Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 387 Three Years of Classmates, My Roommate Turns Out to Be My Nephew
“Dear Hermione, you seem to be obsessed with quantifying subjective aesthetics into objective standards.”

Do you remember when you asked me in first grade if the Petit twins were the prettiest girls in the grade?

Your current tendency is exactly the same logic you had back then.

Hermione blushed slightly; she hadn't expected Sherlock to still remember this.

"Actually, my answer back then is equally applicable now—appearance evaluation is inherently short-lived and superficial."

Of course, I can tell you definitively that among the current student body at Hogwarts, Gemma Farley certainly belongs to the category of those with striking physical attractiveness.

Miss Zhang Qiu was the same.

Qiu Zhang: "..."

"But more importantly, she demonstrated rational thinking, outstanding leadership, and inclusivity that transcended academic bias."

To me, these qualities are far more important than physical appearance that fades with time.

Upon hearing this statement, which was very much in the style of Sherlock Holmes, no one was at all surprised.

In summary, Sherlock acknowledges that Gemma is beautiful, but he doesn't care about her appearance.

Having received the answer she wanted, Hermione finally smiled with satisfaction.

"Sherlock, in that case, who do you think is prettier, Gemma or Cho?"

Ginny gave a mischievous smile, and as if she wanted to stir up trouble, she asked another question.

Qiu Zhang: "..."

Please don't do this.
I'm starting to feel scared!

These guys are really wicked!

Just as she was about to say something, the door to the cubicle slid open again.

This made her secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She was lucky today; whenever she was in an awkward situation, someone always appeared to save the day.

However, Qiu Zhang was slightly taken aback when he saw the person who appeared in front of them.

Not only Qiu Zhang, but everyone in the carriage was greatly surprised.

Because the person who appeared before them was someone they had never expected.

Draco Malfoy.

Crabbe and Goyle were still following behind him.

"is that true?"

Malfoy stared at Harry. "The whole train is buzzing with talk that there's a firebolt in Harry Potter's compartment."

As he spoke, he noticed the crossbow bolts on another table.

The gleaming broom handle reflected a cold yet alluring luster under the lights of the private room.

A complex and difficult-to-discern emotion flashed across the eyes of the Slytherin trio—shock, barely concealed envy, and jealousy.

The air froze for a moment.

Malfoy's lips tightened, and his usual arrogant and sarcastic tone almost spilled out.

But he merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on the brand-new fire crossbow bolt, his voice carrying a deliberately maintained indifference, lacking its usual sharp hostility:
"I heard it was a gift from Blake... You'll be fine with this broom, Potter, won't you?"

The atmosphere in the private room was subtle.

Ron watched Malfoy and his henchmen warily, one hand on the fire bolt, the other discreetly pressing down on his wand.

Hermione pursed her lips, observing the unusual Malfoy.

Qiu Zhang and Ginny seemed a little nervous.

Sherlock and Luna watched the scene with great interest, their gazes shifting back and forth between Harry, Malfoy, and the fire bolt.

Harry felt a brief moment of awkwardness.

Seeing Malfoy staring intently at the fire bolt, he even instinctively wanted to grab a broom to protect himself.

Just like protecting any precious thing that belongs to you.

But another thought immediately arose.

Not long ago, I lost my beloved Nimbus 2000.

Even earlier, Malfoy lost his prized Nimbus 2001.

They were all destroyed by that willow tree that beat people.

Although this faint empathy born of misfortune is not enough to erase the accumulated resentment and alienation from the past.

But ultimately, it did cause Harry's attitude towards Malfoy to change somewhat.

Harry was suddenly struck by a strange realization: he felt neither hatred nor any urge to be close to anyone; instead, he felt only a cold, almost indifferent acceptance.

Could it be because he found out that he was his uncle?
"Ah."

Harry found his own answer equally bland, neither boastful nor hostile.

He looked at Malfoy, "I think there should be no problem."

Compared to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's performances were much more direct.

