Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 510 The Lewd Sherlock?

Strictly speaking, Hagrid and Mrs. Maxim had known each other for less than a day.

But he was able to change his appearance, which he had never cared about before, for this woman—although the change was a failure—but it was still an unprecedented act for Hagrid.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all utterly shocked by what they saw.

They wouldn't believe it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.

After a while, seeing Hagrid and Mrs. Maxim walking further and further away, clearly having forgotten about them, Harry finally spoke:
"Let's go, it seems they won't be back anytime soon."

With Sherlock absent, Harry is often the one making the decisions.

Hermione and Ron naturally had no objections.

The three of them discussed the matter as they walked back. When they saw the castle, they were surprised to find Sherlock standing on the steps, with Luna Lovegood standing next to him.

Upon seeing the two, Hermione excitedly asked, "Sherlock, Luna, were you waiting for us?"

“I didn’t know you would be back at this time,” Sherlock shook his head and pointed to a spot not far away. “Mrs. Maxim just left with the students from Beauxbatons.”

“Uh…we saw them too, but what does that have to do with you being here?” Ron asked, puzzled.

"Originally, it was unrelated, but I just happened to run into Delacour, so I tested the waters."

Unfortunately, I was interrupted by Mrs. Maxim—I suppose she mistook me for a lecherous man?

At this point, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh, "What an arrogant Frenchman!"

"No, what are you talking about?!"

Ron became increasingly confused, looking at Sherlock with a bewildered expression:
"What the hell is Deng Tu Zi?"

Who is Delacour?
"Sherlock, can you speak in a way we can understand?"

“Of course, no problem, my dear Ron.”

Sherlock, hands in the pockets of his wizard's robes, looked at Ron with a playful smile:

"The Miss Delacour I'm talking about is the Beauxbatons witch you stared at during dinner yesterday, wondering if she was a Veela and thinking she was something special."

She had long, light blonde hair like a waterfall, deep blue eyes, and a delicate face. Do you remember her?

Oh, it seems you remember it very well.

Noticing Ron's face flush red instantly, Sherlock chuckled.

"Okay, it's her."

Hermione's tone appeared calm, but there was a subtle tension beneath it:

"So? Testing her? What did you do to her?"

"What have you done?"

Sherlock shook his head and laughed as he said, "Strictly speaking, I conducted a very basic information verification experiment."

"What verification experiment?"

"What kind of information experiment?"

"What information is being verified?"

Seeing that the others didn't understand, Sherlock continued to explain: "Remember last night when I asserted that she knew me?"

“I remember,” Harry nodded honestly, “you said her eyes were hiding something.”

"A very accurate restatement, dear Harry. Observational skills are always the cornerstone of reasoning."

However, inferences based on a single scenario, no matter how logical they may seem, still require more data points to support or correct them.

Hermione, I think you'd definitely agree with this scientific approach.

Hermione nodded, but her brows remained slightly furrowed: "So your data point is... actively striking up a conversation with her?"

"That's right, a minimal intervention is enough."

Sherlock began pacing and started recounting his attempts to test Fleur Delacour:

"When I found her, the students of Beauxbatons were lining up to put their names into the Goblet of Fire, and she happened to be the last one."

After confirming there were no other distractions, I approached her at the very moment she completed her surrender gesture, when her attention was most likely to relax and she was turning towards her exit path—a point at which, theoretically, she would be in a state of mind where the mission was over.

He stopped, looked at Luna, and measured the distance between them:
"At that time, I was about three feet away from her, which is exactly the non-threatening distance when facing a stranger."

I looked her straight in the eye and, in a normal voice, clearly read out the name on the parchment she had thrown into the fire:

'Miss Delacour.'

"And then?" Ron asked eagerly, completely forgetting his earlier embarrassment.

"The reaction time is less than half a second."

Sherlock held up one finger:
"Her body stiffened briefly but noticeably, and her shoulder lines tensed instantly."

It's probably similar to the instinctive reaction of a first-year student when Filch suddenly calls out to them in the hallway.

I noticed her gaze quickly shift from the Goblet of Fire to me, and her pupils contracted noticeably.

This is a typical physiological reflex in a state of fright or high alertness.

Sherlock paused, noticing the expressions on his three friends' faces, and added some more details:
"The most important and undeniable point is that she held her breath almost instantly, very briefly."

However, this reaction behavior is obvious enough to a trained observer.

This sudden cessation of breathing pattern only occurs when she realizes that my behavior is completely contrary to what we would expect from a stranger.

A stranger, especially a strange boy from Hogwarts, a place she perceived as alienating.

It is highly unlikely that they would have known her last name with absolute certainty within 24 hours of her first public appearance, and then called it out to her without her knowledge.

Harry suddenly realized: "So, she thinks you recognized her?"

No, that's just a guess.

My deduction is that the shock of realizing she had been recognized constituted at least half of her immediate, intense reaction.

Sherlock smiled. "As for the remaining half, it's the instinct to quickly infer and be alert to my motives, as well as to quickly organize a defensive posture."

Harry and Hermione were fine with this long speech, but Ron found it all obscure and difficult to understand, as if he were being lectured by Snape.

"So, what did she say? Did she admit it?" Hermione pressed.

"No, she feigned surprise and asked me how I knew her name."

Luna suddenly looked at Sherlock with a wary expression, then repeated what Fleur had just said to Sherlock:
"Who...who are you? How do you know my name?"

???

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at Luna in surprise. "Are you two playing cosplay here?"

"Thank you very much, Luna."

Sherlock smiled and continued:
“I told her that I saw her name on the parchment she threw into the Goblet of Fire.”

