Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 535 Plan A (Bonus chapter to celebrate recovery from a cold)
The moment Sherlock, Harry, and Cedric rode their respective flying brooms into the air, the entire arena erupted in cheers.

No one could have imagined that the Hogwarts champions would put on such a good show for them.

Apart from a handful of people who knew the inside story, almost everyone was stunned when they saw the fire dragon.

They subconsciously assumed that the first event of the Triwizard Tournament would be the hero fighting the dragon.

It wasn't until Mr. Ludo Bagman cast a loud incantation on himself, first praising the three warriors of Hogwarts, that he began to explain the match to everyone.

"Look closely, this boy's name is Potter!"

His exaggerated tone quickly attracted everyone's attention:
"He was riding the world's best flying broomstick—the Firebolt!"

The flying broomsticks were used by the entire Irish team that won the Quidditch World Cup not long ago.

I was fortunate enough to be a commentator for that match, so I am very familiar with its performance!

It must be said that the heroes of Hogwarts came up with a brilliant idea!

As for the heroes' mission, it is to retrieve that golden egg!

Upon hearing this, the audience suddenly realized that the original plan was not for the warriors to directly fight the fire dragon.

They couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

However, Mr. Bagman, as if he already knew what they were thinking, continued;

"Don't think this is a simple matter. What's appearing before you now is a female fire dragon!"

As everyone knows, the mother fire dragon values ​​her eggs very much, and getting a golden egg from her is by no means an easy task!

In fact, this is no different from fighting a fire dragon directly!

Now, let me introduce this Hungarian wood bee to you…”

Just as Mr. Bagman was explaining the horrors of the Hungarian wood bee to everyone, Sherlock and his two companions had already flown high into the sky.

Sherlock glanced at Harry and called out to him, "Dude, you look great!"

Harry is definitely in much better condition.

how to say?

As he rapidly spiraled upwards.

The wind whistled through his hair.

When the faces of the audience below turned into tiny, flesh-colored pinholes.

When the Hungarian wood bee shrinks to the size of a dog.

Harry then realized something important.

He abandoned not only the ground, but also his fear.

As Sherlock said, once he was in the air, he returned to his natural habitat.

"Sherlock, thank goodness you came up with this idea!"

Harry shouted excitedly.

In his view, this was just an alternative Quidditch match.

Fire dragon?

Hungarian wood bee?
They're just a tough opponent.

Cedric's performance was similar to Harry's, only not as obvious.

But without a doubt, it's now three against one, and they can fly.

The advantage is mine!

"Sherlock, what do you say? Should we activate Plan A immediately?"

"Of course!"

Sherlock looked down at the nest of dragon eggs and found the golden egg among them.

Even someone with poor static vision like Harry could see the shiny thing lying between the forelegs of the Hungarian hornet.

"So……"

"us……"

"let's go!"

The three of them split into three directions and swooped down from above.

The enormous head of the Hungarian hornet followed the three of them, swaying left and right, moving back and forth.

Cedric hadn't yet realized what it was trying to do, but Sherlock and Harry, who had witnessed the Hungarian wood bee firsthand, had already cried out simultaneously:
"fire!"

"careful!"

Cedric was startled, realizing with a start that he was already nearly twenty feet away from the Hungarian wood bee.

In other words, we've entered their firing range.

The three of them made the same move almost at the same time:
It abruptly stopped its dive and leaped into the air.

"My God, it's Longis feinting!"

Ron, watching from the audience, couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Hermione crossed her hands on her knees, her eyes fixed on Sherlock and Harry.

Although she already knew beforehand that the two of them would be facing a fire dragon, it wasn't until she actually saw the fire dragon that she truly felt the overwhelming sense of oppression.

She doesn't understand Quidditch.

But at this moment, she felt that the feint she had initially thought was a sly act was actually quite endearing.

Because the Hungarian wood bee had already spewed out a ball of fire.

However, the three warriors of Hogwarts managed to slip away at the last second.

"Ouch! Hermione, be gentle!"

Ginny couldn't help but cry out in pain.

