Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 564 As long as Holmes intervenes, everything will be alright.

"What did you say? You have a new lead?"

The stone walls of the castle corridor had a cold, hard gray hue, and the afternoon sun shone through the high windows, casting narrow patches of light on the ground.

When Harry heard Sherlock's words, his previously slumped shoulders tightened as if pulled by invisible threads, and he stared wide-eyed at Sherlock:
"What did you say? There's a new lead?"

He was initially puzzled as to why Sherlock wanted to speak to him privately.

He never expected that the other party would give him such shocking news as soon as they opened their mouth.

"This was an unexpected bonus from our trip to Little Hangleton."

Sherlock looked at Harry's excited expression and a faint smile appeared on his lips:
“I knew this news would cheer you up.”

Harry scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

He could feel his ears getting slightly hot, but he still eagerly pressed on:

"What exactly happened? Tell me quickly."

Sherlock didn't keep anyone in suspense and stated his judgment directly:

"I finally had the opportunity to review the case files at the police station, so I looked through more information about the victims."

Surprisingly, I actually found some useful information—it was a case from fifty years ago.

Sherlock leaned against the stone wall of the castle corridor and said softly:

"It was this case that turned Riddle Manor from a mansion into the desolate and dilapidated place it is today."

Harry's eyes widened even more when he heard Sherlock's words.

It must be said that when Sherlock mentioned the trip to Little Hangleton a few days ago, he didn't even notice this.

Sherlock continued:
"Fifty years ago, the Riddle family of three, namely the Riddle elders and their son Tom Riddle, who was a young man at the time, died under mysterious circumstances."

The initial suspect was none other than Frank, the victim in this case, who was then a gardener at Riddle House.

"Frank killed Voldemort's grandparents and father fifty years ago?"

Harry stared wide-eyed in astonishment, completely unable to believe his ears.

Sherlock shook his head. "According to the dossier, the Riddle family of three all died on a clear summer dawn."

They were first discovered by the maids of the Riddle House.

Frank was identified as a suspect because of his withdrawn and unsociable personality.

Furthermore, he had the key to the back door of Riddle House, and there were no signs of forced entry at the scene of the three deaths.

Therefore, both the police and the villagers generally believed that Frank had sneaked into the mansion while everyone else was asleep.

Harry blinked. It sounded like there was nothing wrong with it, but something seemed to be missing.

"It's the motivation."

Sherlock, once again, accurately saw through Harry's thoughts and directly stated the answer:

"Although in legal definition and judicial practice, murder cases do not necessarily require proof of motive in the traditional sense."

However, motive is often an important supporting basis for solving cases and convicting criminals, and the vast majority of murder cases are accompanied by traceable motives.

But Frank, as Riddle's gardener, had no motive.

The Riddles offered him a job after he left the battlefield; he had no reason to kill his employers.

Harry suddenly realized.

Sherlock continued:
"In theory, there are indeed cases of murder without motive, but in reality they are extremely rare and are mostly related to specific psychological states."

And the Riddle family's autopsy report completely changed the situation:
All three people appeared to be healthy, and there were no abnormalities on their bodies.

The only suspicious thing was that everyone had a terrified expression on their face, as if they had been scared to death.

Because of this, Frank was eventually cleared of suspicion and released.

His subsequent actions also surprised people:

He returned to his little cabin in the gardens of Riddle House to tend the gardens for the next family to stay there.

“That house is still inhabited, but you said it was dilapidated…”

That's because neither of the two families who later moved there stayed for very long.

So that house changed hands several times, until now, a wealthy businessman bought it to avoid taxes.

"Tax avoidance?" Harry found it increasingly strange.

The case file states that it was for "tax reasons," so the owner of the house neither lived there nor used it for any other purpose, such as as a warehouse.

Frank, however, stayed and continued to manage the place.

That's why he gets tormented by the village boys.

