Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 362 An Unexpected Gift

Dear Sherlock:

First of all, Merry Christmas!

I wanted to tell you this in person as soon as you returned to Hogwarts.

But after much consideration, I feel it would be better to deliver the Christmas gift to you at this special time.

If you have a memory loft, you must remember that when I talked to you about your post-graduation plans, I mentioned that I would give you a special Christmas gift.

Now it's finally time to fulfill our promise.

Three years is enough time for me to get to know a person, so I think you must really need a private space where you won't be disturbed.

As far as I know, your past choices were often the college common room, the library, your dorm room, and... that abandoned empty classroom that we've used more than once.

They each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

However, these drawbacks become magnified when it comes to discussing matters that should not be made public.

As a former Slytherin prefect, I am responsible for patrolling the castle corridors.

As the president of the girls' council, I also have to deal with the Hogwarts Castle caretaker and those ghosts.

To lighten Mr. Filch's burden, I consulted some old archives about castle maintenance.

After several conversations with Barrow the Blood and Ms. Gray, and through other verification methods, I finally found something very interesting.

The Room of Requirement

The name itself sounds interesting, doesn't it?
House-elves call it the "Ghost House" because it appears and disappears only when someone truly needs it.

Its location is opposite the giant tapestry depicting the giant stick beating up Banamaba on the eighth floor of the castle.

I doubt even with your keen observation skills, you would have noticed that there's a magical room here.
Take back the joke I just made; the way to access it is:

Walk back and forth across that seemingly ordinary stone wall three times, focusing intently on imagining the space you need.

Once successful, a smooth door will appear on the wall, leading to a space tailored to your needs at that time.

I've tested it, and it definitely exists.

When I need an extremely quiet place to organize my thoughts, or to find a corner where I won't be disturbed to practice the theoretical spell model for taming a dragon—oh, don't worry, there are no real dragons—it satisfies all my needs.

If you have a rich enough imagination, a soundproof study, an empty meeting room, or even a replica of that old classroom we used to use... it can make it all possible for you.

I'm giving you this gift because it's far more trustworthy than any temporary corner we've ever hidden in.

I hope that after I leave school, this house, which can meet all your needs, will be of help to you in the future.

I believe it will be more effective at solving problems than Hogsmeade's vintage wines, and more understanding of human nature than Romanian brandy.

I sincerely hope that when you receive this gift, you will feel just as I said before – "I think you will be very happy."

May the fire in the fireplace dispel the chill of London.

Please give my regards to my uncle and aunt, and my brother—if he's home.

Gemma sends her greetings

Perhaps because graduation was approaching, Gemma's letter was much lighter in tone than usual.

After reading the letter, Sherlock was lost in memories.

Just as Gemma said, he quickly found the context in the memory attic where Gemma had mentioned this matter to him.

An abandoned classroom, Gemma's promise.

This Christmas, I plan to give you a special gift.

I think you'll be happy.

Sherlock smiled.

He was indeed very happy because Gemma had guessed correctly.

During his three years at Hogwarts, he had mastered most of the castle's secrets.

Even compared to the Weasley brothers, who had the Marauder's Map, it wasn't much worse.

Furthermore, Harry received the Marauder's Map from the Weasley twins, which directly filled in the gaps in his understanding of Hogwarts Castle.

But Gemma's Christmas gift to him this time opened a whole new door for him once again.

Based on his own exploration and the Marauder's Map, he further expanded his understanding of Hogwarts Castle.

Although the Marauder's Map wasn't with him, Sherlock still clearly remembered that the map didn't mark this mysterious room on the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle.

When he first got the Marauder's Map, he noticed that the Chamber of Slytherin was not shown on the map.

He had actually thought about this problem at that time.

Besides the escape room, there are likely other places that are also not shown on the Marauder's Map.

I didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Is it the Room of Requirement?

It must be said that Gemma's special Christmas gift to Sherlock immediately piqued his interest.

Just as Gemma said in her letter, a room that can change according to one's imagination at will—the name itself sounds intriguing.

Once school starts, I'll definitely go and find out for myself!
Besides Gemma's special gift, Sherlock also received Christmas gifts from his other friends.

Why did Mycroft say before leaving that Sherlock was more popular with girls than he had imagined?

It's because most of the gifts he receives are from women.

Gemma, Hermione, Luna, Cho Chang, Ginny, Hannah, the Pettier twins, Penelope... and so on.

Oh, and Mrs. Weasley too.

She gave Sherlock another hand-knitted sweater, with a slightly different style, but it was generally the same as in previous years.

The overall color is still bright blue, with a large red and gold "S" embroidered on the chest.

Another thing is that the size is much larger than last year—she knows very well that Sherlock has grown very tall this year.

His friends all know Sherlock well, and the gifts they give him are mostly books.

Hermione delivered a copy of "Unsolved Mysteries of the Wizarding World" along with a box of chocolate frogs.

In the letter, she also told Sherlock that she was doing something important, speaking in a rather mysterious tone, and that she would call Sherlock again in a couple of days when she had some progress.

Qiu Zhang presented him with a set of juvenile detective books from a distant Eastern country.

Luna sent over the annual compilation of "The Quibbler" and a hand-drawn portrait of Sherlock.

The artwork is surprisingly exquisite, highlighting and amplifying Sherlock's facial features, giving it a comic book style. It even personifies the harassing horsefly that she often mentions.

The gifts that Hannah, the Petit twins, Penelope, and their male friends gave to Sherlock were all very similar.

Ginny brought over some homemade cookies.

After tasting a piece, Sherlock felt that she had given him a practice piece, and then gave it to Harry when she was truly satisfied.

