Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 355 There must be a deal between them
While Snape was keeping an eye on Sirius, Sherlock was also observing the Potions professor.

Last time, Sherlock had a sudden whim, and Peter, who had taken Truth Potion, immediately accused Snape of being a traitor to the Order of the Phoenix.

Of course, Dumbledore later explained this, thus smoothing over the matter.

But this still caught Sherlock's attention.

Professor Flitwick once told Sherlock that everyone at Hogwarts has a secret.

But if Sherlock wanted to, he could make sure no one had any secrets.

Professor Flitwick was well aware of this.

Therefore, he specifically reminded Sherlock not to delve into the secrets of the faculty and staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

That would be a very embarrassing thing.

Sherlock agreed to it at the time.

but.

This is a moment.

Through these three years of contact, even without deliberately investigating, Sherlock could be certain of one thing.

There must be some shady deal between Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Moreover, the secret hidden within Snape is also closely related to Harry.

Since it concerns his close friend, Sherlock cannot ignore it.

So ever since the trial of Peter ended, Sherlock felt it was necessary to find out the secrets hidden within this Potions Master.

Therefore, Snape's every move was under his watchful eye.

From the moment Sirius entered the room, Snape's gaze was fixed on him.

Furthermore, Snape's unusual expression when Fudge mentioned the Order of Merlin further led Sherlock to make a more accurate assessment of the relationship between Snape and Harry's father and other old friends.

Love, hate, passion, grudges, and entanglements.

Great, things are getting more and more interesting.

“Cornelly,” Dumbledore finally interrupted Fudge, “I think we should ask them to sit down first.”

"Ah, Dumbledore, you're right."

Upon hearing Dumbledore speak, Fudge released Sirius's hand and then patted Harry on the shoulder:

"Well done, Harry!"
As expected of Potter and Lily's child, you really haven't let them down!
Although everyone else says you're just a 13-year-old kid, I don't think so!
I've told others more than once that you are the future hope of the magical world, you..."

"Connelly..."

Dumbledore spoke again, his voice now tinged with helplessness.

This person really left him speechless; he was the one who clearly treated Harry like a 13-year-old child.

At the start of the term, he refused to tell Harry that Sirius was after Harry—though now it seems they had indeed misunderstood Sirius.

He came for Peter.

"Alright, alright, please have a seat!"

Fudge realized he had gone a bit too far and quickly stepped aside.

But you can't blame him.

He came to see Dumbledore today because he wanted him to help clarify something.

Those damned reporters are utterly shameless. They seize on a single point and launch a massive attack, taking things out of context. It's driving him crazy.

Unfortunately, he did not receive a satisfactory answer from Dumbledore.

But Dumbledore also brought him some wonderful news: Sirius was willing to come back with Harry!
For him, this was a godsend.

Sirius's return means he heeded Harry's advice and decided to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic.

In this way, the case that was wrongly judged by the Ministry of Magic twelve years ago can be transformed into a political resource.

Fudge even came up with a reasoning to set things right:

The former minister was blind to the truth, leading the Ministry of Magic to treat a traitor, a vicious murderer, and a subordinate of the mysterious man as heroes, while throwing the real heroes into Azkaban prison.

The current minister, with his keen eye, not only noticed the clues as soon as he took office, but also successfully persuaded the wronged hero with his noble personal charm, and the two cooperated to capture the fugitive who had been on the run for twelve years.

In this way, Sirius Black's prison break scandal was instantly cleared up.

His brilliant leadership will be recognized by the entire magical world.

Although I am disgusted by the Muggle Prime Minister's pressure on me a couple of days ago, forcing me to acknowledge Sirius's achievements.

But if it could be done this way, things would be completely reversed.

What was bad turned into good.

As for that bastard reporter who smeared me, there's no need to care about it anymore.

He could even consider awarding himself a First Class Order of Merlin.

"Sirius."

After everyone was seated, Dumbledore looked at his former student, the man he had misunderstood so deeply, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He was more handsome than Tom Riddle and Gilderoy Lockhart when they were young, but now he looks like this.

"I'm sorry, you've had a tough time all these years."

"It has nothing to do with you; it's my own fault."

Sirius Black said without hesitation, "If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have died. I deserve it."

"Don't say that, poor child."

Professor McGonagall couldn't bear to watch any longer. Looking at Sirius's haggard face, she said with a pang of heartache, "It's all Peter's fault..."

“No, Professor McGonagall.”

Surprisingly, Sirius seemed to respect Professor McGonagall even more than Dumbledore. "I practically killed them with my own hands, if I hadn't suggested to James and Lily that the person to replace the Secret Keeper..."

"Stop talking, stop talking."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "It's all in the past now. Everything is out in the open, and the traitor has received his due punishment..."

"Yes, you're our hero now, Blake!"

Fudge finally found an opportunity to speak, and immediately looked at Sirius with a smile and said:

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, your arrest warrant has been withdrawn."

To reward your achievements, the Order of Merlin's medals are ready.

Like I just said, if I can get it, level one! But...

I need your help with something, just a small favor.

That's about me helping you leave Azkaban to capture the real criminal..."

Sirius remained noncommittal about Fudge's self-aggrandizing behavior.

But thinking about it carefully, it was Fudge who showed him that newspaper, which confirmed that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, that made him decide to leave prison.

In this respect, it's not entirely wrong to say that Fudge helped him leave Azkaban.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Magic also revealed the truth about what happened back then—although the process was somewhat convoluted.

Of course, the most important thing is to take care of Harry. A father will do everything he can to fulfill his son's wishes.

