Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 388 You are the person with the shortest lifespan I have ever seen.

On the first morning of the new semester, Sherlock skipped his Ancient Rune Studies class and went with Harry and Ron to Professor Haig's Magical Creatures Protection class.

Needless to say, Hermione still needs to use the Time-Turner to attend all her classes.

To this day, Harry and Ron still haven't discovered Hermione's secret.

This made her feel somewhat at ease.

If these two friends can't notice, then no one else will.

I'm just a little tired.

Fortunately, after a winter break, I was finally able to relax a bit from my tense pace.

After having breakfast in the Great Hall, the four left Hogwarts Castle and hurried across the cold, damp grass.

When they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they could already see Hagrid's figure, which was much taller than a normal person.

He was standing at the door of the small log cabin, waving excitedly at them.

"I hate going to outdoor classes at this time of year. The weather is so cold and damp. It's really awful."

Ron emphasized twice his aversion to this kind of weather, then turned to Sherlock with some emotion and said, "Anyway, you really didn't have to come to this class because of me."

In Ron's opinion, his three best friends, Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione, who had chosen all the courses, could easily have taken an indoor course on Ancient Runes Studies in this kind of weather.

But they came to this outdoor class entirely for Ron, well... maybe a tiny bit for Hagrid too.

Sherlock chuckled upon hearing this: "My dear Ron, actually..."

Upon hearing Sherlock's opening remarks, Harry immediately sensed something was wrong, knowing that he was about to tell the truth again.

Already conditioned by instinct, he immediately tugged at Sherlock, and taking advantage of Sherlock's glance at him, he spoke first:
"Yeah, yeah, it's more fun to have a lot of people in class together!"

Hermione, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

If Harry didn't pull Sherlock along, Sherlock would definitely say, "Actually, I didn't choose to take this class to keep you company."

Of course, I am not one of them either.

In that sense, Harry was actually the only one truly willing to stay with Ron.

Not only that, he also wanted to stop Sherlock from revealing the truth that would hurt Ron.

Well, it's quite difficult.

"Anyway, ever since Hagrid listened to Sherlock, this class on protecting magical creatures has become quite interesting. I wonder what new creatures he'll show us today?"

Harry tried to make his tone sound more sincere and reliable, attempting to fill the void left by Sherlock's near slip of the tongue.

As he spoke, he glanced at Ron discreetly, hoping his attempt to smooth things over could erase any awkwardness that might have occurred earlier.

Fortunately, because he spoke up in time, Ron didn't realize it.

This made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

so far so good.

To Harry's surprise, he had only said it casually.

Unexpectedly, Hagrid's class was actually quite interesting.

In the first class of the new semester, Hagrid did not ask Sherlock beforehand, but instead made full use of his initiative.

To cheer up his classmates, he specially set up a bonfire.

The heat and light from the campfire dispelled the dampness and warmth, making everyone feel comfortable.

It's important to know that campfires in the magical world are different from those in the Muggle world.

Once the bonfire was lit, it was immediately filled with cheering fire lizards.

Now, without Hagrid saying a word, the students knew what to do.

They actively gathered firewood and leaves to make the fire burn even brighter.

Then they gathered in a circle and watched the fire-loving lizards dart around in the crackling firewood.

The bright campfire cast a rosy glow on everyone's faces, and even the usually at odds little lions and snakes got along well in this unusual setting, without glaring at each other.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that some people did not actively provoke trouble.

It seemed Hermione was right; Malfoy didn't cause any trouble during such a rare opportunity.

Since he never provokes them, and they always follow his lead, Crabbe and Goyle, who have never had any ideas of their own, naturally wouldn't dare to act rashly.

The two stared blankly at the fire lizard leaping around in the campfire, looking rather clumsy.

Standing next to Malfoy was Pansy Parkinson, who was looking at Malfoy with an admiring expression, and looked even more dazed than Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry looked away, listening to Hagrid's lecture, but his mind was already on his three friends.

After experiencing this public trial, especially after witnessing Peter Pettigrew being kissed by a Dementor, Harry felt as if he had suddenly grown up overnight.

Take that little incident just now, for example. If it were in the past, he wouldn't have stopped Sherlock so precisely as he did just now.

It was only afterward that he realized Sherlock's words would have an impact on Ron—even though they were indeed the truth.

After spending three years together, Harry had a deep understanding of his friends.

In their small group of four, Sherlock was undoubtedly the leader.

His absolute rationality and extraordinary composure made him like a sturdy ship that could always maintain a straight course in the midst of stormy seas.

No matter what happens, as long as Sherlock appears, people will feel that "this is a sure thing".

For Harry personally, communicating with Sherlock was the easiest.

Because Sherlock is as transparent as a piece of pure crystal.

You never have to worry that the other person is harboring any ulterior motives or feigning affection.

Because he thinks about problems meticulously, he can always quickly grasp the core contradictions and provide the most direct and logical solutions.

Sometimes it feels like being doused with cold water.

Conversely, it is precisely this strong rationality that gives him an almost clumsy insensitivity, especially in social situations.

Harry felt he was already bad at socializing.

Unexpectedly, after arriving at school, I encountered two people who were even less articulate than myself.

And each one is even worse than the last.

Sherlock always says what he means, which means he is sincere and reliable, but it also means that he often ignores the subtle emotional atmosphere in interpersonal interactions.

Harry had already vaguely realized that Sherlock was not unaware that some of his words might touch a nerve with others.

But unless it's for solving a case, he doesn't care about these things and is always so outspoken.

This makes him always seem out of place in life, and he may even hurt others intentionally or unintentionally.

