Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts

The evening's astronomy class still involved observing the stars with telescopes.

Recently, the primary task for the young wizards was to observe the Jupiter astronomical chart.

This was to familiarize themselves with the movements of the solar system's largest planet and its satellites.

Of all the courses at Hogwarts, if Sherlock disliked Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts the most, then Astronomy would rank second.

It was even worse than Professor Binns' History of Magic.

Although Professor Aurora Sinistra repeatedly emphasized the importance of the course, such as:

Cultivating scientific thinking and literacy, improving observation and concentration, stimulating curiosity and the desire to explore, assisting in divination, and other magical disciplines, etc.

In Sherlock's view, only the last point had some use, while the previous points were meaningless to him.

Even the last point was not very significant.

Divination was an elective course, officially starting in the third year.

Although he hadn't formally encountered the course, based on Sherlock's current knowledge, relying on it to predict the future was less accurate than his own deductive reasoning.

Therefore, Sherlock planned to get just a passing grade in this course during the exams.

He often seemed to be lost in thought during class, not paying much attention.

Until almost the end of class, Sherlock suddenly whispered two sentences to Harry beside him.

Harry's eyes narrowed abruptly, and a flash of excitement quickly crossed them.

Because everyone was talking amongst themselves, no one noticed this scene.

Everyone normally dismissed class and returned to their dormitories.

Close to eleven o'clock, Sherlock finished his preparations and headed to the entrance hall.

There he saw Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus standing in a line.

Sherlock only glanced at them before deducing what had happened.

Harry gave Sherlock a helpless look.

Hermione stepped forward, saying with concern:

"Sherlock, we'll escort you there."

Sherlock shook his head: "No need, I can go alone."

"Definitely not! I've heard Filch is a pervert!"

Seamus added fuel to the fire, "When I used to get detention, he even wanted to hang people from the rafters and spank them!"

"Oh, Seamus, although Filch is indeed annoying, I think if he really tried to do that to Sherlock, Filch himself should be the one worried about his behind!"

Hermione sneered, "Ronald, your friend is about to get detention, and you still have the mind to joke!"

Ron muttered: "I'm just telling the truth—"

"But—Sherlock is a good person, he wouldn't do that—" Neville whispered.

Just then, Filch, who they were discussing, walked over.

"Heh heh, quite a crowd. What's the matter, only now realizing you're scared? Too late!"

He said, lighting a lamp, "I think you'll think twice before breaking the rules again in the future, won't you, hmm?"

(Enter) ←

Everyone looked at him without speaking.

Filch glanced at everyone, saying words that made people angry upon hearing them:

"Oh, yes—if you ask me, I'd say hard work and suffering are the best teachers—

It's a pity they abolished those old-fashioned punishments of hanging you by your wrists, suspending you from the ceiling for days on end.

I still have those chains in my office, often oiling them, who knows, they might come in handy one day—"

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but think of Ron's earlier words, all looking towards his rear.

Even Hermione couldn't help but sneak a glance.

Filch: (눈_눈)

Being stared at with such strange gazes, Filch felt weird, but couldn't quite pinpoint the problem.

"Alright, let's go! Don't even think about running away, you'll only suffer more.

And you lot, aren't you going back to your dormitories? Do you want to be in detention with him?!"

Everyone looked at each other.

Sherlock frowned, "Go back!"

This time, everyone finally listened obediently and left.

As soon as they returned to the castle, the little rascal Dean immediately started cursing.

"Filch, that bad guy, is really infuriating, always looking for trouble, never showing mercy, this resentment in my heart will never subside!"

For some reason, whenever Dean spoke quickly, it felt like he was rapping.

Ron spoke again, "Hey, Dean, don't worry too much, Sherlock will be fine!"

"Yeah, after all, you're not the one going into the Forbidden Forest."

Hermione retorted again.

Ron felt that she didn't trust Sherlock enough.

Just as the two were arguing, Harry said he wasn't feeling well, clutching his stomach and running off.

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other.

"Maybe he caught a cold?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's been really cold lately."

Only Hermione frowned slightly, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

But soon, she was annoyed by Ron's childish remarks. Am I not trusting Sherlock?

"Ronald, shut up, I know Sherlock's situation better than you! But you don't know what's in the Forbidden Forest..."

Harry left the group, quickly finding a hidden corner and skillfully putting on the Invisibility Cloak.

After Sherlock's training during this period, his reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance abilities had visibly improved. With the help of the Invisibility Cloak, he was even more at ease.

