Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 282 That time, just like this moment

On the Hogwarts Express, Ron was very dissatisfied with his parents' actions:
"It's all Mom and Dad's fault! They insisted on talking for so long, and now we can't even find an empty cubicle."

“No problem, my friend. Your father and brothers have already helped us put our luggage at the back of the train. From what I’ve observed, there aren’t many people in that carriage.”

Sherlock started walking down the corridor as he spoke, and Harry and Hermione followed without hesitation.

"Maybe you're right, but I'm still not happy."

Ron muttered to himself and followed the three of them.

When they arrived at the last cubicle, the four of them stopped in their tracks.

As Sherlock said, there was only one person here.

The problem is, this is a grown man.

As is well known, the Hogwarts Express is a student-only train.

Apart from the witch who pushed the cart selling them magical snacks, they had never seen any other adults in the cart.

Unexpectedly, another one has emerged now.

The man was leaning against the window, seemingly fast asleep.

Sherlock glanced at it and his eyes lit up.

Without saying a word, he went straight into the cubicle and found a seat by the window.

Hermione immediately followed him in and sat down next to him.

Harry and Ron were already used to Hermione's actions. They exchanged a glance and went into the cubicle.

Ron sat opposite Sherlock, and Harry carefully closed the sliding door and sat down next to Ron.

Hermione scrutinized the man carefully, then whispered to Sherlock:

"Sherlock, do you...do you think he's stronger than Professor Lockhart?"

"Most likely."

"How did you get it?"

"The practicality and protective awareness of the box, the strategic choice of environment, the misleading appearance and the internal contrast."

"But these alone don't seem to be convincing enough."

"That's why I say it's highly probable, rather than obvious."

Oh, and another reason is trust in Dumbledore.

At the end of last semester, he believed the curse on this job had been lifted, so he would most likely hire someone with…

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Ron, listening to Sherlock and Hermione's conversation, finally couldn't help but interrupt them.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He looked at the man, then at Sherlock and Hermione, and asked, completely bewildered:

"Do you actually know him?"

Sherlock and Hermione couldn't help but exchange a smile.

Harry, upon witnessing this scene, suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.

correct!

Sherlock and Gemma had the same expression on their faces when they came to pick him up at King's Cross Station.

This left Harry somewhat dazed.

Then and now, just as now and now.

How could they be so similar?
"He is Professor RJ Lupin, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this semester."

Hermione then answered Ron's question.

"That's obvious."

"How is that obvious?" Ron's eyes widened. "And can you please stop mimicking Sherlock Holmes all the time?"

"My pleasure!"

Hermione pointed to the luggage rack above the man's head and said with displeasure, "Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

Following Hermione's pointing finger, Harry and Ron spotted a tattered little box.

Professor RJ Lu Ping's name was printed on a corner of the box, but the letters had already peeled off.

Harry and Ron couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, the two of them unanimously recalled the scene two years ago when Sherlock first met Ron.

Ron was just as surprised as he is today that Sherlock could call out the name "Ronald Weasley" so easily.

Sherlock's reply to him was:

"If you want to hide your name, I advise you not to hang a name tag on your suitcase anymore."

Or, when you're talking to someone, don't point the sign directly at them.

Sherlock's answer still echoed in his ears, causing Ron's face to turn as red as his hair.

Am I too forgetful?

Also, how did Hermione learn this trick too?
He took a deep breath. "Even so, how do you know which subject he teaches?"

Hearing Ron's words, even Harry shook his head. "Ron, we only have one vacancy right now."

Ron: "..."

Why do I suddenly feel so stupid?

The new teacher can only teach Defense Against the Dark Arts!

Thinking about it this way, it really is obvious!

Harry's considerations were more profound than Ron's.

He tried his best to observe the new professor using Sherlock Holmes's methods.

The other person was wearing a tattered wizard's robe, with several patches on it.

He looked very young, but his light brown hair was already turning gray, and he looked sickly and had no energy at all.

The small suitcases with names printed on them on the overhead luggage rack were tattered, but every rope was neatly knotted.

Combining this with what Sherlock had just told Hermione about "the practicality and protectiveness of the box, the strategic choice of environment, and the misleading appearance and internal contrast," he understood why Sherlock thought highly of Professor Lupin.

Ron was the slowest to react, but at this point he was able to catch up with Sherlock's train of thought.

Of course, he didn't think as deeply as Harry did; instead, he went straight to the conclusion:
“Although I don’t think he looks very capable, to be honest, Hermione, I think any professor would be stronger than Lockhart.” “Professor Lockhart is very strong too!” Hermione raised her eyebrows. “Don’t forget he taught us a lot of skills and even fought Professor Snape to a draw.”

"Um, Hermione."

