43

"Mr. Sherlock, I wonder if you liked the Christmas gift I gave you?" The moment Sherlock stepped through Hogwarts' gates, he saw Dandeni approaching him. It was obvious that Dandeni had enjoyed his Christmas holiday quite well. According to him, ever since his grandmother learned that he and Sherlock were very close friends at school, she had lavishly praised and rewarded him within the family.

"I liked it very much. It was a very old magic book—presumably one of the Lestrange Family's collectibles?"

"Yes... I don't particularly like it myself, but I thought someone like you, Mr. Sherlock, would have great use for it."

Dandeni had been waiting near Hogwarts' gates for Sherlock early on. Fimiya and Lupo were there as well, but Dandeni was the first to spot Sherlock and go over to greet him.

"Mr. Sherlock, we didn't see you at King's Cross Station... We thought you weren't coming!" Lupo looked deeply worried, which Sherlock found rather amusing.

He asked, "Did you all think I wouldn't return to Hogwarts after Christmas?"

Dandeni nodded. "After all, Mr. Sherlock, you are the renowned Prince of Spells. May I ask who in this world could possibly teach you? Why waste time at Hogwarts? My grandmother has always told me that you ought to achieve and pursue greater things outside."

Sherlock smiled. "But I'm still only a twelve-year-old student."

"That is merely how you see yourself! But if you were to raise your arms and call out beyond these walls, countless outstanding wizards would flock to serve beneath you. We Lestranges would follow your lead without question!"

Dandeni did not say this quietly, and by "outstanding wizards," he meant the dark wizards of the wizarding world.

His words shocked some of the young wizards who were gradually appearing at Hogwarts' gates, but the most astonished of all was Flitwick, who was in charge of taking attendance.

"Dandeni, I must tell you that words like those will damage Mr. Sherlock's reputation!"

Flitwick sternly rebuked him while covertly watching Sherlock's expression. Sherlock merely shook his head and said nothing, silently returning to the Slytherin students as they headed toward Hogwarts Castle.

"Sorry, Professor. There must be a whole swarm of Nargles in his head." Fimiya dragged Dandeni aside, a flash of anger appearing on her pretty face as she lowered her voice. "There are some things you cannot say at Hogwarts, Dandeni. I don't want to have to teach you a lesson like I did that idiot Lupo. Don't make trouble for Mr. Sherlock!"

"Hmph!" Dandeni snorted and walked away from Fimiya, leaving the cool and beautiful girl to stamp her foot before hurrying after Sherlock.

Hmph! I'm not wrong! Mr. Sherlock is bound to become an even greater figure than those of the previous two generations. I will help him become the greatest person in the wizarding world!

For some reason, whenever Sherlock looked at Dandeni walking behind him, he felt that the boy was thinking some rather extreme thoughts. Though he had to admit that Dandeni worshipped him somewhat blindly, taking it too far was hardly a good thing.

"What? What are Nargles?"

Flitwick looked rather bewildered.

"Professor, I suggest you read The Quibbler. It's Mr. Sherlock's favorite magazine, and it's very humorous. I can lend you my copy." Lupo pulled out the latest issue of The Quibbler and handed it to Flitwick before chasing after the others as well.

After confirming that the attendance list was correct, Flitwick hurried to Dumbledore's office and told the headmaster about what had happened at the gates that day.

"That Lestrange boy cannot be allowed to stay around Sherlock any longer. It's too dangerous. You should expel him."

Dumbledore was chattering away with Fawkes at the side. It had to be said that, through the Whispering Word Spirit spell, the Phoenix language Dumbledore used to communicate with Fawkes sounded almost exactly like sparrows chirping to Flitwick.

"Every time I use the Whispering Word Spirit spell, I marvel at that young man's extraordinary talent. At least in the field of spells, even ten of me could not achieve what he has."

"Of course. That is plain for all to see," Flitwick said.

Dumbledore's expression changed ever so slightly.

"But I still believe that a person's nature is not easily changed, and Sherlock possesses something the previous two did not."

"Talent?"

"Family—the love and care of relatives, and friends!"

"Even with someone like Dandeni Lestrange around him."

"That is no great concern. Grindelwald and I were once very close as well, yet he could not change me. Still, I believe I influenced him to some extent. From the time he was imprisoned in Nurmengard until now, we have exchanged thirty-five letters—thirty-five owls—but I know that he has changed greatly because of me. A powerful wizard should never be expected to be held by any prison. Neither Azkaban nor Nurmengard can hold them; they simply choose not to leave."

Dumbledore continued, "And I believe Mr. Sherlock wishes to change that child of the Lestrange Family. I also believe he can."

Flitwick thought for a while before finally leaving the headmaster's office.

Back in the Slytherin dormitory, Sherlock was surrounded by Lupo and the others, who curiously asked why they had not seen him on the train.

"I Apparated to Hogsmeade and stayed there for two hours. By the time I came back to myself, I was nearly late, so I turned into an Obscurus and flew for a while. I arrived at Hogwarts without being late."

Naturally, the Daily Prophet reported the next day that Sherlock had transformed into an Obscurus and sped through the skies. When the Obscurus had suddenly appeared in Hogsmeade, it had frightened the wizards there terribly. After all, Hogsmeade was a village inhabited entirely by wizards, so they all knew what an Obscurus was.

"What are these?"

"They're notes I made while researching spells. They also contain some annotations on my understanding of magic. If you're interested, you can take a look."

As soon as Sherlock finished speaking, Dandeni, Fimiya, and Kirk's eyes lit up.

What were these? They were magical research materials recorded by the renowned Prince of Spells! If someone as remarkable as Sherlock had appeared in their own families, such materials would certainly have been collected in the library and kept hidden from public view.

Sherlock did not care, though. They had no spell notes of their own, after all. At most, they would learn a few techniques for controlling magic.

"Ah... I thought it was something else. They're just study materials!" Perhaps only someone like Lupo could fail to recognize the value of these notes.

"You can each read one. Any Slytherin can borrow them. There are over thirty books here," Sherlock said.

When word spread that Sherlock was lending out the notes he had made during his magical research, their dormitory was nearly packed to bursting with Slytherin students rushing over for a look.

Sherlock had not expected his research notes to be so sought after in their eyes, and he had no choice but to stop them when he saw that some people were practically about to fight over the right to read them.

"All right, I don't expect any of you to truly understand them, but I hope the notes will be lent to clever people. You must not damage them, and you must return them after reading, since others may want to read them too. However, if you want to borrow them, you'll have to answer the questions on this test paper correctly first. After all, my notes are limited."