Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 347 I have never seen such a shameless person.

“Harry, you know me.”

Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confidently told Harry:

"Actually, I started investigating this case as soon as I took office."

However, you should know that during the investigation process, you will inevitably encounter various obstacles.

Those stubborn old folks are unwilling to admit the mistakes they've made—especially old stories like this, which are even harder to investigate thoroughly.

It's truly heartbreaking that these people would disregard the facts when faced with fairness and justice.

It's all my fault as the minister. I usually only focus on being strict with myself, but I haven't been able to manage the people and things around me.

Uh, I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have said that to you.

Watching Fudge spout nonsense with such a straight face, Harry sighed and completely lost interest in continuing to talk to Fudge.

Sherlock had done everything—not only had he exposed Peter Pettigrew's disguise, but he had also captured the key figure and even understood the whole story. All that was left was for the Ministry of Magic to take the final step.

But they can't even take this step properly, and now they have the nerve to spout nonsense here?

Harry had never seen such a shameless person!
“I will tell him, Minister, if Sirius really comes looking for me.”

"Really?" Fudge immediately looked surprised.

"Yes, I promise you."

Harry, eager to end his conversation with Fudge, said this.

But he thought to himself, who knows when he'll be able to see Sirius again.

Even if he did meet Sirius, he would only be a messenger. Whether Sirius would come or not would be up to him.
"Ha, then it's settled!"

Fudge, of course, had no idea what Harry was thinking, and upon hearing this, he immediately breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although the famous Harry Potter is the boy who survived, the savior of the wizarding world, and indeed the Dark Lord, at the end of the day, he is still just a thirteen-year-old child.

Compared to those Muggle politicians and those old fogies in schools who can't see the bigger picture, they're much easier to deal with.

In fact, today's conversation was also suggested by the secretary of the Ministry of Magic who works next to the Muggle Prime Minister.

Given Harry Potter's special status, getting him to stand with him would be entirely beneficial to his future rule.

The deal was done, and he reached out again to shake hands firmly with Harry:
"I have to go now, I have a ton of things to do—have a great holiday in advance, Harry."

After Fudge finished speaking, he walked over to Percy, who quickly handed him the striped cloak.

Percy looked at Fudge, who left without shaking his hand, and once again looked at Harry with envy.

Once he was sure Fudge had left, Percy hurried over and said in a tone of disappointment:
"Harry, how could you speak to the minister like that?"

"Huh? What? What tone?"

Although Harry didn't have much affection for the Minister of Magic, he believed that he had performed quite well in their brief conversation.

Didn't you see me giving you a meaningful look?

Percy said very quickly, "This is a chance to speak alone with the Minister of Magic! You should do your best to make a good impression on him!"

"I……"

Harry was about to say that he didn't need to make a good impression on him, but Percy interrupted him:
"At least introduce yourself!"

And since the minister was so welcoming to you, shouldn't you express your gratitude?
Harry, if it weren't for the Ministry of Magic, you might still be in the dark, thinking that Peter Pettigrew was the hero!

Upon hearing Percy's words, Harry suddenly lost interest in continuing to talk to him.

The Ministry of Magic not only did nothing in this matter, but also greatly hindered progress.

If it weren't for the help of the Holmes brothers, who knows how much longer Sirius would have suffered this injustice.

However, he knew very well that even if he told Percy this, Percy might not believe him, so after giving a perfunctory reply, Harry decisively turned and left.

"I understand, I'll definitely do it next time."

"There won't be a next time, this is such a precious opportunity..."

Percy was still calling after him, but Harry ignored him and walked straight toward his friends.

Sherlock saw Harry and smiled slightly: "You've gotten rid of him?"

Harry let out a long sigh of relief as his friend stared at him with a half-smile.

“Yes, Sherlock, Percy really is…”

Harry shook his head, but ultimately refrained from speaking ill of Percy out of consideration for Ron and Ginny. Instead, he recounted what had just happened.

"Never mind, ignorance is no excuse."

Hermione, who had always been on good terms with Percy, coaxed, "In Percy's opinion, Peter Pettigrew was captured by the Ministry of Magic, and even Sirius Black was deliberately released by them."

"Forget it. Even if he knew the truth, he would definitely do everything he could to curry favor with the minister if given the chance," Ron said irritably.

Ginny nodded. "Percy is just that kind of person."

Hearing that even Percy's own siblings said the same thing, Hermione naturally couldn't say anything more.

So she quickly changed the subject, "Harry, we were just talking about how, now that Minister Fudge has allowed you to go home for the holidays, are you still going to stay at school?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ron and Ginny.

“Harry, don’t worry about us,” Ron laughed heartily. “Haven’t your relationship with the Muggles improved? Go back whenever you want!”

Ginny forced a smile. "Yeah, yeah, go back if you want."

"But didn't you say you didn't want to spend two weeks with Percy?"

Recalling Percy's behavior just now, Harry felt that if it were him, he wouldn't want to be around someone like that either.

"If you don't want to go home, I'll stay at school and keep you company!"

Ginny's eyes lit up at his words, and she was about to speak when Ron laughed and said:
"What are you saying! It's not like Percy is the only one at home. There's Fred and George, and Mom and Dad!"

I can't wait to tell them how Sherlock solved this case!

Right, Ginny?

