Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 301 Hug the thigh

Hearing the encouragement from the lion cubs around him, Neville Longbottom managed a smile that looked more like a grimace:
"Thank you for speaking up for me, Harry."

Seeing Neville's expression, Harry, who had initially thought he was right, began to regret his earlier statement.

"Harry, you know perfectly well that the old Batman will just make up some excuse, so why do something like this?"

As Harry's friend, Ron spoke much more casually, saying, "It makes absolutely no sense!"

“I was too impulsive,” Harry sighed.

He glanced at Sherlock furtively as he spoke.

The reason he did that was because he suddenly remembered a quote from Sherlock Holmes: "My friend, never lose the courage to oppose authority."

But now it seems things aren't going so smoothly.

"My friend, there's nothing wrong with questioning authority, it's just that you've chosen the wrong method."

Just as he was pondering this, Sherlock's voice rang in his ears.

"Sherlock, what are you doing again..."

“My dear Harry, it’s far too easy for me to figure out what you’re thinking, so I won’t go into the details.”

Sherlock said with a smile, “The tower of authority is full of cracks, but reckless collisions will only bury the truth under rubble.”

As a teacher, Professor Snape naturally had an advantage over his students due to his position.

When your own strength is insufficient, you must rely on the strength of others.

"Regarding this matter alone, it's very difficult to get a fair outcome if you really want it:"
First, you need to prove that Malfoy did not ask Professor Snape for leave beforehand.

After obtaining detailed evidence, inform Professor McGonagall of the incident so that she can speak with Professor Snape directly, rather than confronting him in this setting.

Sherlock's words made Harry fall into deep thought.

“I understand, it’s like Wizard Chess! A direct attack on the Queen will be crushed by the Bishop, but a feint attack by the Knights can expose the castle’s weaknesses.”

Harry hadn't figured it out yet, but Ron had.

He excitedly swung the silver spoon, nearly knocking over Neville's cauldron, and hurriedly apologized to him.

However, this matter was nothing compared to the trouble Neville encountered in this lesson.

He was as good at Herbalism as he was at Potions.

Unlike other teachers, Professor Snape's Potions class rarely reviewed previous material.

So even on the first day of the new semester, he began teaching entirely new material: shrinking potions.

This is a magical potion that can shrink or regress a creature to a juvenile state; its normal form is this bright green acidic liquid.

Its main purpose is research, combating large monsters with strong spell abilities, or relocating livestock—for example, shrinking an entire flock of sheep into a wizard's pocket and taking it away.

The raw materials are relatively complex: wrinkled figs, daisy roots, caterpillars, mugwort, leeches, mouse spleen and bile, hemlock essence, etc.

This is a very troublesome thing.

Because Professor Snape also relied heavily on textbooks, he often taught students through a combination of oral instruction and blackboard writing.

This is naturally a good thing for students with strong learning abilities, but it's not good news for students like Harry and Neville.

Other classes were fine, but in Potions class, Harry absolutely refused to be separated from Sherlock.

So when Ron saw Hermione was about to come closer, he immediately moved a stool and sat down next to Sherlock and Harry.

“Um… Hermione, I think you should go help Neville. He needs your help more than we do.”

Seeing Ron shamelessly and elegantly express his desire to curry favor with someone powerful, Hermione immediately looked at Harry.

Harry quickly added, "Hermione, I agree with Ron."

The subtext is, "Brother, you can't sacrifice me for your happiness!"

Hermione glared at him, then looked at Sherlock, who remained unmoved, and Neville, who looked expectant. She sighed, placed the cauldron next to Neville, and began preparing the ingredients with Neville and Seamus.

The main problem is that if I don't settle things properly, Professor Snape might take the opportunity to deduct points again.

Of course, her actions delighted Neville and Seamus.

There is a big boss to lead you!
Looking at Hermione's team, which was a god-like team with two terrible players, Ron felt ashamed but also somewhat fortunate.

If I hadn't just witnessed Kun's actions, I would be working with Little Round Face and Demolitionist right now.

Just imagining that scene is enough to make one feel a mix of ecstasy and exhilaration.

The making of the shrinking potion officially began, and Harry and Ron immediately started helping Sherlock without saying a word.

Harry carefully peeled the fig.

Ron chopped the three daisy roots into equal pieces, and then began to slice the caterpillars.

