When Sherlock spoke Voldemort's name, the entire headmaster's office fell silent once again.
Dumbledore's gaze behind his half-moon spectacles fixed directly on Sherlock.
He hesitated for a few seconds before finally making his decision. "Very well, I'll take you there."
As everyone knows, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry holds many secrets.
Beneath Hogwarts Castle alone, there are numerous key structures, including the kitchens, the boathouse, the Hogwarts dungeons, the Potions classroom, and the Slytherin Head of House office.
There are also the series of underground chambers consisting of seven rooms that housed the Philosopher's Stone last school year, and the deathday party hall where Harry and others went on Halloween.
Additionally, the common rooms of both Hufflepuff and Slytherin are located here.
The Hufflepuff basement is right next to the kitchens.
The Slytherin dungeons extend beneath the Great Lake.
Incidentally, while part of the Hogwarts dungeons belongs to Slytherin, not all of it does.
Dumbledore and Sherlock's destination this time was the kitchens.
Located directly beneath the Great Hall, adjacent to the Hufflepuff common room.
Soon, they stopped before a wooden door painted with a bowl of fruit.
"We've arrived."
Dumbledore extended his finger and gently tickled the single pear in the fruit bowl.
The pear immediately laughed, then transformed into a green door handle.
Dumbledore grasped the handle and pushed open the kitchen door.
"You don't seem surprised?"
Before entering, Dumbledore asked.
Sherlock was already in his second year.
Given his initiative, this school held virtually no secrets from him except for the Forbidden Forest.
Even regarding the Forbidden Forest, through constant exploration this term, he had already found a path that would allow him to venture deep into the woods and return safely.
If not for the Chamber of Secrets incident, he had originally planned to explore the Forbidden Forest again after returning from Christmas break.
Even his friends only knew that he had visited Ravenclaw's common room while investigating cases.
They didn't know he had already infiltrated all four house common rooms.
Gryffindor was naturally easy—it was his own house, presenting no difficulty.
The Ravenclaw common room had no password; the knocker's riddles certainly couldn't stump him, and he had visited Professor Flitwick after classes on more than one occasion.
Besides inquiring about Lockhart, he had also sought him out several times while learning the Aguamenti charm—after all, that was advanced coursework.
The Hufflepuff common room entrance was located in the large barrels in the corner to the right of the kitchen corridor, with a password requiring tapping the bottom of a specific barrel in a certain rhythm.
For Sherlock, obtaining this information was no challenge, as the rhythm was simply "Helga Hufflepuff."
The Slytherin common room password changed every two weeks, with new passwords announced in advance on the common room bulletin board.
While this might pose difficulty for others, for Sherlock it was absurdly simple.
After all, Slytherin had idiots like Crabbe and Goyle; obtaining the information was so easy that Sherlock felt no sense of achievement whatsoever.
Having infiltrated even these places, the school kitchens were hardly a mystery.
So naturally, he wouldn't be surprised by such seemingly secretive entry methods.
Dumbledore had asked casually, and when Sherlock didn't respond, he didn't think much of it.
Upon entering the kitchen, four long wooden tables came into view, corresponding exactly to the positions of the four house tables in the Great Hall above.
"There are over a hundred house-elves here, responsible for all the school's meals. During mealtimes, food is magically transported directly from the kitchen tables to the corresponding house tables in the Great Hall above."
Dumbledore provided a brief introduction, then said, "Please bring Dobby here."
As soon as the words left his mouth, four house-elves appeared from some corner, escorting Dobby over.
Upon seeing Dumbledore and Sherlock, Dobby immediately cried out.
"Great Professor Dumbledore, sir, and you, the one who can see through hearts... Harry Potter's friend!"
Clearly, while Dobby hadn't remembered Sherlock's name, he certainly hadn't forgotten how he'd been brought here.
Dumbledore glanced at Sherlock and couldn't help but smile.
"It seems you've left quite the psychological impression on this little fellow."
"He brought it upon himself."
Sherlock said without courtesy, then looked at Dumbledore. "Sir, can you guarantee everything he says will be the truth?"
"If you require it."
"Excellent."
Hearing Dumbledore's affirmative answer, Sherlock showed a satisfied expression, while Dobby shuddered.
Ever since being cunningly tricked by Sherlock during the summer holidays and subsequently brought to Hogwarts by Professor Snape, Dobby knew he was doomed.
After being placed in the kitchen by Dumbledore, he hadn't even entertained thoughts of escape.
