Compared to Professor Quirrell, who had a gentle teaching demeanor, the temporary substitute, Snape, might have had a terrible attitude—but he truly taught useful material.
It was almost unbelievable that it wasn't until the latter half of the semester that the first-years finally encountered the Disarming Charm in practical lessons.
The incantation for this spell is Expelliarmus, which, as the name suggests, forcibly ejects the opponent's wand from their hand.
Most wizards rely heavily on their wands to accurately channel and control magic.
This is because a wand enhances and focuses a wizard's magical energy, making spells more precise and effective.
Wandless magic is much harder to perform and significantly more unstable—it can easily cause unintended consequences or even dangerous accidents.
So, naturally, Expelliarmus became one of the most basic and practical offensive spells.
Its power, of course, depends on the magical strength of the caster.
Both Sherlock and Harry displayed exceptional talent during this lesson.
Especially Harry.
For the first time—aside from Quidditch—he showed qualities befitting the so-called "Savior of the Wizarding World."
Even Hermione, already acknowledged as the top student, couldn't quite compare.
Snape fixed his gaze on Harry's green eyes. After a brief silence, he said in his usual low tone:
"Very textbook Disarming Charm, Mr. Potter."
Harry was taken aback by Snape's rare praise.
Granted, Snape had given him an advanced potion over Christmas, and he'd also learned from Sherlock about the professor's past with his mother.
But Harry didn't dare let his guard down.
Sherlock had made it very clear: Snape had only ever cared about his mother, Lily.
The only reason Harry was being protected was because he was Lily's son.
Nothing more.
Sure enough, just as Snape praised Harry, his tone suddenly shifted:
"But if your Disarming Charm is so perfect, why not help your classmates?
Finnegan was right next to you—he somehow managed to turn a Disarming Charm into an Blasting Curse. Should I call him a genius or an idiot?
Because of your inaction, Potter, Gryffindor loses another five points."
There we go—this was the Professor Snape everyone knew.
Harry let out a long sigh of relief.
He wasn't the only one. Everyone had long grown used to Snape docking points from Gryffindor for no good reason.
In fact, it would be more surprising if there ever was a day he didn't do it.
So even though Seamus had already lost points once for the same incident, no one was shocked when Harry was blamed too.
The Gryffindors collectively muttered in their hearts:
Classic Snape!
"I have to say… not surprising, but pretty unlucky—getting docked twice for the same thing!"
After class, Seamus was the first to complain. "Wonder when Professor Quirrell's coming back. Hey, Detective Holmes, any guesses?"
"Detective Holmes" was the nickname students had given Sherlock.
Funny enough, the name originated outside of Gryffindor.
Before Christmas, Sherlock had helped Hannah Abbott—who was the first in their year to be Sorted—solve a problem.
After that, he took on several more requests, solving them all.
With his performance in flying lessons, the Halloween incident, and other daily happenings, the nickname "Detective Holmes" began to spread.
Ironically, Gryffindor was the last to catch on.
After all, most Gryffindors tended to act before thinking and rarely needed to seek Sherlock's help.
Quite the opposite of Hermione.
Her original nickname was "Know-It-All of Gryffindor." But once her reputation spread beyond her house, it became "Miss Know-It-All."
"Around Easter," Sherlock replied confidently to Seamus's question.
"Though personally, I'd prefer if he never came back."
"You serious?" Seamus's eyes widened. "You'd rather let the old bat keep teaching?"
"Old bat" was Snape's nickname.
It came from the way he constantly floated around the castle in his black robes, always appearing out of nowhere to take points.
The Weasley twins had coined the name, and it quickly gained popularity—even among Slytherins.
"He's a good teacher," Sherlock replied seriously. "Far better than Professor Quirrell. To be precise, Quirrell isn't even in the same league."
Seamus looked around awkwardly.
Neville and Dean each turned their heads, pretending to admire the scenery.
"Come on, mate…" Ron, catching Seamus's desperate glance, cleared his throat to speak.
But Hermione cut in, backing Sherlock up. "Sherlock's right. Snape may be unfair with points, but we actually learn real magic from him."
She shot Ron a glare as she spoke.
