Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 541 Exciting News

Hogwarts Castle, eighth floor.

Inside the spacious room, the stone hearth, still surrounded by pebbles, was embedded in the floor, and the leaping orange flames were dispelling the chill.

Gemma Farley sat quietly on the large, soft, high-backed velvet sofa chair near the fire pit.

A pair of sea-blue eyes were fixed on the slender-necked glass vase on the fireplace mantel, which held white hyacinths.

Sherlock was very worried about what happened on the field today, but she hid her emotions well and didn't let anyone see it.

Until the end of the match, the one time she exchanged a glance with Sherlock.

When she saw Sherlock's eyes, she knew that Sherlock must have understood what she meant.

See you at the usual spot!

But even after waiting for a long time in the Room of Requirement, Sherlock still hasn't come.

Even so, she was still not in a hurry at all.

She believed that Sherlock would eventually come.

If it hasn't appeared by now, it must be because something has held it back.

Just then, a soft knock sounded on the door.

Gemma immediately turned her head away.

Sherlock Holmes has arrived.

“Sorry, Gemma, they insist I go to the Hufflepuff common room…”

Before he finished speaking, a fragrant breeze wafted over, and Gemma had already stood up and rushed straight into Sherlock's arms.

Sherlock was taken aback.

He hadn't expected that Gemma would be so enthusiastic upon their reunion, giving him a hug as soon as they met.

After a brief embrace, Gemma released Sherlock, her face slightly flushed, and then said:
"haven't seen you for a long time."

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Sherlock looked around and was shocked to find that this place was exactly the same as the place where he had parted ways with Gemma last time.

This was clearly something Gemma did intentionally.

"You all performed exceptionally well today."

Gemma invited Sherlock to sit down, and resumed her usual elegant demeanor:

“Especially that summoning spell—no one could have imagined that you would use this method to get past the fire dragon.”

“Everyone’s stuck in a fixed mindset,” Sherlock said, taking a sip of his drink. “To be honest, it’s really nothing to brag about—Krum did much better than us.”

"But if you hadn't done that, he would never have thought of this move."

Gemma couldn't help but laugh. "That Mr. Bagman's voice is so loud, Krum must have heard his explanation."

The two chatted casually about today's match, showing no signs of awkwardness despite not having seen each other for half a year.

"Looks like you're doing well in Romania?"

Sherlock suddenly spoke up.

“I know you can figure it out,” Gemma said with a smile, “but I still want to hear what you’ve figured out.”

Sherlock's gaze swept over Gemma, his sharp eyes like a key to solving a puzzle, quickly capturing the subtlest clues.

Her skin, hand gestures, and clothing details.

There were several light brown, recently scabbed scars on the back of her right hand, so pale they almost blended into her wheat-colored skin.

Sherlock remembered that when they parted at Hogwarts six months ago, her skin was as smooth and fair as the cool stone walls of the castle, but now it had a uniform sun-tanned brown hue.

There was still a faint trace of peeling skin on his forehead, revealing the marks of long-term exposure to sunlight.

And when they hugged just now, he noticed a faint smell of smoke emanating from the other person's neck.

It had a mineral scent, similar to sulfur, which clashed with her original elegant perfume.

"The scars on the back of your hand are recent, aren't they?"

Based on his observations, Sherlock stated his conclusion directly.

Gemma laughed: "It's the same as always—every time you state the result of your deduction, it always gives people such a simple feeling."

I'm in charge of taking care of the newborn Norbertosaurus in the reserve. They're so young, and their fire-breathing practice is as unpredictable as a baby learning to walk.

A week ago, a small fire dragon was startled and breathed out a small flame, which splashed onto the back of my hand.

The fire dragon reserve in Romania is located in a valley where the sunlight is intense…

Sherlock and Gemma had a very pleasant meeting, and they chatted for quite a while before they knew it.

By the time Sherlock returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was past midnight.

His four roommates were already asleep, with Harry's sleep talking and Neville's snoring rising and falling.

A small model of the Hungarian wood bee was placed on the table next to Harry's bed.

The little dragon yawned, curled up, and closed its eyes.

The golden egg was placed securely on Sherlock's bed.

Sherlock glanced at them and knew that his roommates had only recently returned.

A smile appeared on his lips as he drew the curtains of his four-poster bed and went to sleep.

The topic of the hero slaying the dragon continued for several weeks.

As the host, Hogwarts won the first project, giving the Hogwarts teachers and students a sense of pride and accomplishment.

The students at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were no longer as high-profile as before.

As for Sherlock, Harry, and Cedric, these three heroes who won glory, they received an unprecedented welcome.

Wherever the three of them went, they were greeted with cheers.

Besides Cedric, some people have even come up to Sherlock and Harry for autographs.

This also included students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

This made Harry feel somewhat flattered.

It's worth noting that after Rita Skeeter's previous article was published, people from both schools were extremely hostile towards him.

"Harry, you earned their respect through your own abilities."

Hermione said seriously, "Now everyone knows that woman was talking nonsense."

Speaking of Rita Skeeter, she was quite settled for a while after receiving Sherlock's "advice".

Even with such great material from the first event of the three-way competition, she didn't post anything to hype it up.

The Daily Prophet did publish a relatively objective and fair article, detailing the process of the competition.

However, the article heavily criticized the Ministry of Magic, arguing that their security measures were inadequate and that they lacked contingency plans.

That's pretty much the usual style of The Daily Prophet.

“You’re right…” Harry couldn’t help but shrink back. “To be honest, I’m increasingly reluctant to go to outdoor classes.”

"Me too!"

They were on their way to their class on protecting magical creatures.

After hearing Harry's words, Ron also said with great emotion.

