"Mr. Holmes, thank you so much!"
When Sherlock pointed out that there was more than one way to solve Hagrid's difficulties, Hagrid instinctively expressed gratitude. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something seemed wrong.
"Wait—I haven't said anything yet?!"
What was going on? He had only sent an owl to Sherlock saying he had something to discuss with him. As for Sherlock, he had just arrived at his hut and had a cup of tea. How did he already know he was in trouble?
Sherlock was also somewhat speechless. If other people's secrets still required observation and analytical deduction, then Rubeus Hagrid was someone who wrote everything he wanted to say on his face.
Never mind himself—even Hermione... no wait, it should be Harry... still not right, it should be Ron. Ron could get information out of Hagrid. Because this person simply couldn't keep secrets.
"You're troubled about how to handle this dragon egg, aren't you? I have three solutions:
First, tell Headmaster Dumbledore about this. With his abilities, he'll obviously handle it well;
Second, contact Ron's brother Charlie Weasley. He studies dragons in Romania and can handle it properly as well;
Third—"
"Wait, hold on a moment!"
Before Sherlock could state the third solution, Hagrid interrupted him again. He stared at Sherlock with incredibly frightened eyes: "Merlin's beard—how, how do you know?"
"What do you mean?"
Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to solve the dragon egg problem?"
"I do! But you have to tell me first—how do you know I got a dragon egg? I clearly didn't tell you anything!"
Hagrid's eyes were wide as saucers. He really couldn't figure out why Sherlock already knew everything when he had obviously said nothing.
"Alright..."
Seeing Hagrid's expression, Sherlock knew that if he didn't explain clearly, Hagrid definitely wouldn't calm down. So, he had to repeat these seemingly obvious things again:
"If you don't want people to know about this, then you should put away these books in the room, or at least not display them in such a conspicuous place.
Dragons of Great Britain and Ireland, From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide, Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit—otherwise, anyone who sees them would find it strange.
Also, all the curtains in the room have been drawn, the fireplace flames are more vigorous than during the coldest weather, and the indoor temperature has reached an unbearable level.
Of course, most importantly, from my angle I can see that egg in the fireplace—as far as I know, only dragon eggs need this method of incubation."
When Sherlock finished saying all this at extremely fast speed, Hagrid hadn't even started to put away those dragon-related books.
Sherlock: ←_←
The scene became quite awkward for a moment.
"Well, I didn't expect you to see through it. That's really remarkable, Sherlock!"
In his excitement, Hagrid even changed how he addressed him.
Sherlock: (=_=)
"So, what's your third idea?"
Hagrid rubbed his hands together excitedly. "To be honest, I don't think the first two ideas are very good—"
Just looking at his expression, Sherlock knew this guy wanted to raise the dragon himself. However, in the wizarding world, this was a typical illegal act.
As early as the Warlock's Convention of 1709, private dragon breeding had been prohibited—something Professor Binns had mentioned in passing during one History of Magic class.
"Let's talk about how this dragon egg came to be first."
"Are you also interested in dragon eggs?"
Hagrid immediately became excited.
"To be precise, I'm interested in the person who gave you the dragon egg."
Hagrid's expression became confused. "What, is there something wrong with this egg?"
"No, the problem is with you," Sherlock's eyes gleamed, his hands clasped together supporting his chin. "Now, tell me carefully about that night."
When Sherlock inquired about the dragon egg, although Hagrid felt very confused, he still cooperated fully and recounted that day's events.
Simply put, he went to the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade village to drink as usual, and happened to meet a stranger who came to play cards with him. The opponent's card skills were poor, and he lost several Galleons to Hagrid.
The gambler, having lost badly, immediately produced a dragon egg as stakes, but unfortunately still lost to Hagrid.
Hagrid's account wasn't very detailed, but for Sherlock, it was sufficient.
"So, you didn't get a clear look at his appearance."
"That's right, that fellow kept refusing to take off his hood."
At this point, Hagrid couldn't help but laugh. "Sherlock, you're being too sensitive. The Hog's Head always has all sorts of strange characters patronizing it. People like him aren't uncommon."
"You're right, but that's meaningless."
Sherlock looked at Hagrid and said, "However, there aren't many people who are full of interest in magical creatures and carry dragon eggs with them, yet such a person happened to find you."
"Uh... Sherlock, could you speak more clearly?"
Hagrid scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly. "You know, I'm not really good at thinking."
Sherlock sighed deeply. "So—besides Baskerville's hound, what else did you arrange around the Philosopher's Stone?"
"It's not a hound, it's Fluffy!"
