Chapter 137: Hey, Big Black!

Chapter 137: Hey, Big Black!

To be honest, Sherlock wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch.

Since he spent a lot of time in the library, in addition to enhancing his magical knowledge, he read many other miscellaneous books during his leisure time.

One of these was about the origins of Quidditch.

Frankly, there wasn't much to say about this ball game, but initially, there was no Golden Snitch, and Quidditch teams didn't have a Seeker.

It wasn't until a match in 1269, when the then-Chairman of the Wizard's Council, Barberus Bragge, came to watch the game.

He brought a magical creature called a Golden Snidget and announced that anyone who could catch it during the match would win a prize of 150 Galleons.

Naturally, the players in that match forgot all about the game and focused solely on catching the poor bird to win the 150 Galleons.

The spectators, meanwhile, used Repelling Charms to keep the bird from escaping, so they could enjoy this unique match.

A witch named Modesty Rabnott, feeling pity for the poor Golden Snidget, secretly used a Summoning Charm to hide it in her robes and then let it go.

However, this was eventually discovered, and the furious Bragge fined her ten Galleons for disrupting the game.

Although the Golden Snidget wasn't caught in that match, from then on, Quidditch games began to involve the Golden Snidget.

In every match, a Golden Snidget was released, and each team had a player—initially called a "Hunter", later known as a Seeker—whose job was to catch it.

If a Hunter could catch and kill the Golden Snidget, his team would earn 150 points, symbolizing the 150 Galleons promised by Bragge.

The popularity of Quidditch led to a rapid decline in the Golden Snidget population. By the fourteenth century, the Golden Snidget was nearly extinct, and a single Golden Snidget used in a match could fetch an astronomical price.

Finally, a metalworker from Godric's Hollow named Bowman Wright had a different idea: he invented a fake Golden Snidget, which he called the Golden Snitch.

This is the origin of the Golden Snitch and the Seeker position in Quidditch.

It's a rather inglorious history, almost leading to the extinction of a species. Now, there is a Modesty Rabnott Snidget Sanctuary in Somerset, dedicated to protecting the Golden Snidget, a magical creature.

So from the beginning, Sherlock had little interest in the sport.

But there was nothing much to do in his office, and his mood had improved significantly. Since he was idle anyway, he decided to join the crowd for some fun.

The enthusiasm of the Hogwarts faculty and students for Quidditch was clearly much stronger than his. Almost every teacher and student in the castle braved the rain and wind to reach the Quidditch pitch.

The wind was so strong that ordinary umbrellas couldn't be used; they would be blown away.

On his way to the pitch, Sherlock saw Professor Mcgonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and students like Hermione and Ron.

But he didn't join them; instead, he walked to the highest part of the stands and sat there, resting his chin on his hand.

The heavy rain had no effect on the Quidditch match. Sherlock even saw Dumbledore in the front row; even he hadn't missed the game.

The players from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff took to the air on their broomsticks, with Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, officiating the match.

Sherlock recognized many of the players from both teams.

Harry, Wood, Cedric, and the Weasley twins were among them, and the latter were currently his students.

The match seemed to be quite intense, and although Sherlock wasn't particularly interested, he did understand the rules of Quidditch to some extent.

From the field, it was clear that the Gryffindor team was leading, but in the Seeker department, Harry was at a disadvantage.

He had to wear glasses, while Cedric didn't, which severely impaired his vision due to the rain.

Midway through the match, the Gryffindor team called a timeout. Hermione seemed to have run over to Harry and cast a spell on his glasses, making them immune to the rain and as clear as ever.

Sherlock guessed it must have been a Water-Repelling Charm, a spell that wasn't too difficult but somewhat obscure. For a student like Hermione, whose greatest hobby was reading, it wouldn't have been hard to learn.

As the timeout ended and the game resumed, Sherlock idly glanced around, feeling bored.

Then his eyes met those of a large black dog that was quietly sneaking along the edge of the stands.

Sherlock stared at the black dog, initially taken aback, but he quickly recognized it. This was the same black dog that had led him and Silke to a clue during their first investigation in Hogsmeade!

They hadn't seen it again when they returned to Hogsmeade, and Sherlock had assumed it had wandered off somewhere else. He never expected to encounter it again at Hogwarts.

"Here, boy, come over here, big black dog."

Sherlock called out to the dog.

Sirius Black, who had sneaked into Hogwarts to watch Harry play, found himself in a dilemma. According to his experience, the highest seats in the stands were the worst spots to watch a Quidditch match, and normally, no one at Hogwarts would sit there.

But today, he had run into this young professor as soon as he arrived.

And what was with the "big black dog" thing?

After much hesitation, Sirius Black decided that running away would only make Sherlock more determined to catch him. If he were caught, it would be a problem whether he resisted or not.

So, he decided to play along, acting like a real dog. He walked on all fours to Sherlock's side.

Sherlock felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the dog. If not for it, he and Silke might not have caught that Straw Golem so easily.

He stroked Sirius Black's wet fur, feeling the dog's strong, well-muscled body.

Sirius Black shivered under his touch and had to stick out his tongue, pretending to be friendly.

"You're quite something, aren't you? With so many Dementors around, how did you manage to sneak into Hogwarts?" Sherlock asked, puzzled. "Do Dementors have no interest in dogs?"

