Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 378 A new storm has emerged
Sherlock's abilities are well-known, so he knew Rufus's identity the moment he appeared.

This guy is Cornelius Fudge's nephew.

Each door on the first floor of the Ministry of Magic has a small plaque with the name and position of the person inside.

The door where Rufus was located bore the inscription: "Rufus Fudge - Assistant Minister for Magic."

Based on the shared surname and by observing and reasoning about the other person's subtle behavior, Sherlock was certain of this.

Nepotism.

Strictly speaking, this point cannot be considered a mistake.

If one's own relatives are capable enough, then placing them in suitable positions is indeed more appropriate and reassuring than appointing outsiders.

But this Rufus in front of me...

Sherlock shook his head inwardly.

All I can say is that if Fudge continues to keep him in such an important position, this guy is doomed sooner or later.

However, this is a matter between the Ministry of Magic and Fudge, and Sherlock couldn't be bothered to say more.

Next, led by Rufus, the assistant minister, the group successfully boarded the elevator.

"This elevator is for the use of the minister's office staff only. We can go straight to the ninth floor without stopping."

Rufus proudly introduced to everyone, "This was an action taken by Minister Fudge after he took office, and its establishment has greatly improved the efficiency of the minister's office."

Upon seeing this, Fudge immediately puffed out his chest, slightly raised his chin, and said in a tone that seemed reserved but was actually smug:

"The Office is the core hub of the Ministry of Magic, and it is only right that it serves the entire Ministry of Magic well."

Sherlock couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

They really aren't ashamed; on the contrary, they're proud of it.

That's true. These bureaucrats have been out of touch with the masses for too long, and they've probably become accustomed to enjoying privileges.

"why are you laughing?"

Rufus immediately looked at Sherlock and said with displeasure.

He even gave Dumbledore and the other Hogwarts professors a reproachful look, secretly dissatisfied.

How do these people educate their students?
With the Minister of Magic present, don't they have any sense of solemnity or respect?
"I thought of happy things."

Rufus was surprised that Sherlock actually answered, and instinctively asked again, "What's the good news?"

"..."

Everyone except Fudge looked at Rufus as if he were an idiot.

Now, without Sherlock revealing his deductions, everyone already knows what kind of person he is.

"Department of Mysterious Affairs"

Just then, the cold woman's voice rang out.

Strangely enough, this voice provided detailed information about the floors one through eight.

But this time, after saying those words, he fell silent.

At the same time, the elevator doors opened with a whoosh.

"Here we are."

Seeing that they had reached their destination, Rufus temporarily forgot about the matter and quickly let Fudge out of the elevator.

The others followed suit, filing out one after another.

Next, the group slowly walked down a corridor.

This corridor was completely different from the corridors on the upper floors; the walls were bare, with no doors or windows.

There was just a simple black door at the end of the corridor.

"Department of Mysterious Affairs"

Sherlock uttered the name softly.

Within the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries is a very special organization.

No one ever knew what the people in this department actually did, because their mission was top secret.

According to Hannah, the wizards who work here are called the Silent Ones.

Even when her father introduced her to his colleagues at the organization, he would only say that he had no comment on their job duties.

It can only be described as mysterious, extremely mysterious.

Noticing Sherlock's gaze, Harry instinctively assumed they would go through this door and walked in that direction.

"Harry, come back, we're not going there!"

Unexpectedly, Professor Lu Ping grabbed his arm and pulled him to the left.

There is a gap leading to a staircase.

Fudge didn't say anything, but Rufus glared at Harry fiercely, "You..."

He was about to speak when Fudge stopped him, "Lead the way, Rufus."

At this moment, Harry was also surprised to find that Sherlock, who had just seemed to be about to walk through that door, was now standing next to Sirius, right in front of the stairs.

Harry: ￣△￣
"This way."

At this moment, Rufus, following Fudge's advice, stepped down the steps first and addressed the crowd:

"The elevators can't go that far, so we have to go up to the ninth floor and then walk down."

They walked down the stairs one by one and then through a long corridor.

Harry couldn't help but look at Professor Snape.

In his view, this place was exactly the same as the underground hallways at Hogwarts that led to the Potions classrooms.

The rough stone walls had torches stuck in brackets.

The two elements complement each other, creating a dark, gloomy, and terrifying feeling.

As if noticing Harry's gaze, Snape turned his head away expressionlessly.

His expression was hard to read, but after only a moment, it became as gloomy and unpleasant as before.

In the end, Harry was the more shy one and was the first to look away.

Sherlock took in the exchange of glances between the two men, and smiled without saying a word.

However, he paid more attention to the surrounding environment.

All the doors here are heavy wooden doors with iron bolts and keyholes, giving the impression that there are some unspeakable secrets behind each of them.

Finally, Rufus stopped in front of a gloomy black door with a large iron lock hanging on it.

"Minister, gentlemen, we have arrived at the tenth courtroom."

Fudge nodded. "Let's go in."

Rufus immediately began to turn the incredibly heavy iron handle.

With a grating metallic scraping sound, the heavy black stone door opened inward.

A chill, a mixture of stone dust, dampness, and something deeper and colder, swept over me.

Fudge gestured to Dumbledore, and the two went in almost one after the other, with Dumbledore trailing slightly behind by half a step.

Next came Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black.

Then Sherlock and Harry went up side by side.

Harry couldn't help but gasp; he was almost unable to control himself. It was a huge, circular room with walls made of rough, black stone.

Ancient brackets are embedded in the towering walls, with torches burning brightly on them, and the leaping flames cast flickering light and shadow below.

