Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts

"Knocking four times when you knock—ordinary people only knock twice, at most three times."

Sherlock said this when Hannah Abbott asked why he knew she had troubles.

"Holmes, your reputation truly precedes you!"

Hannah Abbott exclaimed in surprise.

In fact, she did have troubles.

"Well, let's get started as soon as possible!"

Sherlock clasped his hands together, propping up his chin, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the young witch.

Hannah Abbott nodded, took a deep breath, and began to recount the events.

"My father works in the Ministry of Magic, in charge of document management.

Some time ago, while sorting through a batch of confidential files, he may have misplaced a file due to a moment of negligence.

As a result, someone in the Ministry of Magic made a big deal out of it, accusing him of deliberately leaking secrets.

Now he faces serious disciplinary action, and may even be sent to Azkaban!"

Speaking of this, Hannah Abbott's eyes turned red, and her voice trembled.

Sherlock did not notice this, or rather, he noticed but didn't care.

He opened his notebook and continued to ask:

"When your father mentioned this file, did he say anything special? Remember, any detail, no matter how insignificant it seems, may be crucial."

"Father said that the file was enchanted with a special encryption spell, and could only be opened with a specific magic key."

"Where was the file kept?"

"Locked in a vault with multiple protective enchantments."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Father said the same thing when questioned by the Ministry of Magic, but it suddenly appeared somewhere else."

Hearing this, Sherlock frowned slightly, tapping his fingers gently on the table.

After a moment, he asked again:

"Before the file was discovered, did anything unusual happen in the Ministry of Magic?"

"Unusual things?"

Hannah Abbott didn't quite understand Sherlock's meaning.

"For example, did anyone frequently enter and exit your father's office, or were any strange magical fluctuations detected?"

Hannah Abbott closed her eyes, her brow furrowed, trying hard to recall.

Sherlock didn't disturb her, just watched her quietly.

Hermione looked at Hannah Abbott, then at Sherlock.

The former deep in thought and the latter confident, formed a sharp contrast at this moment.

"That's right!"

Hannah Abbott's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Father said that a few days before the file went missing, the protective magic array in his office had inexplicably experienced a brief fluctuation.

But at the time, he conducted a thorough inspection and found nothing unusual, so he didn't pay much attention to it."

Sherlock nodded and turned to Hermione.

"My friend, if someone were to bypass the vault's protections using magic to steal the file, would it cause magical fluctuations?"

"That's for sure," Hermione replied without thinking, then reacted, "You mean..."

"Wait, I have a few more questions."

Hermione, interrupted by Sherlock, wasn't annoyed.

Anyway, she was already used to this style.

This guy was just this kind of person!

Then Sherlock began to ask in detail about the layout of Abbott's Ministry of Magic office, the location where the files were stored, and the details of his father's daily work routine.

Abbott often ran to the Ministry of Magic to play with her father since she was a child, and she could answer Sherlock's questions without hesitation, but the details weren't very clear.

But it didn't matter.

"My mother managed to bring me the Ministry of Magic's investigation report on this matter, and this letter, which is my father's description of the incident."

Abbott said, taking out a stack of materials and handing them over.

Sherlock, who had been frowning, perked up.

Abbott's description could only be used as a reference, this report and Abbott's father's testimony were more useful.

He examined it carefully while drawing in his notebook.

Unfortunately, the conditions didn't allow him to go to the Ministry of Magic to see it in person.

It seemed that he could only learn from Poirot this time.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic's report was fairly detailed, although there were inevitably some unclear points, it was enough to deduce what happened.

"I think... the truth has surfaced."

Sherlock raised his head and said, in the surprised gazes of Hermione and Abbott.

Wasn't that too fast?

"The person is likely your father's competitor in the Ministry of Magic, he has coveted your father's position for a long time, and this time he seized the opportunity to plan this conspiracy."

"Mr. Holmes, who are you talking about?"

Abbott's expression was a bit bewildered.

Sherlock said this so suddenly that she couldn't react.

"Light Black, Mr. Blacklight."

"It's him?"

Hannah immediately showed a surprised look, "He has no feud with my father?!"

Sherlock shook his head and explained:

"According to your father's description and the information provided in this report, the file's encryption method is an extremely rare and complex ancient magic encryption technique.

Anyone who can crack it must have an in-depth understanding of ancient magic.

There are not many people who meet the conditions, and that Mr. Light Black happens to be one of them.

In addition, the protective magic of the vault requires cracking at least three different types of magical locks at the same time.

This not only requires superb magical abilities, but also a thorough understanding of the internal structure of the Ministry of Magic's security system.

Light Black happens to be in charge of the security system in the area where your father is located, which seems very suspicious.

Besides..."

Sherlock picked up his notebook, pointed to the sketch he had drawn, and continued:

"According to this investigation report, Mr. Blacklight entered and exited your father's office more often than usual in the week before the file went missing, and each time he stayed for quite a while.

Of course, he claimed that this was just to discuss work.

But your father said that most of the so-called discussion content was trivial and unimportant.

This is enough to show that he was likely using these opportunities to find the best time to implement the plan, but your father didn't notice it.

Also, he has always been jealous of your father's talent - although this is my inference, I don't think there should be anything wrong with it.

Because in the most recent promotion evaluation, he lost to your father, which undoubtedly became a strong motive for him to commit the crime."

Abbott was surprised and delighted after hearing Sherlock's analysis.

Hermione patted the back of her hand gently, and looked at Sherlock with sparkling eyes.

"Holmes, you're amazing! What should we do now?"

"Don't worry, Miss Abbott, we still need to gather evidence to prove your father's innocence and that person's guilt.

Although the Ministry of Magic has restricted your father's actions, fortunately your mother can still move freely.

So next, she needs to have her and your father's friends in the Ministry of Magic pay attention to that person's movements, especially to pay attention to attempts to destroy magical traces related to the file, or whether he has contacted any suspicious people.

Also, I suggest you tell Sprout about this, I believe she will provide you with considerable help.

At the same time, I will use some means here to further search for evidence."

Speaking of which, he turned his head again.

"Hermione, please look up information about ancient magic cracking and loopholes in the Ministry of Magic's security system, maybe you can find the key clues to his crime."

Hermione couldn't help but be stunned when she heard this.

Ancient magic cracking was fine, but what about the loopholes in the Ministry of Magic's security system?

Was this kind of thing searchable?

Hannah Abbott didn't think so much, and thanked Sherlock with red eyes.

Sherlock gave the other party a reassuring smile:

"Miss Abbott, the truth will never be buried, as long as we look for it with our hearts, we will definitely find it."