Of course, Dementors had no interest in dogs.

Sirius Black silently fumed. That was how he had managed to stay sane in Azkaban for so long.

Ignoring Sherlock's probing, Sirius Black focused intently on the game, watching Harry ride his broomstick in the air. It reminded him of James.

Meanwhile, Harry, who was searching for the Golden Snitch in the rain, inadvertently glanced up to the highest part of the stands.

He saw Sherlock and the large black dog next to him!

Harry was thrown into a state of shock.

He remembered the prophecy Professor Trelawney had made during his Divination class at the start of the semester, predicting he would encounter something ominous.

That ominous presence was the large black dog!

Harry had seen this black dog several times in passing, but he never expected to see it again, and this time, it was with Sherlock!

While Harry was distracted, the Keeper, Wood, spotted the Golden Snitch behind him.

He shouted a warning, and Harry noticed the small golden sphere flitting about with its tiny wings.

Just as he was about to dive towards the Snitch, everything went silent around him. It was as if someone had turned off the sound in his ears, leaving him deaf. Then he felt a chill as if he were falling into an ice cave.

At least a hundred Dementors were below him, their faces hidden under their hoods, staring at him!

Sherlock immediately noticed something was wrong when the Dementors entered the Quidditch field.

He frowned, watching the Dementors approaching from the distant sky, and gripped his wand tightly.

Sirius Black, upon seeing the Dementors, fled from the stands, thinking they had discovered him and were coming to capture him.

Sherlock paid no attention to the dog fleeing with its tail between its legs. He was focused on the Dementors descending from the sky, drawing his wand.

Dumbledore, sitting in the front row of the stands, also noticed the Dementors. His expression was grim, or rather, extremely grim.

Sherlock had never seen Dumbledore with such an ugly expression, but he didn't immediately deal with the Dementors because Harry seemed to have been triggered by something and fell off his broomstick from a great height!

If no one had helped Harry, such a height would have been enough to turn him into a splattered mess. So Dumbledore made a quick decision and used a spell to stabilize Harry's fall.

The uncontrolled Dementors quickly flew towards the stands, and almost all the students felt the bone-chilling cold.

Two Dementors approached Sherlock, and he gripped his wand in the rain, preparing to cast a spell by building up the necessary emotions.

Fortunately, it had been three days since he drank the Sadness Potion, and his mood had calmed down considerably. He waved his wand and cast the spell.

"Expecto Patronus."

A silver glow shone at the tip of his wand. Although the process was a bit slow, a raven made entirely of pure silver light appeared in the air!

It spread its wings, trailing long streaks of silver light as it circled the Quidditch pitch.

The ravenous Dementors, upon contact with the silver bird, began to melt like butter on a hot pan, with gray vapor rising from their bodies, rapidly disintegrating!

Sherlock's Patronus quickly circled the entire pitch, herding the Dementors to the center above the field, like sheep being driven by wolves.

Any Dementor that tried to escape was mercilessly pushed back by the raven.

At this point, Dumbledore had finally lowered Harry gently to the ground from the sky.

He looked at the gathered Dementors and the silver raven circling them, then glanced up at the stands.

Sherlock saw Dumbledore looking at him and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need much thanks.

Seeing that Dumbledore had the situation under control, Sherlock retracted his Patronus and walked down to the stands.

The entire pitch was now in chaos. In the final moments before Harry fell, Cedric, the Hufflepuff team captain and Seeker, who had greeted Sherlock in the castle earlier, caught the Golden Snitch, securing victory for his team.

However, Cedric, being a man of integrity, felt the match was unfair and requested a rematch once Harry woke up.

Dumbledore conjured a stretcher, had Harry lie on it, and had him floated away to the Hospital Wing.

The other students in the stands hurriedly left, unable to tolerate the chilling aura produced by the gathered Dementors.

Sherlock also moved with the crowd towards the exit. His casting had been discreet, and no one except Dumbledore had seen the raven Patronus he summoned.

Before leaving the pitch, Sherlock saw that Dumbledore's negotiations with the Dementors were not going well. He even drew his wand, and bright silver light flashed from it.

How Dumbledore would deal with the Dementors was not Sherlock's concern.

From the beginning of the school year, Sherlock had sensed that these Dementors were rebellious and would cause trouble. Now, they had indeed entered Hogwarts without permission.

After using the Patronus Charm once, Sherlock's mood improved significantly.

Since the emotional feedback from casting two hundred and one Patronus Charms, he hadn't used the spell again.

The effects of the Sadness Potion were gradually wearing off, a potion with effects completely opposite to the Joy Potion. It was a remarkable magical concoction.

Sherlock planned to ask Madam Pomfrey for the recipe and brew a few bottles to keep on hand.

He wouldn't give up on the "Raven Swarm" method of casting the Patronus Charm. Many dark creatures in the Wizarding World were terrified of this spell, making it his most effective weapon against Dementors and other evil beings.

So, Sherlock would definitely keep some Sadness Potion on hand. As long as he didn't consume as much as the large bottle Madam Pomfrey gave him, he could completely counteract the euphoric mood that returned after the raven swarm dissipated, making this casting method flawless.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end