Under the threat of using Sherlock as leverage, Ron ultimately gave up his plan to publicize the relationship between the two prefects, Percy and Penelope.
Although Sherlock didn't care about this, Ron couldn't ignore it. He didn't want Sherlock to be targeted by two prefects because of his actions.
Fortunately, the pile of snacks Harry had bought from the trolley quickly diverted his attention.
Especially since Harry had consciously increased the proportion of Chocolate Frogs.
The four young wizards ate and opened cards, having quite a spree.
Through this wave of spending, Harry's card collection as a newcomer was further strengthened.
But for Ron, an old player, it didn't mean much.
Even after opening all the Chocolate Frogs, he was still missing Agrippa and Ptolemy.
This showed that as the most difficult and rare cards to obtain, their rarity was well-deserved.
Sherlock didn't need wizard cards.
After browsing through them once, he put all the information he might need into his memory palace.
He could retrieve it whenever he needed to look something up.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
Having learned from last year's lesson, Malfoy naturally didn't come looking for trouble.
Neville, Seamus, and other classmates they were usually on good terms with all came to greet them.
Even students from other houses came over—mainly to thank Hermione for her summer homework help, which made Hermione feel somewhat better.
Compared to last year, Cho Chang, whom they hadn't seen for a whole summer, seemed even more beautiful.
This kept Harry in an excellent mood throughout the long journey.
Until the train reached its destination.
"Sherlock, I increasingly think you're right—this broken train's speed has absolutely nothing to do with being an 'Express.'"
When the train, just like last year, didn't arrive until evening, Ron couldn't help but complain.
"But even if we call it a Through Train as you suggested, it seems meaningless too... wait, what's that?"
Not just Ron—all the young wizards hadn't even gotten off the train yet when they felt something was wrong.
Because this time, those who came to the station to meet them included not only the tall, lantern-carrying Keeper of Keys, Hagrid.
But also a group of Hogwarts professors.
Looking closely, the four heads of houses—McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout—were all present.
Seeing this formation, all the young wizards on the train began whispering among themselves.
Ron gasped.
"What's the situation? Although we don't have to row boats across the Black Lake to Hogwarts today, this is still too..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by even louder exclamations.
"Look quickly, that person in the purple robes is Gilderoy Lockhart! I heard he's going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor today!"
"My God, it really is him, so handsome! My mum said if I don't get his autograph, I shouldn't bother coming home for Christmas!"
"Wait, who's that? No way? Even Headmaster Dumbledore is here!"
"What?!"
Everyone hurriedly looked and indeed saw Dumbledore's characteristic half-moon spectacles and silver-white beard.
"What on earth is..."
Seeing Ron still looking completely bewildered, Hermione sighed and couldn't help but remind him.
"Ron, have you forgotten why Harry hadn't contacted us before?"
With Hermione's reminder, Ron suddenly understood.
He lowered his voice and asked Sherlock beside him.
"But... making such a big fuss just for an inspection seems a bit too exaggerated, doesn't it?"
Sherlock shook his head. "This is the stupidest method, but also the most direct and effective one."
Logically speaking, when Lucius Malfoy discovered his house-elf was missing, he should have realized his plan had been exposed.
In that situation, his best choice would be to abandon the original plan.
This also corresponded with Harry encountering old Malfoy at Knockturn Alley, going to Borgin and Burkes to deal with dark magical objects.
As for whether to continue lying low, that would depend on whether he was truly a devout follower.
But then again, that was a dark magical object left by Voldemort—Lucius might not dare to handle it through Borgin and Burkes.
If he was bold enough to try to muddle through, he might really take the risk and pull something like this.
After all, in the wizarding world, once anything was connected to Voldemort, it should be taken seriously.
Although when Sherlock faced Voldemort directly last year, he felt the guy seemed rather dim-witted.
But since he had been able to rule the wizarding world for over a decade, there must be reasons for that.
Though he had become this brain-dead now, it was likely because he had fallen into a weakened state after being seriously injured.
Better safe than sorry.
So, Dumbledore arranging such an inspection was still necessary.
As the Hogwarts Express slowly came to a stop, the car doors opened with a "clang," and groups of young wizards filed out.
Hundreds of boots stepped onto the platform, making "thump-thump" sounds in the quiet night.
The cold autumn wind, carrying the platform's mist, blew their robes, making them flutter.
The young wizards quickly lined up according to the professors' instructions.
Their faces showed various degrees of tension and curiosity, their eyes occasionally glancing toward the nearby inspection point.
"Honestly, I don't think Professor Dumbledore needed to come, or even the other professors."
Ron leaned close to Harry's ear, whispering.
"Look at this formation—with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape here, who would dare cause trouble?"
Harry followed Ron's gaze.
