When Neville heard the sound of Snape deducting points from Gryffindor with swift swish-swish motions, he was still too shocked to leave and could no longer care about being afraid.
He had clearly been the one to make the mistake—so why were Sherlock and Harry the ones losing points?
The little lions of Gryffindor were even more stunned into silence.
This targeting could no longer be called obvious—it was blatant and utterly ruthless.
Fortunately, as class neared its end, the potion that Sherlock had taken the lead in brewing turned out successfully, giving Snape no further opportunity to deduct points.
Harry and the others let out long sighs of relief.
'Finally, it was over.'
But just then, Sherlock actively walked toward Snape.
Harry jumped in alarm. "Sherlock, what are you doing?"
Sherlock smiled slightly. "Going to consult Professor Snape."
At that moment, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and all the little Gryffindor lions cried out in unison in their hearts:
'Don't go~~~~~'
"Holmes..."
Seeing Sherlock approach him voluntarily, Snape's gaze turned dangerous.
"What else do you want?"
"I have a few questions I'd like to consult the professor about."
Upon hearing this, Snape first froze, then squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:
"If you're going to ask about some idiotic flower language or similar nonsense, you'd better shut that disgusting mouth of yours right now!"
His cold gaze seemed almost tangible, as if it could pierce right through Sherlock.
If it had been Neville standing there, he would probably be crying by now.
Harry, Ron, and the others weren't much better off.
The main issue was that Snape's aura at this moment was simply too overwhelming, giving the impression that he might draw his wand and cast a curse at any second.
However, Sherlock remained completely unaffected. Looking into Snape's eyes, he said calmly, "They're questions about Potions."
Without waiting for Snape's agreement, he proceeded to present the questions he had compiled.
Hearing Sherlock's questions, Snape's surprise was even greater than before.
For a first-year student to ask such questions was no easy feat.
It was far more difficult than successfully answering the questions he had asked during class.
These questions precisely highlighted the key difficulties of first-year Potions, serving crucial functions of outlining main points, connecting concepts, and providing complete summaries.
Although Snape had always wanted to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he was also a genuine Potions Master.
Through Sherlock's questions, he could tell that the boy already had a complete and systematic understanding of the Potions curriculum.
His gaze instantly softened.
This kind of talent even surpassed hers from back then, and moreover... she had also been in Gryffindor.
Thinking of that person, a beautiful face with long red hair and green eyes appeared in his mind.
After answering Sherlock's questions, Snape looked into Sherlock's gray eyes and said coldly, "Holmes, if you want to achieve anything in Potions, you'd better stay away from Potter!"
Having said this, his gaze swept past Sherlock to the wall behind him, then he turned gracefully and left like a black bat.
Watching Snape leave, Sherlock said without looking back, "You can come out now."
Harry: |･ω･｀)
Hermione: |ω・）
Ron: |_・)
The trio slowly emerged from behind the wall. Harry asked somewhat awkwardly, "Sherlock, when did you discover us?"
"From the moment you started following me."
"Huh?" Ron looked surprised. "I thought you only noticed after we hid here."
"I have some confidence in tracking and counter-tracking. By the way, Professor Snape had already discovered you long ago."
"I knew it!" Hermione said excitedly. "When he was leaving, he must have been looking at us, right?"
Sherlock nodded. "Obviously."
Because Hermione had spoken up for Sherlock during Potions class, both Harry (who had been indifferent to him) and Ron (who had been put off by her) gained considerable goodwill toward her.
Combined with their shared concern for Sherlock, the three had decided to tail him.
Fortunately, Snape hadn't made things difficult for Sherlock.
However, his parting words inevitably left them feeling somewhat indignant. What did he mean by "if you want to achieve anything in Potions, stay away from Potter"?
It wasn't as if Harry had Veela blood—how could he possibly interfere with Sherlock's studies?
Harry himself felt even worse.
In just the first week of school, from a single Potions class, Gryffindor had lost four points because of him—the same amount that Sherlock and Granger had cost combined.
Strictly speaking, Sherlock and Granger had only lost points because of him.
This made his mood even more dejected.
He truly didn't understand why Snape hated him so much.
Just then, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Harry looked up to see Sherlock's gray eyes.
He heard Sherlock say calmly, "It's just point deductions. It's not something important."
He genuinely didn't care about the lost points.
Never mind one or two points—even eight or ten, a hundred or two hundred, he wouldn't even furrow his brow.
Ron nodded repeatedly from the side. "Exactly! George and Fred get points deducted all the time—don't let it affect you. We're still going to see Hagrid later!"
Hearing Ron mention this, Harry finally perked up.
At this moment, Sherlock turned to Hermione. "Want to come along?"
Hermione looked puzzled. "Hagrid? Who's that?"
"The big guy who led us from the train station all the way to the castle. How about it—want to join us?"
Having changed his opinion of Hermione, Ron also volunteered to explain.
Hermione had a moment of realization, but after looking at the three of them and thinking for a moment, she shook her head in refusal. "No, I need to go to the library to research."
If it were just Sherlock alone, she might have considered it.
They both came from Muggle families and had known each other before school started.
From this week's classes, it seemed he was like her—a good student who loved learning, so they would surely have much in common—though his performance in Astronomy was poor, it was still acceptable.
But her relationship with Harry and Ron could only be called that of classmates at present; they weren't close enough to hang out together.
Even if one of them was the wizarding world's savior.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Sherlock arrived at Hagrid's hut with Harry and Ron right on time.
On the way, they encountered the caretaker Argus Filch and his cat called Mrs. Norris.
Filch tried to find evidence of them breaking school rules, but with Sherlock there, he naturally returned empty-handed.
However, his eyes were full of warning as he left.
"Don't let me catch you!"
That was roughly what he meant.
Sherlock's gaze followed Mrs. Norris as she left with Filch.
If he wanted to explore the campus, both Peeves and Filch were unavoidable obstacles.
From Filch's behavior, it wasn't hard to see that he valued Mrs. Norris greatly.
Seeing this pet cat's thin body and dull gray coat, he couldn't help but develop a bold idea.
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