Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 407 Meeting the Parents

Seeing Ron and Dean wrestling, Harry couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, since the two of them are fighting, I don't have to tell Dean about Qiu Zhang.

It must be said that Dean, this little black guy, is quite perceptive in this regard.

Today's trip to Hogsmeade was truly rewarding.

First, he finally met his godfather, Sirius Black, whom he hadn't seen for two months.

He looked more energetic than when we last parted.

When Harry, Ron, and Cho Chang arrived at the Three Broomsticks pub, they found that wizards were coming to chat with them in droves.

What left Harry speechless was that while the vast majority of those surrounding Sirius were witches, there were occasionally one or two men among them.

wizard!

It’s simply outrageous!
The arrival of the three young wizards finally calmed these people down for a while.

When Ron tried to sit next to Harry as usual, Sirius pulled him to sit beside him, and at the same time smiled and said to the three young wizards:
“If you had arrived any later, I would have had to consider leaving first.”

"Haha, that's because you're so popular!"

Ron couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "It was the same at King's Cross Station in London last time!"

Harry didn't realize anything either.

He was still basking in the joy of seeing Sirius again, so he sat down directly opposite him.

Only Cho Chang, when she casually sat down next to Harry, keenly realized that Sirius's seemingly insignificant little action had a hidden purpose.

This was so that Harry could sit across from him!

This detail immediately made Qiu Zhang nervous.

However, as time went on, the conversation between the four became more pleasant.

On one hand, there's Ron, this easygoing guy.

On the other hand, Sirius Black is indeed very powerful.

Despite being nearly twenty years older than them and having been imprisoned in Azkaban for a full twelve years, he quickly adapted to magical society after regaining his freedom.

Now, he can communicate with the three of them without any generation gap and without any airs of an elder.

It has to be said that being good-looking is definitely an advantage.

Even the same words sound righteous when spoken by someone with good looks.

It's worth mentioning that Sirius Black was also a Quidditch expert.

He offered a professional assessment of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match:

"Gryffindor's advantage over Ravenclaw is comprehensive."

I'm not biased towards Gryffindor, but based on my observation of this match, Ravenclaw is inferior to Gryffindor in almost every position.

Ravenclaw's goalkeeper, Grant Page, reacted very quickly.

However, compared to Gryffindor's goaltender Oliver Wood, he is not physically strong enough, which will be a disadvantage in intense confrontations.

In addition, his stamina is not as good as Wood's, and once the game goes on for a long time, he will naturally lose focus due to fatigue.

The three Chaser, Roger Davis, Randolph Burrow, and Jeremy Stlayton, are all male, but compared to the three female Chaser of Gryffindor, Angelina Johnson, Arya Spinnet, and Katie Bell, they do not have a particularly obvious advantage except for physical strength.

Only captain Roger Davis has a relatively outstanding skill level, but unfortunately, he alone cannot carry the team.

The difference in the batter's position is even more pronounced.

Lyson Samuels and Duncan Ingleby were nowhere near as good as the Weasley twins; they themselves were like two wandering balls on the field.

Find the ball's position... Qiu, you have excellent flying skills.

Without Harry, you would be the best Seeker in all of Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, Harry is better than you—after all, he is the youngest Seeker in a century and the only one to become a full-fledged player in his first year.

As for flying brooms…

"Wait a minute!"

Harry couldn't help but interrupt Sirius.

He stared at Sirius in shock. "You...you actually memorized the names of everyone from both Quidditch teams!"

Ron and Cho Chang were equally surprised.

It's worth noting that even students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw might not be able to do this.

Sirius Black did it after watching just one game?
What level is this?
"It's not a difficult thing, is it?"

Sirius said dismissively, "Is that commentator named Lee Jordan your friend?"

He called out everyone's names during the competition, heard them once, and then memorized them. Isn't that normal?

Harry, Ron, and Cho Chang: "..."

After a moment, Harry spoke again:
"Well, to be honest, I'm afraid only Sherlock and Hermione could do something like that."

"Sigh, these students nowadays..."

