Chapter 354: An Unexpected Turn
Chapter 354: An Unexpected Turn
Chapter 354: An Unexpected Turn
At the Sherlock household.
Tonight's dinner was a delicious steak, personally cooked by the all-around talented girl, Vera Silke, without any help from Sherlock.
And the praise wasn't just flattery; Vera's culinary skills had indeed improved significantly.
After all, she hadn't reached the pinnacle of incompetence in cooking. She had spent some time learning seriously from the house-elves at Hogwarts, and now, while her dishes weren't top-notch, they were certainly enjoyable.
"So, you hugged her?"
This was the fifth time Silke had calmly asked the same question.
Sherlock's hand, which was cutting the steak, froze, and he covered his forehead.
"Of course I agreed to her request. It was just a hug, a friendly hug, nothing more."
"I know it was nothing more."
"Then why do you keep asking?" Sherlock said with a hint of resentment.
Silke casually cut the steak on her plate into small pieces.
"Just curious."
"Really just curious?"
"Really."
Sherlock let out a slight sigh and put the already cut steak into his mouth.
"Besides the harmless hug, did you do anything else to her?"
Sherlock nearly spat out the food in his mouth.
"What else could I have done? Didn't other students come in and see us?"
On the day Fleur expressed her feelings, she only asked for a hug from Sherlock before leaving, not expecting anything else.
Faced with such a small, almost humble request, he naturally didn't refuse.
However, while they were hugging, other students at Hogwarts, who had learned that Sherlock had been discharged from the hospital, came to visit him and saw the scene.
Fortunately, Sherlock's reputation had always been good, and he had previously declined Fleur's invitation to be his dance partner, so the students didn't see anything special in the hug.
But when the news reached Silke's ears, it was a different story.
She naturally trusted Sherlock's integrity.
But women, as they are, tend to be a bit more nitpicky about certain things.
Since leaving Hogwarts for the holidays, she had already asked Sherlock about this incident at least five times!
Sherlock, who always walked the straight and narrow, couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. After all, Silke had done so much to save him, and he had hugged another girl right after being discharged from the hospital.
Silke nodded lightly.
"I believe you. I trust you."
Sherlock was on edge, and even her words of trust didn't ease his tension.
Just as they were engaging in what seemed like playful banter, Sherlock's expression suddenly turned serious.
He put down his knife and fork, put on his coat, and headed for the door.
"I have to take care of something. You eat first."
Harry's cousin, Dudley, had finally discovered his own talent this year.
He participated in the southeast regional junior heavyweight inter-school boxing competition and won the championship, much to the delight of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.
This finally proved that their son wasn't just a good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink, and play; he had some redeeming qualities.
But only Harry knew that as Dudley grew older, he had turned into a delinquent.
He spent his days hanging out with his friends, smoking, fighting, and vandalizing public property in the park. He was far from the well-behaved child Aunt Petunia thought he was.
When Harry encountered Dudley halfway, he didn't show any good face to him.
"Since when did you become D-Bro (what Dudley's little brother calls him)? I still think Dudley Darling (what Aunt Petunia calls him) suits you better."
Harry said with a smirk.
He wasn't the same as when he was a kid, getting bullied and unable to fight back. Instead, there were many times when he was the one to take the initiative.
Dudley swung his fists angrily.
"Shut up!"
At the intersection of Privet Drive and Magnolia Crescent, only Dudley and Harry stood there.
It was already dark, the time when most people were having dinner, and there was no one else on the road.
Harry didn't have the mood to argue with Dudley. He waved his hand and said,
"Tell Aunt Petunia I'm having dinner at Professor Forrest's place. I'll come back after dinner."
"Hmph."
Dudley sneered.
"We'd rather you didn't come back at all."
Harry didn't pay much attention to Dudley's words. He had heard worse.
"Maybe."
He took a step forward, planning to part ways with Dudley.
Suddenly, an extremely cold yet familiar sensation swept over Harry's entire body!
Dudley, who had just passed Harry, also froze, his face turning deathly pale. Fear was written all over his chubby face as he turned to look at Harry.
"Did you do something to me?!"
"It wasn't me! Shut up! I'm listening!"
The night sky was shrouded in darkness, and Harry couldn't see anything. The distant car horns that had been faintly audible earlier were now gone, replaced by a series of hoarse breaths.
These breaths weren't just coming from Dudley in front of him but from something else!
This wasn't the first time Harry had experienced this feeling. Although it was still icy and despairing, it helped him understand that something was approaching them.
He decisively drew his wand.
However, this action made Dudley react violently.
The chubby boy shouted,
"Don't point that little stick at me! I'll tell Dad when we get back! You used that stuff on me!"
As a pure Muggle, Dudley could only feel the cold but couldn't see what Harry could see.
Driven by fear of the unknown, he instinctively blamed everything on Harry.
Dudley turned and ran towards his house.
Harry was now extremely frustrated. He yelled,
"You idiot! Dudley! It's right in front of you! Dementor! There's a Dementor in front of you!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a bone-chilling cold behind him.
There was more than one Dementor!
Just as Harry raised his wand to cast the Patronus Charm, a silver raven tore a huge gash in the darkness of the night sky!
It glided around Harry and Dudley in a circle, and in the silver light, Harry clearly saw two Dementors in their robes fleeing in a disheveled manner!
(End of Chapter)
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