Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 281 Behold, your omen of death shines in the sky.
"While I was giving the book list to the bookstore manager, you were having a great time playing with those monster books."

When Ron mentioned that he also needed a divination textbook, your gaze remained fixed on the small table on the other side.

There was nothing we needed there, so I assume you must have seen something interesting that triggered your association.

There were several books on divination there at the time: "The Unpredictable: How to Avoid Being Startled," "The Broken Ball: When Misfortune Strikes," and "Death Omens: What to Do When You Know Misfortune Is Coming"—so which one was it?

After Sherlock finished speaking at lightning speed, Harry looked at him with a surprised expression:
"You actually memorized all the book titles! My goodness, that's unbelievable!"

Despite knowing his friend's abilities for a long time, Sherlock still managed to surprise him from time to time.

Seeing Harry's genuine shock, Sherlock's smile grew even brighter.

“My dear Harry, it’s nothing but a few trivial tricks—as for the book’s name, remember when I told you about the Memory Attic? I just threw them in there.”

"...I didn't even remember the title of the book clearly, but now that you mention it, I do remember that I was indeed reading that book about 'signs of death'."

"《Signs of Death: What to Do When You Know Doom Is Coming》? The one with a big black dog on the cover?"

"Yes! That's the one!"

Harry said excitedly, he really hadn't expected Sherlock to be so observant, which saved him from having to explain anything further.

"That black dog was as big as a bear. When I saw it, it looked familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before."

"Does it feel familiar?"

Sherlock clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them, lost in thought.

Harry didn't disturb him, but just watched him quietly.

After a moment, Sherlock suddenly turned and asked:

“Do you remember last year when you first heard the basilisk's voice in Lockhart's office, I asked you if you had ever heard a similar voice before?”

Harry thought for a moment, then said, "I remember you deduced that the sound was made by a strange creature."

"That's right. Later, it turned out that my deduction was correct. You did hear similar sounds before, from that Brazilian python in the zoo."

Sherlock paused here, "This time, my deduction remains the same as last time."

"You mean I really saw that big dog somewhere?"

"It might not actually be that big of a dog."

Sherlock waved his hand. "It could also be a vague impression, or a symbol similar to a dog—it doesn't matter, you'll remember eventually."

There's no need to deliberately try to recall it; doing so would be counterproductive.

At some point, you'll think of it unexpectedly.

"But it's a sign of impending death..."

Seeing Harry's nervous expression, Sherlock laughed.

This is what Harry truly cares about.

He suddenly looked up and said, "The smog in London isn't having much of an impact today."

Harry looked at Sherlock, puzzled, not understanding why he had suddenly said this.

Sherlock took out a flat bottle and sipped his brandy, the aroma of the liquor mingling with the moonlight on his palate.
"My dear Harry, please look up at the starry sky."

Harry looked up.

"Do you see the stars at the tail of Ursa Major?"

As Sherlock said, the night sky is quite bright tonight, with a full moon hanging in the sky and countless stars like pearls scattered on a jade plate.

With Sherlock's guidance, he easily spotted the Big Dipper at the tail of Ursa Major, as well as the star Zeta Ursae Majoris that was specifically pointed out.

Harry looked away, staring at Sherlock with a puzzled expression, still not understanding what he meant.

"That's your omen of death shining in the sky."

Harry: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

"This is new knowledge I learned from the galaxy activity model I just bought today."

Under Harry's shocked gaze, Sherlock took another sip of his drink:

"The so-called omen of death is nothing more than a divination game woven by fools out of fear, but wizards have read different metaphors into it."

What I'm saying is, don't believe in so-called death omens; I prefer to call them—psychological suggestions.

The black hound you see is like a telescope lens in an astronomical tower, refracting nothing more than overlapping images of fragmented memories and psychological suggestions.

Harry knew Sherlock was trying to reassure him.

Can……

how to say?

This method is quite unique.

1993 9 Month 1 Day.

In the morning, the Ministry of Magic sent another vehicle to King's Road.

This time, however, Pisgood was not driving; he was sitting in the passenger seat.

The driver was a serious-looking wizard, dressed in a bright green velvet suit.

However, Sherlock noticed that this seemingly serious guy had just gotten out of bed, and the hickey-like mark on his neck wasn't completely covered by his shirt.

"Aren't Uncle and Aunt going to the station?"

Having stayed at Sherlock's house for so long, Harry was truly reluctant to leave.

"The Ministry of Magic has enough people."

Sherlock said so.

Compared to the reluctance she felt when sending Sherlock to the station the first year, Mrs. Holmes had become accustomed to seeing her son only twice a year.

She patted Harry's head affectionately. "Darling, come back during winter and spring break!"

“Easter is probably out of the question,” Sherlock shook his head. “Christmas is fine, though.”

Harry didn't agree immediately.

I'm just a little embarrassed.

Besides, spending Christmas at Hogwarts is indeed quite fun.

