Chapter 121: The Watcher
Chapter 121: The Watcher
Aurors are patrolling Hogsmeade in droves now.
On his way to Hogwarts, Sherlock encountered three checkpoints, one of which involved Tonks.
She had just completed her internship and, under normal circumstances, her primary duties would have been in the office. However, due to the shortage of personnel, she was also dispatched to the field.
The large number of Aurors gathered in Hogsmeade is not just to catch the murderer from Germany. The main goal is to arrest Black.
Although seven attacks have been confirmed, five of the victims were Muggles, and only two Wizards have died. This is not enough to overshadow the sensational news of Black's escape from Azkaban.
However, those who are in the know understand that the attacks are far more troublesome than Black's case.
The British Aurors have not yet gathered any critical clues in the case, which has taken place within the UK. The most important information is still with the three German Aurors.
Sherlock doesn't know if the German Ministry of Magic has shared the murderer's profile with the British side.
To catch Black, they can only wait and see if he shows up around Hogwarts. As for finding the attacker, it seems the efforts will also focus on Hogsmeade.
With both issues converging on Hogwarts, this semester is already off to a tense start before it has even begun.
Sherlock reached the end of Hogsmeade's main street. Just as he was about to head toward the Hogwarts gates, he noticed a large black dog huddled next to a trash bin in a small alley.
The dog looked like a stray, but it was quite large, with a sleek, well-groomed coat, suggesting it had once been well-cared for before being abandoned.
The dog only caught his attention briefly. Sherlock isn't an animal lover and had no intention of adopting it.
As he entered the Hogwarts gates, the school was still quite empty, but Dementors were already visible on either side of the entrance.
When Sherlock walked in, the Dementors floated over to inspect him.
He didn't resist. The two Dementors stared at his face, as if trying to confirm whether he was the escaped Black.
At that moment, a chilling, despairing aura suddenly emanated from one of the Dementors. Sherlock could feel the temperature around him dropping, and the positive emotions in his body being drained away.
The moment he sensed the problem, he didn't hesitate. He immediately drew his wand!
"Expecto Patronus."
A brilliant silver light erupted!
Numerous silver threads burst forth from the tip of his wand!
The two Dementors let out silent screams. Their gray robes began to erode under the constant assault of the silver threads.
As their bodies started to become ethereal, on the verge of being completely erased, they managed to break free from the silver threads' entanglement.
They drifted away, bedraggled, not daring to look back at Sherlock even once.
"Cowards", Sherlock sneered.
From the Dementors' behavior, he could tell that if they continued to be stationed around Hogwarts, this semester would definitely be problematic.
They are used to acting recklessly and, unlike in Azkaban where they are regularly fed, here they might take drastic actions.
However, Sherlock didn't need to worry about this for now. Dumbledore would be more aware of the situation.
Sherlock entered the castle. As he approached the entrance hall, he encountered Professor Mcgonagall, who was frowning, lost in thought.
"Good morning, Professor Mcgonagall", Sherlock greeted her.
Professor Mcgonagall's frown relaxed when she saw him, and she smiled gently, a rare expression for her.
"Good morning, Sherlock. You're just in time. After you put your things away, you need to go to the headmaster's office. The password is lemon drop. Albus wants to see you."
Sherlock nodded, acknowledging her instructions.
He and Professor Mcgonagall parted ways in the entrance hall. He went to his office on the third floor and put his things away.
Even though it had been two months since he last returned, there was no need for cleaning. The castle's house-elves took care of the regular maintenance.
Afterward, he left his office and walked down the third-floor corridor to the end, where the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office stood.
"Password", the stone gargoyle grumbled.
"Lemon drop", Sherlock replied.
Actually, sneaking into the headmaster's office is quite simple. Just recite a list of Dumbledore's favorite sweets, and one of them will surely be the correct password.
The stone gargoyle moved aside, clearing the path for him.
Sherlock walked in and ascended the spiral staircase to the eighth floor, then pushed open the door to the headmaster's office.
