Harry was extremely embarrassed now.
He even wished he could remove the gauze from his head, wrap it around his face, and claim he was Draco Malfoy.
However, this was clearly only possible in fantasy.
The reality was that Professor Cavendish had not only seen who he was but had also heard the conversation he had just had with Ron.
Ron looked even more flustered, stammering as he called out,
"P-P-P-Professor Cavendish."
Sherlock, who was speechless on his end, hadn't yet spoken when Filch, with a sour expression, started lecturing them.
"Curfew is in less than half an hour. What are you doing running around the Castle dressed like that?"
Harry quickly explained,
"We just came from Madam Pomfrey's. Professor Dumbledore told us to go to the Hospital Wing to treat our injuries..."
His voice grew quieter and quieter until, in the end, it was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
Sherlock looked at the two of them curiously. Seeing Harry and Ron driving the Flying Car on the train had reminded him of some plot points.
He remembered that in the original novel, they shouldn't have been injured this badly.
"I saw you waving at me from the sky while I was on the train. I thought you would manage a safe landing."
Hearing him say that, Harry and Ron were even more ashamed, wishing they could shrink their heads into their collars.
"It sounded like you were saying you wanted to take leave from my class tomorrow. Are your injuries that serious?" Sherlock asked plainly.
Harry seemed eager to speak but choked on his own saliva. He coughed several times before recovering enough to explain.
"Ron and I were just joking, Professor. We aren't seriously injured. Madam Pomfrey didn't even keep us in the Hospital Wing for observation. She just protected the wounds with Magical Bandages. They'll be fine in a couple of days. It won't affect class—it won't affect class."
Sherlock nodded slightly.
"That's good. I wouldn't want students taking leave before my first class even begins."
"We promise we won't be absent, Professor!"
"Go back and rest."
Hearing this, Harry and Ron felt as if they had received a great pardon. Like two weasels caught failing to steal a chicken, they quickly scurried back to the Gryffindor common room.
"You shouldn't let them off so easily, Professor Cavendish. Those two students were deliberately trying to skip class! You should have given them detention!"
Filch seemed resentful that Sherlock had let Harry and Ron go so easily.
This was mainly because the image Sherlock projected was so successful that Filch mistakenly believed he was the same kind of person as Snape—someone who equally disliked mischievous students, especially those from Gryffindor.
"They only had the thought. They shouldn't be punished for an idea that wasn't put into action."
Seeing him say this, Filch stopped talking and continued leading Sherlock toward the Gryffindor common room entrance.
On the way, they met other young wizards from Gryffindor. Although Sherlock could tell Filch clearly wanted to punish them, since it wasn't curfew yet, there was nothing he could do.
Just as they reached the corridor leading to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room, a clumsy boy suddenly bumped into Sherlock.
The moment the boy's body touched him, Sherlock suddenly felt a momentary burning sensation on his left arm, precisely where the crescent-shaped birthmark was!
The sensation was so fleeting that he even wondered if it was his imagination.
Sherlock frowned, looking down at the boy who had bumped into him and fallen to the ground.
He had a round face, was slightly chubby, his black hair was somewhat messy, and his face looked pale, seemingly from fright.
Sherlock extended a hand to help pull him up from the floor.
But the boy only glanced at him timidly, then climbed to his feet himself.
"S-Sorry, Professor Cavendish. I—I was running too fast and didn't see you."
"It's alright," Sherlock said. Then he asked casually, "What is your name?"
The boy lowered his head; it seemed he was genuinely timid.
"Neville Longbottom."
"Longbottom..." Sherlock repeated the boy's surname aloud.
This name was not unfamiliar to him.
Because this boy had appeared in the first installment of the plot, which he was most familiar with, and he seemed to occupy a very important position in later plots as well.
But why did the birthmark on his left arm burn when the boy bumped into him?
The last time the birthmark reacted was when he met the Malfoy father and son at Flourish and Blotts. The burning sensation was intense then. Now he met Neville, but the burning sensation was only for a brief moment.
So, what was the connection between them?
Due to the lack of clues, Sherlock truly couldn't think of anything Neville Longbottom and the Malfoy father and son had in common.
While he was thinking, Neville asked in a small voice,
"May I leave now, Professor?"
Sherlock snapped back to reality and casually patted Neville's shoulder.
"Go back and rest."
Hearing his permission, Neville turned and ran to the Gryffindor common room entrance, spoke the password, and climbed inside.
Watching his figure disappear, Sherlock thoughtfully examined the hand he had just placed on Neville's shoulder.
After making physical contact with the boy again, the birthmark on his left arm stopped reacting. This made him wonder if the burning sensation earlier had been his own hallucination.
"Gryffindor students are always reckless! They can't even watch where they're going. Those children in that House really need a good lesson to teach them what rules are!"
Filch saw Sherlock standing still in a daze and, assuming he was still bothered by Neville bumping into him, started lecturing on Sherlock's behalf.
Sherlock shook his head, no longer dwelling on the birthmark burning.
That crescent-shaped birthmark was highly likely left by the Original Owner's wizard mother.
The reason Professor McGonagall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid, and Dumbledore cared for the Original Owner so much was likely because they were acquainted with the Original Owner's mother.
Judging from the descriptions in the diary, the Original Owner also seemed unaware of why his lunatic mother had such close relationships with these famous Wizards in the Wizarding World.
Sherlock felt that once the right opportunity arose, he could start investigating this point.
He could directly ask Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall about their relationship with his mother and the origin of the birthmark on his body.
The information gained this way would certainly be much more reliable than guessing blindly on his own.