"Gemma, I'm afraid even you don't believe that pretty lie."
When Sherlock heard Gemma Farley cheerfully say "the Ministry will soon capture Sirius Black," he pressed his fingers against his chin and gently shook his head. "If the Ministry's efficiency could match their boastful talk, Black never would have had the chance to escape prison."
Gemma's blue eyes suddenly froze, looking at Sherlock with a hint of resentment. "So, you had to expose that in front of everyone?"
"Ignoring broken glass won't make the cracks disappear. There's an interesting bit of nonsense in the bottom left corner of page three of the Daily Prophet, the Muggle spotted Black not near London, but in the Scottish Highlands."
Sherlock's gaze moved past the hesitant girl, his gray eyes turning directly to Harry.
"Harry, you should understand what this means."
"It means he's gotten closer to Hogwarts." Harry's voice was like a feather soaked in cold water, heavily falling on stone steps.
"More precisely, he's gotten closer to you."
Sherlock's fingers lightly tapped the table, "His escape route is clear, and his destination coordinates are as precise as a target's center and you are that bullseye."
Ron's face immediately went pale, and he stammered. "But-but the castle has Professor Dumbledore, and there are Dementors..."
"Azkaban had more Dementors and stricter management than Hogwarts, yet Black escaped unharmed."
Sherlock chuckled and shook his head, "Ron, do you think Hogwarts castle walls are harder to breach than Azkaban prison, or that the Dementors here are more intimidating than those there?"
Ron immediately fell silent.
Hermione's knuckles also went white from gripping too tightly.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed more normal in his reaction.
Just then, Gemma suddenly laughed lightly, twirling her chestnut curls around her finger as she joked with Sherlock.
"This is an official warning from the Head Girl, intimidating fellow students could cost points, Mr. Sherlock Holmes."
"I'm just presenting a chain of cause and effect," Sherlock said calmly, "like telling you it will rain tomorrow requires no apology, facts exist not to be pleasing. Gemma, you're Head Girl, not a maid. When analyzing facts, there's no need to cater to the master's feelings."
Gemma's eyes suddenly widened.
What was this boy three years younger than her saying!
Even Hermione, who had some hidden hostility toward Gemma, felt somewhat helpless after hearing this.
So rational, truly too rational!
Rationality was normally a good thing.
But for humans, emotional value was also very important, yet this value was rarely demonstrated in Sherlock.
He was like a precisely operating machine, only providing answers, never considering the atmosphere or occasion.
At this point, Gemma could only turn to Harry again. "Harry, as long as you stay within the castle grounds, you'll be safe."
"Don't worry, I won't go looking for him."
Harry said this both to Gemma and to Ron and Hermione.
Getting his assurance, both Hermione and Ron relaxed.
"Actually, you don't need to worry so much," Gemma suddenly winked, "With Sherlock here, Harry couldn't possibly sneak out."
That's right!
Hermione and Ron realized, regardless of Harry's promise not to recklessly run out to find Black, even if he had such thoughts, with Sherlock's abilities, Harry simply couldn't do it!
Unless Sherlock went with him. But that was absolutely impossible!
Thus, the shadow cast by Black quickly disappeared.
After comforting Harry, Gemma left, but before departing she smiled charmingly at Sherlock and silently mouthed something to him.
After Gemma the Head Girl, Cho Chang also came specifically to greet Harry.
She too had come to comfort Harry after learning of Sirius's appearance nearby.
This warmed Harry's heart.
Just as Gemma had thought, aside from Sherlock, emotional value was still very important for ordinary people.
Surprisingly, Luna Lovegood also came with Cho Chang.
However, her way of providing emotional value was rather strange.
Rather than comforting Harry, she seemed more interested in diverting attention.
She told Sherlock that if he planned to look for Black, he must remember to bring her along, because she was very sensitive to death.
Though it sounded absurd, considering her good intentions, Harry accepted it.
In the afternoon, the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the new term was finally about to begin.
The little lions were quite excited about this.
