Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 428 Sherlock the Melee Wizard

The topic of "Professor Lupin is a woman" eased the tension of the upcoming exam week, but the exams will not be postponed as a result.

When exam week arrived as scheduled, Hogwarts Castle suddenly became the quietest place of the year.

However, most people believe this is the quietest the castle has been in years.

The reason is that the Weasley twins are taking the common wizard qualification exam this year.

Compared to previous years' exams, the regular wizard qualification exams clearly exerted a stronger pressure on them.

Monday.

When lunchtime arrived, the third-grade students were all listless and pale.

Professor McGonagall's statement from her first year was not an exaggeration.

Transfiguration is indeed the most difficult and dangerous course of magic that young wizards can learn in school.

Emerging from the Transfiguration exam, the young wizards compared their scores while complaining that the questions were too difficult.

One of the questions asked them to turn a teapot into a turtle.

This level of difficulty is clearly beyond the scope of the curriculum, okay?
However, amidst all the wailing, Hermione inadvertently stirred up a lot of hatred.

Because she exclaimed, "Oh no! The turtle I conjured looks like a sea turtle!"

These words naturally infuriated others, and even Harry and Ron, his two friends, couldn't stand it.

There's absolutely no need to worry about this, okay?
Hermione was unaware of this and continued to chatter on and on with Sherlock, since only Sherlock would listen to her at a time like this.

"As far as I know, turtles can turn their heads flexibly and retract completely into their shells, while seagulls are too big to retract into their shells."

And another thing, the turtle's limbs are oval-cylindrical and have claws, but the ones I conjured up look like fins..."

When others hear her say such things, they can't help but stay far away.

However, the topic they were discussing actually sounded quite outrageous:

"The turtle I conjured up still had a spout-shaped tail, how terrifying..."

"The turtle shell I conjured up even has willow tree patterns on it. Do you think I'll lose points for that?"

"Do you think turtles should exhale steam?"

"..."

As the saying goes, whether you stick your head out or not, you'll still get stabbed.

Regardless of how well or poorly you did, the most difficult exam of all courses, Transfiguration, is over.

The following exams were much easier.

After lunch, the afternoon exam for Spells class was scheduled.

It must be said that Hermione is indeed quite capable.

Professor Flitwick really did test the happiness spell.

Trusting Hermione, Harry and Ron practiced diligently, resulting in a flawless performance.

Sherlock and Hermione, needless to say, were at a level where they could pass with a perfect score without even having to study.

Neville and Dean, who shared a dorm room with Harry, were less fortunate.

Although the two trusted Hermione completely and were worried that she had relearned the Happy Charm, Neville was so nervous that he overdid it.

As a result, Dean, who was paired with him, burst into hysterical laughter that he couldn't stop.

In the end, Dean had to be taken to a quiet room and stay there for an hour before he could complete his own spell.

Afterwards, Neville repeatedly apologized to Dean, but Dean naturally didn't mind.

After dinner, the students rushed back to the common room.

I have three exams on Tuesday: Protecting Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.

This is only natural, as the astronomy exam will be held in the evening.

The next morning, the young wizards were the first to arrive outside the castle to take the test administered by Hagrid on protecting magical creatures.

After the exams, Hagrid's popularity soared again, once again closing in on Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Lupin, making him a strong contender for "Hogwarts' Most Popular Professor of the Year".

He provided the students with a large bucket of fresh florper caterpillars, saying that in order to pass the exam, they had to ensure their florper caterpillars were still alive an hour later.

This is practically a free point question!

Because the Flobber caterpillars thrive best when left to their own devices, this was arguably the easiest exam they'd taken since first grade.

No one would refuse such exam content.

Even the Slytherin students cheered, and their gazes toward Hagrid became exceptionally friendly.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?"

Hagrid deliberately walked over to Sherlock and the others, bending low as if checking Harry's Flobber Caterpillar to see if it was still alive.

"Professor Lupin is actually a woman."

Hermione glared at Harry and Ron, who looked like they were about to burst out laughing.