Harry, seeing Hermione's unconvinced expression, kindly reminded her:
“Mr. Dumbledore said that Lockhart had forgotten almost all his abilities except for the Forgetfulness Curse. His performance last semester was entirely due to being controlled by dark magic.”

Hermione: _

“Thank you for reminding me, Harry,” Hermione said through gritted teeth.

Harry: "..."

Oops, did I say something wrong?
"Alright, never mind him, let's talk about something else that's great—we can finally go to Hogsmeade this semester!"

Ron said with an envious look on his face, "Sherlock has been there twice already, but he doesn't seem interested in it and hasn't been to Honeydukes."

"Because Sherlock went there twice to investigate cases, not to play around like you."

Hermione first offered an explanation for Sherlock, then said:

"But Hogsmeade is indeed an interesting place. There's a pub that served as the headquarters for the goblin rebellion in 1612, and the Shrieking Shack is the most haunted house in England..."

"Not as good as Honeydukes—they have everything there:"
The Pepper Sprite will make your mouth smoke, and you can suck on a delicious candy stick or quill pen in class while others think you're deep in thought.

Before three sentences were out, Ron had steered the conversation toward food.

Neither Sherlock nor Harry participated in the discussion.

The former is not interested in it, while the latter is interested but still doesn't know if he can go, so he is inevitably a little down.

Hermione and Ron then realized the problem and quickly stopped discussing the topic.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"Let's take a break, everyone's tired."

"Good idea—wait, don't let that thing out!"

Ron had just agreed with Hermione's suggestion when he immediately started complaining.

Unfortunately it's too late.

Hermione untied the strap of the wicker basket beside her, and Crookshanks nimbly jumped out of the basket and, almost without pause, landed on Ron's lap.

Although it was just stretching and yawning, the bulge in Ron's pocket started to tremble.

"Go away!"

Ron saw the big cat eyeing Spotty again and angrily shoved it off.

"Ronald, stop!"

Hermione got angry too.

Ron was about to speak when Professor Lupin suddenly moved, startling him so much that he quickly shut his mouth.

At this moment, Sherlock had already picked up Crookshank and placed him on his lap, and started masturbating him with a bang~ bang~ bang.

Crookshan immediately let out a comfortable purr, seemingly enjoying Sherlock's caresses.

Hermione immediately smiled.

Ron, however, looked displeased.

Harry, sitting opposite Hermione and next to Ron, could only smile wryly at the sight.

Tom and Jerry...

The Hogwarts Express train travels north, and the scenery outside the window naturally becomes increasingly desolate.

Because of the unpleasantness caused by Crookshanks, Hermione and Ron had no desire to talk.

Hermione sat there for a while, then fell asleep leaning on Sherlock's shoulder.

Sherlock had long since fallen into a state of complete absorption in the world around him, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was not aware of it.

Seeing her sleeping so soundly, Ron snorted and turned his head away.

Harry had already witnessed this scene last summer, so he wasn't surprised.

He looked curiously at Crookshank on Sherlock's lap and noticed that its persimmon-shaped face was always turned toward Ron, while its yellow eyes were fixed on the pocket on Ron's chest, as if it still hadn't given up on Scabbers.

Tom and Jerry...

Students would occasionally run and chase past their door.

Hermione finally woke up in the afternoon.

Hermione blushed slightly when she realized she had fallen asleep on Sherlock's shoulder again.

However, her skin has been tanned to a brown color, so it's not noticeable unless you look closely.

After a while, some of their close classmates came over to greet them.

However, they all seemed rather reserved when they saw that there was another teacher in the cubicle.

Cho Chang and Ginny both wanted to talk to Harry a little longer, but it felt strange to talk to him under a teacher's nose.

Even though the professor was asleep the whole time.

“He can sleep so much,” Ron couldn’t help but say. “I mean—he’s not dead, is he?”

Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione all gave him a helpless look.

How dare you say that!

"Sherlock, what is that sound?"

Just then, a faint, almost imperceptible whistle suddenly sounded, causing Hermione to sit up straight immediately.

Harry and Ron also started looking around, with Ron constantly glancing at Professor Lupin, wondering if he had some kind of magical alarm device on him.

He always felt that the professor was frail and weak, as if a powerful old witch could take him down—of course, even so, Ron believed that he was still much stronger than Lockhart.

"Your suitcase."

Sherlock seemed to snap out of his reverie and spoke to Harry.

Harry immediately realized what was happening, stood up without saying a word, and took his suitcase off his head.

Time has passed, and the Harry Potter of today is no longer the skinny little boy who needed Sherlock's help to put his suitcase into the carriage.

He has grown taller and stronger.

So without anyone else's help, I easily took down the suitcase and found the source of the sound from the corner.

That was a miniature magnifying glass, a birthday gift that Ron had specially bought for him from Egypt.

The spyglass spun rapidly in Harry's palm, emitting a dazzling light.

(End of this chapter)