After all, Professor Lupin's feat of driving away Dementors on the train had spread, and everyone knew this new teacher had real skills.
However, surprisingly, when all the students had arrived, Professor Lupin still hadn't appeared.
They sat down, took out their textbooks, quills, and parchment, and began discussing in low voices.
"How strange—students are usually the ones who are late. This is the first time I've seen a teacher be late."
Ron's comment wasn't malicious, just teasing.
Hermione was looking around, and when Harry saw her like this, he asked curiously. "Hermione, what are you looking for?"
"I'm checking if Professor Lupin is like Professor McGonagall, using Animagus transformation to become an animal and observe us."
Before Hermione could answer, Sherlock spoke first. "My dear Hermione, you can stop looking now. I can already hear footsteps outside the classroom."
Just as Sherlock finished speaking, Professor Lupin walked into the classroom.
Though he still looked somewhat shabby, his complexion appeared much healthier—after all, everyone could see him eating breakfast in the Great Hall every morning.
His appearance naturally sparked discussion among the little lions.
"I think he must have had several good meals these past few days."
"Don't say that—I think he just hasn't rested well."
"Maybe he accidentally caused an explosion while practicing spells?"
"Believe it or not, I'll kick you to death, you troublemaker!"
"Seamus, no!"
"..."
Just then, Professor Lupin noticed everyone had their textbooks on their desks and said with a smile. "Good afternoon, everyone. Sorry I'm late. But please put your textbooks back in your bags, today we're having a practical lesson. You'll only need your wands."
Hearing Lupin's words, the young wizards showed surprised expressions.
In first year, they never had practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons.
In second year, almost every class was practical, but most time was spent on novel recitations and role-playing. Only in the few precious minutes before class ended did they get actual practical instruction.
So, hearing this teacher immediately offer practical lessons naturally surprised the young wizards.
After the students were ready, Professor Lupin led the entire class out of the classroom, through corridors toward their destination.
A small incident occurred when they reached their destination.
They encountered Peeves, who loved playing pranks.
He was up to his usual mischief—stuffing gum into a room's keyhole.
Apart from the teachers, the only being who could truly control him was the Slytherin house ghost, the Bloody Baron.
For most students, this seemed to be the only way to deal with Peeves.
But what nobody expected was that when Professor Lupin was only two steps away, Peeves looked up and began taunting directly.
"Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin..."
Peeves was famous for being unruly, but he was generally respectful to teachers. His current behavior naturally surprised everyone.
"He's just bullying Professor Lupin for being new," Ron said definitively.
All the students curiously watched Professor Lupin, wanting to see his reaction.
Surprisingly, Professor Lupin remained polite throughout. After kind words failed, he demonstrated a spell to everyone.
As he said "Waddiwasi," the gum Peeves had stuffed into the keyhole shot out like a bullet and flew into Peeves's nostril.
Peeves immediately misfired, somersaulted, and flew away cursing.
This incident, like last year's Professor Lockhart's freezing charm, quickly elevated Professor Lupin's image in everyone's minds.
This effect was more useful than any education.
"How about that! I told you Professor Lupin was something special!"
Ron seized the opportunity to speak up. "When he was on the train..."
Actually, Ron had already promoted this once during the opening feast, but as they say, hearing is believing, seeing is truth.
At the time, everyone felt Ron's account was somewhat exaggerated.
But now, seeing him easily handle Peeves, Ron's credibility shot up.
Professor Lupin didn't stop the whispering but continued leading them forward. After passing through a second corridor, he stopped at the door of a staff room.
"Everyone go in."
Professor Lupin opened the door and stepped aside, letting the students enter first.
This rest room was long and narrow, typical of spaces where depth exceeded width.
The room itself wasn't particularly special—wooden panels were on the four walls, and old chairs were stacked everywhere.
But the person in the room surprised everyone.
Slytherin House Head and Potions Professor, Severus Snape.
When students went into the classroom, he turned to look at the little lions, his gaze showing a mocking smile.
Professor Lupin was the last to enter. As he prepared to close the door, Snape stopped him.
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