Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 572 A Chance to Get Closer
"Sherlock, do we really need to go this far?" Harry stared at the gleaming surface of the Black Lake and couldn't help but shiver.

Standing by the lake, Sherlock spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over Harry and Cedric beside him: "I've already said, it doesn't matter what you do unless you don't want to win."

“Okay, I support you—Harry, you come too!” Cedric patted Harry on the shoulder, his tone tinged with eagerness. “It’ll be tough at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

Harry: "..."

That's true, but why does it feel a little strange coming from Cedric?

After returning from Hogsmeade, Sherlock gathered Harry and Cedric to prepare a special swimming training course for them.

Cedric was initially a little confused.

After all, he now has a clear idea of ​​how he can move freely at the bottom of Black Lake.

Once his research is successful, it will be possible to ensure that he remains in the same condition underwater as he is on the surface.

However, Sherlock easily persuaded him with just one sentence.

Being able to swim can extend their lead.

Black Lake was bitterly cold at the end of January, with some areas even covered by a thin layer of ice.

However, after witnessing Krum's heroic figure firsthand, Harry and Cedric, though not saying it aloud, harbored a sense of resentment.

If Durmstrangers can do it, they can do it too.

However, once they got into the water, the two immediately realized that it was much more difficult than they had imagined.

The icy lake water stung my skin like countless fine needles, and the chill seeped into my bones through my pores.

Cedric reacted the fastest, raising his wand and casting a warm-up spell on himself without saying a word.

His body instantly glowed with a faint red light, and his complexion improved.

However, just as he was about to cast the same spell on Sherlock and Harry, Sherlock stopped him.

"What, can't I use this spell?"

Cedric was taken aback; he had never heard of a rule prohibiting the use of warm-up spells in the Triwizard Tournament.

"No, of course."

All three remained floating on the lake's surface. Sherlock gestured for Harry to take out his wand.

"But we need to cast this spell on ourselves—that's part of the training."

After Sherlock said that, he and Cedric immediately agreed that there was nothing wrong with it.

The warm-up spell is quite simple.

Sherlock already knew how to use it when he was in first grade.

Although Harry didn't know how to cast the spell yet, after Cedric told him about it, he immediately mastered it and successfully cast it.

After applying the treatment, he immediately felt much warmer and couldn't help but let out a comfortable groan.

However, since the three of them were in the icy lake water, they had to cast the warming spell again every now and then in order to maintain its effect.

During the time the warm-up spell was active, Sherlock taught the two how to swim.

Compared to Harry, Cedric's foundation was much better.

Swimming itself wasn't a problem for him; all he had to do was adapt to the cold lake water at this time of year.

Harry's foundation is weak, which will cause some trouble.

Therefore, Sherlock focused his main attention on Harry.

Fortunately, Harry was quick to learn and soon mastered the technique.

By the end of today's training, Harry had made significant progress.

"Today is just the beginning."

After training was over, Sherlock said to Harry and Cedric:

"In the coming period, I will gradually increase the difficulty of the training."

A month is enough time to solidify our lead.

"Cedric, how's your research on the magic of staying underwater for extended periods coming along?"

"no problem!"

Upon hearing Sherlock's question, Cedric confidently replied:
"The intelligence for the first project was discovered by Harry, and the tactics were devised by Sherlock;"

The second project, the secret of the golden egg, was solved by Sherlock again, so I, as the captain, have to do something.

"Okay, then it all depends on you."

Sherlock had a lot of confidence in Cedric; he was very capable of carrying out orders and also possessed a certain degree of initiative.

For Sherlock, such a teammate is undoubtedly very satisfying.

So, over the next period of time, the school's teachers and students discovered something strange.

It seems the Hogwarts warriors are at odds with the Durmstrang warriors.

Not many people knew that Krum had a habit of winter swimming.

But things changed when Sherlock, Harry, and Cedric also started winter swimming.

Krum himself didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

You guys do your thing, I'll do mine.

He doesn't care as long as the other person doesn't affect him.

The problem was that Durmstrang's other two warriors immediately objected when they saw the Hogwarts trio "bullying" their captain.

They promptly joined the ranks of winter swimmers.

As a result, with all six people from both sides starting winter swimming at the same time, a tendency for them to compete immediately arose.

As time went on, an outrageous rumor began to circulate among the teachers and students of Hogwarts.

Cedric, captain of Hogwarts, and Krum, captain of Durmstrang, both had their eyes on Fleur Delacour, captain of Beauxbatons.

The two captains then engaged in fierce competition. In order to win her over, they even challenged their teammates to a winter swimming duel, with the loser having to give up the pursuit.

If either party fails, they must voluntarily give up pursuing Furong.

The rumor is so outrageous that it almost seems unbelievable.

"Aside from the fact that Cedric danced with Delacour at the Christmas ball, I really can't see even a shred of truth in this story!"

Despite being silently rejected when he invited Fleur Delacour to be his dance partner, Ron still kept a close eye on her every move.

So when this rumor spread, he was the angrier of Sherlock's friends.

How could they slander you like that!

Ron's face was just like his fiery red hair:
Is Sherlock that kind of person?
Is Harry that kind of person?
Even if Diggory and Krum really wanted to do that, you wouldn't agree, would you?!

"It doesn't matter."

Sherlock sat to one side, slowly and deliberately putting a piece of toast into his mouth:

"From the rumors and my observations, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons have not yet unlocked the secret of the golden egg."

"For us, Harry mastering the basics of swimming before the second event is enough."

"It's all thanks to your excellent guidance," Harry said happily.

From someone who only knew a little about swimming to someone who can now swim around in the Black Lake with ease, Harry's progress has surprised even himself.