When I gave her this reason, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief—although she had tried to hide it well, I had still managed to find out.

Of course, this action further confirmed that she knew me.

Next, I gave a brief self-introduction.

However, just as I was about to continue with further exploration, the experiment was interrupted. "Interrupted? Why was it interrupted?"

Ron asked urgently.

"Because of Mrs. Maxim."

Sherlock's expression suddenly became intriguing:

"I underestimated the extent of the principal's protection."

The woman, whose height made Hagrid appear petite, was clearly keeping a close eye on her students.

She, who had been observing from the sidelines, suddenly appeared between us, shielding the somewhat bewildered Miss Delacour with one hand behind her, and placing her other hand between me and Delacour.

Her aura was extremely imposing, and her eyes were very sharp.

I bet you guys, she was thinking, 'Stay away from my students.'"

Ron couldn't help but let out a short sound that was somewhere between a cough and a snicker.

Harry tried hard to suppress his laughter.

Hermione frowned but remained silent.

Sherlock continued:
"The moment Miss Delacour was protected by the headmaster, the surprise she had shown earlier disappeared."

At the same time, she adopted the reserved demeanor of a witch under protection and a hint of... well, it should be said that she was just the right amount of bewilderment.

A truly brilliant on-the-spot response; the speed of reaction is commendable.

"So you were treated like a lecher?"

Hearing Sherlock casually praise her, Hermione was a little annoyed. These Frenchmen had such an inflated sense of self-importance!
I only said one sentence to you, is it really that big of a deal?

"Although Mrs. Maxim did not say it, her gesture was more powerful than any words."

After this incident, she escorted Miss Delacour and her students out of the foyer.

As for me, Sherlock Holmes, my reputation for harassing the finest students of Beauxbatons has probably been confirmed by the eyes of the dozen or so students present.

However, the experiment was quite successful.

Sherlock said, as if summarizing:

"It clearly confirms my deduction from last night:"
This Miss Delacour not only knows me and who I am, but she is also avoiding any direct contact with me.

She was trying her best to maintain the illusion that we were complete strangers.

Seeing the different expressions on their faces, Ron's confusion turned into curiosity, Harry was somewhat worried, Hermione pursed her lips tightly, and Sherlock said in a light tone:

"As for why she knows me? And why she's hiding it like this?"
Was it due to Beauxbatons' strategy? Family background? Personal grudges?
Or a deeper secret? Insufficient information to deduce it.

But this undoubtedly adds a small, interesting puzzle to the upcoming Warriors selection process.

However, as long as she stays here, she can't hide it for long.

Seeing Sherlock's confident speech, the three friends were at a loss for words.

Luna, however, tilted her head and asked curiously:

"Sherlock, will you participate in the Triwizard Tournament?"

“That’s what I was just about to say,” Sherlock said, glancing at his three companions. “Your behavior tells me you had some bad luck with Hagrid—did you get to eat his awful cooking again?”

“Sherlock, all I can say is that you’re incredibly insightful,” Ron retorted, “but this time, things are even more outrageous than that.”

He recounted their experience at Hagrid's Hut like a machine gun, only briefly mentioning their lunch.

The author, in a great hurry, described in detail the affair between Hagrid and Mrs. Maxim, and even summarized his account afterward:

"If they have children in the future, they will definitely set a world record—I dare say each of their children will weigh a ton."

"Hahahaha-!"

Upon hearing this, Luna immediately clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

"Here we go again, Luna's hilarious outburst..."

In the past, the others might have found it strange to see Luna looking like this.

Luna did something similar on the Hogwarts Express.

Everyone was laughing, but Luna laughed particularly hard, making a series of sharp, piercing sounds.

She pressed her hand to her chest, breathing heavily, staring intently at the others, her bulging eyes brimming with tears.

But now that they see Luna doing this again, they're used to it.

After listening to Ron's somewhat exaggerated description, Sherlock seemed to be deep in thought.

Noticing Sherlock's expression, Hermione asked, "What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

“We have a preliminary deduction,” Sherlock shook his head. “Never mind, let’s get back to the Triwizard Tournament.”

As soon as Sherlock mentioned this, the three friends perked up their ears.

Sherlock looked at Harry and smiled slightly: "My suggestion is that you and I both put our names into the Goblet of Fire."

"no problem!"

As if he had been waiting for these words for a long time, Harry immediately agreed and breathed a long sigh of relief.

As long as I follow Sherlock, I'm not afraid of anything!
Sherlock then looked at Hermione.

“I’ll pass,” Hermione shook her head. “I don’t think I have the knowledge to handle a match like this.”

"Hermione, if you say that, then I have even less of a chance."

"No, no, no, I'm just good at studying and have a bit of cleverness. You and Sherlock are different."

Hermione said sincerely, "Besides, none of you are seventeen years old, which means you've taken up the remaining two spots. Now we just hope Angelina can get the third spot."

Clearly, Hermione believed that with Sherlock leading the way, Hogwarts was guaranteed to win the tournament no matter who participated.

"And what about me?" Ron asked loudly when he saw that Sherlock didn't even mention his own name.

Sherlock smiled slightly: "Please follow your lead."

"Hmph, then I want to participate too!"

Ron crossed his arms, trying his best to look serious:
"Although I know that once the two of you participate, I will have no hope left, but!"

From now on, at least I can say that I lost to the Lion King and the Savior!

"Well done, Ronald!"

Hermione immediately gave Ron a thumbs-up, then burst out laughing.

Ron initially kept a straight face, but he quickly broke down and burst out laughing.

Sherlock and Harry exchanged a glance and laughed together.

As for Luna?

She kept laughing; she never stopped.