Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 455 The Demon King Returns
12 Grimoire Place.

Sherlock was neither as alarmed and boisterous as Hermione, nor as bewildered and at a loss as Ron.

He took out his notebook from his pocket and began to carefully inquire about what Harry had seen in his dream.

Although Harry was awakened in the middle of the night by the pain from his scars and the content of the nightmare itself, he was unable to clearly remember the content of his dream after waking up.

In his own words, it was like this:
It's like trying to scoop up water with both hands.

The more he tried to grasp the details of his dream after he regained consciousness, the faster they slipped through his fingers.

Upon hearing Harry's vivid analogy, Sherlock immediately understood what he meant.

He said with some regret:

"You've encountered a rejection reaction to temporary memories."

"A rejection reaction to temporary memories?"

"That's right, I believe you've all had this experience to some extent."

When a flash of inspiration struck, the more desperately I tried to grasp it, the less I could remember what had happened.

“Ah, yes, yes, yes!” Ron said excitedly. “I’ve had this experience many times. I feel like I have a brilliant idea, but I just can’t remember it.”

"In such situations, the right thing to do is to give up trying to recall the event and temporarily stop thinking about it."

In this way, those memories can be temporarily and completely preserved in your memory attic.

Once the rejection reaction subsides, we will find a suitable time to dig them out again.

But if you force yourself to recall it, this reaction will damage your memory, causing it to disappear.

"But, Sherlock, we don't have a memory attic like yours, do we...? I mean, only you can manage and categorize your memories so well..."

"No, dear Ron, you've misunderstood me."

Sherlock patiently explained:
"I think everyone's mind is like an empty attic, and what we need to do is selectively put some furniture in it."

But many fools will stuff all sorts of junk and rubbish they come across into it.

In this way, the knowledge that was useful to him was squeezed out.

Or it wasn't squeezed out, but it got mixed up with many other things.

This makes it difficult to retrieve them.

"Uh... I'm that idiot."

Listening to Sherlock and Ron discuss the topic of memories, Harry couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Because that's exactly what he did at the time.

You could say he is the negative example.

"It's alright, just say what you think is best," Sherlock seemed unconcerned, and smiled slightly. "I'm all ears."

"All I can remember now is that dimly lit room, with very old furnishings and decor."

A giant snake lies before the fireplace, and a man with a henchman claims to be Tom Riddle's allies.

They seem to be loudly plotting something...

Oh, and there's an old man too!

The old man must have been a Muggle; he overheard their conversation…

Sherlock quickly sketched on his notebook while bombarding Harry with questions:

"How big is that giant serpent, and how does it compare to the basilisk we encountered in the secret chamber?"

"It's not that big, but it's at least twelve feet. It's lying on the ground, so I can't really tell."

"Very well, you're saying that man claims to be Riddle's ally?"

"Yes, that's what he said."

"Interesting—are you sure he's talking about Riddle, and not Voldemort?"

Ron protested loudly when he heard Sherlock casually mention the name again.

However, this is of no use.

Neither Sherlock nor Harry paid them any attention.

Harry nodded and said:

“Yes, he explicitly called out Tom Riddle by name.”

"very good!

So, did you see Voldemort?

Is the image he presents in your dream the handsome boy we met in the locked room, or the ugly monster stuck to the back of Quirrell's head?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see him. He… was sitting in that armchair the whole time.”

As the armchair was turned around, I felt a surge of immense fear, and then I jolted awake.

"So, you actually saw his face in your dream, but you were startled awake the moment you saw it, right?"

"I think so."

"Ha, how does the kind of fear you just described compare to the fear you felt when you saw a Dementor?"

"I...I don't know, I can't tell."

As Sherlock and Harry exchanged questions and answers, Hermione and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment.

They felt that Harry was now like one of those customers who came to Sherlock for advice.

Sherlock usually asked them this question.

However, what surprised Hermione and Ron even more was yet to come.

After Sherlock finished questioning Harry in detail, he handed him his notebook:

"Take a look, is this correct?"

Hermione and Ron also curiously joined in.

