Chapter 73: Owl Post Office and Floo Powder
Chapter 73: Owl Post Office and Floo Powder
As Sherlock had said, the students at Hogwarts, under the prolonged tension and pressure, had turned Harry being a Parselmouth into an outlet for their frustrations.
In just one morning, the incident from the Dark Magic Defense class had spread throughout the castle, and everyone looked at Harry with strange expressions.
Even the Gryffindor students, who had once trusted him, now believed the rumors and treated him differently.
During lunch, Harry's roommate Dean approached him, trembling.
"Sorry, Harry! It was me who accidentally dropped the bread on your bed the other day. I hope you don't hold it against me; I didn't mean to!"
Harry scowled, refusing to even look at him.
This kind of treatment had been happening to him ever since he entered the Great Hall.
Many people who felt they had wronged him came to apologize, hoping he would forgive them and not become the next target.
"Why can't they just use their brains! Do I look like that kind of person?"
After Dean left, Harry finally couldn't hold back and turned to Ron and Hermione.
"Can't you see who your true friends are now?"
Ron drained his pumpkin juice and shrugged.
Hermione tried to comfort him.
"Like Professor Forrest said, they're just using you as an outlet. Once all the attacked students in the hospital wing wake up, they'll know the truth."
But Hermione's words did little to improve Harry's mood. He irritably jabbed at the sausages on his plate with his fork.
At some point, Neville approached him, looking nervous and hesitant.
"Harry, I, I have something I want to tell you."
Harry, impatient, responded.
"Don't apologize to me, Neville! You haven't wronged me! I'm not the Heir of Slytherin, and I didn't open the Chamber of Secrets to release a monster!"
"No, I wasn't—"
At that moment, George and Fred sat down next to Harry, their faces alight with excitement, pushing Neville away.
"Word is you're the Heir of Slytherin, Harry!" George said, treating it like some fun news.
Hermione, watching Neville's panicked retreat, remarked disapprovingly.
"You scared Neville away. He was trying to talk to Harry."
Fred waved it off.
"He was coming to apologize, hoping Harry would spare him. We heard Harry was a Parselmouth, and he was there. You should have seen his face when he heard Harry was the Heir of Slytherin. It went as white as a sheet. I'm sure he was terrified and wanted to beg for mercy."
The twins exchanged a glance.
"Such a noble identity deserves a grand entrance!"
"We're here to be your attendants, great Heir of Slytherin!"
Seeing George and Fred ready to make a spectacle of Harry's troubles, Ron frowned.
"This isn't funny!"
But George and Fred were already leaving, excited to prepare the props and ceremony.
Harry didn't mind George and Fred's prank.
"At least they aren't afraid of me, right? They probably just want to let everyone in the castle know that the identity of the Heir of Slytherin is as ridiculous as this prank."
After the Weasley twins' antics, Harry's mood lightened up.
As long as the professors didn't think he was a murderer, what others thought didn't matter as much.
Days passed one by one.
Since Harry was identified as the Heir of Slytherin, there had been no more attacks at Hogwarts.
The person who had truly opened the Chamber of Secrets seemed to have vanished from the castle, never to be seen again.
Harry gradually got used to the cautious way others treated him. He and Ron had more than once fantasized about how he would graciously accept their apologies when the truth came to light.
Neville hadn't approached Harry since the incident in the Great Hall.
It wasn't until a Saturday in February, a day off for both students and professors.
Sherlock wasn't in his office grading assignments or at the library studying advanced magic; instead, he was dressed neatly and walking out of Hogwarts castle.
Even though the coldest part of January had passed, February in Britain was still bitterly cold.
Wearing the knitted hat Professor Mcgonagall had given him for Christmas and a thick robe over a sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him, Sherlock still felt a chill as he made his way to Hogsmeade.
The streets of Hogsmeade were nearly deserted, with most people hiding in the Three Broomsticks or the Hog's Head, enjoying warm butterbeer and the cozy fireplace.
But Sherlock's destination was not a pub.
He walked all the way to the other end of Hogsmeade, where the only official Ministry of Magic office in the wizarding village, the Owl Post Office, stood.
A listless clerk greeted him and asked where he wanted to send a letter.
However, Sherlock pulled out two Sickles from his pocket.
"I need to use the fireplace."
The young wizard behind the counter didn't even bother to stand up.
He glanced at the money, confirmed it was enough, and pointed to a room inside.
"The fireplace is in there. When you use Floo Powder, remember to use just a small pinch. Some people think they can use half the powder with that amount of money, and I'm the one who gets penalized for it."
He grumbled but made no move to follow Sherlock and supervise his use of the Floo Powder.
Sherlock walked into the room with the fireplace.
The fire was burning brightly, making the small space warm and cozy, completely insulated from the cold outside.
He pinched a small amount of green powder from a box above the fireplace, sprinkled it into the flames, and clearly spoke a location.
"Andrew Caville's Cottage."
The orange flames quickly turned dark green. Sherlock used his wand to make a few simple changes to his eyebrows and hairstyle, then put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket.
His entire demeanor changed, transforming him from a cold, handsome man to a sharp, efficient Ministry of Magic secretary.
After completing his preparations, Sherlock stepped into the fireplace and disappeared in the next moment.
(End of Chapter)
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