He glanced at Durmstrang's large ship moored on the lake and couldn't help but feel grateful for the warm fire and thick walls inside the castle.

The large ship was tossed and turned in the strong wind at that moment:

"I imagine Durmstrang's mobile home must be freezing."

Sherlock, Harry, are you really not going to ask Krum if he'd be willing to stay with us?

"Pointless."

Sherlock said simply.

“Okay…okay…” Ron sighed, then sniffed, “What’s that smell?”

"Single malt whisky".

Without hesitation, Sherlock replied, "It was Hagrid who provided those horses for Madam Maxim."

"Blood hell!"

Ron couldn't help but say, "Is he trying to get us all drunk?"

This was just a complaint; when classes officially started, this feeling became much more pronounced.

A strong smell of alcohol wafted from the feed trough in the corner of the makeshift stable, making all the students attending the Magical Creatures Protection class a little dizzy.

This is not good news for the students.

Even now, they still need to take care of those horrible, burrowing snails.

Professor Hagrid's expectations for his students are getting higher and higher.

Because these things have been reduced to only about ten left through cannibalism.

But now, seeing them, the young wizards all turned pale and trembled with fear.

Of course, they can't be blamed for that.

As the saying goes, survival of the fittest applies; the ones that survive in the fight are the big, strong, and extremely ferocious.

Today, each of them is nearly six feet long and has a thick layer of gray protective coating.

Not only that, they are constantly swinging their powerful legs and exploding their fire-breathing tails.

Add to that the spikes and suckers, and it naturally gives the students a Cthulhu-esque feeling.

"I'm not sure if they're hibernating."

Hagrid said very honestly, "Let's try it and see if they want to sleep... Let's put them in these boxes..."

As he spoke, he brought out some large boxes, each filled with pillows and fluffy blankets.

Even though everyone was Hagrid's friend, they were all speechless when they saw this scene.

As a teacher, their big friend is really incompetent.

However, even a brilliant detective like Sherlock did not anticipate what would happen next.

First of all, the tamarin does not hibernate.

Secondly, they don't like being stuffed into boxes lined with pillows and then having the lids closed.

I really dislike it.

Next, the blasting snail rampaged through the pumpkin patch.

The ground was littered with smoldering fragments of boxes.

When most of the students saw this, they fled into Hagrid's cabin through the back door without saying a word.

At this moment, the Gryphon and Slytherin schools surprisingly united.

The lion cubs and snakes locked themselves inside, trembling with fear.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous!"

"You're Gryffindors, why are you afraid!"

"Bring out your warriors and come join us in defeating them!"

Encouraged by Hagrid, Sherlock and Harry displayed the courage and responsibility expected of warriors in the Triwizard Tournament.

The two set an example by forging ahead and began to assist Hagrid.

Hermione and Ron followed without saying a word.

Surprisingly, the next one to step forward was Neville.

"Don't go, Navei..."

Dean quickly grabbed him, "That's terrifying!"

“No,” Neville said firmly, his legs trembling. “Sherlock said the way to overcome fear is to face it!”

After saying that, he shook off Dean and rushed out.

Seeing his roommates helping Hagrid, Dean stomped his foot heavily, but still followed them out.

As soon as Dean went out, Simo naturally couldn't ignore it and ran out after him.

Seeing that Neville, who was considered the most timid among them, had taken action, some of the younger wizards in Hagrid's hut couldn't resist and rushed out to help.

To Harry's surprise, Malfoy also came out with Crabbe and Goyle.

However, he quickly put his surprise behind him.

Because the tamarin is large, powerful, and can explode, it is really difficult to deal with.

However, before get out of class ended, they finally managed to subdue the nine frizzy-tailed snails and tie them up.

However, the price they paid was devastating.

He had countless burns and cuts on his body.

These injuries were nothing to Hagrid; they were just a minor inconvenience.

But this is already quite serious for a young wizard.

In the end, only one blasting-tailed snail remained.

Hagrid exclaimed amidst everyone's astonished gazes:
"Hey, don't scare it!"

"Did we scare it?"

Malfoy's eyes widened, and he pointed at the frizzy-tailed snail. "Does it look like it's scared of us?"

At that moment, both the lion cubs and the snakes nodded in agreement with Malfoy's words.

The only reason was that the last remaining slug was menacingly approaching them, its spines arching and trembling slightly.

Anyway, they don't look like they would be scared at all.

"Tie its spikes with a rope, and it won't hurt other slugs!"

"..."

After that lesson, the little lions and the little snakes looked at each other much more kindly.

Surprisingly, when everyone lined up to see Ms. Pomfrey, they didn't mock each other.

Indeed, an effective way to resolve internal conflicts is to introduce external conflicts.

Ms. Pomfrey was furious about Hagrid's teaching methods, but she still managed to treat everyone's injuries efficiently and effectively.

In the last month of 1994, Hogwarts was unsurprisingly hit by strong winds and sleet.

But the terrible weather was quickly overshadowed by some exciting news.

Christmas Ball!

Everyone was surprised when Professor McGonagall announced the news as the Head of the House of Gryffindor during a Transfiguration class.

This is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and is considered a great opportunity for interaction between different schools and even different countries.

Importantly, the dance was only open to students in fourth grade and above.

Sherlock's prediction before the start of the school year came true once again.

The dress on the admission list is for this ball.

"Of course, although the ball is only open to students in the fourth year and above, you may invite a student from a lower year if you wish."

The ball will be held in the auditorium at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve and will end at midnight.

In short… the Christmas ball will undoubtedly give us—well—the opportunity to let our hair down and relax.”

Her words made everyone laugh.

Because Professor McGonagall's hair was always tied up in a tight little bun, she never seemed to let it down.

(End of this chapter)