Dumbledore was lying in his chair with his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought.
The portraits of the former headmasters on the wall were snoring softly, as if they could never get enough sleep. Fawkes, perched on a golden branch, was preening his bright red feathers with his sharp beak.
Upon hearing the commotion, Dumbledore opened his eyes. He looked at Sherlock with a smile.
"Did you have a good holiday?"
Sherlock sat across from Dumbledore, and a steaming cup of black tea appeared in front of him.
"Indeed, it was quite enjoyable. I traveled to France, and the food there is much better than here."
"I received a letter from Nick, and he told me everything that happened. You and Harry even received the French Ministry of Magic's Medal of Wizarding Goodwill."
Dumbledore looked slightly surprised, clearly not expecting Sherlock and Harry to have such an experience.
Sherlock waved his hand dismissively.
"We didn't expect things to turn out that way either. The wand thief was quite bold, even daring to impersonate Nicolas Flamel. If he hadn't tried to become a human trafficker, I might not have caught on to his scheme."
They chatted about their holiday experiences for a while, and then Dumbledore explained the reason he had called Sherlock in.
"When you arrived at Hogsmeade, you must have seen the situation there."
Sherlock nodded.
"All the problems have piled up, and they all seem to be centered around Hogwarts."
Dumbledore's blue eyes grew more intense, the crescent-shaped glasses reflecting a white light.
"Black's case is relatively straightforward, but the attacks are a significant problem."
He clearly had a deeper understanding than most.
"You met Madame Silke last semester. She recently came to Hogwarts and requested to stay temporarily in the castle."
Sherlock furrowed his brow.
"She believes the killer will come to Hogwarts."
"It's not that she believes", Dumbledore shook his head, his words carrying a deeper meaning. "She has seen that it will come to Hogwarts."
Sherlock was taken aback.
Dumbledore's statement seemed cryptic, but Sherlock recalled the end of last semester when he saw Madame Silke's true appearance at the two graves in the Forbidden Forest.
What stood out most was her eyes, bound by ribbons.
"Is she a Seer?"
"In some ways, she sees more than we do." Dumbledore didn't explicitly confirm it, but his words implied as much.
Sherlock asked, puzzled.
"Last time, I was curious. She is a German wizard, so why did you allow her father's grave to be placed in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore's face took on a reflective expression as he replied softly.
"Madame Silke's father was once an Auror for the British Ministry of Magic. He died in the line of duty over a decade ago, and her mother took her to Germany."
Hearing this, Sherlock didn't press further.
An Auror who died in the line of duty over a decade ago, and one who could make Dumbledore show such emotion, must have been killed in the fight against Voldemort.
It made sense, then, that his grave would be in the Forbidden Forest.
"I agreed to her request to stay at Hogwarts, but I also insisted that she be accompanied by someone during her investigation."
"This is also a requirement from Fudge. He doesn't trust these three German wizards. They have repeatedly requested that the German Ministry of Magic share information about the killer, but the German Ministry has been finding excuses to delay."
"The Ministry of Magic is short on Aurors. They need to investigate Black's case and maintain order in the wizarding world. So, Fudge hopes I can assign a professor to monitor their activities to prevent them from doing anything harmful to the British wizarding world."
Sherlock understood what Dumbledore meant. He was being chosen as the monitor.
"What about my teaching duties at the school?"
Dumbledore had already made arrangements.
"Your assistant this year, Remus Lupin, is likely already on the Hogwarts Express. With him around, your teaching load will be lighter, giving you more time to focus on other matters."
Dumbledore then smiled and said, "I also want to congratulate you, Sherlock. Under your guidance last year, the students in last semester's Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) and Nastily Exhaustive Wizarding Test (N.E.W.T.) exams all performed excellently in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone scored an A or higher, and over 80% of the students received O or E grades (from highest to lowest: O, E, A, P, D, T)."
"Given this, I suggest you focus on the upper-year students for Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. They have more exam pressure, and you can let Lupin handle the lower-year classes for now."
(End of Chapter)
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