Just as the Weasley twins had predicted, when the fourth-year students arrived for Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid appeared carrying a large, precariously stacked pile of boxes.
Under the horrified gazes of the young lions and snakes, Hagrid explained to everyone that the Blast-Ended Skrewts were killing each other because they had excess energy with nowhere to release it.
To solve this problem, each student would need to tie a rope to a Blast-Ended Skrewt and take it for a walk.
The reason everyone felt horrified was that the Blast-Ended Skrewts had now grown to over three feet in length.
As everyone knows, any insect becomes terrifying once enlarged.
When the Blast-Ended Skrewts were small, they were already disgusting. Now that they'd grown larger, it went without saying.
"I have a question," Malfoy, who hadn't had much presence lately, raised his hand with a look of disgust on his face. "Where exactly are we supposed to tie the rope? On their stingers, their blast ends, or their suckers?"
Not only the young snakes but even the young lions nodded repeatedly. Clearly, they were less than enthusiastic about Hagrid's decision.
"Around the middle," Hagrid said while demonstrating for everyone. "Well, I'm afraid you'll need to put on your dragon-hide gloves as an extra precaution. Er, who can help me handle this big fellow? Ah, excellent! Worthy of being chosen by the Goblet of Fire as champions—Sherlock, Harry, come over here!"
Harry was extremely surprised. He hadn't said anything at all! But when he turned around, he saw that almost all the students had taken a step back at some point.
Because of their good relationship with Hagrid, the four of them had originally been positioned fairly close to the front. Ron had somehow retreated half a step as well, so Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione stood out prominently.
But clearly, either Hagrid only had eyes for Sherlock and Harry, or he felt this task wasn't suitable for a girl, so he directly called out Sherlock and Harry.
Sherlock was quite interested and stepped forward without a word to study it together with Hagrid.
Harry, still standing in place, felt everyone's eyes on him and quickly hurried forward in two or three steps.
With Sherlock and Harry's help, Hagrid quickly demonstrated for everyone.
Next, the young lions and snakes scattered rapidly and began walking the Blast-Ended Skrewts. However, they all found it quite difficult.
This was because the Skrewts had not only grown to over three feet long, but their appearance had also changed. They were no longer soft and fleshy without shells or color. They had developed a thick, shiny, gray-white armor-like covering.
In terms of appearance, they were somewhere between giant scorpions and elongated crabs. Even so, it was still impossible to tell where their heads and eyes were located.
They had now become enormously strong and very difficult to control.
In this situation, the young witches couldn't handle the Blast-Ended Skrewts alone and had to seek help from others.
As the saying goes, when men and women work together, the work becomes lighter.
In such circumstances, the girls would unconsciously turn to the boys they had the best relationships with.
Hermione sought out Sherlock.
Parvati sought out Harry.
Lavender sought out Ron.
Pansy sought out Malfoy.
Fortunately, both Gryffindor and Slytherin had more boys than girls, so there was no worry about lacking helpers.
"Haha, they look quite happy, don't they?" Hagrid said cheerfully, watching this scene.
"They might be happy, but we're not happy at all," Ron couldn't help complaining.
This was because from time to time, a terrifying cracking sound could be heard as a Skrewt's tail exploded.
Just imagine—when the Blast-Ended Skrewts were small, they could already burn people. Now that they'd grown so large, the effect was naturally even more explosive.
Each explosion would propel the Skrewt forward several meters. More than one student was dragged down by it, desperately struggling to stand up.
Seeing this, Hagrid couldn't help laughing heartily. "Come on, little ones, put some effort into standing up! Don't let it look down on you!"
"If this continues, Hagrid will never have the qualifications to compete with Professor Lupin for the title of most popular teacher," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"I don't think he would mind," Sherlock said, his eyes and hands quick to pull Hermione away just before she was nearly grabbed by a Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Hermione blushed and thanked him, suddenly feeling that walking the Blast-Ended Skrewt together with Sherlock like this wasn't so bad after all.
Hermione wasn't the only one with such thoughts. By the end of the lesson, Lavender, Parvati, Pansy, and others all felt this experience was quite nice.