What surprised Sherlock the most was a small bottle of Felix Felicis.

Along with the Felix Felicis, a small card was also sent, with a line of text written in messy handwriting.

[Your so-called deductive method isn't entirely without merit.] Looking at the unsigned card, Sherlock couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Severus Snape.

The professor's personality remains unchanged.

When I gave Harry a gift last time, at least I left a signature that read "SS," but this time there wasn't even a signature.

However, only a handful of people at Hogwarts are capable of brewing Felix Felicis.

Not to mention he used the exact same bottle he gave to Harry last time.

As for this comment, it is full of strong personal style.

So, are you planning to conceal your identity or reveal it?

So hard to guess!

Besides Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Lupin all sent gifts to Sherlock.

Their goal was the same as Snape's: to thank Sherlock for exposing Peter Pettigrew, revealing the truth of the murder twelve years ago, and bringing justice to Sirius Black.

Compared to the arrogant Professor Snape, they were much more frank, expressing their sincere gratitude in the letters that accompanied the gifts.

As Sherlock looked at the gifts the professors had given him, his smile gradually faded.

During his first year, he had already noticed Snape's special feelings for Harry's mother, Lily, through his various actions.

At that time, Professor Snape was unaware of Sherlock's abilities, so without any attempt to conceal them, Sherlock easily discovered that he and Harry's father were rivals.

This inference was confirmed by Hagrid at the time.

In addition, Sherlock discovers that Professor Snape still feels deep guilt about Harry's mother's death.

However, thanks to Professor Flitwick's reminder, Sherlock did not delve further into the matter.

but.

Judging from the fact that Snape specially sent him a gift, and such a generous one at that, there must be a more hidden story behind it.

Professor Snape's guilt towards Harry's mother is very likely not just about not being able to save her in time.

Combined with Peter Pettigrew's testimony, this matter must be related to the deal between Dumbledore and Snape.

At this point, a bold idea popped into Sherlock's mind.

We will verify this further after the start of the school term.

Snape never imagined that ever since he discovered Sherlock's special abilities, he had been avoiding this young wizard.

Ironically, it was this somewhat dishonest expression of gratitude that led to the gift being given, which in turn alerted Sherlock to something amiss.

Besides Gemma and Professor Snape's gifts, what surprised Sherlock the most was his friend Harry.

The gift itself wasn't anything special; for Sirius, the Black family, with its long history in the wizarding world, finding some criminal information was far too easy.

What truly surprised Sherlock was the message Harry brought him along with the gift.

A letter, and a photograph.

In the photo, Harry is riding a glittering, exquisitely crafted flying broomstick, slowly winking at himself with a delighted expression.

As for the flying broom, it was the same fire bolt they had seen in Diagon Alley.

Dear Sherlock:

Merry Christmas! I hope you like the gifts that my godfather and I gave you.

However, I personally feel that some of these cases are really exaggerated, and you should verify the specific details yourself.

You might not believe it, but my godfather Sirius Black actually gave me a fire crossbow!

Good heavens, those are fire bolts!
There's something I've been too embarrassed to tell you.

Actually, when I first saw it in Diagon Alley, I longed to have it.

But back then, my Nimbus 2000 never lost a single game.

So I think that since we already have a great flying broom, why would we need to empty Gringotts’ underground vault to buy this fire bolt?
Of course, you later told me that even if I bought the fire bolt, my vault wouldn't be emptied.

But I still backed out, haha!
Unfortunately, my Nimbus 2000 eventually broke down.

Before the holiday, Oliver Wood urged me more than once to order a new flying broom.

This is absolutely necessary—I can't actually ride that practice Meteor in a race.

Just recently, I've chosen my flying broomstick, and it's still the Nimbus 2000.

I believe it will be enough to help me defeat my opponent.

But when I told Sirius I wanted to take advantage of the holiday to go to Diagon Alley to buy a new flying broom, he laughed and told me to wait two more days.

As a result, I received this gift this morning.

I was absolutely stunned. Sirius said we should really take a picture of me so you guys could see what I looked like.

However, he reminded me, which is why this photo was taken.

Please forgive my rambling, Sherlock, but I'm just so excited.

When I held it in my hand, I could even feel it trembling, so I let go of it.

The broom was suspended in mid-air, just the right height for me to ride on. I climbed on it and asked Sirius to take this picture of me.

I thought Sirius Black bought this as a gift for me after hearing my request to buy a flying broom.

But Sirius told me that he had already placed an order with Crookshanks after the match against Hufflepuff.

Crookshan is smarter than we thought.

It delivered Sirius's order for the Firebolts to the Owl Post Office under my name, but allowed them to retrieve the gold intended for the purchase from Gringotts Vault 711—Sirius's vault.

Sirius said he thought it was his appearance as a big dog in the stands that scared me.

So at the time, I thought of buying the best flying broomstick as compensation for myself.

Actually, this matter had nothing to do with him at all; it was all the work of those Dementors.

In any case, I am very grateful to my godfather.

I can't wait until school starts to use this new flying broomstick for training and competitions.

I've been cleaning the Blake family's old house for a while now.

I thought I was experienced (laughs), but I didn't expect this to be much more difficult than I imagined, so please forgive me for not being able to come and find you.

Sirius even sent an owl to deliver a Christmas present to Ron—the owl itself.

He bought it for Ron in Diagon Alley on the day we returned from our holiday.

Because he felt that he was the one who caused Ron to lose his pet, I think Ron must have been overjoyed to receive the gift.

May you have a wonderful holiday in the warmth of your home.

Harry
Also: Please give my regards to my uncle and aunt, and my brother—if he is home.

(End of this chapter)