Sirius's constant shaking of his head made the three young wizards feel ashamed.

I'm so sorry to have disappointed you, senior!

After answering the three people's questions, Sirius continued:

"The gap in flying broomsticks is not as big as that of the team members:"
Lyson Samuels and Duncan Ingle were both top-seven batters, far superior to Weasley's top-five.

However, the skill gap between the two sides has leveled the playing field in terms of brooms.

The other positions are similar; even if there are differences, they are not significant.

However, in the crucial Seeker position, the difference between Qiu's Comet 260 and Firebolt is simply too great.

In this situation, it would be strange if Gryffindor didn't win.

At this point, Sirius looked at Harry with a proud gaze:

"Your father was an excellent chaser; he once won one of the few Quidditch Cups in Gryffindor's history."

Come on, Harry, I think you can do it this year too.

Minerva will be so happy then.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, around 1953, when she was in seventh grade, Minerva fell off her flying broom during a match against Slytherin because of a malicious foul by the Slytherin."

She broke several ribs and suffered a head injury, which kept her away from the competition ever since.

But her love for Quidditch did not diminish in the slightest.

If you go to the prize room at Hogwarts, you should be able to see her and James's names.

This is why she asked Dumbledore to allow Harry to join the Quidditch team as an exception, and why she personally bought a Nimbus 2000 as a gift for Harry.

She desperately wanted to see Slytherin defeated by Gryffindor!

The three young wizards looked at each other in bewilderment.

They never expected that Professor McGonagall, who usually seemed so serious, had such a past.

“I think Sherlock must have noticed that.”

Harry said slowly, "Last year we received the Special Contribution Award for the School, and our names were put in the awards room..."

Sirius laughed, "Harry, you and Sherlock are good friends, you should learn something from him, right?"

While it's good to have friends to rely on, you can't always rely on them, can you?
"You're going to get married eventually, and you keep bringing up Sherlock Holmes. Do you really think you can spend your whole life with him?"

Harry blushed slightly upon hearing Sirius's words.

After finishing Quidditch, Sirius Black chatted with the three young wizards about magic. He showed great interest in Harry learning the Patronus Charm from Lupin:

"Is Sherlock's guardian spirit a lion? Interesting!"
Your guardian spirit is smaller than a lion; could it be a dog?

Sirius Black immediately became excited.

Because his guardian spirit is also a big dog.

They chatted for quite a while before leaving the Three Brooms Bar.

Sirius's familiarity with Hogsmeade goes without saying.

Under his guidance, the three visited Honeydukes Candy Shop, Elegant Wizard Clothing Shop, Literati Quill Shop, and Zonko's Magical Joke Shop, which Ron had been longing to visit.

Besides acting as a guide, he also naturally paid for all the expenses today.

Harry didn't think it mattered at all.

Ron and Cho Chang were somewhat embarrassed.

"Ron, don't forget my relationship with Arthur and Molly. As your uncle and cousin, what's a little something to me buying you?"
As for Miss Qiu, there's even less need to worry about her. Consider it a small compensation from me, as an elder, for not inviting you over during the last winter break!

"But……"

"No buts! This little thing is nothing. If you refuse again, I'll buy you a fire crossbow!"

Qiu Zhang was instantly intimidated by Sirius's boldness.

Indeed, compared to fire arrows, clothes, stationery, and snacks are really nothing.

Judging from Sirius's expression, if I don't accept it, he might actually buy a fire bolt.

By then, it will be even harder to resolve the situation.

However, after receiving these gifts, she secretly resolved that when she visited Harry's new home next time, she would definitely tell her parents to bring enough return gifts.

It wasn't until nightfall and darkness fell that Sirius finally helped the three men, who were carrying a large amount of stuff, onto the carriage, watching as Thestrals, unseen by anyone else, pulled the carriage away into the distance.

After a long while, a smile appeared on Sirius's lips.

"That's wonderful, James...our child has grown up!"

Ron and Dean played around for a while before separating.

It was just a joke, so neither of them took it seriously.

But Ron still warned Dean not to make a move on his sister.