On the one hand, it was their nature; on the other hand, it was because the parents and grandparents of those little boys still believed that Frank was a murderer.

They condoned their children's treatment of a lonely elderly person.

Harry was so engrossed in listening that he kept his eyes glued to Sherlock, not even noticing the footsteps coming down the corridor.

Just then, Sherlock suddenly changed the subject, turning to look at him with a hint of probing in his eyes:

"Dear Harry, why don't you guess what the real cause of death was for this family of three?"

"How would I know..."

Harry was about to say "I don't know" when he suddenly stopped himself.

He stared into Sherlock's eyes and suddenly remembered that Sherlock never spoke without reason.

Since he's being asked to guess, it must be an answer he can think of.

He quickly went through Sherlock's words in his mind, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he blurted out:

"Killing Curse!"

"Bingo!"

Sherlock snapped his fingers, but his expression immediately turned serious:

"If I hadn't been exposed to the magical world, I would definitely be at a loss as to how to deal with this kind of death without leaving a trace."

But now it seems there's only one possibility for this case—a witch doctor committed the crime.

Moreover, this matter is very likely related to Voldemort.

Harry gasped upon hearing this. "Fifty years ago, wouldn't that be the time when Voldemort... opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Harry, you've discovered the blind spot."

Sherlock gave Harry a relieved smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Fifty years ago, it was precisely the time when Tom Riddle killed Myrtle and opened the secret chamber."

This was also the time when he asked Slughorn if it was possible to create multiple Horcruxes.

So, can we make this assumption?

He paused, his gaze becoming profound:
"Dumbledore once said that Tom Riddle was someone he specifically rescued from an orphanage."

That means his parents abandoned him when he was young. So, when he grows up and finds his father's family, will they kill him because of this?

Harry frowned in thought, his impression of Voldemort surfacing in his mind.

If it really was done by the other party, it wouldn't be surprising at all.

He nodded slightly, then hesitated:
"But...but we don't have any evidence right now."

"Well said, Harry!"

Sherlock laughed heartily this time, "Even if it's Voldemort, we can't convict him without evidence, so I suggest Dumbledore start working in that direction."

With his abilities, once we have a clear direction, it shouldn't be long before we get closer to the answer.

If my deduction is correct, then this case might actually help us find clues to the Horcruxes.

"Great!"

Harry was already very worried about Voldemort.

But if he could destroy a few Horcruxes before he regained his body and came back with a vengeance... no, even destroying just one Horcrux would be a victory! Thinking of this, Harry suddenly felt much happier.

The heavy golden egg seemed to have vanished.

"Thank you, Sherlock!"

He looked at Sherlock, his heart filled with gratitude.

Finally, he couldn't resist stepping forward and giving Sherlock a warm hug.

Sherlock paused for a moment, then gently patted his back.

When it was time for Herbalism class, Hermione and Ron immediately noticed the change in Harry.

A smile returned to his face, and he even hummed an off-key tune while arranging the herbs.

"It has to be Sherlock!"

Ron said with a grin, "Even Cho Chang and Ginny couldn't be coaxed, but after going out with Sherlock for a while, they were all smiles."

"Don't say things that are easy to misunderstand."

Hermione was very unhappy with Ron.

She knew exactly what Ron was implying.

This is Britain, after all.

Sherlock was originally quite oblivious to Hermione's feelings for him.

Ron's suggestion only made her feel more uncomfortable.

"But that's just how it is..."

Ron muttered.

Hermione glared at Ron.

That's precisely why these words are even more unpleasant to hear!
After the herbalism class comes the class on protecting magical creatures.

Furthermore, this class does not conflict with other classes.

Unfortunately, the grounds of Hogwarts were still covered with a thick layer of snow.

Fine droplets of water condensed on the greenhouse windows, so much so that the students in their herbal medicine class couldn't even see what was happening outside.

In this kind of weather, nobody wants to go to a class on protecting magical creatures—even if it's already afternoon.