Ginny: "..."

For a fleeting moment, Ginny dared to swear in Merlin's name that she truly wanted to kick this sixth brother's ass with her boots.

Ron Weasley, is this guy even my own brother?!
And you're talking about Percy? Sixth Brother, let alone Third Brother, he's no better!

It's always the same; not only do they not help, they also keep hindering us. "Then, then I'll just go home."

Under Ginny's somewhat disappointed gaze, Harry hesitated before saying, "I think we should tell Aunt Petunia about this."

Now that their relationship had been repaired, Harry began to regard his aunt and uncle as his true family.

It is necessary for them to know the truth about their parents' deaths.

"Harry, you are so kind."

Hermione looked at Harry and said something with a touch of emotion.

She knew about Harry's living environment, and putting herself in his shoes, she didn't think she could be as magnanimous as Harry.

The other friends nodded in agreement.

Perhaps only an old man like Dumbledore, who lived in the Victorian era, would think that Harry has been "doing quite well" all these years.

After all, in that era, there were such egregious and immoral things as the Orphan of Twist and the three-year-old boy who cleaned chimneys.

After her initial reflection, Hermione turned her gaze to Sherlock:

"Sherlock, do you really think Black will come looking for Harry like Minister Fudge said?"

"Obviously, my friend."

Sherlock gave an affirmative answer: "Sirius chose to escape because he discovered that Peter was still alive."

For him, the desire for revenge must have been the top priority.

However, judging from the descriptions of the professors and Sirius's actions after his escape, he also cared a great deal about Harry.

That's why she went to see Harry on the morning he left Privet Drive, and after arriving at Hogwarts, she went to the Quidditch pitch again to watch Harry play.

Therefore, after learning of this news, he will definitely come to verify the accuracy of the information.

In this situation, finding Harry would be a good option.

It seems the Ministry of Magic isn't entirely hopeless; at least some people are aware of exactly where their folly lies.

Hearing Sherlock's merciless mockery of the Ministry of Magic, the friends remained silent.

There's still one thing I don't understand.

Hermione then posed another question: "Black spent twelve years in Azkaban, why did he only choose to escape this year?"

“That’s a good question. It’s because he only found out this year that Peter Pettigrew is not dead.”

"But how did he know?"

Hermione found it even stranger. "He's always been in Azkaban, which is isolated from the outside world. Logically, Black shouldn't have any way of knowing about Peter Pettigrew."

“My dear Hermione, if you think about it carefully, there’s really only one way for a prisoner in Azkaban to see news from the outside world, isn’t there?”

Sherlock smiled at Harry. "Harry actually mentioned this in his description of his conversation with Fudge."

Hermione is indeed intelligent; she grasps things immediately when it matters.

You mean...the newspaper!

"Bingo!"

Sherlock snapped his fingers:

Fudge said that Sirius asked him for the newspaper to do a crossword puzzle, but he didn't know that it was this newspaper that made Sirius realize that Peter was still alive.

"You can tell Peter is still alive just from a crossword puzzle?"

Ron's eyes widened in surprise. "This doesn't make any sense!"

“Of course it’s not a crossword puzzle, my dear Ron.”

Sherlock looked at Ron and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Actually, you should have been the first to think of this!"

"I?"

Ron pointed to himself, his face full of disbelief.

Seeing that Ron hadn't reacted yet, Sherlock asked again, "Do you remember the birthday present you gave Harry?"

"Of course I remember. I originally thought that thing was a cheap knock-off, but it actually worked. It seems the Egyptian sorcerers weren't such swindlers after all..."

Ron praised him with some emotion, then asked again with a puzzled look, "But what does this have to do with Sirius finding out that Peter is still alive?"

Sherlock:

Ron Weasley raised the average height of Gryffindor students, but lowered their average IQ.

“Ron, not a miniature peephole.”

Harry, though a bit slower than Hermione, quickly realized what was happening and, seeing Ron still looking at Sherlock with that innocent yet foolish gaze, hurriedly said:

"It's a photograph, the one from The Daily Prophet."

"What picture?"

Seeing that Ron still looked completely bewildered, even Ginny couldn't stand it anymore.

"Please, Ron, you included a clipping from the Daily Prophet with your birthday present to Harry! It's our family photo..."

"I see!"

Ron finally realized:

“That photo, Scabbers… At that time, besides us, Peter Pettigrew in Scabbers was standing on my shoulder!”

Everyone could hardly bear to look at Ron, who seemed to have discovered a new continent.

It was Sherlock who responded first:
“That’s right, Ron—others might not recognize him, but Sirius will definitely recognize Peter at a glance!”
Professor Lupin may not be as quick to recognize him as Sirius Black, but that's only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, Scabbers, Peter Pettigrew's transformed form, didn't stay with Ron the whole time, so Professor Lupin never saw it before I revealed the truth.

That's why I say that even without that crucial piece of the puzzle, we'll eventually find Peter.

Given a chance, he will eventually be able to see through the surface to the essence.

After explaining this matter, Sherlock brought the topic back to Sirius Black:
"In short, based on my understanding of Sirius's personality, he should be able to sort out his thoughts and find Harry soon."

No one questions Sherlock's judgment anymore.

Even so, no one expected that this day would come so suddenly and so quickly.

(End of this chapter)