Hermione glanced at Ron, knowing full well that he wasn't simply standing up for the warriors of his own school.

However, she was too lazy to expose his little scheme and simply handed Sherlock a cup of hot milk.

Just then, Watson and Hedwig came to their table carrying a package and threw it onto the table in front of Sherlock with a thud.

"What is this?" Ron picked it up curiously and weighed it in his hand. He found it was quite heavy and looked at Sherlock in surprise.

"Let's talk about it when we get back to the dorm."

As soon as Sherlock said that, Hermione and Ron knew that this matter was not suitable to be discussed in public.

The two immediately stopped discussing the topic.

Despite their great curiosity, they quickly turned their attention to other things.

Because next up is Hagrid's lesson on protecting magical creatures.

When Hagrid returned to class, his classmates gave him a warm welcome.

It was still from the bottom of my heart.

It's not because everyone likes him that much.

His nickname of "most popular teacher" is a thing of the past.

To everyone's delight, after he returned to class, he didn't bring any more fried snails.

Not only that, he also announced that he would never use the "Flaming Tail Snail" method again in future courses.

This brought a huge sigh of relief to everyone, including Harry.

As long as you don't play with the tassel-shaped shells, you're our good friend!

"He must be trying to make up for his mistake with the fried snails!"

Sherlock's roommate, Dean Thomas, said with certainty.

As someone who was once injured by a Blast-tailed Shell in Hagrid's class, Dean felt he had the right to speak on this matter.

“No—I think Professor Hagrid is trying to prove that he can do what Professor Grapland can do.”

Dean's best friend, Seamus Finigan, said, "Don't let his seemingly honest appearance fool you, he's actually quite competitive—isn't he, Sherlock?"

"There are only two of the last two 'Bombyx' snails left."

Sherlock ended the discussion with a single sentence.

Everyone looked on with expressions of sudden realization.

It turns out to be like the north!

Whatever Hagrid's reasons for abandoning the bombing of the tailed snail, his actions were wholeheartedly supported by everyone.

And his first lesson after his comeback certainly did not disappoint.

He actually managed to acquire a unicorn, just like Professor Glapland.

Its snow-white mane gleamed in the sunlight as it stood docilely on the grass.

Moreover, his performance in class showed that he knew just as much about unicorns as he did about trolls.

Well, he knows just as much about unicorns as Professor Glapland.

Even Hermione, who is known for her pickiness, couldn't help but give such a comment.

You know, she's a Virgo.

Now, several weeks later, everyone suddenly realized that taking classes like Hagrid's is actually a pretty good thing.

Before class today, everyone, as usual, discussed the changes Haig had undergone recently.

"Actually, I always felt that Hagrid thought it was a disappointment that unicorns didn't have fangs."

As he spoke, Neville couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone was looking at him with surprise.

"What's wrong? Am I wrong?" he asked with some concern.

"Yes! That's so right!"

"I always said Hagrid's gaze towards unicorns was strange, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why."

"Neville, you've hit the nail on the head!"

Neville was a little embarrassed after receiving praise from everyone for the second time, and he scratched the back of his head and grinned foolishly.

Incidentally, the first time was when he role-played in Gilderoy Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, single-handedly ensuring Gryffindor consistently earned a good house grade in every class.

Just as everyone was having a heated discussion, a girl suddenly exclaimed:
"Oh my god, look!"

"what is that?"

"They're pure gold!"

To everyone's surprise, Hagrid brought them a huge surprise this time.

Somehow, he managed to catch two baby unicorns.

Just as the girls exclaimed, the cubs were different from the adult unicorns; they were pure gold and so cute that it was impossible to look away.

Upon seeing them, both the Gryffindor and Slytherin girls went wild with joy.

Even Pansy Parkinson diverted some of her attention from Malfoy.

It's clear how much she likes them.

"Unicorn cubs are easier to spot than adults."

However, Hagrid seemed uninterested in this beautiful and sacred animal, and he lazily addressed the class:
"They turn silver around the age of two and grow horns around the age of four."

It won't turn pure white until adulthood, around the age of seven.

Because they're more trusting when they're young...uh, I mean, at that age they're not so averse to boys...

Come closer, guys, you can take a picture of them if you want...

Give them a few of these sugar cubes to eat..."

Hagrid's words excited even the boys.

It's important to know that in Professor Glapland's class, the boys always viewed unicorns from afar, but never touched them.

Unexpectedly, Hagrid's return gave them the opportunity to get intimate with him.

If Hagrid can maintain this teaching style, they will be the first to object to anyone trying to get rid of him!

While everyone was gathered around the unicorn cub, Hagrid quietly slipped to the side and whispered to Sherlock and Harry, who hadn't yet stepped forward, "..."

"Have you solved the clues about the golden egg?"

“Yes,” Harry nodded, “it’s solved.”

"I knew it!"

Hagrid patted Harry on the shoulder and said excitedly, "With Sherlock around, that thing is nothing!"

He had no idea how strong his grip was, and as a result, Harry's knees buckled.

Harry even felt himself sink two inches into the soft mud.

"To be honest, I was worried about you guys before you dealt with that tree wasp."

Hagrid was unaware that Harry had suddenly become two inches shorter than Sherlock, who was standing next to him.

"After all, you are several years younger than the others—but now I know that age is not a problem for you at all!"
But what's with you guys helping Diggory pursue that witch Beauxbatons lately?

"That's utter nonsense!" Harry said irritably. "We would never do such a thing!"

“That’s good…” Hagrid’s expression suddenly turned somewhat awkward. “What I mean is, girls with Werewolf blood aren’t easy for just anyone to handle…”

"Ms. Maxim has contacted you, hasn't she?"

Sherlock's sudden question startled both Harry and Hagrid.

(End of this chapter)