The result was that Hagrid's support rating, which should have declined, actually rose instead.
In the following period, the enthusiasm for the Triwizard Tournament didn't decrease but actually increased.
At first, everyone just sought Viktor Krum's autograph after all, he was a world-class Quidditch star.
But later, people discovered that the quality of all the champions participating in the competition was quite high.
Besides Krum, one of the world's best Seekers, Fleur Delacour's extraordinary beauty had also attracted a large number of fans.
There was also the handsome Cedric—this had been unanimously acknowledged by Gryffindor's three female Chasers last year.
His tall stature, straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes made him remarkably handsome.
These days, it was hard to say whether Cedric or Viktor Krum received more praise.
Once during lunch, they saw the same sixth-year girls who had desperately wanted Krum's autograph now begging Cedric to sign their school bags.
"Shallow!" Hermione said disdainfully at this sight.
"I actually think it's a good thing," Harry couldn't help saying. "If they're going after Cedric, they won't come after us anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, Luna appeared leading several young wizards over.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked curiously.
"They're lower-year students from our house," Luna pointed to the somewhat timid-looking young wizards behind her. "They heard I know Sherlock and Harry, so they asked me to bring them over for autographs."
Harry thought to himself, "Did my mouth get blessed or something?"
Hermione couldn't help laughing. "What are you waiting for? Go sign for them!"
Soon, the young wizards left excitedly with Sherlock and Harry's autographs.
However, Luna didn't leave with them but stayed behind.
"Hermione, you were just calling those girls shallow!" Ron didn't forget to stir the pot at this moment.
"How is that the same?" Hermione said irritably. "They're just children!"
"Those girls seeking autographs from Krum and Cedric aren't adults either!" Ron said righteously.
"Please, there's a huge difference between sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls and eleven or twelve-year-old girls! Besides, it wasn't just girls who came to ask Sherlock and Harry for autographs just now."
Seeing the two arguing endlessly, Luna suddenly said, "Sherlock, give me an autograph too."
Hermione and Ron immediately stopped arguing and, together with Harry, looked at Luna in surprise.
"What's wrong? Can't I?" Luna asked, puzzled by their strange looks.
"It's not that you can't..." Ron's suspicious gaze swept back and forth between Sherlock and Luna. "But why do you want Sherlock's autograph?"
"Because I like Sherlock too!"
Harry and Ron's pupils dilated in shock, then they both looked at Hermione in unison.
Gemma had only just left recently, was Hermione about to have another rival?
Hermione's expression seemed to say, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Then they heard Luna continue speaking as if to herself: "Besides Ginny, I like Sherlock the most. Everyone else refuses to believe what I say. He's the same kind of person as me."
"Phew..." Harry and Ron exchanged glances and both breathed long sighs of relief.
Thank goodness it was that kind of liking, not romantic liking.
Hermione had almost gained another formidable rival.
Then they looked at Hermione again.
Hermione's expression now seemed to say, "Why are you looking at me again?"
Luna obtained Sherlock's autograph and skipped away happily. You could tell she was very pleased.
"You can learn from her," Sherlock suddenly said.
"What?" All three friends looked at Sherlock in confusion.
"Go your own way and let others talk," Sherlock said, looking at Hermione.
"Even in a house that produces and admires eccentrics, Luna Lovegood's behavior seems overly strange. That's why she's earned the nickname 'Loony' and doesn't have a single friend. Even her belongings have been hidden away in no small number. But she never troubles herself over her situation. At the end of every term, she posts notices listing her lost items and requesting that people return them."
The three listened in astonishment. Harry couldn't help asking, "And then what?"
"And then?" Sherlock chuckled lightly. "These things all get returned, and then they disappear again the following year, so she posts another notice."
Hermione nodded gently upon hearing this.
She had a good relationship with Ginny, but Ginny had never mentioned these things to her.
However, combining it with Sherlock's description, she realized her understanding of Luna had been somewhat superficial.
Looking at it now, Luna was indeed mentally stable, but she wasn't indifferent to everything.
