Due to the organizers' irresponsible behavior, after the second task ended, everyone was eager to know what had actually happened at the bottom of the lake.
Sherlock's habit was to explain things only once.
So naturally, Harry and Cedric became the center of everyone's attention.
As Sherlock often said, Harry had a gift for summarizing and recounting events.
So he had to tell everyone over and over again about how the scuba gear worked, their battle with the Grindylows at the lake bottom, and the final confrontation with the merpeople that resulted in rescuing Cedric.
Cedric's story provided another perspective—he had encountered Dumbledore in Professor Sprout's office.
Dumbledore had assured them there was absolutely no danger and that they would wake up the moment they surfaced, then used magic to hypnotize the hostages.
In any case, after this incident, Hogwarts' three champions became increasingly popular.
Whether at classroom doors or on the castle grounds, young wizards could constantly be seen crowding around to ask for autographs.
The numbers even exceeded those seeking out Krum and Fleur at times.
When Krum passed by and saw this lively scene, he merely shook his head helplessly, while Fleur gave them a friendly smile.
Time quietly entered March, and the weather finally shed winter's severe cold, becoming somewhat clearer.
But whenever people came outside, the bitter wind still howled past, making hands and faces ache as if the skin might crack open.
Even the usually punctual mail-delivering owls often veered off course due to wind interference, unable to deliver letters to their recipients in a timely manner.
One weekend afternoon, the sunlight was unusually warm.
The group gathered once more at the Three Broomsticks.
Gemma looked at Sherlock and Harry with a teasing smile in her eyes. "You know, your reputations have already crossed the seas. My colleague in Romania wrote asking if I could get your autographs."
Hearing Gemma's teasing, Harry felt rather embarrassed.
Sherlock remained perfectly calm, his fingers lightly stroking his chin. "If you can sell them for a high price, I don't mind signing several more."
Both Gemma and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at this.
Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly, her eyes full of mirth. "Sherlock, you really are..."
After the laughter subsided, Gemma put away her smile and asked curiously, "There's still a long time until the final task. What are your plans going forward?"
"We'll decide once we know what the task involves," Sherlock said calmly. "Hopefully this time we can keep our feet on solid ground."
The group all nodded at this.
The first task had been in the air, the second underwater—the third task should indeed be on land.
"Speaking of which, the third task won't be like the second one, will it?" Ron suddenly frowned, his tone carrying some displeasure. "We couldn't see anything at all, could only worry anxiously up there. It was so boring!"
"That's entirely possible."
Hermione sighed softly and analyzed slowly, "From what we've seen, the organizers don't seem to care about the audience's experience at all. They only care whether the competition can proceed..."
"That would be rather dull." Ron muttered, his face full of disappointment.
"As long as everyone stays safe, that's what matters." Cho Chang's gaze toward Harry carried a trace of concern.
"It's fine."
Harry smiled at Cho, his eyes full of confidence.
Successfully taking the lead in both tasks had made him increasingly confident.
It really did prove that saying—as long as I follow Sherlock, I have nothing to fear!
The group chatted for a while longer, and the topic gradually turned to Rita Skeeter.
Hermione suddenly tilted her head and said with some curiosity, "Speaking of which, why hasn't Rita Skeeter written another article this time? Before the Triwizard Tournament began, she wrote quite a few reports. After the first task ended, she also wrote an article with sensational exaggerations. Given her personality, she surely wouldn't pass up the second task..."
Hearing Hermione's words, everyone nodded in agreement.
Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "What, do you actually want her to write another attention-grabbing article? Just the fact that you kissed Sherlock several times by the Black Lake—who knows what that would become under her pen!"
Hearing Ginny suddenly bring this up, Hermione's cheeks instantly turned bright red.
She had been so excited to see Sherlock return safely that she couldn't help but act that way.
Thinking about it now, it had been far too bold, too embarrassing.
"That's not what I meant..." Hermione hurried to explain, her voice somewhat weak. "I just find it strange. Given her usual style, she shouldn't miss such a hot topic..."
Hearing Hermione's explanation, everyone stopped teasing her and fell into thought instead.
Gemma looked at Sherlock and asked tentatively, "Sherlock, you must know why, don't you?"
"Yes, I know." Sherlock said casually.
Gemma blinked at him. "You really know?"
"I really know."
Sherlock picked up his butterbeer, took a light sip, then said leisurely, "After the second task, Miss Skeeter stopped writing anything at all. To be precise, from now until far into the future, she won't be writing anything..."
With a loud clatter, Harry knocked over his cup in shock.
Butterbeer spilled all over the floor, but he paid no attention.
He simply stared at Sherlock with an incredulous look, his voice trembling faintly. "Sherlock, what... what did you do to her? You didn't..."
He didn't dare think further, terrible images flooding his mind.
Cho Chang, seeing this, quickly drew her wand and said "Scourgify." The tabletop instantly became clean again.
"My dear Harry, you needn't be so nervous."
Seeing Harry's state, Sherlock naturally understood immediately what he was thinking.
He smiled slightly, then spoke words that shocked everyone. "Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus."
"What?"
Everyone had been listening intently to Sherlock's words, so hearing this, they all showed expressions of shock.
Several seconds passed before everyone reacted.
"An unregistered Animagus?"
Harry couldn't help but ask, "Like Sirius and that bastard?"