Bypassing Hermione, who had already suppressed the others with her aura, Harry didn't take long to catch up with Sherlock and Filch.

However, the way Sherlock and Filch were interacting was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Sherlock was saying something, while Filch was listening intently.

Harry pondered for a moment, afraid of being discovered by Filch, and didn't dare get too close, so he circled around them and reached their front.

He saw Sherlock holding a... cat?

Harry recognized the cat as Filch's pet, Mrs. Norris, whom many people couldn't wait to kick.

However, he was a bit confused about the current situation.

He tried to imitate Sherlock's usual methods, to deduce what had happened based on the situation before him.

But in the end, he reached a conclusion that surprised him somewhat—Sherlock was reprimanding Filch, and the latter was listening attentively.

This was too absurd!

Filch himself also found it very absurd.

He was actually being reprimanded by a student who had broken the rules and was about to be detained?

But the fact was just that.

Just now, as he and Mrs. Norris were leading Sherlock through the dark grounds, Sherlock suddenly pointed at Mrs. Norris on the ground and said unexpectedly:

"Mr. Filch, do you usually like to abuse cats?"

"What did you say?"

Filch stopped abruptly, looking at Sherlock with an angry gaze.

"How dare you?!"

Who didn't know that he usually loved Mrs. Norris the most?

Abuse?

What was he talking about?

How dare he say such a thing!

Unfortunately, in the magical world, gazes couldn't kill.

Moreover, Filch didn't even know magic.

Facing Filch's angry gaze, Sherlock remained unmoved, saying calmly:

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but you don't really think Mrs. Norris's current appearance has nothing to do with you, do you?"

At this moment, the moonlight was bright.

But the constantly drifting clouds occasionally obscured the moon, plunging them into darkness.

Filch's heart jumped, "You're talking nonsense, I didn't, I didn't—

I didn't abuse her, how could I abuse her, she's just a picky eater, eats very little—"

Although saying these words, Filch's voice was trembling, showing that he wasn't so confident.

"It's a stomach problem."

Sherlock's voice was calm, but with an undeniable firmness.

"For cats, eating too quickly, food intolerance or spoilage, environmental changes, and stress responses can all cause bloating.

Over time, Mrs. Norris will suffer from vomiting, emaciation, and even intestinal obstruction due to loss of appetite..."

"Stop talking!"

Filch suddenly raised his head, looking at Sherlock as if he had mustered a lot of courage, "Stop talking, what, what should I do?"

"It's very simple."

In Filch's surprised gaze, Sherlock grabbed Mrs. Norris by the scruff of her neck with lightning speed, then lifted her up.

"You, what are you doing, let go of my cat!"

Filch's face changed, and he was about to pounce on Sherlock.

"Filch, you don't want Mrs. Norris to become skin and bones because of bloating, do you?"

As Sherlock spoke, he reached out and touched Mrs. Norris.

Skin and bones, bloated abdomen, it really was a stomach problem.

In fact, he had already had this idea several months ago when he noticed that Filch's pet cat was thin and its fur was dull.

It was just that he had too many things to do later, so he didn't have time to take care of it.

This time being in detention could be considered an opportunity.

Hearing Sherlock's words, Filch stopped abruptly.

He watched as Sherlock took a small piece of green plant from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Norris's mouth.

The latter was originally very vigilant, and even though she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck, she was still trying to struggle.

But at this moment, she was attracted by the scent of the green plant.

The next moment, she seemed to make a decision, immediately opening her mouth to bite the green plant and chewing hard.

The speed was so fast that Filch couldn't react at all.

"You, what did you give Mrs. Norris to eat?"

"Catnip."

"Catnip—what's that?"

"A perennial plant of the genus Nepeta in the mint family," Sherlock said without looking up, "Muggles usually call it catmint."

"Catmint!"

Filch's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Compared to catnip, this name undoubtedly stimulated him more.

"Can catmint cure Mrs. Norris's illness?"

"Catnip doesn't directly treat bloating in cats—"

These words immediately dimmed Filch's eyes, but Sherlock's next words gave him hope again.

"However, it can help indirectly to some extent—Catnip can stimulate cats to produce pleasurable behavioral responses, relaxing their emotions, which is why it's called catmint.

In addition, cats usually become more active after contacting catnip, such as rolling, jumping, chasing imaginary prey, etc.

These activities can promote the cat's physical movement, thereby indirectly promoting gastrointestinal motility to some extent.

However, to completely treat bloating, other methods are needed."

"What methods?"

Filch became nervous once again.