Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 441 If only you were Harry's brother
Sherlock didn't tell anyone that he had actually spoken with Dumbledore specifically about Harry's unfortunate childhood experiences.

He asked Dumbledore if it was because Dumbledore himself was born in the Victorian era and was used to the immoral age of three-year-old boys cleaning chimneys, so he took it for granted that Harry was being mistreated.

Dumbledore's answer was as follows:
"At that time, I thought Harry was in a very dangerous situation."

Although Voldemort had disappeared, his loyal Death Eaters were not all wiped out.

No one could guarantee they wouldn't harm Harry, which is why I rejected so many wizarding families' requests to adopt him and insisted on keeping him on the Dursleys' steps.

First, it's so that the protective magic of love can continue to protect him. As long as Harry can still consider that place his home, he will receive strong and powerful protection.

On the other hand, it was to keep him away from the magical world.

Defeating the Dark Lord, who had ruled the wizarding world for over a decade, was enough to make Harry famous even before he could walk or talk.

I don't want him to become someone like Gilderoy Lockhart, so I want him to grow up far from the past until he can accept it all before letting him know.

I left a letter explaining to the Dursleys that Harry's parents had been murdered and that I hoped they would treat him as their own child.

Unfortunately, they didn't do as I said.

They never treated Harry like their own son; all Harry received from them was neglect and frequent abuse.

"So you know."

Sherlock sneered, his tone full of undisguised disdain, "I thought you thought this was normal!"

"I...of course I know."

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Fortunately, Harry at least escaped the terrible harm they inflicted on their own child."

Sherlock knew perfectly well that Dumbledore was referring to Dudley Dursley.

Harry's cousin was spoiled rotten by the Dursleys.

They treat her like a precious gem, afraid of breaking her if they hold her in their hands or melting her if they keep her in their mouth.

It's a miracle that Harry, growing up in such an environment, still maintained his kind and pure nature and wasn't consumed by hatred.

"Your words make me feel like I have to choose between two piles of dog poop that don't smell as bad."

Was she either abused or spoiled to that extent?
I don't believe that you, as the White Demon King, would have such a black-and-white way of thinking.

Sherlock said without any politeness.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression.

This seems to be inexplicable.

"Forgive me, Sherlock."

This time, Dumbledore didn't run away; instead, he readily admitted his mistake.

“I’m so glad Harry met you, and that you’re on our side.”

If you were our enemy, I simply can't believe what the world would be like.

After this obvious praise, Dumbledore continued:

"No matter how miserable, unpopular, or mistreated Harry was there, at least they reluctantly gave him a place to stay."

The magic will stop working when Harry turns seventeen, that is, when he becomes a man.

So my request isn't high: I just hope they'll allow Harry to come back to the house before his seventeenth birthday.

This will ensure that the protective force continues until that time.

"The requirements are indeed not high, and the points made are indeed reasonable, but unfortunately, others will not think the same way."

Sherlock snapped out of his reverie and turned his gaze to Sirius Black, who was reading a book not far away.

Clearly, Sirius Black, as the Godfather, was the "others" he had told Dumbledore.

After learning about Harry's childhood experiences, he immediately declared that he would go to Privet Drive and teach that family a lesson.

This is assuming Harry is being discreet.

Although the Dursleys have improved their relationship with Harry, Sirius Black is clearly not over it yet.

So they would take Harry away whenever they had the chance.

Judging from Sirius's current behavior, he clearly intends for Harry to continue spending the rest of the summer in Grimmauld Place.

"Sherlock, shouldn't we make some preparations?"

"Slughorn is quite nice. Although he is a Slytherin, he is not as annoying as other vipers."

Sirius, who was reading a book, suddenly looked up at Harry after hearing this:

"Sherlock had already written to me asking about this person before. He had a very high opinion of him back then."

When he taught us potions, he always liked to tell embarrassing stories about famous people while the cauldron was boiling.

He is indeed an interesting old man; if I were to go see him, I don't think there's anything I need to prepare.

When Harry heard Sirius say that, he hesitated to speak.

He glanced at Sirius Black subconsciously, seemingly with some reservations.

This subtle movement naturally did not escape Sherlock's eyes.

Sherlock immediately understood.

Although Sirius was the closest person to Harry in the world, Harry did not tell Sirius the real purpose of his visit to Professor Slughorn.

Not only that, he also didn't tell Sirius about Professor Snape's secret.

Sherlock had anticipated this.

As Dumbledore once said:
Ha Shanduan, Luo Shanmou, and He Youshankankan.

These personality traits resulted in Harry and Hermione being more mature than their peers, while Ron was more childish.

It can't really be called childish.

Ron's behavior is exactly what teenagers of this age should be like.

It was precisely because Harry and Hermione were more mature than their peers that he appeared somewhat childish in comparison.

As for Sherlock, he's not a normal person at all, so he shouldn't be taken into consideration from beginning to end.

After understanding the whole story, Harry will inevitably have to think carefully about the consequences of telling Sirius.

Unfortunately, although Sirius is a very intelligent person, he often appears to be irrational and impulsive.

This can be seen simply from his attitude towards Vernon Dursley during the holidays.

Even though Harry had repeatedly said that he had repaired his relationship with the Dursleys, Sirius just couldn't resist wanting to stab them in the back.

This led Harry to decide not to tell Sirius about it for the time being.

Otherwise, given his personality, he probably would have devoured Snape alive.

"Just like Mr. Sirius said, there is no need to make any preparations. Just leave everything to Mr. Dumbledore."

“I understand.” Harry nodded upon hearing Sherlock’s words.