If he had changed his ways, he would probably have become the most popular person in school long ago, instead of being like this now.

The teachers and students at the school respected Sherlock, and some were even afraid of him. But only a few of them could become his friends.

After all, only a very few people can tolerate Sherlock's eccentricities.

Even Dean Thomas, who shared a dorm room with Sherlock, sometimes had reservations about his behavior.

Hermione's case is rather special.

In first and second grade, her arrogance and insistence on school rules often seemed unreasonable.

She was also the second most mute person after Sherlock.

But as they went through life-and-death trials together time and time again, her occasional stubbornness and rigidity gradually faded away.

She no longer cares about school rules as much as before; instead, she has learned to be tolerant and give her friends space while adhering to her principles.

Especially after what happened with Crookshan and Banban last semester, she seemed to have become more gentle and was finally able to put herself in other people's shoes.

This made her much cuter.

As for Ron, he seems to be the most carefree, but in reality, he's the exact opposite.

Living in the shadow of his outstanding older brother for a long time, coupled with his relatively poor family background, fostered feelings of inferiority in him.

This inferiority complex manifests itself as confidence in the outside world.

But this confidence was illusory—which also made him the most sensitive of the four.

This sensitivity makes him particularly attentive to his friends' attitudes, and he is easily perceived as being slighted or forgotten.

A casual glance, a joke, or even a friend's unintentional display of superiority can stir up ripples in his heart.

Harry has noticed this problem more than once.

Ron longed to be the center of attention, like Sherlock or him.

Neither he nor Sherlock really enjoyed the attention.

Sherlock is a little better off; he enjoys the praise from others in a small circle.

But Harry was fed up with it, because this attention came at the cost of the sad fact that he was an orphan.

Of the three, only Ron is usually hurt by Sherlock's honesty—neither he nor Hermione are—and that's only when all three know Sherlock.

His subconscious words and actions in defending Ron's feelings stemmed from this very point.

As if to verify his opinion of his three friends, Sherlock casually pointed out a discrepancy between Hagrid's explanation and the details of the Magical Creatures Protection Act.

"Ah, is that so?"

Hagrid immediately said nervously:
"Well, since Sherlock has said so, then it must be true!"

Just remember what Sherlock said!

Hagrid showed absolutely no awareness of his role as a professor.

Or conversely, he had such a strong intuition as a professor that he immediately corrected his mistake after Sherlock pointed it out.

Ron rolled his eyes at Sherlock's insistence, muttered something about Merlin's beard, and went back to playing with the salamander.

Harry sighed and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

I thought to myself, my childhood wasn't happy either, and I don't have a very good temper, so why am I the one who has to maintain relationships?
It's probably because I'm too kind!
Although the second divination class was indoors, it was much less interesting compared to the outdoor magical creature conservation class.

This time, Sherlock didn't go to class with Harry and Ron, which gave Professor Trelawney an opportunity.

Because this semester she started teaching them something entirely new—palm reading—she spent the entire class telling Harry that his lifeline was the shortest she had ever seen.

Even Lavender and Petit, who idolized her the most, began to look at Harry with strange eyes.

This inevitably made Harry a little unhappy.

"I think she's targeting you, Old Ha, or maybe she just hasn't met enough people in her life!"

After class, Ron said indignantly, "Maybe we should call Old Xia over next time, that way she'll behave a little."

"Why did you call me here?"

"Of course... Ha, Sherlock, you've come!"

"Hey Hermione, what are you doing here with Sherlock?"

Ron stared in surprise as he watched Sherlock and Hermione walk toward them from the other end of the castle corridor.

Hermione just came out of the Divination classroom with them!
He immediately turned around to look, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen.
Sherlock couldn't help but find Ron's appearance somewhat amusing.

Hermione's behavior was so obvious, yet Ron still couldn't detect anything amiss in the second semester.

Or rather, he noticed something was wrong, but didn't delve deeper into it.

That suits his personality.

Sure enough, Ron didn't press the matter further after seeing that Hermione didn't answer.

He then told Sherlock about what had happened in the Divination class and expressed his indignation at Professor Trelawney's treatment of Harry.

"Palmistry?"

Sherlock looked at Hermione, who nodded, opened her palm, and began to speak to Sherlock:
"It's all brand new content; supposedly, you can see your lifeline, career line, and love line..."

Although she disliked the course, in terms of sheer knowledge of it, she still far surpassed Harry and Ron.

So once Hermione spoke, Harry and Ron immediately stopped talking.

After Hermione finished explaining the lesson, Harry and Ron couldn't help but look at Sherlock with curiosity.

They were all eager to hear Sherlock's opinion.

Sherlock chuckled softly and pulled Hermione's outstretched hand over:
"This is the lifeline, this is the career line, and this is the love line. They are considered the trajectory of fate, right?"

Hermione's ears flushed crimson as Sherlock grasped her hand, but she still nodded gently: "Yes."

Sherlock nudged Hermione's knuckles, causing her hand to slowly clench into a tight fist.

He looked at the three of them: "Do you understand?"

"Understand what?"

Ron was taken aback at first, then reacted, clenching his fists and his face contorting into a ferocious expression:

"I understand, Sherlock, you're telling us to bravely clench our fists and fight that bastard!"

Harry and Hermione both stared at him speechlessly.

Whether Professor Trelawney was talking nonsense is hard to say, but Ron was definitely talking nonsense.

Sherlock shook his head, pointed at Hermione's clenched fist, and said, word by word:

"Destiny is in your own hands."

This time, the three of them were slightly taken aback, and then revealed thoughtful expressions.

(End of this chapter)