Frankly speaking, the surveillance of over a hundred fellow house-elves was even more intimidating than Dumbledore himself.
The main reason was these creatures' defining characteristic.
Loyalty!
Once Dumbledore had given the order to watch over him, the Hogwarts house-elves began monitoring him around the clock without rest.
After all, their numbers were sufficient; even working in shifts left them with plenty to spare.
Compared to them, Dobby, who sought freedom, was truly an anomaly among anomalies.
But hearing that Sherlock intended to question him, he still felt a wave of fear.
Veritaserum tasted absolutely dreadful.
"First question. Do you know what the dark magical object Lucius Malfoy intended to slip into Hogwarts actually is?"
Dobby breathed a sigh of relief, this question could be answered honestly without betraying his master's secrets.
"I do not know."
Sherlock nodded. "Second question. You previously said this matter had nothing to do with Voldemort, correct?"
At that moment, all five house-elves simultaneously covered their ears. "Ah, don't say that name!"
Sherlock ignored them and said somewhat roughly. "Enough nonsense, answer my question!"
"No, no, it's not, it's not 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' sir!"
Sherlock carefully studied Dobby's expression and said slowly.
"Let me confirm once more, it's not 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' correct?"
"Yes!"
"Very good."
Sherlock nodded and turned to Dumbledore. "I'm finished with my questions."
"That's it?"
Dumbledore seemed surprised.
"That's it."
Sherlock looked deeply at Dumbledore. "If you could tell me more, perhaps I wouldn't have needed to come here at all."
With those words, Sherlock turned and left the kitchen without hesitation.
Dumbledore stood in place, watching Sherlock's unhesitating departure, and suddenly smiled.
"Sherlock Holmes, you truly seem like an outsider who has suddenly intruded into this world."
He said softly, "I hope this proves to be a good thing for us all."
With those words, a series of popping sounds rang out as Dumbledore used Apparition to leave directly.
The rule that Apparition couldn't be used within Hogwarts grounds seemed to be mere decoration where he was concerned.
After dinner, when Sherlock returned to the common room, he saw a group of people gathered around Harry, singing.
Harry was laughing along with everyone else, but Sherlock could see at a glance that Harry wasn't doing so willingly.
"What's happening?"
Though Harry Potter was hailed as the savior of the wizarding world, at this moment, seeing Sherlock felt like seeing his own savior.
"Sherlock!"
He immediately ran to Sherlock's side, lowering his voice. "Get me out of here!"
"Even if the Lion King himself came, the Boy Who Lived isn't going anywhere!"
The chaos-loving Weasley twins, seeing Harry appeal to Sherlock for rescue, immediately approached.
"His eyes are as green as fresh pickled toads!" said Fred Weasley.
"His hair is as black as..." George Weasley was about to continue when Sherlock rudely interrupted.
Hearing the twins' words, Sherlock's gaze instantly sharpened.
His gray eyes swept across the entire common room as he spoke each word distinctly.
"I'm taking him with me today. Let's see who dares to stop me."
Even after Harry left with Sherlock, the young wizards hadn't recovered from their shock.
"Such terrifying eyes!"
"Yes, yes, who would have thought the usually gentle Holmes could be so frightening."
"This is the real Lion King!"
The Weasley twins, who had just been desperately trying to keep Sherlock there, now seemed more excited than anyone.
"Usually so lazy and lackadaisical, seeming rather spiritless," said Fred Weasley.
"But when the crucial moment arrives, he erupts with terrifying power!" said George Weasley.
"Exactly!"
"Makes sense!"
"Commanding and mighty!"
"Weasley, don't even think about running! The Lion King and the Chosen One's business is none of your concern!"
"Granger, that goes for you too!"
"Patil, Lavender, hold her down!"
And so, Ron and Hermione, who had originally wanted to follow Sherlock and Harry, were also detained.
Sherlock brought Harry back to their dormitory, where the latter finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Sherlock."
"I could see you weren't staying there willingly—so what was that song about?"
Hearing Sherlock ask about this, Harry couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed.
But facing Sherlock, who had rescued him from his predicament, Harry overcame his shame and told him what had happened.
Just as Sherlock had told Dumbledore earlier.
That morning in first-period Transfiguration, seeing that Sherlock hadn't shown up, all three friends were worried.
Professor McGonagall was famously strict.
But to their surprise, McGonagall showed uncharacteristic indifference to Sherlock's absence.
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