Next, Harry and Ron picked out the things they had brought for Hermione, and the rest were distributed to Sherlock and Neville, who hadn't gone to Hogsmeade.

This made Neville very happy.

Because he also loves to eat snacks—that's how he got his round face.

He had originally planned to ask Harry to bring some back for him, but unfortunately, he had a bad memory and completely forgot about it.

However, kind-hearted Harry did not forget his poor friend, which moved him deeply.

After a wonderful weekend, it's finally March.

In the Charms class, Professor Flitwick finally taught them something new—the Happiness Charm.

Training is still conducted in pairs.

After suffering a few setbacks starting in first grade, Professor Flitwick always assigned Sherlock to mentor Seamus and Hermione to mentor Neville.

Both of them are capable of providing effective backup.

Harry and Ron continue their Harry-Ron duo.

The CheeringCharm is a spell that can improve a person's mood, make them feel happy, and even make them smile naturally.

This spell was invented by a sorcerer named Felix Summerby.

With Sherlock and Hermione leading the way, the lesson was naturally a great success, and the two of them, as usual, scored another twenty points for Gryffindor.

After class, the whole class went to eat lunch with big grins on their faces—because the happiness spell made them feel content.

"This spell is pretty good—look, even Hermione is smiling. Wait, where's Hermione?"

Ron looked back.

Harry looked around, but Hermione wasn't there.

But Harry clearly remembers Hermione being right behind him when he walked out of the classroom.

"That's strange... Sherlock, have you seen Hermione?"

Sherlock pointed: "There."

Harry and Ron looked in the direction Sherlock was pointing and saw Hermione rushing over from the other side of the castle.

"How did you do that?" Ron's eyes widened. "You were just leaving the classroom with us..."

"I'm going to the restroom."

Hermione lied without batting an eye, and in one swift motion, she ran to Sherlock's side, using his tall frame as cover to secretly stuff the Muggle research textbook into her bag.

"You just didn't notice."

Because of the effects of the Happy Charm, neither Harry nor Ron thought much of it.

While they were eating apple pie, Hermione, under the effect of the Happiness Charm, temporarily forgot the trouble of studying multiple courses at the same time.

She shared a little secret with her friends—Professor Flitwick had hinted that the final exam would include a section on the Happiness Charm.

"That's good news, at least it will keep us in a good mood while we're studying."

Ron mumbled as he stuffed the rest of the pie into his mouth.

After lunch, the effects of the happiness mantra began to gradually fade.

"It's rare to have a divination class without any conflicts. Sherlock can finally come to class with us!"

Harry was the happiest that Sherlock was able to attend Divination class.

He was thoroughly fed up with Professor Trelawney's constant predictions of impending doom.

Several times he almost couldn't help but shout, "The big black dog is Sirius Black! Would my father harm me?"

But he ultimately held back.

Fortunately, the professor tends to tone it down when Sherlock is around.

When the four of them climbed the ladder into the dim and stuffy top-floor room, they were surprised to find a crystal ball emitting a faint glow on each small table, filled with pearly white mist.

"I thought we wouldn't learn about crystal balls until next semester."

Ron muttered to herself as she glanced around, worried that Professor Trelawney might be hiding nearby—this wasn't the first time she'd done this.

"I think this is a good thing, because it means we finally don't have to learn palmistry anymore."

Harry whispered in reply, "She always flinches like she's seen a ghost whenever she sees my hand. It's so annoying."

"Hello everyone!"

Just then, that familiar, hazy voice appeared.

Professor Trelawney emerged dramatically from the darkness, as was her favorite way of making an entrance.

But some people actually fall for her act.

For example, the two girls, Parvati Petit and Lavender Brown, were so excited that they were trembling all over. Their faces were reflected in the milky white light of the crystal ball, making them look particularly eerie.

"I've decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than originally planned."

Professor Trelawney sat down with his back to the fireplace, his gaze sweeping over the class, and slowly began to speak:

“The goddess of fate told me that your exams in June will involve this spirit orb, and I hope to give you enough opportunities to practice.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a distinct sneer rang out.

(End of this chapter)