“I’m sorry… Ginny…”

Hermione then realized that she had unknowingly wrapped her arms around Ginny's arm.

"It doesn't matter……"

Ginny understood Hermione's feelings, because if Hermione had acted any later, Ginny would have grabbed Hermione's arm.

"If they hadn't dodged in time, they would have been hit squarely with the spray!"

"This is too dangerous, Hermione," Ginny said worriedly.

"Yes, it's very dangerous."

Hermione took a deep breath. "But all we can do now is believe in them. Everything will be alright, everything will be alright."

There were quite a few people on the court who were worried about the three warriors.

However, Sherlock and his two companions seemed very excited.

"Sherlock, Harry, how are you feeling?"

"Cedric asked loudly."

"I was just dodging a wandering ball!"

Harry shouted back.

Shylock's gaze was fixed on the head of the Hungarian hornet, and after a moment he said:

"Harry, let's switch directions and try again!"

"okay!"

He and Sherlock switched places in mid-air, and then he swooped down again.

Just as they were about to reach the Hungarian Hornet's firing range, they pulled another feint by Longkis.

"My God, they are absolutely amazing!"

Mr. Bagman exclaimed, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to believe that three people could perform such a difficult technical move at the same time!"
Don't underestimate their distance from the ground; being hit by the flames of a Hungarian hornet is far more terrifying than falling to the ground!

The three dodged the flames once again and rose back into the air.

Sherlock noticed that as the three of them circled higher and higher, the Hungarian wood bee's gaze continued to follow them.

Its head even spun around and around on its long neck.

Theoretically speaking, if they keep rising like this, the dragon will definitely get dizzy and disoriented.

But that was only in theory.

Seeing that Harry and Cedric were completely absorbed in the moment, Sherlock spoke again:
"Cedric, this time you switch places with me!"

"no problem!"

Without a word, Cedric switched places with Sherlock and swooped down again. He used the same tactic as before: just as the Hungarian hornet was about to breathe fire, he reversed his flying broom, changing his dive into a leap.

But this time the Hungarian wood bees learned their lesson.

It seemed to realize that these three insignificant humans were toying with it.

So this time, in addition to spewing out a ball of flame, it also swung its tail at the three of them.

Logically speaking, doing it this way would result in uncoordinated movements.

However, the Hungarian wood bee is simply too large.

Both the flames it spews and its swishing tail cover an extremely wide area.

Sherlock and Harry were in a better position, as they were positioned relatively far from the tail of the Hungarian wood beetle.

Cedric was less fortunate.

After switching places with Sherlock, he was originally the one closest to the tail of the Hungarian Hornet, and his Seven Stars Sweep was the worst performing of the three's flying brooms.

As a result, he dodged the flames, but as he turned to the left, a long, sharp stinger from the tail of a Hungarian wood bee pierced his shoulder, tearing his robe in two.

"hiss--"

Cedric gasped sharply as a sharp pain shot through his wound, while gasps of surprise rippled through the audience.

"Oh my god, Cedric, are you alright?!"

Once back in the air, Harry quickly came over.

"It's alright, the wound isn't very deep..."

Sherlock flew over too.

His gaze swept over Cedric's torn robes and bleeding arm, and he drew his wand:

"Healed completely!"

Unfortunately, the wound did not heal, but the bleeding rate did slow down significantly.

"The curse didn't work. We'll talk about it after the match."

Sherlock asked succinctly, "Cedric, can you still use magic?"

"Fortunately, I only injured my left arm... Should we continue with Plan A?"

"Yes."

Sherlock nodded:
"I've observed its attack patterns quite thoroughly."

If you turn the stone into a dog, it might chase after us at first, but eventually it will definitely target the three of us.

So we need to disrupt its line of sight, and that's my job—Harry.

Sherlock turned to Harry, "The most crucial step still needs to be left to you."

Harry nodded heavily.

"It's a real shame, they were just a hair's breadth away from succeeding—I think that's how it is..."