Sherlock calmly replied, "I've heard about it, Professor Hagrid. What do you think?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, I can't really say for sure about these things."

Hagrid said mysteriously, "But I do know that Professor Lupin has a secret, and Dumbledore and the other faculty members seem to know it too."

Strangely, they didn't tell me about this. Why is that?

Why didn't you tell me? Don't you have any idea what's going on?
The three friends besides Sherlock all stared at Hagrid speechlessly.

Only Sherlock said seriously, "Because you are too honest, Hagrid."

Once you find out about this, you will definitely question Professor Lu Ping.

But the fact that he concealed the truth suggests he must have some unspeakable reason.

So, for your sake and Professor Lupin's sake, Headmaster Dumbledore didn't tell you about this.

"Well said, Sherlock!"

Hagrid was so happy that he slapped Ron on the shoulder, nearly knocking him into the barrel full of Flobber caterpillars.

Fortunately, Sherlock and Harry were prepared and stopped him in advance.

Ron, who was just a hair's breadth away from getting a close encounter with a fresh Furbolo caterpillar, looked at Hagrid with a resentful expression.

Hey, you're praising Sherlock, why are you filming me?!
By the time the Potions class exam came in the afternoon, all the good mood I had felt from the Protecting Magical Creatures class had vanished.

For Harry, it seemed like an absolute disaster.

Because no matter what he did, he couldn't thicken his drug.

Snape watched with a look of satisfaction on his face. Before walking away, he jotted something down in his notebook, which Sherlock thought looked like a zero.

"Of course it's not zero."

Hearing Harry's concerns, Sherlock shook his head. "You've done very well compared to others."

Some people brew confusion potions with the wrong color, which obviously means they don't have the normal properties of a magic potion.

Some people couldn't even brew the medicine. Compared to them, at least your medicine has a normal effect, just a little weaker.

"Thank you, Sherlock, you're so good at comforting people."

"Sherlock, you actually have time to observe other people's exams?"

Hermione said in surprise, "I was so afraid that there wouldn't be enough time, I was so nervous that I didn't have time to look at anyone else, and I was checking the results over and over again."

"The fact is we have plenty of time; after all, this is just a regular final exam, not OWLs." The difficulty of the midnight astronomy class is somewhere between protecting magical creatures and potions, and it takes place on the top of the highest tower.

Although Sherlock only attended a few classes this semester, he still easily got high marks thanks to the galaxy model he bought with Hermione in Diagon Alley before the start of the semester.

Hermione, needless to say, was even more overpowered by the Time-Turner.

The performances of the other young wizards varied.

The exam on Wednesday morning was a history of magic course that did not require practical application.

There's not much to say about this; as long as you listen attentively in class, everyone gets a perfect score.

Unfortunately, very few people were able to do that in Professor Binns's class.

Even someone as strong as Hermione sometimes couldn't help but feel drowsy under Professor Binns' unique hypnotic voice attacks.

However, this will not affect her performance in the exam.

This is even less of a problem for Sherlock.

He's always been interested in how the magical world has developed to where it is today, so he easily solved the exam.

As for the others, they tried their best to fill the exam paper.

Some people simply copy the questions because they really don't know how to do them.

As long as you fill out the paper, you'll at least get points for your hard work, right?

The last day of exam week has finally arrived.

The morning exam was the second to last one, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Professor Lu Ping, who is extremely popular, came up with a unique idea: an outdoor exam similar to an obstacle course.

This can be described as the most unusual exam ever.

They had to wade through a deep pond with Greendylows.

Grindelho is a pale green aquatic devil found in Britain and Ireland. It has horns, green teeth, and very long fingers.

Despite its fierce appearance, it is only classified as "××" in the British Magic Classification. Although its long fingers are quite strong when gripping things, they are also easy to break.

Sherlock didn't use magic when facing them; he simply relied on his fists to let them experience the prowess of a great fighter, Holmes.

After the deep pool, you have to pass through a series of pits filled with red hats.

