Not only the others, but even Sherlock himself almost couldn't hold back and nearly choked on his own saliva.
Before he could even open his mouth to speak, Tonks spoke again.
"No way—you guys don't think I used my own identity to confess to him, do you? How could I be so lacking in self-awareness!"
She explained:
"It was my friend in the same dormitory. She's always had a crush on Mr. Cavendish, but she's too shy to say it herself, so she asked me to transform into her appearance to confess. If he accepted, she would go on a date with him herself. If he rejected, well, it would be me getting rejected, so she wouldn't be too sad."
Upon hearing the latter part, the surrounding people came back to their senses from their shocked expressions. Kingsley even asked with great interest:
"So, did Sherlock accept back then?"
They all turned their gazes to Sherlock, who felt speechless. How would he know whether he had accepted or not? So he could only shake his head indifferently.
"I don't remember."
"Hey! How heartless. Although it wasn't me confessing for myself, it was still the first time I said 'I like you' to someone, and you've already forgotten."
Tonks looked sad, but it was obvious she was pretending.
"When you rejected me, I acted very well, covering my face and running away crying. I even thought you would chase after me at that time."
Even Bill laughed from the side and said:
"Sherlock was very popular at school. Every semester, many young girls would write him love letters. I'm two years older than him, and even I heard about it."
"But he's already twenty years old and doesn't even have a girlfriend." Kingsley sounded genuinely concerned. "Do you want me to introduce someone to you, Sherlock? There are many pretty young girls who have recently joined the Ministry of Magic."
How had they started talking about topics that only nosy relatives would bring up?
Sherlock complained silently in his heart, but of course, he flatly refused at this time.
"I don't have any plans in that regard for the time being. I'll focus on doing my job as a professor at Hogwarts first."
Just as Kingsley was about to persuade him further, Mrs. Weasley came to his rescue, announcing that the preparations were almost complete and the feast could begin.
The wizards sat down on either side of the long table, with Dumbledore naturally sitting at the head.
Professor McGonagall sat to his left. Sherlock was about to walk past and sit with Bill at the end of the table when—
Dumbledore suddenly grabbed his arm and gestured to the chair on his right.
"Sit here, Sherlock."
Sherlock didn't want to make himself so conspicuous in front of so many people, but of course, he couldn't refuse Dumbledore's request, so he obediently sat down to his right.
There were probably twenty or thirty wizards attending the gathering. As Dumbledore said, these wizards came from all walks of life. Most of them were middle-aged, with only a small number of elderly and young people.
After learning that the Original Owner had joined the Order of the Phoenix, Sherlock had done a lot of research to understand what the Order had done since its establishment.
He knew very well why this organization, which had existed for as long as twenty years, had so few elderly members.
Most of the first-generation members of the Order of the Phoenix had died in the First Wizarding War—the war against Voldemort in the seventies.
The young people who had been protected had now grown into the mainstay, like Kingsley.
And due to the silence of the past ten years, the Order had absorbed very few young members, mostly relatives of existing members. For example, the Weasley couple intended to bring Bill into the Order of the Phoenix. (TN: That's hard to believe, knowing Molly.)
Tonks wasn't completely unrelated to the Order either. Her mother, Andromeda Tonks, was also an ally of the Order of the Phoenix.
As for Sherlock, he could now naturally guess that the Original Owner's mother was also likely a member of the Order before her death.
Otherwise, the Weasley couple, Professor McGonagall, Moody, and Kingsley—these first-generation members—would have had no reason to care about him so much.
So, the young people who joined the Order now were basically second-generation members, and it was difficult to develop forces externally.
However, this was understandable, mainly to avoid touching the sensitive nerves of those politicians in the Ministry of Magic.
Of course, the twenty-odd wizards sitting here were not all of the Order's current members. There must have been many more who hadn't made it.
After everyone was seated, Dumbledore smiled and looked around.
"I am very happy to see you all here again this year, which proves that you have all had a good year. What makes me even happier is that there are new faces joining us this year."
Without lengthy speeches or empty words of concern, just this simple sentence made all the wizards at the table smile involuntarily.
The wizards began to chat and laugh about their experiences over the past year.
Some were professional adventurers who had spent the year traveling across Eurasia, humorously recounting their experiences in different places.
Others were shopkeepers from magical item stores in Diagon Alley, talking about the new and quirky gadgets that had appeared in the wizarding world that year.
The atmosphere of the feast was very good. Sherlock could see that the people gathered here were not present for interests or status, but truly shared common ideals and goals.
Just as the friendly feast was underway, a burly-looking wizard suddenly spoke to Dumbledore:
"We need to absorb a lot of fresh blood, but I think letting Sherlock Cavendish join the Order of the Phoenix contradicts the Fidelius Charm we made, Dumbledore." (TN: Fidelius?)
The person who asked the question was Dedalus Diggle. He was one of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix and was considered one of the few veterans present.
As soon as he spoke, the wizards chatting at the table immediately fell silent. A small number of first-generation members who knew the inside story looked at Dumbledore. Obviously, they all had the same concerns as Diggle.
As for Sherlock, the person involved, he sat upright in his chair with a cold expression.
He was just about to pretend to question why he couldn't join the Order of the Phoenix when Dumbledore gently raised a hand to stop him.
Dumbledore's face remained calm as he said earnestly:
"I know what your concerns are. After all, we made that promise back then, but we must also respect Sherlock's own opinion."