Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 468 Only Harry's Substitute
Quidditch is similar to football in the Muggle world; it has been a team sport since its inception.

Victory cannot be achieved by relying solely on one person's strength.

Harry realized this from the very first day he encountered the sport.

So when Wood attributed all of Gryffindor's success to his own actions, Harry felt very embarrassed.

"Oliver, this isn't just my achievement; it's all thanks to everyone..."

"It's all thanks to you!"

Wood waved his hand and said, "From the moment you joined us in freshman year, I knew we were going to win the trophy."

If it weren't for a series of unforeseen events, we could have won three consecutive championships!

Speaking of this, Harry felt even more ashamed.

Because the events in first and second grade were directly related to him.

After that, Wood excitedly shared another piece of good news with Sherlock and Harry:
Not long ago, he successfully signed with Pudmeer United and became a substitute player for the team.

Pudmill United was founded in 1163 and is a member of the British and Irish Quidditch League.

As the oldest existing Quidditch team, it was active in England during the Middle Ages.

By the end of the 20th century, Pudmere United had won the Quidditch League Cup 22 times and the European Cup twice, in 1290 and 1379.

Wood's ability to join such a strong team right after graduation shows that his skills have been recognized—even if he is only a substitute player.

After a long while, an excited Wood finally released Sherlock and Harry.

At this point, Ginny seized the opportunity to tell Wood about her plan to apply to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year.

"This is a good thing!"

Wood immediately became excited upon hearing this:

"How about it? Want to be a goalkeeper?"

I have a feeling the new captain will be Angelina; I can mention it to her later.

If you're interested, I can also tell you about goalkeeping techniques—like how to anticipate a striker's feints.

“No, I’m not suited for that position,” Ginny said firmly, her voice trembling slightly. “I want to start as a Seeker.”

"A Seeker? But we already have the best Seeker in the whole school!"

Wood, true to his name, was like a block of wood, naturally unable to understand the heart of a young girl.

"I can be a substitute first."

Ginny stole a glance at Harry, then quickly looked away, silently adding in her mind, "Harry's one-man substitute."

"Starting as a substitute is indeed a good idea."

Wood always looks radiant when Quidditch is mentioned.

"Actually, now that I think about it, Gryffindor should have had substitutes a long time ago. How can they rely on just seven starters?"
If someone gets injured, there won't even be anyone to replace them.

He sighed, his voice filled with emotion:
"If we had had a substitute Seeker when Harry was in his first year, we wouldn't have had to play with one less player."

Harry, don't take it to heart, I didn't mean to blame you.

As the team captain, this is something I should have been considering.

After saying that, he looked at Ginny with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Your physique is perfect for a Seeker."

As Wood spoke, he began to circle around Ginny Zhou, looking her up and down:
"Light and agile, it's a pity I haven't seen you fly, otherwise I could definitely give you better advice—why not give it a try now?"

“I don’t think the Ministry of Magic will agree,” Hermione interjected. “Just now, two little kids were playing on flying broomsticks, and they went to find their parents.”

"Oh, that's such a pity... But it's okay, as long as you work hard, you'll definitely have a chance!"

After saying goodbye to Oliver Wood, Ron asked curiously, "Ginny, when did you decide to join the Quidditch team?"

“Just now,” Ginny’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked quickly and forced a natural smile. “It suddenly came to mind when I saw Wood, the former captain.”

"Speaking of which, I'd like to join in too..."

Ron touched his nose, his eyes showing some hesitation, and his voice lowered.

In terms of flying skills alone, he is certainly no match for Harry, nor for Malfoy.

But they are already in fourth grade this year.

Even his younger sister is eagerly considering joining the Quidditch team, so he can't be less capable than his sister, can he?
"Come on, Ron!"

Upon hearing that his best friend was also going to play Quidditch, Harry immediately exclaimed excitedly:
"Wood has graduated, and Gryffindor is currently short of a goalkeeper."

If you succeed in the competition, you can become a key player directly.

Ron had only said it casually, but now that Harry had brought it up, he actually had the idea.

This greatly worried Ginny, who was standing nearby.

She joined Quidditch so that she could have more time alone with Harry.

But if Ron joins, he will inevitably take Harry away—after all, Harry can discuss tactics with him, right?
No, I have to think of something myself!
Sherlock took in the whole scene and was about to speak when Hermione pulled him back and made a shushing gesture.

She knows Sherlock too well.

If Sherlock were to speak, the situation would inevitably become extremely awkward.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, but swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Those were things that could have been said or not, and since Hermione had stopped him, he couldn't be bothered to bring them up again.

This made Hermione secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

But she was immediately taken aback.

Didn't my actions just now prove what Gemma had told me before she left?

Subconsciously, he protected Sherlock, preventing him from saying anything that might cause trouble.

wrong!

But she quickly regained her resolve.

He did need to keep an eye on Sherlock, but not for Gemma's sake, but for his own, and for Sherlock's own!

After parting ways with Wood, they were quickly pulled away by another enthusiastic classmate.

Hufflepuff and their classmate Ernie McMillan.

This big guy is also a talent.

In his second year, he insisted that Harry was the heir of Slytherin and that he was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets and released monsters to attack wizards from non-mixed-blood families.

He even went so far as to say, with a defiant air, "If you doubt my bloodline, you can trace it back nine generations; I was pureblood." He completely disregarded the consequences of his open provocation if Harry were truly the mastermind behind the monsters.

However, once the misunderstanding was cleared up, he immediately and sincerely apologized to Harry and asked for his forgiveness.

Harry is so kind, of course he chose to forgive him.