He immediately fell silent.
Well, he had to—Hermione was still reviewing his homework.
Seeing that no one dared disagree, Hermione nodded in satisfaction and turned to Sherlock with a probing question:
"How do you know Professor Quirrell is coming back soon?"
"Because I stabbed him with a sword," Sherlock replied flatly. "A couple weeks of rest, plus the Easter holiday—that should be enough."
The others froze, then burst into laughter.
Ron laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. "Mate! Didn't know you were into dark humor! If that's true, may I never get a girlfriend before I'm twenty!"
Neville, Seamus, and Dean all laughed along. Harry, glancing around, smartly joined in.
The atmosphere around them became warm and cheerful.
Only Hermione frowned. "That joke wasn't funny at all."
Clearly, she didn't believe him.
Sherlock didn't argue. Sometimes, telling the truth is the least believable thing you can do.
Before Easter arrived, Sherlock resumed his late-night patrols with Harry around Hogwarts—something Dumbledore had clearly approved.
Also, with the second Quidditch match over, Sherlock scaled back the morning training regimen to a normal level.
Beyond that, he also started taking Harry to the library on weekends.
The Sherlock–Hermione duo became a trio: Sherlock, Hermione, and Harry.
Ron didn't understand it, while Hermione was visibly pleased.
The Savior of the Wizarding World was finally walking the right path—under the guidance of the Lion King.
But neither Hermione nor Ron knew Sherlock's true reason for frequenting the library with Harry.
Dumbledore had sent Watson a detailed dossier about the Philosopher's Stone.
Though the entrance to the Stone's chamber was on the third-floor corridor, its main location was deep underground beneath the castle.
It was a series of seven magically protected chambers.
Each professor, including Dumbledore, had set up one defense. They were:
Hagrid's three-headed dog, Fluffy, bought from a man named Baskerville.
Professor Sprout's Devil's Snare.
Professor Flitwick's flying key challenge.
Professor McGonagall's giant wizard chessboard.
And... the mountain troll left behind by Professor Quirrell.
When the rooms were set up, first-years hadn't yet enrolled, and Dumbledore hadn't suspected Quirrell.
As he once told Sherlock, he still thought of Quirrell as a talented Ravenclaw back then.
Besides, including Quirrell added variety to the defenses.
Having each professor design a different type of protection created a well-rounded defensive system to guard against various threats.
Looking back, that goal was certainly achieved.
Following Quirrell's challenge came Snape's and Dumbledore's own.
Snape, of course, used potions.
According to Dumbledore, this would be the easiest room for Sherlock to solve.
As for Dumbledore's challenge...
The old man hadn't revealed it in his letter via Watson. He only wrote: "You won't be disappointed."
Sherlock had no strong reaction.
On one hand, given the current circumstances, as long as he could guide Harry to the final room, that was enough.
What Dumbledore's challenge was didn't matter.
On the other hand, now that he already knew the puzzles in advance, solving each professor's challenge felt like taking an open-book exam.
Sherlock was already starting to regret asking Dumbledore for the questions in the first place.
How dull!
Ironically, the most difficult challenge now seemed to be Quirrell's—the traitor's troll.
Sherlock had once faced a massive mountain troll in the dungeons.
He knew very well that defeating a troll was no easy feat.
According to Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild Survival Manual, the author once subdued a troll while severely malnourished and alone.
But clearly, Grylls was no ordinary man—his method wouldn't work here.
Fortunately, Sherlock's only goal was to pass the room, not fight the troll head-on.
That left plenty of room for creative strategy.
In fact, Snape's two-week stint as substitute had inadvertently given Sherlock new ideas.
He needed to train Harry to be more capable in direct combat—to ensure he could truly hold his own in the upcoming "Harry vs. Voldemort" showdown.
When you focus hard on one goal, time always flies.
Soon, the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox of 1992 arrived—Easter had come.
Like Christmas and Halloween, Easter originally carried deep religious significance.
But over time, it had become more of a festive tradition.
Its symbols included Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny. Its main flower was the lily.
Among the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts, Easter was the second most popular holiday after Christmas.
Because it meant... time off!
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