Hearing Sherlock "slander" his beloved dog, Hagrid first protested, then continued: "Although it looks fierce, I've trained it to be very obedient. You just need to play some music for it, and it falls asleep immediately.
Dumbledore borrowed Fluffy from me, then asked several other teachers to cast spells: Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell—and of course, Dumbledore cast spells himself too.
Wait, I forgot someone else—oh right, Professor Snape."
At this point, Hagrid's face suddenly showed a terrified expression, and he slapped himself hard: "How can I not control this mouth of mine!"
Sherlock: (=_=)
Why can't you control it? Don't you know in your heart?
Honestly, when facing Hagrid, Sherlock felt not an ounce of satisfaction. He didn't even need to deduce—Hagrid told him everything clearly himself.
"Hagrid, calm down. Dumbledore has already told me about these things."
Sherlock said calmly and composedly, "Now it seems that the person who lost the dragon egg to you was Quirrell."
"How could it be him? He's one of the people who set up protective spells for the Philosopher's Stone—"
Obviously, Hagrid hadn't remembered what Sherlock had said in the hut last time. Sherlock wasn't surprised by this at all, and he was too lazy to explain further, once again passing the matter to old Dumbledore.
"I've already confirmed this matter with Dumbledore."
Hagrid's eyes were wide as saucers again. What was going on? Last time he had this feeling, and this time it was even stronger.
Why does Dumbledore tell Sherlock everything? I was here first!
"Let's get back to the dragon egg."
Upon hearing about the dragon egg, Hagrid's attention was immediately drawn back, and everything about Fluffy, Quirrell, and the Philosopher's Stone was cast to the back of his mind.
However, Sherlock's opening statement gave him quite a shock.
"The third solution is to give the dragon egg to me."
"To you?"
Hagrid looked at Sherlock blankly. Had he been left behind by the times? Could it be that in today's wizarding world, twelve-year-old young wizards could handle dangerous creatures like dragons?
If that were really the case, wouldn't he have wasted all these years?
"That's right," Sherlock's eyes flashed with cunning, "I happened to see a potion recipe in a forbidden book that requires dragon eggs."
"Wait—you, you mean..."
"Just as you think, I want to use the dragon egg to brew potions."
After saying this, he looked deeply at the black, large egg that Hagrid had placed in the fireplace.
Noticing Sherlock's burning gaze at the dragon egg, Hagrid couldn't help but shiver.
"No, no way, this is a life!"
"It hasn't hatched yet, so it doesn't count as life."
Sherlock waved his hand. "I suggest you think it over carefully. I can pay you some Galleons as compensation..."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Hagrid suddenly stood up, and the chair was knocked over with a crash. "I'd rather tell Dumbledore that I accidentally revealed Fluffy's secret than let you use it to brew potions!"
He waved his thick arms, saying excitedly. His way of addressing Sherlock seemed to be changed back to Holmes.
"Is that so? What a pity!"
Sherlock shook his head with a regretful expression. Seeing him like this, Hagrid became even more frightened.
What kind of person had Gryffindor recruited this year!
"Hahahaha!"
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron was laughing so hard he was doubled over. "Bloody hell! Sherlock, you're so wicked, using this method to force Hagrid to hand over the dragon egg."
"I have to say, although it's somewhat despicable, it's indeed very effective," Hermione gave her evaluation.
"Indeed. Dragons are too dangerous. Even Hagrid would have difficulty taming them. Speaking of which, he should really see those burn marks on Charlie's body—those were left by wild dragons in Romania."
Harry asked with some concern, "Sherlock, what if Hagrid changes his mind again?"
"He won't."
Sherlock said calmly, "Wizards always like to compromise. If you directly tell Hagrid to send the dragon egg away, he definitely won't agree. But if you claim that you want the dragon egg to brew potions, he'll compromise and be willing to send the dragon egg away."
The three friends looked at Sherlock in amazement, and after thinking carefully, they found it was indeed the case.
"Alright, you've convinced me. So, what about the upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff? Both Hermione and I suggest Harry shouldn't participate—"
"Why not participate?"
Sherlock asked back.
"I heard that Snape unusually wants to referee this match. you know he's never done this kind of thing before. He's clearly targeting Harry!"
Sherlock nodded. "You're right, he is indeed targeting Harry."
Getting Sherlock's agreement, Ron immediately straightened up and said to Harry righteously:
"How about that? Now even Sherlock thinks I'm right! I say you should deliberately break your leg and not participate in the match!"
Harry: =_=
Mate, please be human!
Sherlock ignored Ron and turned to Harry: "Since there's such a good thing, you just need to consider how to win the match."
"Huh?"
Ron was immediately shocked. What, what kind of operation was this?
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