Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 426 A shocking secret

As Harry left the headmaster's office, he found it rather amusing.

Sherlock had already explained to him what he had just discussed with Dumbledore.

This summer, Dumbledore will take Sherlock with him to visit Professor Horace Slughorn.

Thanks to Dumbledore, Harry finally didn't forget his name this time.

The purpose of taking him there was, of course, to extract from him the secret he shared with Voldemort.

This is crucial for understanding the Horcrux incident and even for completely eliminating Voldemort.

That's why Sherlock needs Harry.

Because Harry's mother, Lily, was Professor Slughorn's favorite student.

In Slughorn's view, Lily's talent in potions was even greater than that of Snape, the potions master.

He had a fatherly affection for Lily.

So by bringing Harry along, we can make full use of this to persuade Slughorn.

That's why Dumbledore called him a despicable man for trying to exploit this to extract secrets from Slughorn.

Of course, Sherlock clearly agreed with this.

Harry didn't mind.

As for using him, he can do whatever he wants, as long as he's Sherlock.

However, despite his intention to use her, he still spoke to Sherlock in a half-joking tone:
"Please, Sherlock, tell me next time you sell me—I don't want to be manipulated by you all without knowing why."

Sherlock: ←_←

Harry: '(°ー°〃)
After resolving the Slughorn issue, there's only one thing left to do this semester.

This is also why Dumbledore can't take them to Slughorn right now.

Final exam.

For Sherlock personally, his third year was the most relaxed year he ever had at Hogwarts.

At the end of the first and second year of school, Voldemort would always come and personally give him a practical lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

They didn't come this year, though.

Although there were prisoner escapes from Azkaban, they were resolved long ago.

Therefore, this year's MVP is actually the Weasley twins.

It was thanks to the Marauder's Map they provided that Sherlock was able to determine Peter Pettigrew's true identity before the end of the first semester, and then bring out this bastard who had been lurking for twelve years.

Otherwise, it might take until the second or even third semester to resolve this issue.

There's a good chance we'll end up in a war between humans and werewolves.

Speaking of the Weasley twins, these two mischievous guys are quite different now.

Thanks to their intelligence, they were able to pass their exams without much effort in the past two years.

Furthermore, the exam scores for some courses were quite high.

But not this year.

Now in fifth grade, they are about to take the Common Wizarding Level (OWL) exam.

I need to put in a lot of effort to review properly.

Otherwise, if they don't get certificates for some courses, they won't be able to pursue further studies in sixth grade.

Just like Morgoth, whom Sherlock encountered while investigating the case of the Greek interpreter, he couldn't even attend sixth grade because he hadn't obtained a single certificate.

In the end, he could only drop out of Hogwarts.

In addition to fifth-grade students, seventh-grade students who will be graduating this year are preparing to take the Ultimate Wizarding Exam (NEWT), which is more advanced and more difficult than OWL.

Compared to the regular wizarding exams, this is the highest level of education that Hogwarts can offer.

Gemma, Percy, and Penelope all need to prepare well.

Percy was probably the most nervous of them all.

Because he was determined to enter the Ministry of Magic after graduation, he needed excellent grades as a stepping stone.

That's why he became increasingly neurotic.

He would severely punish anyone who disturbed the peace and quiet of the common room at night.

"To put it bluntly, someone like Percy Weasley wouldn't be given a prominent position even if he actually joined the Ministry of Magic."

"I agree with you, but you wouldn't have judged others so easily before."

"Because I'm graduating soon—we're all planning to leave the UK, so some things don't really matter anymore!"

"Has it been decided yet?"

"Ah."

It was already June, and the fire pit in the House of Requirement was naturally gone.

Gemma transformed it into a small fountain, filling the air with a moist coolness that dispelled the summer heat.

"Speaking of which, you didn't ask me to come here today because of the final exams, did you?"

Gemma was quite surprised that Sherlock had suddenly called her out.

After all, given the boy's personality, the probability of him doing something like this is extremely small.

“It’s not an exam,” Sherlock shook his head. “What, are you busy?”

"Yes, so how do you plan to make it up to me?"

Gemma's fingers gently traced the rim of the chilled lemonade, leaving ripples.

She looked at Sherlock with a hint of mockery, and winked knowingly.

However, Sherlock seemed oblivious to the deeper meaning, and said in a flat tone, "I'm here because of Professor Lupin."

"Professor Lupine?"

Gemma was taken aback at first, her fingers tightening slightly around the cup, then a knowing glint flashed in her eyes, "You... do you want to help him conceal his identity?"

"So you knew after all." A hint of approval flashed in Sherlock's eyes.

"Sherlock, don't underestimate a seventh-grade girl!"

Gemma chuckled softly, her aquamarine eyes shining even brighter in the shimmering water.

She leaned forward slightly and teased, "Maybe I discovered this secret even before you did!"

Sherlock didn't care who discovered this first; he was more concerned with something else.

"Besides you, who else knows about this?"

"Not many. Among the people you know, Penelope is one."

At this point, Gemma couldn't help but sigh, feeling both regret and relief.

Unfortunately, the students at Hogwarts were rather poor.

After a whole year, surprisingly few people have discovered Professor Lu Ping's true identity.

Not to mention that when Snape first substituted for Professor Lupin, he even tricked him.

The teacher deliberately brought up the various habits of werewolves in class to attract the young wizards' attention. However, even so, only a handful of people, including Sherlock and Hermione, discovered the truth.

What's also reassuring is that Professor Lu Ping's identity has not been exposed.

Everyone who recognized Professor Lupin's werewolf identity remained silent.