The orange-red light cast long, distorted shadows on the wall, flickering and leaping, but it did nothing to dispel the chill in the room.

On both sides were rows of empty benches that gradually rose higher. In front of the group, on the highest benches, many dark figures could be seen whispering among themselves.

Rufus was the last to enter the courtroom. As the heavy doors closed behind him, the whispers ceased, and a profound silence descended.

An empty chair was placed in the very center of the room.

The chair gave Harry an ominous feeling because its armrests were wrapped with chains, as if they were used to bind people.

Harry increasingly felt that this place resembled Snape's Potions classroom, especially given the bleak and eerie atmosphere.

There were no portraits or decorations on the walls, only rows of long benches arranged in a tiered fashion around the perimeter.

This ensures that the chained chair is clearly visible from all positions.

"Then let's all take our seats. Once everyone is here, the interrogation can begin."

The eerie stone chamber seemed to have no effect on Fudge, who continued to smile and speak to everyone.

Seeing Dumbledore nod, Fudge excitedly walked over to the row of benches in front.

There were already about fifty people sitting there, each wearing a purplish-red robe with an exquisite silver "W" embroidered on the left front of their chest.

Following Rufus's directions, Fudge went straight to the middle of the first row of benches and sat down.

Because he was a very fat man, he took up more space than the others, and his different clothing and attire made him stand out among the group of people in purple-red robes.

To Fudge's left sat a broad-shouldered witch with a square jaw.

She had short, neat gray hair and wore a monocle.

He doesn't look bad, but his expression is intimidating, giving the impression that he's not easily fooled.

Another witch sat to the right, but she was sitting a little further back on the bench, so her face was shrouded in shadow and her features were not clearly visible.

Rufus helped Fudge to sit down, and then sat down himself at the very edge of the front bench.

Then others guided Sherlock and the others to their seats.

Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin sat in a row on a bench.

Their seats were positioned symmetrically to Fudge's, on the first row on either side, with the empty chair bound by chains as the axis.

Sherlock and Harry were seated further behind them, almost at the highest point of the room, which was the furthest point from the chair.

This made Harry feel a little disappointed.

His static vision isn't very good, so he might not be able to see very clearly later.

Fortunately, all the benches inside are arranged in a tiered pattern, so there's no worry about having your view blocked by the people in front of you.

As a witness, Sirius Black was not seated with the other observers; instead, he was taken away by staff, and it is unknown where he went.

As Sirius Black disappeared from his sight, Harry took a deep breath, preparing to say something to Sherlock beside him to ease the oppressive atmosphere.

The heavy black wooden door at the corner of the room was suddenly kicked open with a bang.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane, and wearing a black travel cloak.

At that moment, everyone in the courtroom turned to look at the stranger.

He took off his hood, revealing a head of long, gray hair, and began to walk toward the benches arranged in a stepped pattern.

With each step he took, a hollow sound echoed in the stone chamber.

As he limped toward them, and the torchlight illuminated his figure as they drew closer, they were able to make out his features.

Harry couldn't help but gasp.

What kind of face is this?!
It's like carving on a piece of rotten wood, but the carver only has a vague idea of ​​what a human face should look like and isn't very skilled at using the carving knife.

The end result was that every inch of skin on that face seemed to be scarred, the mouth looked like a crooked mouth, and the nose that should have been prominent was gone.

Although the person's appearance was already very abstract, Harry had seen Voldemort stuck to Quirrell's head when he was a first-year student, so although the appearance was horrifying, it was not enough to scare him.

What truly made him gasp involuntarily was the man's eyes.

One of his eyes was small, black, and shiny.

But its other eye is very large, round like a coin, and a bright, vivid blue.

Even more remarkably, that blue eye kept moving.

Up, down, left, right, forward, backward...

It turned around and around, completely unrelated to the normal eye.

Just as Harry was staring at it, the big eyeball suddenly rolled back and burrowed into the man's head.

This meant he could only see a large white eyeball.

"Alastor Moody".

Sherlock whispered a name.

"Sherlock, do you know him?"

Harry looked at Sherlock in surprise, not understanding why he would know such a strange person.

“Not just me, you should also recognize him, my dear friend.”

Harry shook his head repeatedly: "How could I possibly know him?"

Once you've met this person even once, you'll never forget them, okay?

Sherlock chuckled. "Let me remind you, just a few days ago, Mrs. Weasley said she wanted to ask him for help."

Harry's memory wasn't as good as Sherlock's, but after Sherlock reminded him, he thought for a moment and still remembered the name.

"Mad-Eye Moody!"

Sherlock shrugged. "See, buddy? Nicknames are always easier to remember than real names."

"But how do you know he is..."

Harry was about to continue questioning Sherlock about how he knew this strange man was Moody when he saw the stranger walk straight to Dumbledore's side.

He stretched out one hand, which, like his face, was covered in scars.

Dumbledore shook hands with him, whispered a few words, and then sat down next to Professor Snape.

Harry noticed that Professor Snape shifted his position closer to Dumbledore.

"Seeing his appearance, I think you shouldn't have any doubts about his identity."

Sherlock smiled and said.

"..."

Well, with that kind of appearance, no one would doubt that he's Mad-Eye.

In the following days, more and more people arrived, just like Moody, gradually filling the room.

Harry estimated that there were at least two hundred wizards in the room.

“To be precise, 255,” Sherlock tapped his knee lightly with his fingers. “I think it’s time to begin.”

In the silence of the courtroom, the curtain was officially drawn.

A new storm has arrived.

(End of this chapter)