On the way to King's Cross Station, the Ministry of Magic vehicle, just like yesterday, exhibited magical properties unlike any other car.

It navigated effortlessly through the narrow gaps, completely unaffected by traffic jams. The result was that it arrived at King's Cross station with a full hour to spare before its train departed.

The driver and Pisgood helped Sherlock and Harry unload their luggage from the car, then drove off again. Harry was surprised to find that the car had somehow sped up from the back seat to in front of a line of cars waiting at a red light.

It is truly admirable.

Pisgood finally breathed a sigh of relief as he arrived at Platform 9¾, a place he knew exactly where to go.

“Mr. Pisgood, I think you don’t need to be so nervous.”

After spending two days together, Harry felt that this former student of Professor Flitwick was a very easy person to get along with, and seeing him like this, he couldn't help but offer some advice.

"Porter, you probably don't know how much pressure we're under."

Pisgood shook his head with a wry smile: "The department has almost completely stopped all its work in order to capture Blake. None of us want anything to happen to you."

"But……"

"But once you get to Hogwarts, it will be perfectly safe there—provided you stay in the castle and don't go anywhere else."

Hearing Pisgood's words, Harry couldn't help but sigh.

This was the second time he had heard the same thing.

Hogsmeade...

He was starting to worry that even if he had a Hogsmeade clearance form, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall wouldn't let him go there.

Just then, Hermione's family arrived.

They live nearby, so they arrived early.

When Mrs. Granger spoke to Sherlock Holmes on the phone yesterday, she already knew that the Holmes couple wouldn't be coming to the station, so she wasn't surprised to see only Sherlock and Harry.

"The two little ones have grown taller again."

She hugged Sherlock and Harry, then looked at her husband with a mischievous glint in her eyes:
“They will definitely grow to six feet tall in the future, and they will all be taller than you.”

Mr. Granger: (ーー゛)
Why bring this up out of the blue?
A little while later, the Weasleys arrived.

Only then did Pisgood feel at ease leave, which can be considered as fulfilling his duty.

Somehow, Mr. Granger and Mr. Weasley started talking about fishing, and both of them said that they had never come back empty-handed.

Mrs. Granger chatted with Mrs. Weasley about cooking, and she was also very interested in the story of how Mrs. Weasley took care of her seven children.

The young wizards gathered together, curiously examining the galaxy activity model that Sherlock and Hermione had bought yesterday.

"This is indeed a good thing."

Percy, taking the initiative as a senior, personally instructed Sherlock and Hermione:

"As long as you are good at self-study, you won't need to go to astronomy class with this, but before that, you should still tell Professor Sinesta—ah, Penelope!"

Percy, who had been talking to Sherlock and Harry, suddenly blushed, smoothed his hair, and strode off in one direction.

He deliberately puffed out his chest so that the other person could see his shiny student council president badge.

“It’s such a shame. We were planning to take it and modify it yesterday,” Fred Weasley couldn’t help but say upon seeing this.

“But for some reason, he was prepared in advance,” George Weasley said.

"As a result, they caught us red-handed."

"I even got a severe scolding from my mother."

"Ugh……"

"Hey……"

Sherlock smiled without saying a word, keeping his achievements and fame hidden.

Just then, the bright red steam train arrived.

Mrs. Weasley began kissing each of her children, starting with Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione.

"Take care, okay, Harry?"

She straightened up and said, then turned to Sherlock, "Good boy, I heard from Arthur that you and Hermione must keep a close eye on Harry and not let him run around, understand?"

Seeing that Sherlock and Hermione both nodded, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mom, me too! I can watch over Harry too!"

Ron, who was standing nearby, immediately spoke up.

"you?"

Mrs. Weasley frowned. "You've already done a huge favor by not encouraging Harry!"

"I'm not, I didn't..."

"I made sandwiches for all of you, here you go!"

"I don't want corned beef..."

"Don't worry, it's not this time."

"That's okay."

Before boarding the train, Mr. Weasley sought out Harry once again.

He wanted Harry to promise that no matter what happened, he would stay in the castle and not go to Black.

At the same time, he instructed Sherlock and Hermione, just like his wife, to keep a close eye on Harry.

Clearly, the couple had already regarded Sherlock and Hermione as Harry's guardians.

As the train whistle sounded, guards walked along the train and began closing the doors one by one.

Once the locomotive started emitting steam and slowly began to move,
"Dad and Mom, honestly, I feel like they're treating Sherlock and Hermione like your parents."

"Ron, what are you saying?!"

Hermione said angrily, but for some reason, she felt a little pleased.

"Let's find a place to sit down first."

Harry felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. Sherlock was definitely his older brother, but calling him his father was a bit of an exaggeration.

Hermione becoming a mother would be even more outrageous.

If possible, he would prefer Mr. and Mrs. Holmes to be his parents.

(End of this chapter)