With Sherlock's guidance, the three of them quickly filled their cauldrons with green potion.

"call……"

Ron glanced at the textbook and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the potion in front of him was exactly the same as the illustration in the book. He was even more glad that he had clung to a powerful figure.

What's wrong with sucking up to someone's leg?
Why should I give away the opportunity I earned by climbing the ladder through my own abilities?

Harry looked in Hermione's direction and saw her busy and overwhelmed. Besides feeling the same relief as Ron, he also felt a little ashamed, feeling that he had let his good brother Hermione down.

It's not that Hermione's potions skills are inferior to Sherlock's; the main problem lies with their partners. Comparisons are always a bad thing.

Although Ron and I were also bad at it, we were much better than Neville and Seamus.

Thankfully, there hasn't been an opportunity to cast a spell in today's class so far, otherwise Hermione would have been more like a firefighter putting out fires.

Fortunately, the road is winding, but the future is bright.

Hermione was well prepared for the difficulties she was about to face.

As the allotted time drew to a close, she and Neville and Seamus finally managed to brew three pots of dazzling green potion.

Hermione also breathed a long sigh of relief.

very tired.

When Potions class ended, Neville and Seamus were quick to thank Hermione.

If Hermione hadn't helped today, Gryffindor would have lost points, which would have been a minor setback; they would have suffered a severe humiliation at the hands of Professor Snape.

Just as Neville was stammering an apology to Hermione, Seamus suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Sherlock and Harry:

"Have you seen today's Daily Prophet? It has a story about Sirius Black."

“A Muggle saw Black and immediately called the hotline, but by the time the Ministry of Magic arrived, he was already gone.”

"Hey, Holmes, you've been reading the newspaper?"

"It's obvious."

"The key point is that the Muggles found him not far from here... What's wrong, Harry?"

As Seamus finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that Harry's expression was a little strange, and asked curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Harry said, barely managing to say. “I just didn’t expect the Ministry of Magic to still not have caught him.”

"Yes, after all, he's a ruthless guy who managed to escape from a place like Azkaban. Catching him won't be easy..."

That said, although Dementors are unsettling, the thought of them guarding the school makes me feel much safer.

That concludes the discussion about Sirius Black.

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry with some concern, seemingly afraid that he might impulsively run out to look for Black.

But Sherlock remained as steady as a rock.

The most impulsive moment has passed.

Harry is less likely to do something like that now.

In the potions class just now, Sherlock pointed out that one should pay attention to the manner and method when questioning authority, which is also a kind of psychological suggestion.

He believed Harry would understand.

Just then, Harry looked at Sherlock.

The gray eyes and the green eyes met, and everything was understood without words.

During lunch, everyone was talking about Sirius Black.

Even Gemma Farley came to the Gryffindor table.

Gemma, now in seventh grade, has blossomed into an even more beautiful young woman. Her new role as student council president adds another layer of glamour to her already illustrious image.

Even the Gryffindor students had heard that she received a lot of love letters.

This matter will likely reach its peak around Valentine's Day, February 14th next year.

“Harry, you look much better than I thought.”

Hearing Gemma's words, Harry looked at Sherlock in surprise.

“No need to look at him,” Gemma smiled and shook her head. “I was the one who first told him about this.”

Harry suddenly realized.

He immediately recalled the three letters Sherlock received during his summer vacation at Sherlock's house, one of which was written to him by Gemma.

“Thank you, Gemma,” Harry said sincerely.

Hermione and Ron watched the exchange between the three with suspicion, both sensing that Sherlock and Harry were hiding something from them.

While Ron was still pondering, Hermione spoke first:
"Miss Gemma, did you arrange for Malfoy to apologize to Harry?"

"Yes, Miss Hermione."

Gemma looked at Hermione with her sea-blue eyes and smiled slightly. "I think he hasn't caused you any more trouble lately, has he?"

“That’s true.” Hermione nodded.

"No wonder he hasn't caused us any trouble lately..."

Ron also had a look of sudden realization.

Just like the incident this morning when Harry lost points in Potions class, if it were in the past, Malfoy would never have missed the chance to make sarcastic remarks, but today he seemed to have fallen silent.

"Although the Ministry of Magic did not catch Black this time, it did at least track him down."

At this point, Gemma paused, then said hesitantly, "He might be caught and brought to justice soon."

(End of this chapter)