cannot always take care of the details of your life.

Gemma rested her chin on her hand, watching Sherlock speak eloquently, her eyes full of admiration.

When Sherlock mentioned the watch, she glanced down at her wrist, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"In fact, most wizards are prejudiced against or uninterested in Muggle items, especially pure-blood families."

They prefer to use magical items to maintain their pure connection with the magical world and avoid being tainted by Muggle lifestyles. As for the watch you mentioned…”

Gemma gently raised her slender wrist and offered it to Sherlock, her smile growing even wider:
"It's actually an anti-theft buzzer, a magical device that can prevent thieves from stealing items."

Sherlock: (_)
　With only two days left in the holiday, everyone should have already started their journey home, right?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)