Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 406 Ever since I met your sister, I've decided to be your brother.

After the large group of people heading to Hogsmeade left the castle chatting and laughing, Hermione, carrying several thick books, hurried straight to the library.

Since her conversation with Sherlock, she has made up her mind to continue using the Time-Turner for a while longer, determined not to fall behind in her studies.

Besides her dedication to academic performance, there was another reason why she did this.

However, this reason could not be stated to Sherlock.

After Sherlock and Hermione parted ways, they went up the marble staircase to a higher point in the castle.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, casting dappled patterns of light on the staircase.

Just as Sherlock stepped onto the last flight of stairs, a dark shadow rushed over recklessly from the corner of the stairs.

Sherlock slightly turned to the side to avoid bumping into the other person.

"Hey, Sherlock, aren't you going to Hogsmeade either?"

Neville didn't even realize he almost hit someone.

After running past, he saw someone, turned around, and saw that it was Sherlock. His eyes lit up and a smile instantly bloomed on his face.

Because he couldn't remember Sir Cadogan's daily changing passwords, he wrote down a week's worth of passwords on a small piece of paper.

Unexpectedly, it was snatched away by Crookshanks, who was wholeheartedly trying to help Sirius.

Later, the mischievous Sirius told Professor McGonagall about it.

This incident infuriated Professor McGonagall.

Even after school reopened, she didn't forget about this incident.

In addition to putting him in solitary confinement, he was also forbidden from telling anyone the password to enter the Gryffindor Tower.

In addition, another punishment was that he was forbidden from going to Hogsmeade.

Today marks the time when the punishment takes effect.

Poor Neville, seeing Sherlock at Hogwarts, burst into laughter.

Finally, finally, there's someone to keep me company!

"Sherlock, how about we play a popping explosion game together?"

Sherlock simply looked at Neville silently, without saying a word.

Neville's smile quickly faded, his head drooped, and his voice was filled with grievance:

"I know you must think I'm too naive, right?"

“Yes,” Sherlock answered crisply.

Neville: "..."

Do you have to be so honest?
Seeing Neville's aggrieved expression, Sherlock suddenly changed the subject: "Neville, have you finished the paper on vampires that Professor Lupin assigned?"

"I haven't written it yet!"

Sherlock's mention of it only made things worse; Neville immediately looked miserable and said:
"I didn't understand the garlic section at all. Does it mean people have to eat garlic, or does it mean—"

Halfway through his words, he stopped abruptly.

Not only that, Neville gasped sharply, his face turning deathly pale, his eyes widening in shock.

He looked behind Sherlock with a look of terror on his face, as if he had seen something extremely frightening.

Sherlock knew perfectly well, even without turning around, that there was probably no one else in the entire Hogwarts who could elicit such an expression from Neville.

Only Severus Snape, the Head of Slytherin House and Potions Professor, was privately known by his students as the Old Bat, the modern-day Snake King, and by the Marauders as the Snotty One.

He was also the person Neville Longbottom feared most in his life.

Although the embarrassing incident of Professor Snape being forcibly turned into a cross-dresser last year was long past, Neville was still so frightened by encountering Snape in this unprepared state that he instinctively hid behind Sherlock.

He gripped the hem of Sherlock's robe tightly, not daring to lift his head to face him directly.

Sherlock calmly turned around and looked at Professor Snape, who had made Neville tremble with fear.

He was still wearing his signature black robe, the collar so tight it looked like it was choking him.

His face was as pale as if he hadn't seen the sun for years, and his greasy black hair clung to his forehead.

Sherlock greeted him calmly, "Hello, Professor Snape."

What are you two doing here?

Snape stopped, his deep, snake-like black eyes coldly sweeping over the two of them, his tone filled with undisguised suspicion:
"It's really strange to run into each other here..."

No wonder Snape said that.

Coincidentally, the two were currently on the fourth floor of Hogwarts Castle.

Just before Sherlock learned about the Room of Requirement from Gemma, at the door of the empty classroom where they often discussed things.

This scene looks like they're sneaking into an empty classroom to do something.

“We didn’t meet here, sir,” Sherlock met Snape’s gaze, “we just happened to run into each other.”

"Yeah?"