Mr. Bagman continued his explanation:
“Cedric fully demonstrated the responsibility of a captain—but he also paid the price!”
What will they do next? The three of them are still circling high in the sky, and it seems they are discussing tactics...

Oh dear, the Hungarian wood bees seem to be getting impatient; they'd better hurry.

"Once this big guy goes berserk, no tricks will work..."

Just then, the three of them swooped down again.

This time, however, they went straight for the difficult level.

During their dive, Sherlock and Cedric suddenly flew in the same direction.

This brought the two of them together.

The Hungarian wood bee's eyes immediately moved to the two of them.

Clearly, the attraction between two people is far greater than that between one person.

Its head swayed from side to side, its gaze fixed on him through a pair of vertical pupils, and all its fangs were exposed.

Is this a feint, a diversionary tactic?

Mr. Bagman spoke again, "But have they forgotten that the Hungarian hornet's tail is not to be trifled with!"

Just then, Cedric pulled out his wand and turned the stone closest to the Hungarian wood bee into a Newfoundland hound.

Without a doubt, it was an exceptionally powerful Transfiguration Charm.

The dog raised its head and, without any fear, opened its mouth towards the Hungarian wasp:
"Woof——!"

This scene seems somewhat comical at this moment.

The Hungarian hornet paused for a moment, then swatted at it with its claw.

However, the dog barked once and then turned and ran away.

The Hungarian hornet chased after it without hesitation.

"It's now!"

Sherlock and Cedric charged down simultaneously, heading straight for the nest of dragon eggs.

"Roar!"

Just as Sherlock had said, upon seeing the two men's movements, the Hungarian wood bee immediately changed its mind, abandoned the Newfoundland hound, and turned to pounce on them.

The two were prepared, and Cedric simply rode his flying broomstick to dodge far away.

"Sherlock, what are you doing?"

To his surprise, Sherlock did not leave with him as they had planned in advance, but instead took out his wand and cast a spell.

"A black dragon emerges from its cave!"

After his wand head exploded, a long black snake suddenly shot out from it and smashed directly onto the head of the Hungarian wood bee.

At the very front of the Slytherin students in the stands, Snape's lips twitched.

"Roar--!"

The Hungarian wood bee roared again.

A blazing orange-red fireball hurtled straight at Sherlock.

Sherlock's willingness to take the risk suggests he had already anticipated this outcome.

He suddenly lifted the broom and instantly soared upwards.

Flames grazed the broom's tail, scorching a corner of his robe.

A gasp of surprise immediately erupted from the audience.

At the same time, the black snake that shot out from his wand actually swam directly onto the fire dragon's eye.

The dragon's eyes are the most vulnerable organ in its entire body.

If it is a powerful spell, it is enough to cause damage.

Unfortunately, this snake wasn't that powerful.

However, its fangs still served to interfere when they bit at the Hungarian hornet.

That brief moment of chaos was enough for a good Quidditch player.

At this moment, the Hungarian thorn bee's neck was fully stretched out, swaying from side to side, like a snake dancing in front of a snake charmer.

When it was free from the snake's interference, it unconsciously stood up, and its rough, huge wings spread out completely, as wide as a small airplane.

Harry was already in peak condition when Sherlock and Cedric merged.

Seeing the opportunity, they didn't hesitate at all.

He gripped the fire crossbow bolts tightly with both hands, leaned forward, and swooped down from the sky like an arrow released from a bow.

The superior performance of the fire bolts was on full display at this moment.

It accelerated with a sharp whooshing sound, instantly cutting through the blind spot of the Hungarian hornet's anxious vision.

At that moment, the hearts of the entire audience were in their throats.

Those closely connected to the contestants were extremely nervous.

Hermione gripped Ginny's hand tightly.

Ron's eyes were fixed on the three flying figures in the air.

Cho Chang held Lucy and Alicia in his hands respectively.

Gemma, one of the dragon trainers, had a calm gaze, while Luna, standing next to Ginny, seemed blank-faced, but her slightly trembling body revealed that she was anything but calm inside.

Even Mr. Bagman's enthusiastic commentary came to an abrupt halt.

(End of this chapter)