These dwarf-like magical creatures are commonly found in Northern Europe and look very much like fairies.

They often live in ancient battlefield trenches, castle dungeons, or places stained with human blood.

Simply put, wherever there is bloodshed, there will be traces of them.

Red Hat's rank in the British Department of Magic is "XXX", which is slightly higher than Grindelwald's.

They are extremely dangerous to lone Muggles, as they will ambush those who are lost, and there have even been instances of them beating people to death with large clubs in the dead of night.

The increasing number of them is also quite troublesome for wizards.

Then, with a sword in one hand and a shield made of rock bread in the other, Sherlock traversed the pit as if cutting melons and vegetables.

These short fellows only slightly slowed Sherlock's progress.

Beyond the pit was a swamp, where Professor Lupin had placed a Hinkpunk.

This monster has only one leg and hides in remote areas at night, emitting a misleading light to lure travelers astray.

Once misled by it, you'll find yourself in a swamp.

The correct way to get through is to ignore the misleading signals from this Hinkpunk and pass through quickly.

However, Professor Lupin was surprised to find that when Hinkpunk emitted the misleading light, Sherlock actually rushed straight towards it.

No way?
Professor Lupin was greatly surprised; Sherlock shouldn't have been unable to see this!
Moreover, his performance against Grindelwald and Red Hat was impeccable—even though he didn't use magic.

However, he was an enlightened professor; after all, Gryffindor used swords back in the day.

But now...

Then he saw Sherlock lift Hinkpunk by his only leg and carry him from the swamp to the hard ground.

He then raised his longsword once more.

Professor Lupin's face paled in shock, and he rushed over to stop Sherlock:

"Stop! Stop!"

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "Professor, I don't recall you saying that this guy couldn't be dealt with during the exam."

"That's right..."

Professor Lupin suddenly realized he was still young. How could someone like Sherlock be misled by Hinkpunk?

Seeing Hinkpunk trembling and helpless in Sherlock's hands, Professor Lupin even had the feeling that Sherlock was the real boss.

"If you eliminate it, what will happen to the remaining students' exams?"

"Didn't you prepare a few more? I see Greendylo and Red Hat have quite a few!"

"Yes, there is, but this test is to train your stealth abilities, to quickly traverse the swamp without being detected or misled!"

"Just kill it, then no one will notice, right? Isn't that stealth?"

"..."

Lupin was speechless for a moment before he finally said, "Fine, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a perfect score for you. Come out now!"

Let's leave this Hinkpunk to the other students!

"Not going to fight the Boggart anymore?"

Sherlock asked this question because the last challenge after crossing the swamp is to climb into an old box and fight a Boggart.

"No need."

Professor Lupin said with a wry smile, "I've seen your Boggart more than once, and I know you have the ability to deal with it. There's no need for you to face it again."

"It's such a pity, I was hoping to catch up with that other version of myself."

That's what they said, but Sherlock still cooperated and left with Professor Lupin, staying behind to watch the others take the exam.

During this process, Professor Lupin hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Thank you, Sherlock."

"No need to thank me, your excellence earned you this opportunity."

Not everyone will believe you're a woman. Those who know the truth are only fueling the flames because you're our best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and nobody wants to lose you.

“Thank you for your compliment, Sherlock,” Professor Lupin said with a smile.

"What I'm doing is only buying you some time; it's far from enough to truly solve your problem."

“I know that once my identity is exposed, the letters delivered by owls will come like snowflakes, and no parent would want a werewolf to teach their child.”

"So this matter needs to be resolved completely."

"Don't bother, Sherlock, that's impossible."

"Who said that?"

Sherlock smiled slightly. "I've already spoken with Dumbledore—we might be able to truly resolve this issue next year."

Professor Lupin's eyes widened once again, even more astonished than when he saw Sherlock bully Hinkpunk.

"Please forgive me, but I cannot tell you the specifics at this time."

Before Lupin could ask another question, Harry, looking excited, had already climbed out of the box.

(End of this chapter)