"Exactly," Sherlock said with a light laugh, looking at Gemma and Cho Chang. "Actually, you two gave me the inspiration at first."
"Me?"
"Me?"
This time both Gemma and Cho froze, even making the same gesture, pointing at themselves.
"That's right, both of you."
Sherlock's fingertip tapped lightly on the table. "Remember what happened the night of the Yule Ball?"
Hearing Sherlock suddenly bring this up, Gemma couldn't help but recall the joyful time she had spent dancing with him.
Could it be that he got his inspiration while dancing with me?
The thought flashed through the girl's mind in an instant.
However, Sherlock's next words shattered this rather romantic fantasy. "I imagine you both remember that evening when you overheard Hagrid talking to Madame Maxime about his mother."
Gemma and Cho exchanged glances, the confusion in their eyes gradually fading.
Both girls were extremely clever, and combining this topic with "Rita Skeeter is an Animagus," they almost immediately understood.
"Could it be..."
"That beetle!"
"Precisely correct, my friends!"
As Sherlock spoke, he pulled out a transparent glass jar from his bag.
The jar was lined with a few dry twigs and yellowed leaves, and in the middle, a plump beetle crawled slowly, looking rather listless.
"Oh my goodness—!"
The young wizards all crowded forward.
In less than a second, Hermione suddenly looked up and said in surprise, "Sherlock, isn't this the glass jar you had when the second task ended?"
"Of course. Not only is it the same jar—this beetle is also the one I caught from your hair."
Sherlock chuckled softly, reaching out to tap the glass jar lightly with his finger, producing a clear tapping sound.
Next, his eyes shone brightly, his gaze sharp as he looked at the beetle in the bottle. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the special correspondent for the Daily Prophet—Rita Skeeter. She is this beetle in this glass jar."
Everyone was stunned by Sherlock's words.
They stared blankly at the glass jar, unable to speak for quite some time.
After an even longer silence than before, everyone finally reacted.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Ron was the first to speak.
Harry brought the glass jar close to his eyes, examining it carefully alongside Cho.
Ginny also leaned in. "Sherlock, you must be joking, right?"
The three girls—Gemma, Hermione, and Luna—didn't raise objections, but simply gazed quietly at the jar.
Gemma and Hermione's expressions were complex, while Luna's was full of curiosity.
Sherlock smiled slightly. "My dear friends, you might want to look carefully. The markings around this beetle's antennae are identical to the glasses she usually wears."
"It really is!"
Harry, who was carefully observing the beetle, couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
This also reminded him of something.
The tabby cat that Professor McGonagall transformed into had markings around its eyes that were identical to the glasses Professor McGonagall usually wore.
"Precisely because she can turn into a beetle, she can fly around all year long looking for material to sensationalize."
Cho Chang said with sudden understanding, "After all, very few people would suspect a beetle. This way she could quietly eavesdrop on others' conversations and gather all kinds of information."
"Indeed, it's a rather decent disguise—if this were the Muggle world, it would be virtually flawless."
Sherlock took the glass jar back from Harry, his gray eyes fixed intently on the beetle inside, his tone carrying a trace of mockery. "I warned you already, didn't I? Don't provoke my friends—but clearly you treated my words as nothing more than wind in your ears."
Hearing Sherlock's words, the beetle in the jar seemed enraged.
It buzzed angrily against the glass, its body constantly colliding with the walls, trying to break free.
However, this was utterly useless.
The glass jar was solid and unbreakable; its collisions were in vain.
"I placed a simple spell on the jar so that she can no longer transform."
Sherlock shook the glass jar in his hand, his tone flat as he said, "Come to think of it, if she hadn't voluntarily transformed into a beetle, trapping her as she is now would have been considerably more troublesome."
"Sherlock, you really are... absolutely brilliant!"
Harry stared directly at his mentor, his eyes brimming with admiration.
Just as Sherlock had said, Rita Skeeter transforming into a beetle to gather material would be virtually flawless in the Muggle world—no one would ever suspect it.
But even in the magical world, very few people could have thought of this!
Yet not only had Sherlock figured it out, he had actually captured her in the process. This was truly incredible.
At this moment, his reverence for Sherlock was unstoppable.
The others felt much the same as Harry.
Detective Sherlock, the great detective Holmes, truly lived up to his reputation.
Ron couldn't help but shake his head while muttering, "Skeeter, oh Skeeter, why did you have to provoke Sherlock?"
Seeing him like this, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
The area was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Without Rita Skeeter's articles causing trouble, school life became considerably more pleasant.
Nearly every teacher praised Sherlock, Harry, and Cedric for their excellent performance in the second task.
Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was overjoyed that Sherlock and Harry had successfully used the Summoning Charm in both tasks.
He also introduced the Bubble-Head Charm that the Beauxbatons champions had used.
Similarly, Professor Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher, highly praised Sherlock and Harry for thinking to use scuba gear to solve the underwater breathing problem in the second task.
Not only that, she even borrowed the scuba gear from Sherlock and Harry specifically to thoroughly explain this equipment's function in class.
Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, introduced a brand new magical plant—Gillyweed.
After consumption, it could make humans grow gills on both sides of their cheeks and develop webbed fingers and toes, gaining underwater breathing and swimming capabilities.
"If you had used Gillyweed, you would have been even faster!" Professor Sprout said.
Professor Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, once again had everyone review the living habits of Grindylows.
Nearly all the teachers had shown them goodwill.
Except for that one man.
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