They craned their necks, greedily examining the fire bolts, making soft grumbling sounds in their throats, clearly intimidated by this top-of-the-line broom.

Malfoy's lips moved, his gaze swept over everyone in the box, finally lingering on Sherlock for a moment before he spoke again.

Sirius Black.

His tone remained indifferent and detached, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself: "He bought you a fire crossbow."

After saying this ambiguous sentence, Malfoy's gaze lingered on the fire bolt for the last half second, carrying a complex mix of envy, regret, and a stubborn attempt to save face.

Then he turned around.

The tall Crabbe and Gore seemed to have received a silent command, and hurriedly and clumsily made way for the doorway.

The sliding door slammed shut again, separating the Slytherin trio from the others in the carriage once more.

After a brief silence, everyone immediately began to discuss among themselves:
"What does this guy mean? Is he just here to say something pointless? I was all ready to unleash a curse on him!"

“He is indeed different from before—if it were before, if he knew I had a fire crossbow, he might have said something like he wished I would fall off my flying broom and die.”

Is it possible that his apology last time was sincere?
Sherlock had already analyzed it; his father had suffered considerable losses last year, making it almost impossible for him to buy another fire bolt.

So, perhaps that envy and the disappointment of not being able to reach it outweighed the urge to find fault?

"Hermione, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but what do you mean by 'apology'?"

"Oh, by the way, neither you, Ginny, nor Luna know about this."

At the very beginning of the third year, Malfoy sought out Harry and Colin to apologize for what he had done on the Quidditch pitch the previous school year.

However, it seems that Malfoy never caused Harry any more trouble after that.

“I see. Penelope didn’t tell me about this—President Gemma has done another good deed.”

"Come on! A leopard can't change its spots. I think he just hasn't found the right opportunity yet!"

"With so many of us here, even if we included Clark and Goyle, he wouldn't dare to provoke us."

"Ron, there are three girls sitting here. Can't you watch your tone when you speak?"

"Sorry, just thinking about that guy makes me angry. Have you forgotten the time he fought with Dad?"

“Of course I remember, but Hermione is right, he really hasn’t caused any more trouble during this time. Maybe he really has realized he was wrong…”

"I think you all think too highly of him. So what if he apologized? That apology was forced upon him!"

"..."

Sherlock and Luna remained silent.

Sherlock's grey eyes were still thoughtfully watching the sliding door close again. Luna's eyes were slightly vacant, as if she hadn't heard the discussion.

After the group finished their discussion, they all looked at Sherlock. Hermione simply asked, "Sherlock, what do you think?"

Sherlock chuckled:
"Actually, it's not that complicated. His thoughts are actually very simple—just envy and jealousy."

Based on my deduction, his parents also bought him a new flying broom during this holiday.

But he didn't expect that Sirius would buy Harry a Firebolt.

As for why Sirius's name was deliberately mentioned, it was actually a reminder to himself and didn't have any special meaning.

However, it was precisely this statement that inadvertently revealed a secret.

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Ron immediately became interested: "What secret?"

Sherlock glanced at Ron. "He knows about his relationship with you."

Ron became even more curious upon hearing this: "What's the relationship between Malfoy and me? Are we sworn enemies?"

"Family relationship—you are Malfoy's uncle."

"..."

Ron and Ginny exchanged a glance. "Sherlock, this joke isn't funny at all!"

“I’m not joking, dear Ron. Don’t you know anything about people who belong to the same Holy Pureblood Twenty-Eight Families as yourself?”

“I know the Weasleys and Malfoys are both members of the Holy Twenty-Eight Families, but that doesn’t match what you just said…”

"Narcissa Malfoy, she was Draco Malfoy's mother and Lucius Malfoy's wife. Before marrying Lucius, her name was Narcissa Black."

"what?"

Harry and Hermione had seen the Black family genealogy with Sherlock at 12 Grimmauld Place, so they already knew about it.

But everyone else present looked on with surprise.

This incident clearly surprised them greatly.

Sherlock turned his head: "Hermione, you should say it."

