Chapter 21: Reckless Neville
Chapter 21: Reckless Neville
Harry was now extremely embarrassed.
He wished he could take the bandage from his head and wrap it around his face, then claim he was Draco Malfoy.
But that was purely a fantasy.
The reality was that Professor Forrest had not only seen who he was but also heard his conversation with Ron.
Ron was even more flustered, stammering as he spoke.
"Pr-pr-pr, Professor Forrest."
Sherlock, who was standing there with a blank expression, had not yet spoken when Filch, with a scowl on his face, started reprimanding them.
"Curfew is in less than half an hour, and you two are running around the castle dressed like this. What do you think you're doing?"
Harry quickly explained.
"We just came from Madam Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore sent us to the Hospital Wing to treat our fall injuries."
His voice grew softer as he spoke, eventually becoming barely audible.
Sherlock looked at them curiously. He recalled a scene from the train ride when he saw Harry and Ron in their flying car, which brought back some memories of the plot.
He remembered that in the original story, they shouldn't have been this badly injured.
"I saw you waving at me from the sky on the train. I thought you would land safely."
Hearing this, Harry and Ron felt even more ashamed, wishing they could shrink their heads into their collars.
"You mentioned that you need to take a leave from my class tomorrow. Are your injuries that serious?" Sherlock asked calmly.
Harry, eager to speak, choked on his own saliva and had to cough several times before he could explain.
"Professor, Ron and I were just joking. We're not seriously injured. Madam Pomfrey didn't even keep us for observation. She just used magic bandages to protect our wounds. We'll be fine in a couple of days and won't miss any classes, we won't miss any classes."
Sherlock nodded lightly.
"Good. I wouldn't want my first class to start with students taking leave."
"We promise we won't be absent, Professor!"
"Go back and rest."
Hearing this, Harry and Ron felt as if a great weight had been lifted. They scurried back to the Gryffindor Common Room like two weasels caught in the act of stealing chickens.
"You shouldn't let them off so easily, Professor Forrest. Those students were planning to skip class, and you should have given them detention!"
Filch seemed indignant that Sherlock had let Harry and Ron off so easily. He mistakenly believed Sherlock was similar to Snape, someone who detested mischievous students, especially Gryffindors.
"They only had the idea, but they didn't act on it. They shouldn't be punished for just having a thought."
Seeing that Sherlock was firm in his decision, Filch did not argue further and continued leading Sherlock toward the Gryffindor Common Room.
On the way, they encountered other young Gryffindor wizards. Although Sherlock could tell Filch was eager to punish them, he could do nothing since it wasn't yet curfew time.
As they approached the corridor leading to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room, a clumsy boy accidentally bumped into Sherlock.
At the moment of contact, Sherlock felt a sudden, brief burning sensation in the area of his left arm where his crescent-shaped birthmark was located!
The sensation was so fleeting that he almost doubted whether it was just his imagination.
Sherlock frowned and looked down at the boy who had collided with him and fallen to the ground.
The boy had a round face, slightly chubby, with messy black hair and a pale complexion that seemed to be from fear.
Sherlock extended a hand to help him up, but the boy only glanced at him timidly before getting up on his own.
"Sorry, Professor Forrest. I, I was running too fast and didn't see you."
"It's fine", Sherlock said, then asked casually, "What's your name?"
The boy lowered his head, clearly not very brave.
"Neville Longbottom."
"Longbottom", Sherlock repeated the surname.
He was familiar with this name. In the first plot he knew best, this boy had appeared and seemed to play a significant role in the later story.
But why did the birthmark on his left arm suddenly feel hot when he was hit?
The last time the birthmark reacted was when he encountered the Malfoys at Flourish and Blotts, and the burning sensation was intense. Now, with Neville, the sensation was just a brief flash.
So, what was the connection?
With the lack of clues, Sherlock couldn't figure out what Neville Longbottom and the Malfoys had in common.
While he was thinking, Neville asked in a small voice, "Can I go now, Professor?"
Sherlock snapped back to reality and patted Neville's shoulder.
"Go and rest."
With his permission, Neville turned and ran to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room, said the password, and climbed in.
Watching his back disappear, Sherlock looked thoughtfully at the hand he had just patted on Neville's shoulder.
After making contact with the boy again, the birthmark on his left arm no longer reacted, which made him wonder if the previous burning sensation was just his imagination.
"Gryffindor students are always so clumsy! They can't even watch where they're going. They really need to be taught a lesson to learn some manners!"
Filch, seeing Sherlock standing there in a daze, assumed he was still upset about Neville bumping into him and started lecturing on his own.
Sherlock shook his head and stopped dwelling on the burning sensation of the birthmark.
The crescent-shaped birthmark was most likely left by the original owner's wizard mother.
Professor Mcgonagall, the Weasleys, Hagrid, and Dumbledore were likely so attentive to the original owner because they were acquainted with his mother.
From the diary's description, the original owner seemed unaware of why his crazy mother had such a close relationship with these famous wizards in the wizarding world.
Sherlock felt that when the time was right, he could start from 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 he would get this way would be far more reliable than guessing on his own.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
