By this point, Harry's feelings for the Holmes family were like Sirius's feelings for the Potters. Sirius had been treated as a second son by James's parents. Harry was treated as a second son by Sherlock's parents.
Sorry—make that a third son. There was also Mycroft Holmes. Harry silently apologized to the frequently forgotten Mycroft Holmes.
Mycroft: --__--
Beyond family, Harry's friendship with Sherlock was as deep as that between Sirius and Harry's father, James. So, after having this dream, the first person he thought of wasn't Dumbledore, Sirius, or Lupin—these adults but Sherlock, someone his own age.
Because ever since meeting Sherlock, he had never let him down. And the facts proved his choice was correct. After learning what had happened, Sherlock had immediately provided answers.
Although Sherlock called them inferences, Harry knew that if Sherlock could state them so directly, their credibility was infinitely high.
Unfortunately, Sherlock hadn't provided a solution. Of course, that wasn't Sherlock's fault—it was his own. If he had done as Sherlock suggested and not forced the recall at the time, he might have remembered more details from the dream today.
For Sherlock, his greatest strength was extracting truth from details. He might have been able to deduce even more.
No, at this moment Harry even had a vague feeling that if he could remember every detail of that dream, Sherlock might even be able to deduce who Voldemort's new ally was, and possibly their plan as well.
This was Sherlock Holmes.
Though it sounded incredible, in Harry's mind, that was exactly who Sherlock was. And as they grew older, Harry increasingly felt that Sherlock's abilities were still growing.
It was simply amazing!
But for now, this problem would have to wait. Mrs. Holmes was right—everyone had come for his birthday today, and leaving guests waiting would be impolite.
Although Mrs. Holmes's tone carried a hint of complaint, Harry felt no dissatisfaction at all. Instead, he felt especially warm. This was what family felt like!
"I understand, Mrs. Holmes!"
Next, the four friends followed Mrs. Holmes to the hall. Everyone immediately spotted the new guests.
An Asian man with regular Asian facial features like prominent eyes and eyebrows. Beside him stood an Asian woman whose facial features bore a four or five-tenths resemblance to Cho Chang, though more mature and sophisticated.
It was Cho Chang, the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Since Gemma Farley and Penelope Clearwater had graduated, Cho Chang had officially become the universally acknowledged most beautiful girl at school.
After not seeing her for over two months, Harry could barely take his eyes off Cho Chang when he saw her. She was even more beautiful than before.
Even Ron couldn't help but take a few extra looks.
The moment they saw Cho Chang's family of three, everyone understood why Cho was so beautiful. She had inherited the best features from both parents—it would be strange if she weren't attractive.
For Sherlock, he naturally observed much more information. The moment he saw them, he had already completed his information analysis through observation of their appearances and immediately reached his conclusions.
[Asian ethnicity male, around forty years old, profession: lawyer, not particularly skilled, very sensitive to money, values loyalty and righteousness]
[East Asian ethnicity female, around forty years old, currently no fixed profession, deeply loves her family, decisive and capable in handling matters, enjoys games]
"Harry!" At that moment, Cho Chang, standing beside her mother, spotted Harry emerging with Mrs. Holmes and immediately waved enthusiastically.
Hearing Cho's voice, the Changs immediately looked in Harry's direction.
Cho's father's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked Harry up and down, his gaze was lingering on Harry's forehead.
Cho's mother's gaze was much gentler. Though her look at Harry also carried some scrutiny, it quickly transformed into joy.
"Harry, let me introduce you—these are my parents."
"Mom, Dad, this is Harry Potter, the one I've told you about! He's in Gryffindor House, one year below me, a Quidditch genius, the youngest Seeker in a century—"
"Cho, you've told me this more than once." Mr. Chang interrupted his excited daughter.
Cho stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
Mr. Chang shook his head and extended his right hand to Harry: "Hello, Potter. I'm Cho's father, Chang Wei."
"Hello, Mr. Wei—" Harry immediately reached out to shake Chang Wei's hand. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt something was off. Why would Cho Chang's surname be Chang if her father's surname was Wei?
"Pfft—" Cho and her mother both laughed out aloud.
Their laughter made the already nervous Harry even more flustered.
"In Western nations represented by Britain, the given name comes first and the surname last. But in countries of Asia, it's the opposite—the surname comes first, then the given name." At that moment, Sherlock stepped forward and looked at Cho's father, speaking slowly. "Although we're accustomed to calling Miss Chang 'Cho Chang,' in Miss Chang's country of origin, she should be called Chang Cho. Am I correct, Mr. Chang?"
"You must be Holmes." Chang Wei immediately turned to Sherlock and extended his hand again. "Thank you for finding my daughter's eye shadow. I've been wanting to thank you in person."
"No need for thanks. Miss Chang already paid for my services."
Chang Wei: "..."
His daughter was right—this Sherlock Holmes really did have a peculiar personality!
At that moment, Cho's mother also stepped forward and gave Sherlock a hug. Unlike Cho, she wore neat, short hair that gave her a capable, efficient appearance.
"Hello, Sherlock. I'm Cho's mother, Chang Dali. Pleased to meet you."
She released Sherlock and also hugged the still-nervous Harry, whispering something in his ear. After hearing it, Harry showed a surprised expression.
Chang Dali smiled at Harry, then spoke aloud:
"Sherlock is absolutely right. In Asian countries, the tradition is surname first, given name last. So, our family's names are Chang Wei, Chang Dali, and Chang Cho. After coming to Britain, we're customarily called Wei Chang, Dali Chang, and Cho Chang. However, as international exchanges become more frequent, I believe this custom will gradually change. Of course, if you'd like to call me Ms. Dali, I don't mind at all. As for whether you can call him Mr. Wei, I honestly don't know."
After saying this, she laughed again. Her laughter was very infectious, and everyone joined in.
Although they had long known Cho Chang was of British-Asian heritage, for most of the British people present, this was merely a label. It wasn't until today, when Cho's parents appeared, that they truly realized the cultural differences between them.
However, this was merely a small interlude. Soon, the Changs quickly integrated into the group—after all, they had lived in Britain for many years.
During the conversation, everyone discovered that Chang Wei was humorous, amiable, and worked as a Muggle lawyer. Chang Dali was a witch who had attended a magical school in Asia.
Thinking back, the two had once had a rather complicated love story. Fortunately, the sincere and kind-hearted Chang Wei eventually passed the most severe test from his mother-in-law. The lovers became a couple, and he won her heart.
Later, the two came to Britain to develop their careers. Their daughter, Cho Chang, inherited her mother's magical talent from birth. At age eleven, she received her Hogwarts letter as expected.
Originally, Chang Wei and Chang Dali had considered sending Cho to a magical school in Asia. Chang Dali had performed excellently during her school years, and when her teacher heard that her daughter also possessed magical talent, she suggested that Cho could study there as well.
But after various considerations, the couple ultimately chose Hogwarts.
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