In an environment like Ravenclaw, she also longed to make friends. It was just that, as Sherlock said, she wouldn't compromise herself or change for that purpose.
She believed that someone would eventually appreciate her uniqueness.
Sherlock was precisely that person who appreciated her.
That's why Luna valued Sherlock so highly.
In some ways, Sherlock and Luna did indeed share common ground.
They were accustomed to speaking the plain truth and wouldn't, like ordinary people, ignore embarrassing or tacitly understood topics. Instead, they would explicitly state things as they were.
This trait was crucial for a detective and could solve many problems at critical moments.
However, in daily interactions, especially when both parties weren't familiar enough, it would give people the feeling of bringing up precisely what shouldn't be mentioned.
Thinking of this, Hermione shook her head. "I'm afraid... I can't learn that..."
A fun fact: Luna had even fewer friends than Sherlock.
"Of course not. If you could learn it, you'd become Loony Granger."
"Don't talk about her like that, Ron."
Harry had been bullied by Dudley's gang when he attended Muggle school, so he sympathized with Luna's situation.
"Alright, alright, but judging from her words and behavior, isn't that nickname accurate?" Ron said.
Harry didn't respond.
In fact, he also thought Ron had a point. However, now that Luna had become their friend, he naturally couldn't continue evaluating her that way.
After Luna brought a group of people over, others also came running to ask Sherlock and Harry for autographs. However, none of them were from Slytherin House.
This was normal. Lion House and Snake House had never gotten along.
This was confirmed in Potions class.
Because Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students had come over last time, Potions class had ended early, preventing Snape from testing his potion on anyone.
But this time was different. His cold black eyes gleamed with an unpleasant light as he surveyed the entire class and said, "You should have your formulas ready by now. I want you to brew carefully, and then we'll select someone to test it on..."
Snape seemed somewhat displeased that Gryffindor had produced two champions consecutively. In the following process, he found fault and deducted a full fifty points from Gryffindor.
Twenty points came from Sherlock, twenty from Harry, and ten from Neville.
However, judging by his expression, this still didn't satisfy him.
Today, if he didn't reduce Gryffindor to "Gryffindon't," his surname wouldn't be Snape.
This made the young lions feel extremely unfair.
Usually, they could tolerate him doing this, but now their House had two Triwizard Tournament champions, and he still acted this way?
Little did they know it was precisely because Gryffindor had two champions, both underage wizards under seventeen—that Snape was so angry.
Because the current Sherlock and Harry reminded him of James and Sirius from back then.
If you added Ron, that would be Lupin.
Add Neville... Perfect. The Marauders team was complete.
It was just that Snape's plan to deduct points ultimately didn't succeed.
The dungeon classroom door was knocked on. It was Colin Creevey.
He slipped sideways into the classroom, beamed at Harry, then walked toward Snape's desk at the front of the room.
"What is it?" Snape asked impatiently.
"Sorry, sir, I need to take Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter upstairs."
Snape's gaze dropped from his hooked nose to look at Colin. The smile disappeared from Colin's eager face.
"Holmes and Potter still have an hour of Potions to attend," Snape said coldly. "They can go upstairs after class."
Colin's face reddened.
"But, sir—Mr. Bagman wants them," he said awkwardly. "I think they're going to take photographs..."
Harry couldn't help feeling speechless.
You could have just said you were calling for them—did you really need to mention that last part?
He couldn't help glancing at Sherlock, only to see a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Very well, very well—Holmes, Potter, leave your things here," Snape said in a sinister voice. "You'll come back later, and I want to test your antidotes."
However, this time, for the sake of his idol, Colin truly threw caution to the wind.
He gathered his courage and said nervously in a high-pitched voice, "Sorry, sir—they need to bring their things, because all the champions—"
"Very well!"
Seeing Colin contradict him again and again, Snape became furious.
He directly interrupted Colin and said sternly, "Holmes! Potter! Take your bags and get out of my sight! And Gryffindor loses fifty points because my class order has been disrupted due to you!"
You can read more than 40 chapters on:
patreon.com/MikeyMuse