Just as Sherlock had predicted before school began, the name Harry Potter meant he would always find himself at the center of events.
Even if he did nothing, trouble would come looking for him.
In nearly two months since school began, he had already encountered numerous incidents:
Including but not limited to being enthusiastically surrounded by students whose excitement hadn't yet faded; Peeves actively appearing to harass him; getting lost and wandering into the room Dumbledore had expressly forbidden, only to be caught by Filch; moving staircases inexplicably shifting position... and Malfoy actively coming to provoke him, among other behaviors.
The previous situations were manageable—as long as Sherlock was there, they could all be resolved smoothly.
But Sherlock couldn't be with Harry every moment.
The result was that whenever he wasn't around, Harry had to face these problems alone. As for Ron... whether he was there or not made no difference.
The last item was pure trouble that came looking for them.
After being taught a lesson by Sherlock on the train, Malfoy had indeed been quiet for a while.
But living collectively in Slytherin had obviously given him confidence.
A month after school began, he started provoking Harry again.
However, out of wariness toward Sherlock—knowing that Crabbe and Goyle together were no match for Sherlock—Malfoy naturally didn't want to, nor dare to, directly confront Harry.
So, he cleverly chose to change tactics and fight a flanking battle.
One morning, Malfoy approached Harry and challenged him to a duel.
If it were merely an invitation to battle, there would be no need to fear Sherlock's intervention.
Indeed, Sherlock didn't take action.
Not only did he not act, but he actually became quite interested in the so-called duel.
Because this touched upon his knowledge blind spot.
'A wizard's duel?
It sounded quite interesting.'
At this crucial moment, Ron jumped forward.
He said that he would serve as the second for this duel.
Not only that, but in front of a completely bewildered Harry, he arranged with Malfoy to meet at midnight in the trophy room.
After Malfoy left, Harry still hadn't recovered.
Then, through Ron's long-winded description, Sherlock learned the rules of wizard dueling.
He quickly reached a conclusion.
"So-called wizard dueling is a formal competition with ritual significance that has formed in wizard culture over a long period."
Ron thought for a moment and said with some surprise: "That seems to be exactly right... you summarized it so quickly!"
"Just tradition, copying the medieval knight duel system, except limiting both parties to using only magic."
Sherlock waved his hand dismissively. "Unfortunately, true knightly spirit barely exists in contemporary times—but never mind that. Are you serious about being Harry's second?
After all, according to dueling rules, if one of the duelists dies, the second must take their place."
"Ron..."
Harry was startled and was about to speak when Ron, noticing his pale face, quickly added:
"That's the idea, yes... but you and Malfoy know too little magic to really hurt each other. At most, you could shoot sparks at each other."
Only then did Harry breathe a sigh of relief, though he looked at Sherlock with some distress: "But what if I wave my wand and nothing happens at all?"
"Then throw away the wand and punch him in the nose."
Before Sherlock could respond, Ron had already answered.
"..."
Harry was stunned, then looked at Sherlock with pleading eyes.
"Not a bad suggestion."
Sherlock said seriously, "To achieve one's goal, sometimes one indeed shouldn't be constrained by mundane limitations."
Receiving Sherlock's support for the first time, Ron suddenly gained confidence and became righteous.
"However, if it were me, I wouldn't go today."
"Why?"
Ron, who had just toughened up, asked in surprise, "Refusing a duel is cowardly behavior!"
'This was so un-Gryffindor!'
"Bravery is stupidity's best substitute."
Sherlock said flatly, "Because Malfoy has no intention of going there at all. Dear Harry, I'll bet you a Galleon that if you go there, what's most likely waiting for you is Filch."
With this statement, Harry's face, which had just returned to normal, turned pale again.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Ron immediately protested, "Although Malfoy is indeed a bastard, he is after all from the Sacred Twenty-Eight..."
"Shut up, Ron. You're dragging down the entire house's IQ."
Ron: (°ー°〃)
"Just when you mentioned the second, Malfoy chose one from Crabbe and Goyle.
If he were really preparing to duel, it couldn't be so hasty—making the decision only when you brought it up.
This was obviously just perfunctory stalling, meant to trick you into going to a location he had already determined.
Although he tried hard to hide it, if you were observant enough, you could still notice his right leg had a slight limp—he should have been injured during flying practice.
I guess you didn't notice that he didn't stay on his broomstick for as long as usual during yesterday's flying lesson."
Harry and Ron looked at each other blankly. They indeed hadn't noticed.
Damn, was this the difference between seeing and observing again?
"Also, his reaction to Harry choosing Ron as his second was too calm.
If I were Malfoy, seeing Harry choose Ron instead of Sherlock as his second, even if not overjoyed, I would certainly feel relieved."
Ron: _〆(´Д｀)
"But he didn't."
Once again ignoring Ron's face full of resentment, Sherlock directly gave his conclusion: "He doesn't care who goes with Harry because he never intended to duel at all.
As for the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families... that's just a self-entertaining joke."
Sherlock looked disdainful.
'What era was this? Still playing the bloodline superiority game?'
It had to be said that in some aspects, the wizarding world was truly backward.
Sherlock's influence on Harry was still considerable.
He was ultimately persuaded and didn't go to the duel.
Events later proved Sherlock was right.
Because the next day, Malfoy didn't mention the duel at all.
On the contrary, when he saw Harry and Ron safe and sound, he looked extremely surprised.
Seeing this, Ron couldn't help but feel grateful that Harry had listened to Sherlock—he had still been urging Harry to act the night before, but was refused.
Naturally, he wouldn't mention this.
He seized the opportunity to mock Malfoy mercilessly.
With the help of the Weasley twins' publicity, the news that Malfoy had actively invited Harry to a duel but failed to show up quickly spread throughout the school.
This left Malfoy unable to hold his head up for a long time.
It also deepened the little lions' understanding of Sherlock.
Gradually, people began consulting him about difficulties they encountered in daily life.
Sherlock basically welcomed all comers—through these matters, he could further understand the wizarding world.
The most frequent visitor was Neville, who shared a dormitory with him.
His pet toad named Trevor would go missing constantly.
Naturally, Malfoy wouldn't accept such humiliation.
As they say, when one plan fails, devise another.
He constantly watched Harry, hoping to find a chance to regain face.
The opportunity soon came.
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