“Those who can discover this are all smart people. Smart people naturally know that it is in the best interests of the students to keep Professor Lu Ping here.”

"Sherlock, you've only met three Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and you think Professor Lupin is the best? I've met seven!"
To put it bluntly, from the moment I entered the school, all the professors of Defense Against the Dark Arts were freaks.

Before I started school, there were one or two excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts professors.

Unfortunately, I heard that one of them divorced his wife and was given a share of the family property, after which he lost all interest in teaching.

Another student went back to their hometown to get married, and thus could not continue teaching.

After saying that, Gemma blinked curiously:
"After what happened last year... do you think... the curse on this position has been lifted?"

Sherlock smiled slightly, a determined glint in his eyes:
"I only believe that destiny is in our own hands."

"As long as Professor Lupin's identity remains undiscovered, I can't think of any reason why he should leave."

"It doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment. Just like you said, the students who discovered this matter are just like you and me; they won't tell anyone."

"It's so that truly excellent teachers like Professor Lupin can stay at Hogwarts next year."

Gemma gently stirred the lemon slices in her glass, her tone becoming serious:

"But who knows what will happen in the future—after all, there will always be people in this world who think they're so clever."

“That’s why I need your help.” Sherlock’s voice was deep and earnest.

These words brought a bright smile to Gemma's face, like a sunflower suddenly blooming in summer.

She suddenly leaned forward, closing the distance between herself and Sherlock, her hair brushing against the table as she breathed softly, urging him on:
"Say it!"

"I didn't want to say it."

In the Gryffindor common room, Harry pointed to the exam schedule he had just copied down with a quill, his brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly:
But I have no choice but to tell you now!

9:00 AM - Arithmetic Divination
9:00 - Metamorphosis

【Lunch】

13:00 - Charms

13:00 — Ancient Runes

"Is the school deliberately trying to prevent us from passing these exams?"

Harry's voice was filled with disbelief as he poked heavily at the overlapping times with his finger:
"It's already excessive for elective courses to overlap with each other, but now even required courses are clashing with electives—how are we supposed to be sitting in two exam rooms at the same time?"

Hermione glanced at Sherlock furtively.

Since being enlightened by Sherlock and Gemma last time, Hermione has come to a realization.

During this period, she selectively dropped out of several courses and stopped attending every single one as before.

The effect was obvious; the dark circles under her eyes had faded considerably, and her mental state was much better than before when she looked tense.

Otherwise, given her previous behavior, she would most likely become another Percy overwhelmed by her studies.

However, she still plans to take all the final exams this academic year—except for the fortune-telling.

She was fed up with Professor Trelawney and thought she was a complete old fraud.

"It's fine to skip these two classes."

Without looking up, Sherlock said, "We had no choice, did we?"

"That's true... Well, actually I was planning to give up on those two courses too, runes and arithmetic divination are just too difficult."

Harry stared at the schedule for a long time, his brow still furrowed. "The exam schedule for the next few days is fine, but the Divination class on the last day conflicts with Muggle Studies."

"Muggle research is no longer relevant to you; it's not of much use to you."

Sherlock paused, then offered a suggestion: "If it's Ron, then it's the exact opposite."

Harry immediately nodded in agreement: "That's what I think too."

"Hey, I only chose protecting magical creatures and divination!"

Hearing Sherlock and Harry's conversation, Ron couldn't help but gloat:
"Besides the five required courses, I only need to take two more exams. Aren't you envious?"

Sherlock still did not look up.

Harry and Hermione turned their heads at the same time, their gazes falling on Ron's face, but they just looked at him quietly without saying a word, their eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

"Hey, it wasn't me who pointed my wand at you and forced you to choose all the courses, so why are you looking at me like that!"

Ron felt uncomfortable being stared at and started complaining, unconsciously running his hand through his messy red hair.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, then looked away in unison, each returning to their own study materials.

Hey—you guys—!

Ron watched as the two of them immediately calmed down, as if the argument had never happened, and suddenly felt like a clown.

He pursed his lips, his fingers fidgeting with his sleeve.

Even though it was a conversation between three people, I felt like an outsider who was isolated from the conversation.

Left with no other option, he cleared his throat and abruptly changed the subject:
"Hermione, lend me your book 'Numerology and Grammar' for a bit. I plan to flip through it before bed."

Hermione frowned, but still moved the stack of parchment exam papers on the table around, her fingertips tracing the thick magic textbooks, her brow furrowing slightly:

"Strange, I clearly remember putting it here, how come I can't find it?"

"Here I am."

Sherlock pulled out a large book with an intricate star map printed on the cover from under the open History of Magic. The gold-embossed title on the cover, Numerology and Grammar, gleamed faintly in the firelight.

He waved the book at Ron and asked, "Do you want it?"

"You still have to prepare for your own exams, so forget it."

Ron waved his hand as if he had just remembered something, his gaze sweeping over Sherlock's open review notes, the dense annotations making his scalp tingle.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then decided to remain silent.

The timing of the arithmetic divination exam conflicted with that of the transfiguration exam.

Even Sherlock would not choose arithmetic divination over transfiguration.

However, Harry always felt that the book would be more important in Sherlock's hands than in Ron's.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the common room, and Dean Thomas ran in excitedly.

Behind him followed a bewildered Neville and an equally excited Seamus.

Dean first looked around warily, and only after confirming that Percy was not present did he approach Sherlock and the others at the round table.

He lowered his voice, but couldn't hide his excitement; even his breathing trembled.

"There's a shocking secret! Absolutely explosive!"

I bet even Sherlock wouldn't guess!

Sherlock finally raised his head for the first time, a clear smile appearing on his lips.

(End of this chapter)