Snape drew out his words, scrutinizing Sherlock from head to toe with a critical gaze, his black robes swaying slightly with his movements:

"Holmes, you and Potter are both used to appearing in places that others don't expect."

Moreover, there are rarely any legitimate reasons…

Even when Harry wasn't around, Snape never forgot to take a jab at him when he spoke.

All I can say is that this level of true love is unparalleled.

"Professor, you always seem to show up in unexpected places."

Sherlock responded calmly and methodically, with clear logic and well-founded arguments:
"Moreover, no one has ever stipulated that you have to stay in your college's tower on weekends."

Aside from the forest ban, students don't need any 'legitimate reason' to be anywhere at this time.

Upon hearing this, Snape frowned and said without hesitation:
"Five points deducted from Gryffindor—for questioning the professor to his face, Mr. Holmes."

Upon hearing that Snape was using the opportunity to deduct points, Neville, who was hiding behind Sherlock, shrank back in fright.

He gripped Sherlock's arm tightly with one hand and covered his mouth with the other.

The main reason was that they were afraid of making any noise and giving Snape an excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor again.

However, while he was afraid, he couldn't help but feel a strong admiration for Sherlock.

Sherlock is so brave!

How dare they speak to Professor Snape like that?
How dare he?
But the bravest of them all are yet to come.

"Questioning the professor?"

Sherlock's grey eyes calmly met Snape's, his tone thoughtful. "That's a good reason. So, let's not question it anymore and just ask directly?"

Snape's brow furrowed even more, his sinister gaze fixed intently on Sherlock, as if it were a tangible force.
"Holmes, what do you mean by that?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Lily Potter must be Professor Slughorn's favorite student, Professor Snape?"

When Sherlock uttered the name Lily Potter, Snape's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and his expression instantly became complex and unreadable.

When Sherlock mentioned Professor Slughorn's name again, Snape's tightly pursed lips twitched noticeably, and his long fingers began to unconsciously flex and extend, as if he was trying his best to suppress some emotion.

Neville was so frightened by what he saw that his legs went weak.

He felt as if Snape was about to rush up and grab Sherlock by the throat at any moment.

Not only that, he could even hear his own heart pounding wildly.

"Sherlock Holmes, are you challenging me?"

Snape's voice was deep and low, as if it came from the cellar, carrying suppressed anger.

Even someone as oblivious as Neville could sense the danger lurking in Snape's words simply from hearing him call Sherlock by his full name. "How can a student asking a teacher a question be considered provocation?"

However, Sherlock tilted his head, a perfectly measured look of confusion on his face, seemingly oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere emanating from Snape:

"Oh, I understand now, thank you for your explanation, sir."

"Gryffindor - ten points deducted - because you tried to provoke a professor."

Snape deducted ten points this time, and Neville thought the reason was even more far-fetched than the previous one.

But Sherlock knew in his heart that Snape's point deduction this time was genuine—Snape truly believed that Snape was provoking him.

Of course, to some extent, my behavior was indeed a provocation to him.

"You two had better get back to Gryffindor Tower right now—that's where you belong."

Seeing that Sherlock seemed about to speak again, Snape immediately warned him fiercely:

"Holmes, if you dare ask me another question, I'll deduct fifty points and put you in solitary confinement."

Just then, Neville, trembling, tugged at Sherlock's sleeve and pleaded in an almost inaudible voice:
"Sherlock..."

His legs were so weak he could barely stand.

If he continued to confront Professor Snape, he might really wet himself in fear.

"Okay, sir."

Sherlock smiled slightly, politely took Neville's hand, and turned to leave, his demeanor impeccably elegant.

But it was precisely this composure that fueled Snape's rage, and his almost tangible gaze nearly pierced through Sherlock's back.

"Sherlock, how could you be so bold?"

Neville only breathed a long sigh of relief after stumbling back to the Gryffindor dormitory with Sherlock, collapsing onto his bed with cold sweat on his forehead.

Actually, there was something he had been too embarrassed to say—he had wanted to go back to the Gryffindor Tower for a long time.

Unfortunately, almost everyone went to Hogsmeade after breakfast today.

Without knowing the password, he couldn't get into the tower.