So Sirius didn't completely disrespect Fudge and responded to Fudge's question.

"More interesting than that is when to perform the Dementor Kiss on Peter?"
I want to be there to see it, just like you did when you tried me.

Upon hearing Sirius's words, both Professor Snape and Professor Lupin looked towards Fudge.

Without a doubt, they were the people on the scene who most wanted Peter Pettigrew to die.

If it weren't for Harry's intervention, they would have loved to kill Peter with their own hands.

Surprisingly, Fudge's expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural when Sirius mentioned this:
"This matter... might be quite difficult to handle."

Everyone looked at Fudge in surprise.

Even Sherlock frowned.

Dumbledore's eyes sharpened instantly.

His eyes, which had seen through the vicissitudes of life, stared intently at Fudge through his half-moon-shaped glasses, and he slowly spoke:
“Connelly, you might as well put it more clearly.”

Fudge became increasingly uncomfortable under Dumbledore's gaze.

Strange, why has the other party suddenly become so intimidating?
An illusion must be an illusion.

But at this moment, all he could do was rub his hands together and say:
"Well... actually... there are some differing opinions within the department regarding this matter."

Some people believe that we punished Peter too harshly.

His crime was actually the same crime that Blake committed, and Blake was only sentenced to life imprisonment, so…”

"Fuck your mother's fart!"

"What a joke!"

Unexpectedly, Sirius Black and Professor Snape spoke at the same time, with Sirius Black even swearing.

After speaking at the same time, the two immediately looked at each other, their eyes both revealing a hint of disdain.

But the next moment, Sirius turned his gaze away from Professor Snape and stared straight at Fudge, then began to roar:
"You actually compared me to him?"

That bastard's actions are enough to warrant his death ten times over!

If you can't even do this, I'll kill him with my own hands, I swear!

Since it's so difficult, I think we should just give up!

“Blake, you…”

Fudge hadn't expected Sirius to react so strongly to this.

He was about to offer some advice when Professor Snape interrupted him.

Snape's voice was deep, but still carried an barely suppressed rage:

"Your Excellency Minister, before this, you had always wanted the Dementors to give Black a little kiss."

It even authorized the Dementors to do this once they captured him.

When Fudge heard Snape reveal this, his expression changed drastically.

He looked at Sirius and saw that the latter's expression had indeed become ferocious.

"Oh dear, things are always changing, Professor Snape..."

“Peter has done what you’ve always thought Blake did, Minister.”

Snape continued in his cold voice, "In that case, it's a no-brainer to give this kiss to that damned rat."

Although the two disliked each other from the very first meeting, Snape and Sirius unexpectedly formed a united front when it came to Peter Pettigrew.

This put Fudge in a rather awkward position.

“Um… Sirius, Severus, although I am the minister, I still need to consider dissenting opinions. We must uphold democracy… the rule of law…”

Fudge has started calling them by their first names in an effort to get closer to them.

Unfortunately, the results were not very good.

"Then there's nothing more to say."

Sirius, sensing Fudge's evasiveness, said bluntly, "I think our journalist friends must be very interested in the fact that the Ministry of Magic could treat a murderer as a hero twelve years ago without any judgment."

“For example, Skeeter, whom the minister just mentioned, she would definitely be very interested in this matter,” Snape said.

"The Daily Prophet has something to do: the Order of Merlin, First Class, has been awarded to a notorious murderer."

"For the past twelve years, the Ministry of Magic has been promoting this murderer as a positive role model."

"Even revealing the truth was not done willingly."

"Minister, you don't want to become a laughing stock in the entire magical world, do you?"

Sirius and Snape exchanged words, their coordination surprisingly seamless.

Cornelius Fudge was sweating profusely and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

He couldn't help but look to Harry for help, as if grasping at the last straw:
“Harry, you know me, this is absolutely not what I meant. Please help me persuade your godfather…”

Harry frowned and didn't say anything.

It seems that Fudge really has always considered himself a child.

How could I possibly try to persuade Sirius at a time like this?
"Twelve years ago, the Ministry of Magic imprisoned Sirius Black in Azkaban without trial."

Now that the evidence is irrefutable, it's rather ridiculous that they're hesitant and indecisive.

"I didn't do that!"

Fudge quickly explained, "It was Crouch's decision to send Black to Azkaban without trial; he was the Director of Magical Law Enforcement at the time..."

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that the person who had spoken up was not Harry, but Sherlock.

He frowned, staring at the boy who dared to look him in the eye, and asked, "And who are you?"

"Sherlock Holmes, an ordinary third-year student at Hogwarts."

Sherlock smiled slightly and said to Fudge:

"Minister, you don't need to remember my name. I'm just an insignificant nobody."

"I never intended to remember you."

Fudge wasn't very polite when he spoke to Sherlock.

Harry was still just a 13-year-old child in Fudge's eyes, but he only received special treatment because of his status as the savior of the wizarding world.

Sherlock, who was the same age as him, would naturally not enjoy such treatment.

If it weren't for the fact that Sherlock came in with Sirius, Lupin, and Harry, he wouldn't have even bothered to speak to Sherlock.

However, Fudge never expected that his attitude toward Sherlock would immediately bring him trouble.

As Sherlock's best friend and someone who idolizes Sherlock like an older brother, Harry was the first to not tolerate it.

"Minister Fouché."

Harry's green eyes were fixed on Fudge, and as Fudge looked on in surprise, he slowly said, word by word:
“Sherlock is my best friend. It was all because of him that we were able to find Peter and persuade my godfather to come here.”

(End of this chapter)