The two were stunned. Sherlock had already sketched out the scene from Harry's dream.

【image】

Although it is only a few strokes, it is vividly depicted.

Each person in the room has a very distinctive appearance, making it easy to tell who is who at a glance.

And that twelve-foot-long giant snake, even when it was lazily coiled in front of the fireplace, still gave people a sense of oppression that it could jump up and bite you at any moment.

"That's right, Sherlock, that's exactly it!"

Harry immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Seeing this painting is like stepping back into that dream!"

"Unfortunately, if you hadn't forced yourself to recall the details of that dream last night, you should be able to remember the whole dream now that you see this painting."

As for now, it can only serve a definite purpose.

"I'm sorry, Sherlock..."

Harry felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, realizing that he always seemed to mess things up.

"There's not much of a problem. Although some details are still open to discussion, at least I've confirmed a few things."

Ron, the most impatient of them all, immediately asked, "What is it?"

Harry and Hermione also perked up their ears.

"First, Harry's dream was not unfounded."

I think the scar Voldemort left on your forehead might be more than just a scar.

Sherlock said with a serious expression, "In your first year, when Voldemort looked at you through Quirrell, your scars started to hurt."

The pain was fleeting, because Voldemort, fearing Dumbledore would see it, gave up after only a glance.

"Please, Sherlock, I'm begging you, can you please stop this..."

Ron groaned as he heard Sherlock repeatedly call him "Voldemort".

He's starting to tremble all over now.

Sherlock, as if he hadn't heard Ron, continued:

"Later, on that battlefield in the Forbidden Forest, your scars started hurting again, and this time it was a series of sharp pains."

At the end of the school year, we faced Quirrell and Voldemort in the Philosopher's Stone room.

Your scar experienced the longest and deepest pain of your life.

That was precisely the moment when Voldemort felt threatened by death and his emotions were at their most intense.

Therefore, I make a bold inference: you can share Voldemort's thoughts to some extent through your scars.

After Sherlock finished speaking, the three friends were completely stunned.

Even Ron temporarily forgot his fear of the name Voldemort.

The main problem is that Sherlock's idea is just... mind-blowing.

How could Harry possibly share thoughts with the Dark Lord, a ruthless killer who disappeared for over a decade but still strikes fear into the entire wizarding world?

"Based on the first reason, I make a second inference: everything you saw in your dream was actually happening."

"what?"

"This is impossible!"

"Oh my bloody mother of hell!"

At that moment, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all made statements that reflected their personalities.

Hermione: "Sherlock, didn't Mr. Dumbledore say that he has reliable information that Voldemort is still in the Albanian forest!"

Ron: "Hermione...please..."

Ron was at a loss with Sherlock and could only hope that Hermione would stop mentioning that name.

"I have no doubt about Headmaster Dumbledore's intelligence."

However, he said that a year ago.

Give me a year, and I'll be able to leave that country—even though it's in chaos there right now.

For a dark wizard of Voldemort's power, this was even less of a problem, especially since he had gained a new ally.

"So, you believe Professor Trelawney's prediction?"

Hermione frowned.

"I don't believe it, but I won't deliberately reject it either. However, I can use it as inspiration."

Sherlock smiled slightly. "As for the third point, it is also the most important one."

"what?"

This time, it was Harry who spoke.

"Judging from your dream, Voldemort has not truly made a comeback."

Or rather, he is still in the same weak state as before, clinging to the back of Quirrell's head.

The fact that the old man in the dream needed to turn his armchair around to see Voldemort's true face speaks volumes.

Hearing Sherlock's words, the three friends fell into deep thought once again.

"Alright, kids, stop with the little meeting!"

Just then, Mrs. Holmes' voice rang out from the doorway.

"what--!"

Upon hearing Mrs. Holmes's voice, Harry was the quickest to react.

He jumped up and ran to open the door.

Mrs. Holmes appeared in the doorway, smiling as she patted Harry on the head:
"When guests arrive, it's not right for the host to leave everyone else in the living room!"

(End of this chapter)