Although almost two years had passed since the Chamber of Secrets incident, Macmillan still looked guilty when he saw Harry. He talked to him for a long time and even invited Harry to sit in their tent.

"Harry, why don't you come sit in our tent? My mom made pumpkin pie, it's delicious!"

Harry quickly waved his hand, pointing to the bucket in his hand: "No, Macmillan, we have to go back and deliver water; everyone's waiting."

Ernie then gave up, said a few more words of blessing, and reluctantly let go of her hand.

Watching Ernie's departing figure, Ron couldn't help but purse his lips:
"Ever since he realized he had misunderstood Harry, every time he saw Harry, he acted like he owed Harry hundreds of Galleons, and he was even more long-winded than Percy."

“He’s an honest man,” Sherlock said calmly, a hint of understanding in his eyes. “What he said just now came from the bottom of his heart.”

On the rest of the journey, they encountered many more acquaintances:
Neville, carrying a stack of books, waved nervously when he saw them, almost dropping the books on the ground.

The Petit twins were discussing the upcoming match and, upon seeing him, warmly invited him to predict the champion.

Hannah Abbott excitedly pulled Sherlock aside and introduced him to her parents—it was thanks to Sherlock's help that Hannah's father, Mr. Abbott, was cleared of suspicion.

Sherlock chatted briefly with Mr. Abbott. Since that incident, he hadn't been as attentive to the work of the Ministry of Magic as before.

In the past, he would definitely have actively participated in a major event like the Quidditch World Cup.

But now, unless specifically arranged, he immediately hides far away and comes with his wife and daughters—just like Mr. Weasley, participating only as an audience member.

Whenever I see someone I know, I always stop to say hello.

And so, they walked and stopped, eventually returning to their tent.

Why did you take so long?

George pointed to the campfire not far away, where Mr. Weasley was squatting beside it, enthusiastically adding wood to the fire, which was already half a person's height.

“If we come back any later, Dad will burn all the wood around the tent.”

"Just burn it all and then collect the rest!"

Mr. Weasley said without looking up, still poking at the flames with a twig in his hand, his eyes sparkling with childlike curiosity:

"The fire is already lit, all we have to do is keep it burning, it's that simple!"

However, since the water has already been retrieved, there is no need for this anymore.

It was almost time, so everyone started cooking.

It's called cooking, but it's really just boiling eggs and sausages.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the woods, and three red-haired men strode towards them.

The one walking at the very front, wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a crisp shirt, was none other than Percy Weasley.

The other two redheads were a half-step behind him, chatting and laughing, their voices full of ease.

“They are my brothers, Bill and Charlie.”

Ginny, worried that Sherlock, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius might not recognize him, quickly stepped forward and whispered an introduction.

Unlike when she mentioned Percy and Ron, her eyes held a hint of pride.

It's obvious that her eldest and second eldest brothers were the people she admired since childhood.

Sherlock couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this: "Ginny, you may not know this, but we've actually met them before."

"Huh?" Ginny was taken aback. "How come you've seen them before? Did they go to Grimmauld Place before?"

“No, Sherlock means that we’ve seen them in photographs.”

Sirius said slowly, with a hint of nostalgia in his voice, "That's a photo I'll never forget in my life."

Around this time last year, Mr. Weasley won the Daily Prophet jackpot.

They used the prize money for a trip, choosing Egypt, where Bill worked.

The Daily Prophet ran a headline: "Ministry of Magic Employee Wins Big Prize," accompanied by a photo.

The Weasley family of nine stood in front of a giant pyramid, with Bill and Charlie among them.

Ron also sent the clipping to Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione.

As for Sirius saying he was impressed by the photo, it was because Fudge happened to have the newspaper with him when he went to inspect Azkaban.

Sirius immediately recognized Scabbers, the pet mouse perched on Ron's shoulder; the one-clawed bastard was none other than Peter Pettigrew, whom he thought was already dead.

It was because he recognized Peter's disguise that Sirius decided to escape from prison, which led to the story that followed.

Now that time has passed, Sirius Black feels as if a lifetime has passed when he recalls this incident.

A year later, Peter Pettigrew has been killed.

Sirius Black not only escaped his status as a fugitive, but also became a guest of honor at the Ministry of Magic.

Thinking of all this, Sirius couldn't help but smile with relief.

He looked at Harry, then at Sherlock, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

Harry is so lucky to have a friend like Sherlock.

Sherlock, who was being watched, was also watching the brothers Bill and Charlie.

Looking at photos and seeing the real person are two completely different experiences.

The eldest son, William Weasley, is nearly six feet tall, making him the tallest member of the Weasley family.

However, judging from Ron's current growth rate, he may surpass his older brother in height in the future.

Her long red hair was tied into a simple ponytail at the back of her head, and she wore an earring with a small fan-like object hanging from it.

His outfit was so fashionable, as if he were going to a rock concert, and he was wearing a pair of boots made of dragon skin.

He was also the most handsome of the six Weasley brothers.

Mature and stable, with outstanding work ability, inclusive and opinionated, and possessing her own unique aesthetic sense.

The second son, Charlie Weasley, was about the same size as the twins, even shorter than his taller brother Ron, but much more muscular than the bean sprout-like Percy.

He had a broad, weathered face, resembling a kind gentleman, covered with dense freckles that made it appear almost brownish-black.

His arms were muscular, and one arm had a large, shiny burn scar.

[Loves freedom, focused and dedicated, low-key and reliable, with empathy, and has an excellent relationship with family.]

With his gaze sweeping over Bill and Charlie, Sherlock had already formed a basic understanding of the two.

(End of this chapter)