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After all the young wizards were seated, the Hogwarts Express officially started moving, and the scenery outside the windows began to speed backward.
Harry and Ron were no longer as reserved as when they first met.
Especially Harry; he found that both he and Ron were very interested in each other's families.
They took turns asking and answering questions, rapidly deepening their understanding of one another.
Sherlock didn't join in.
Merely listening to their conversation was enough for him to deduce their situations.
Instead, he found himself more interested in the lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead.
Of course, in Sherlock's view, the scar resembled less the legendary lightning bolt and more a capital letter 'N'.
Harry and Ron grew increasingly excited as they talked. Ron, caught up in the moment, decided to show his two friends, who came from Muggle families, some magic.
"George told me a spell to turn him yellow."
"Him" referred to Ron's pet, a grey rat named Scabbers, a hand-me-down from his prefect brother, Percy.
Ron opened his trunk and rummaged inside.
The trunk was quite messy. He moved aside a pile of books, pulled out two robes, and after a while, finally extracted a wand.
"Want to see?"
He looked expectantly at his two companions.
"Go on, then!"
Harry said immediately.
Sherlock also watched Ron with interest.
He had tried many spells during the summer holidays and succeeded with all of them.
Logically, his magical aptitude should be considered decent.
However, he was powerless when it came to Transfiguration like McGonagall turning a teacup into a squirrel.
Of course, after reading the textbooks, Sherlock knew that wasn't part of the first-year curriculum; it was beyond the syllabus.
Under the watchful eyes of his two friends, Ron cleared his throat and waved his wand:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Scabbers the rat remained grey, sleeping soundly, completely unaffected.
Harry: '(°ー°〃)
Sherlock: ←_←
Ron paused, raised his wand again, and tried once more:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Still, nothing happened.
Harry: (lll￢ω￢)
Sherlock: ←_←
"Alright, I knew this spell wouldn't work. I bet you George knew it was a dud all along."
Ron put away his wand with a disappointed look.
"Is it the wand's fault?"
Hearing Sherlock's question, Ron didn't immediately understand: "What?"
"Your second brother's wand..."
Sherlock pointed at Ron's wand.
The wand was very worn, peeling in places, with a white gleam at one end.
"Oh, this was Charlie's old wand. The unicorn hair is almost sticking out, but Dad said it wouldn't affect its use..."
Ron carefully touched the battered wand, then suddenly looked up. "Wait, how did you know it was an old wand..."
"Ron, even I can see it's an old wand..."
Harry couldn't help interjecting from the side.
He felt secretly pleased, sensing his intelligence had gained the upper hand.
"No, no, no, what I mean is, how did you know it was my second brother's wand?
I haven't even told you how many brothers I have!"
Right!
Harry finally realized.
He could indeed see it was an old wand, but Sherlock had directly stated it belonged to Ron's second brother.
Wasn't that too far-fetched?
Sherlock smiled.
"Not only do I know this is your second brother's wand, but I also know your family has seven children in total.
You are currently wearing your eldest brother's robes, holding your second brother's wand, using your third brother's pet, your fourth and fifth brothers are twins, and you have a younger sister who hasn't started school yet."
Harry and Ron were stunned.
Neither could utter a word for a long moment. Finally, Ron, blushing deeply, mumbled:
"Sherlock, teasing people like this isn't funny at all. You must have investigated me beforehand!"
Harry also couldn't help siding with Ron, "Sherlock, you actually knew Ron's family before, right? Otherwise, there's no way you could know all this."
At this moment, the two formed a united front, convinced Sherlock had investigated Ron beforehand.
Sherlock was long accustomed to such reactions.
"My dear Harry, deducing these things is actually very simple. With careful observation and serious analysis, you could deduce this information too.
Think about my analysis of you earlier; once explained, it's really nothing!
When I explain the deduction process, you'll both surely say, 'Ah, so it was that simple!'"
Harry was skeptical.
"Really?"
"I don't believe it!"
Ron shook his head like a rattle drum. "You must have investigated me beforehand!"
Compared to Ron, Harry's reaction was slightly better, having witnessed it once before.
But now, he too remained doubtful.
After all, the information Sherlock deduced about Ron was incredibly detailed, far beyond the deductions made about himself earlier.
Seeing the eager curiosity in their eyes, Sherlock smiled and said:
"Alright, let me explain:
Ron's robes, wand, textbooks, and even the trunk he carries are all old, which is enough to indicate he comes from a family with multiple children—apologies, I took a closer look when you were rummaging through your trunk earlier.
Your robes have been altered once and are somewhat ill-fitting. I suspect when you put them on later, the trainers you're wearing will show. The old wand is too obvious; even Harry noticed it just now."
Harry: |(*′口`)
"But that still doesn't prove the wand belonged to my second brother!"
Ron couldn't help saying.
Sherlock shrugged. "Generally, wands and robes are purchased around the same time. However, judging by the relative age of your wand and robes, the robes were clearly acquired much earlier than the wand.
Items like wands and robes are typically passed down to younger siblings still attending school only after the older ones have left. Therefore, these two brothers of yours must have already graduated.
Furthermore, when you were demonstrating the spell just now, you mentioned Scabbers was a gift from your brother who is a prefect, and you said George taught you the spell. This indicates you have at least two more brothers.
Coincidentally, I saw you talking to a pair of twin brothers on this train earlier—no one would doubt you're family; you share the same red hair and similar features.
But neither of them was a prefect—the prefects are in specially designated compartments at the front, which isn't hard to find out.
Based on this information, deducing the situation isn't difficult, is it?
See, from this information, I can easily deduce you have five brothers: the robes and wand came from the graduated eldest and second brothers respectively, the pet from the third brother who is a prefect, and the fourth and fifth brothers are twins."
"B-but how did you know I have a sister?"
"You might not have noticed, but there are several long red hairs on your shoulder. Judging by the hair quality and color, their owner is close to your age.
Therefore, you should have either an older sister or a younger sister, with a younger sister being more likely.
This is the only piece of information I guessed rather than deduced, but I believe this guess is correct. I assume she hasn't started school yet, right?"
(End of Chapter)