Hearing Sherlock's words, Hermione nodded:

"Pure-blood families are all related to each other, such as the Weasleys, the Blacks, and the Malfoys."

Ron, Ginny, do you know what your grandma's name is?

Before Ron could finish thinking, Ginny blurted out, "Cedera Weasley."

"But before she married your grandfather, her name was Cedrica Black."

Ron and Ginny were both stunned.

"Hermione, you...you're not kidding, are you?"

Hermione struggled to suppress her laughter and said in a serious tone, "Strictly speaking, Malfoy should call Ron 'uncle' and Ginny 'auntie'."

"..."

Seeing the stunned expressions on the two siblings' faces, Hermione decided to press on and give them a little shock:

"Also, your mother is Sirius's cousin by marriage."

Your father is the great-grandson of Sirius Black.

In other words, Ron is both Sirius Black's nephew and cousin.

"..."

"Furthermore, some members of the Black family also married into the Potter family, so Sirius Black is not only Harry's godfather, but also his cousin."

So if you calculate it that way, Harry and Malfoy are cousins, and you two are nephews.

If we add the fact that Harry is Sirius Black's godson, then you and Harry..."

"That's enough, Hermione, that's really enough."

Ron and Ginny: (╬◣д◢)「

At this moment, the two of them were just like Harry back at 12 Grimmauld Place, their minds completely blank.

The complicated and tangled family relationships made them look at Harry differently than before.

After three years of schooling, my roommate turned out to be my nephew?

It's really too outrageous.

Ginny secretly watched Harry more than once.

According to Hermione's statement, she is both Harry's cousin and his aunt...

This relationship is far too complicated!
The two secretly decided that they would ask their parents what was going on.

They're actually related to the Malfoy family?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Whether it was Percy's words or not, after the Malfoy trio left, not many people came to see Firebolt anymore.

Harry simply put it away.

For the rest of the journey, the group, who had been traveling for most of the day, all started to sleep soundly.

They only woke up one by one when the voice reminded them that they were about to arrive at their destination. The group quickly got up and changed into their robes.

Just as they were about to get off the bus, Cho Chang called out to Harry and couldn't help but ask:
"Did you really throw five Galleons into the Wizard Brothers Fountain?"

Seeing Harry's surprised look, Cho Chang smiled and looked at Harry:

“If Peter’s matter can be resolved smoothly today, I will put in one… no, five Galleons—that’s what you said before, right?”

"You actually still remember this?"

Harry was greatly surprised.

He hadn't expected that Qiu Zhang would remember something he'd only mentioned casually.

"Yes, Peter's matter did indeed end smoothly, so you didn't keep your promise and put five Galleons in?"

Cho Chang tilted her head, looking at Harry with curiosity.

Sherlock, who was standing to the side, naturally knew the answer, but he still watched the two of them with great interest.

It's clear that Qiu Zhang values ​​this answer very much.

Harry shook his head slightly. "I didn't put five Galleons in."

A barely perceptible look of disappointment flashed across Qiu Zhang's eyes.

However, she still smiled and said, "Is that so... I was just saying it casually, there's no need to take it so seriously."

Harry didn't notice the change in Cho Chang's expression and continued talking to himself:

"I poured all the money in my purse into the pond."

Cho Chang suddenly looked up at Harry, her eyes shining with an unprecedented brilliance.

The Thestral carriage could accommodate seven people, but that would be a bit crowded, so the seven people separated after getting off the train.

When they returned to school, Neville and Dean asked Harry to bring out the Firebolt so they could see it again.

Harry naturally did not refuse his roommate's request.

At this moment, Ron temporarily forgot about his relationship with the Malfoy family and joined Neville and Dean's Firebolt sightseeing tour.

Even though he's spent a long time playing with trains this winter break, he doesn't seem to get tired of them at all.

So the fire crossbow bolts were passed from hand to hand among the three, punctuated by occasional gasps of amazement.

They were completely absorbed in their fantasy—riding fire bolts and flying freely in the sky.

(End of this chapter)