Even the first and second graders couldn't wait, so they just wandered around the castle on a whim.

Unexpectedly, they were lucky enough to meet Sherlock.

But unfortunately, he ran into Snape.

"If you mean why I'm not afraid of Professor Snape, then I can only tell you that there's nothing about him that I'm afraid of."

Sherlock's lips curled slightly upward, a hint of amusement flashing in his gray eyes:
"On the contrary, there are many things about him that interest me."

Unfortunately, he's already realized this, but he's unwilling to give me a chance.

Since the Peter Pettigrew incident was resolved, Snape became even more wary of Sherlock.

In Potions class, he almost never interacted with Sherlock, nor did he ever give Sherlock a chance to be alone with him.

The last time Sherlock questioned Professor Slughorn, he was still using Dumbledore's name.

Even so, after his initial surprise, Snape still refused and drove him away.

But for Sherlock, that was enough.

Sherlock obtained the information he wanted by using his unique analytical and reasoning abilities after only exchanging a few words with Snape.

Today's situation was an unexpected delight; a small test confirmed my initial assumptions.

He wanted to see just how long Snape could hide!

"You're really something, Sherlock."

Neville looked at his roommate with admiration. "My grandma said that if you had been born a few decades ago, you would have been an outstanding Auror."

"The old man has good taste."

Sherlock chuckled. "But if I had been born decades ago, I might have preferred to be a consulting detective, helping truly righteous Aurors solve their problems."

“Oh… I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.” Neville scratched his head.

"It's okay, you don't need to understand."

"But why was Professor Snape angry just now?" Neville pressed, his mind full of questions.

"He was angry mainly because I said 'Lily Potter' instead of 'Lily Evans'."

Secondly, it's because he sensed my probing of him.

"Sherlock, I still don't quite understand."

"It's okay, you don't need to understand."

Nawi: (;Д`)
Neville still didn't understand what Sherlock was talking about until he returned from Hogsmeade.

However, he didn't come away empty-handed; at least he learned from Sherlock how to write a vampire's thesis.

Vampires are humanoid magical beings who are essentially still human, but are also living dead.

They usually have a pale complexion and look haggard.

It has sharp teeth in its mouth, used to bite through a person's throat.

As their name suggests, they suck blood, but they can also eat regular food.

In addition to the above, vampires also have the following characteristics:
First, they have a strong aversion to sunlight, silverware, garlic, and crosses, and will actively keep their distance from these things.

Secondly, they have a compulsive disorder about numbers. If they encounter rice grains or mustard seeds on the roof, they will count them all one by one.

Third, they have strange etiquette and will not enter another person's room without the room owner's permission.

This last feature immediately put Neville at ease.

"But Neville, you can't get into the tower if you forget the password!"

Neville's roommates, who had just returned, couldn't help but tease him when they saw his appearance, "In the end, you'll just have to be locked up outside with the vampires too—ahhh!"

"what?"

Seeing Ron deliberately make a gesture as if he wanted to suck blood, Neville's round face immediately fell.

"Alright, Ron, stop teasing him."

Dean said, "Let's talk about what happened today. I heard Harry went on a date with Cho Chang? And even met her parents?"
So, Harry, your godfather Mr. Black must be very satisfied with Cho Chang, right?

When Gemma Farley and Penelope Clearwater graduated in seventh grade, Cho Chang was undoubtedly the school beauty, even surpassing the Petit sisters, who were considered the prettiest girls in the entire year…

But then again, I think Ron's sister Ginny is quite nice too, if we wait until she's a year or two older..."

"What did you say?"

Ron's expression immediately changed when Dean mentioned Ginny:

"She's still a child!"

"Who isn't?"

Dean wasn't buying Ron's act. "We're only a year older than Ginny. She's thirteen this year."

In two years, she might even be prettier than Cho Chang—to be honest, I really think Ginny is more pleasing to the eye than Cho Chang.

Cho Chang is indeed very beautiful, but I never really feel comfortable with that type. Farley, Clearwater, and Ginny are more to my liking…

"This is outrageous! I'll fight you to the death!"

Dean became more and more excited as he spoke, but Ron could no longer contain himself.

He roared and lunged at Dean.

(End of this chapter)