Professor McGonagall wasn't tall, but she stood straight as a pine tree beside the inspection point, her eyes sharp enough to pierce through one's heart.
Professor Snape was even more intimidating—dressed in black robes, he was like a shadow, silently moving among the student queues, seemingly carrying a chill with him.
Even the usually mischievous Weasley twins had put away their playful expressions and were standing obediently in line.
This showed the deterrent power of Professors McGonagall and Snape working together.
"I think this is more about expressing an attitude."
Hermione hesitated, then said thoughtfully.
"This kind of formation will definitely reach the ears of whoever tried to bring dark magical objects into the school.
That way, even if they originally had such plans, seeing this situation, they'd probably give up, right?
Sherlock, what do you think..."
Hermione was halfway through her sentence when she realized Sherlock had disappeared!
She widened her eyes and quickly searched through the crowd.
Soon, she found her target.
Because Sherlock was simply too conspicuous.
Somehow, he had already made his way to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape's side, tilting his head curiously as he examined the inspection tools in their hands.
Hermione could even see the excited gleam in Sherlock's eyes, as if he were exploring a fascinating treasure world.
"When did he get over there?!"
Hermione muttered in disbelief, her voice carrying a hint of confusion and anxiety.
When they had just gotten off the train, Sherlock had clearly been right beside her—how had he appeared on the other side like a ghost in the blink of an eye?
What amazed her even more was that she hadn't noticed his departure at all. It was too ridiculous!
"Did you notice?"
Hermione quickly turned to Harry and Ron, her face full of confusion.
"No." Harry answered honestly, his eyes also showing bewilderment.
Ron shrugged helplessly and smiled. "Come on, last Halloween he also disappeared from beside me and Harry like that, as if he could teleport."
While the three young ones hadn't noticed Sherlock's movements, Professor McGonagall spotted this uninvited guest immediately.
She raised her eyebrows slightly, shifting her gaze from the inspection tools in her hands to look at Sherlock.
However, having already learned the full story from Dumbledore and Snape, she simply shook her head lightly, tacitly allowing Sherlock's behavior, and continued with her inspection work.
Snape opened his mouth, originally intending to say something, but after thinking about it, he ultimately said nothing.
Sherlock watched Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape with great interest.
Professor McGonagall held a slender detection wand that looked like a golden car antenna, skillfully moving it back and forth around the students.
She was completely focused, her eyes fixed on the detection wand, not missing any anomaly.
Whenever the wand trembled slightly, she would immediately stop and look sharply at the corresponding student, as if she could see through their innermost secrets.
Students who were stared at by her immediately handed over their equipment without a word.
Professor Snape held what looked like a cracked glass gyroscope-shaped Sneakoscope, moving among the students.
His steps were light, his black robes dragging on the ground, making almost no sound, appearing particularly sinister in the quiet night.
Compared to Professor McGonagall, his eyes were like cold stars in the night sky—stern and sharp.
Each time he swept past a student, it was like conducting a silent judgment.
Many students he targeted trembled, and some even voluntarily handed over their equipment before he even raised the Sneakoscope.
Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout didn't use tools.
Both held their wands, assisting Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape respectively with the inspections.
With all four heads of houses working together, they naturally had a rich harvest.
The young wizards yielded a large amount of equipment.
By grade, older students had a significantly higher yield rate.
By house, Slytherin was the disaster area.
Strange and peculiar items would emerge from them from time to time, causing gasps of amazement from the surrounding young wizards.
This result made Professor Snape's expression very unpleasant.
He looked toward Gryffindor with obvious displeasure.
In fact, not only him, but everyone present actually had the same confusion.
Logically, those reckless Gryffindor lions should be the main violators—how had Slytherin become the target now?
Weren't those little snakes always the most concerned about house honor?
Actually, Gryffindor's yield rate wasn't low either.
However, most of what they had were harmless joke items.
Like the Filibuster Fireworks the Weasley twins had bought from Diagon Alley.
These fireworks could self-ignite, bloom when wet, and their colorful lights would burst in the air, immediately attracting everyone's attention and causing waves of exclamations when test-fired.
When caught, George stuck out his tongue while Fred secretly made faces at the professors.
But compared to such Gryffindors, what was found on Slytherins were genuine dark magical objects.
Although their harmfulness was limited and the students carrying them weren't acting out of malice, this still made Professor Snape extremely displeased.
He was secretly contemplating whether to conduct a rectification movement within the house after school started.
In any case, following the principle of collecting everything possible, all dark magical objects were confiscated.
Although their owners felt sorry, they could only swallow their frustration at this point.
Items like the Filibuster Fireworks, after being proven harmless, were returned to their owners.
This excited the Weasley twins greatly.
See that? We're the ones who can get confiscated equipment back from Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape!
While everyone was busy, one person stood out as particularly different.
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