"Don't worry!"

Ron chuckled.

"The fritters will keep us warm."

“What are you talking about?” Lavender asked curiously, “Why would a blasting-tailed snail warm us up?”

Parvati and Lavender have been getting along very well with Harry and Ron lately.

The reason, of course, is that they have been helping Harry and Ron with their Divination homework.

After dancing several dances with Ron at the Christmas ball, Lavender's relationship with Ron grew even closer, and she became Ron's best friend of the opposite sex.

As for Hermione?

Sorry, that's my buddy.

So when Ron heard Lavender speak, he immediately laughed:

"Because they'll chase us around everywhere—and once they start running, they'll naturally warm up."

Even if we don't run, they'll still explode and create a lot of sparks, setting Hagrid's hut on fire.

"That's so warm."

Upon hearing Ron's explanation, the students immediately became worried.

“Harry, you’re close to Hagrid, could you suggest he stop making us play with the Blasttail?”

Hearing the whispers of his classmates, Parvati came over and spoke to Harry.

Harry coughed awkwardly. "Well... I actually suggested it before, but he wouldn't listen..."

"What? Even you can't do anything about it?"

Seeing Harry's setback, the classmates turned their attention to Sherlock Holmes:

"Sherlock, why don't you go!"

"Yes, Holmes, everything will be fine as long as you're willing to help."

"Lion King, please save us!"

"..."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.

This shows just how desperate Hagrid and his Bombtail have driven the lion cubs.

However, based on her understanding of Sherlock, she knew he would never do such a thing.

Sure enough, Sherlock shook his head:

“Teaching is the teacher’s job, and we should not interfere.”

Besides, I don't think the course on frizzy-tailed snails is entirely useless.

"I knew it……"

Just as the students were showing expressions of regret, Sherlock suddenly changed the subject:
"However, I think you probably won't see the 'Bomb Tail Snail' today."

"what?"

The lion cubs were taken aback by Sherlock's words.

Ron was the first to speak up: "Sherlock, did you kill all those Blast-tailed Snails?"

He was just saying it casually.

To my utter surprise, my classmate seemed to genuinely believe it.

"Well done, Sherlock!"

"Well done! As expected of the Lion King, you really didn't embarrass us!"

"I told you, everything would be fine as long as Holmes intervened!"

Clearly, in their minds, Sherlock Holmes was the kind of person who could do such a thing.

Seeing Sherlock's silent smile, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all panicked.

As they walked towards Hagrid's hut after Herbology class, Harry finally couldn't help but ask:

"Sherlock, you're not really going to give those Blasttails to... Hagrid will be heartbroken."

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Hermione was speaking up for Sherlock, but her voice didn’t sound very confident. “Sherlock wouldn’t do that, would he?”

"What are you two worried about?!"

Ron chuckled and said, "Didn't you hear what everyone was saying? The Lion King should be doing this!"

At that moment, Sherlock pointed forward and said, "We've arrived."

Following the direction Sherlock was pointing, the lion cubs immediately understood why Sherlock had said earlier that they wouldn't see the Blast-tailed Snail in this lesson.

Because an elderly witch stood at the entrance to Hagrid's hut, with short, gray hair and a very prominent chin.

When she saw the young wizards trudging through the snow, she said sternly:
"Hurry up—the school bell has been ringing for five minutes already."

Hermione stared at the witch in surprise, then instinctively turned to Sherlock and asked, "Sherlock, what is this...?"

Seeing that the young wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin had come before her, the witch finally spoke:
“I am Professor Grapland. Professor Hagrid is not feeling well, so I will be taking over this class on the protection of magical creatures.”

The young wizards looked at each other in bewilderment.

Besides Professor Lu Ping, who is disguised as a man, is there another professor who needs to find someone to substitute for him every now and then?
Could it be that Rupert Hagrid was also a woman?
The thought of this possibility immediately made all the young wizards present tense.

(End of this chapter)