Sirius frowned slightly: "Dumbledore..."

Seeing this, Sherlock suddenly understood perfectly. He now fully grasped the relationships between the key members of the Order of the Phoenix.

People like Minerva McGonagall and Rupert Hagrid trusted Dumbledore completely.

They would support whatever decision Dumbledore made.

Professor McGonagall might slam her fist on the table at Dumbledore's decision, but if Dumbledore insists, she will eventually compromise.

Hagrid, on the other hand, is like a loyal hound; if Dumbledore points east, he will never go west.

James and Lily, along with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin's generation, are considerably less advanced.

Lupin had the highest level of trust in Dumbledore.

Even without Dumbledore's invitation to Lupin to teach at Hogwarts again last year, it was he who overruled objections and allowed a werewolf to study at Hogwarts.

James and Lily are somewhat inferior.

Sirius Black is the worst.

It's fair to say that without James and Lily, Sirius Black's attitude towards Dumbledore would have been that of an ordinary student towards their headmaster.

She's not even as good as Professor McGonagall.

It was precisely because of this distrust that Sirius Black did not tell Dumbledore after persuading James and Lily to change the Secret Keeper.

Never mind, this isn't something I need to worry about.

When Dumbledore arrives, he will naturally take care of Sirius.

Harry was very interested in Sherlock's experiences in Hawaii this month and kept asking for details.

But for Sherlock, it was actually quite simple; it boiled down to just two things.

He studied Patton's method and wrote that treatise on ash identification.

Time slipped away unnoticed, and when the minute hand in the living room pointed to twelve, the doorbell rang.

Sherlock smiled slightly: "You're surprisingly punctual."

Harry jumped up as if he'd been electrocuted.

Before he could even reach the door, Mr. Holmes appeared out of nowhere and opened it.

A tall, thin man appeared at the door.

His silver-white hair and beard reached his waist, and he wore a pair of crescent-shaped glasses perched on his hooked nose. He was dressed in a black travel cloak and wore a topped hat.

"Good afternoon. You must be Mr. Holmes."

I'm sure Sherlock told you I was coming to pick him up, didn't he?

Just then, Mrs. Holmes, who had heard the doorbell, hurried out of the kitchen, her apron still covered in flour.

Upon seeing Dumbledore, her eyes lit up, and she immediately flashed a warm smile:

"Ah, you must be Headmaster Dumbledore! Please come in! It's windy outside."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Holmes."

Dumbledore nimbly stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind him.

"Sherlock, Harry, good afternoon—"

His gaze swept across the living room, pausing when he saw Sirius Black, his smile deepening slightly:

"And Sirius, it's such a joy to see you both."

"Stop standing and talking, sit down."

Mrs. Holmes was undoubtedly warm and welcoming, and Dumbledore received the same hospitality as Harry and Sirius.

"Would you like some sugar, Professor? I remember Harry once said you had a sweet tooth."

Mrs. Holmes, holding a cup of coffee, asked hesitantly.

"That's wonderful, Madam!"

Dumbledore glanced at Harry with some surprise, then gave him a genuine smile. "I do have a sweet tooth."

After receiving the sweetened coffee from Mrs. Holmes, Dumbledore took a careful sip, and his eyes lit up.

He looked surprised, even raising his silvery-white eyebrows, and offered his praise without reservation:
"This is a very delicious drink, thank you for your hospitality, it tastes great—it would be even better if there was more sugar."

"That won't do. Too much sugar will damage your teeth."

Mrs. Holmes said with a serious expression.

Seeing the striking wizarding aura that Dumbledore exuded, Mr. Holmes smiled slightly:
“Professor, even if you are not the headmaster of Sherlock and Harry’s school, you are still a guest of the Holmes family, so there is no reason for you to be neglectful.”

Moreover, you are a teacher with extensive common sense and who is respected by others.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore couldn't help but give a wry smile:
“I didn’t mean to be rude—but I just wanted to say how nice it would be if you two were Harry’s aunt and uncle.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the living room fell into a brief silence.

Dumbledore was clearly moved by what he saw; seeing the Holmes couple's attitude towards Harry, and even towards wizards in general, reminded him of Harry's experiences over the years.

A hint of heartache and sympathy flashed across Mrs. Holmes's face.

Both she and Mr. Holmes glanced at Harry instinctively, their eyes filled with tenderness.

"Yeah yeah."

Sherlock looked at Dumbledore and said without any politeness:
"If that's the case, Harry will have been able to understand what a family should really be like from a young age, rather than just a cold coordinate location under the protection of magic."

Dumbledore let out a long sigh.

At that moment, he clearly recalled Sherlock's conversation with him about Harry's childhood experiences.

Sirius looked coldly at Dumbledore without saying a word.

In the past, he would have already roared.

The thought of the Dursleys keeping Harry locked in the cupboard under the stairs made him so angry he could hardly sit still.

But Harry had told him more than once that the matter was in the past, and that Harry himself had forgiven them.

Besides, this was Sherlock's house, and Sirius didn't want to behave in such a way.

On the contrary, Harry, the protagonist of this story, did not feel so deeply about it.

The relationship with the Dursleys has now been completely improved.

For example, Harry had a very pleasant time at the Dursleys' house during the first month of this summer vacation.

He was so happy that he wouldn't feel any resistance even if he were to spend the rest of the summer on Privet Road.

Dumbledore was right. If Sherlock really was his cousin, then his upbringing would have been completely different.

But now, even if it isn't true, it doesn't really matter.

From the very first time they met, Sherlock had already been like an older brother to her.

(End of this chapter)