Hermione finally moved into the Holmes house.
This made Mrs. Holmes extremely happy.
The adults had originally planned that after Harry spent a month on Privet Drive, Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione would all stay at the Burrow, and then everyone would go together with the Weasley family to watch the Quidditch World Cup.
But with Sirius also obtaining tickets through Ministry connections, this plan changed.
This arrangement was very reasonable.
As Mr. Weasley said, because of the Quidditch World Cup, the eldest son Bill and second son Charlie, who had been away for years, were coming back this time.
With all nine members of the Weasley family present, Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione would have to share a room with others.
Hermione would naturally stay with Ginny, Harry would go with Ron, and Sherlock would only have Percy.
It wasn't that they couldn't stay there, but since there were more comfortable conditions available, there was really no need to deliberately suffer.
In the end, not only did the three—Sherlock, Hermione, and Harry—not go to the Weasleys', but Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley twins also left the Burrow under Sirius's warm invitation to stay at Grimmauld Place.
This made the Burrow suddenly spacious.
The happiest was Percy. According to Mrs. Weasley, he was writing a report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, the specific content was unclear, only known to be about cauldrons.
During that time, he often felt people at home would disturb him.
Especially the Weasley twins.
Once his four younger siblings left, he immediately felt completely at ease.
On the contrary, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were somewhat unaccustomed to it, though fortunately they still had three sons at home, so it wouldn't be too quiet.
Conversely, 12 Grimmauld Place became lively with four more young wizards.
However, this place was much more spacious than the Burrow—even if all nine members of the Weasley family stayed, there would be more than enough room.
Under these circumstances, the Grangers naturally also planned to have Hermione stay at 12 Grimmauld Place and go to the match with Sirius and the others.
But when Mrs. Holmes learned of this, she immediately refused.
No one knew what she said to Mrs. Granger, but in the end, she decided to have Hermione stay on King's Road.
"Hermione, you'll stay here. Sherlock's room is right next door."
After the Grangers left, Mrs. Holmes brought Hermione to the second floor.
"Okay, Mrs. Holmes."
Hermione nodded obediently and asked curiously, "Does Sherlock's brother live in that room on the other side?"
"Yes, but he hardly ever comes back."
Mrs. Holmes sighed. "His work is so busy, I really don't know what he does all day."
"If Mum knew about his work, he wouldn't have to do anything," said Sherlock, standing nearby.
"I really don't know, but he's not busy saving the world, is he?"
Hearing this, Sherlock and his father exchanged glances, both showing knowing looks.
Neither Hermione nor Mrs. Holmes noticed the exchange. Hermione continued.
"Auntie, I'll be troubling you during this time."
"What are you talking about!"
Mrs. Holmes pretended to be angry. "Your mother and I have known each other for four years! With you living so close, if I let you stay at Grimmauld Place, I'd really be angry!"
Hermione suddenly understood—so this was the reason for staying here.
But strangely, whether it was staying at the Weasleys' Burrow earlier or at the Blacks' Grimmauld Place, her father hadn't said anything.
But when her mother suggested having her stay at the Holmes' King's Road, her father's reaction was very resistant.
Clearly, Grimmauld Place wasn't far from King's Road, and the Holmes and Granger families had such a good relationship.
Without an appropriate reason to object, Mr. Granger ultimately lost the argument with his wife and reluctantly agreed.
After settling on the room, Hermione chatted with Sherlock about going to the Quidditch World Cup.
"Tomorrow, do we go to Grimmauld Place first and set off with Harry and the others?"
"No, Sirius said the Ministry will send us there."
"Quite nice treatment," Hermione said tartly. "It seems the Ministry has some conscience, giving pretty good treatment to the hero they wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve whole years!"
"Better late than never—besides, not just a formerly slandered hero, but also the savior of the wizarding world."
Sherlock said seriously, "Harry Potter plus Sirius Black presents a 1+1>2 effect. Essentially, the Ministry is doing this for its own interests. Since that trial last year, the Ministry has been bound together with Sirius. The closer Sirius's relationship with the Ministry, the more it proves the Ministry's earlier work was solid."
Hermione shrugged.
Since the Sirius and Peter affair, she really had little fondness for the Ministry of Magic.
After all, if it weren't for Sherlock's brother Mycroft pressuring them through the Muggle government, these people would have actually tried to suppress the matter.
Now, after time had passed, they shamelessly turned it into their own achievement.
These are bureaucrats!
At dinner, Hermione praised Mrs. Holmes's cooking profusely, claiming it was even more delicious than her own mother's.
"You're exaggerating!"
Mrs. Holmes was very happy but still reminded her not to eat too much, or she wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
"It's fine, I wasn't planning to sleep early anyway."
Hermione explained, "I can use the time to ask Sherlock about the summer homework."
"What a good child."
Mrs. Holmes couldn't help showing a bright smile, but then changed the subject.
"But you two can't stay up too late—Mr. Black's letter said we need to leave very early tomorrow."
Hermione immediately agreed.
After dinner, Hermione came to Sherlock's room as planned.
Sherlock's gaze swept over Hermione, then he asked, "What do you want to ask?"
"Didn't I say at dinner? I need to ask you about the summer homework!"
"That's fine for fooling my mother, Hermione. Based on my understanding of you, you're definitely not here for summer homework right now."
Hermione looked down at herself, as if checking where she had revealed a flaw.
"First, you didn't bring your summer homework in—that's not your habit. Second, after entering, you kept looking around my room. This isn't your first time here, which proves you're consciously looking for something, wanting to verify your judgment. Third, after looking around the room, your gaze has been on me the whole time. I think you want to ask about my experiences in Hawaii this summer, right?"
Hermione: "..."
Forget it, there was no need to hide anything in front of Sherlock anyway.
Apart from being somewhat dense about emotions, this guy understood everything.
"Then tell me about your experience learning Baritsu in Hawaii!"
Hermione naturally sat on Sherlock's bed, curiously propping her chin with both hands and staring at him.
Sherlock had already described it to Harry once before, so this time he spoke very briefly.
However, it didn't matter—Hermione would ask targeted questions about things she was interested in.
Time passed unknowingly like this until Mrs. Holmes came to knock on the door and urge them.
"Children, put the homework aside for now. You should go to bed—you need to get up early tomorrow morning."
Hermione looked at her watch and realized she had stayed in Sherlock's room for quite a while.
Strangely, a young man and woman alone in a room together, yet there was no romantic feeling at all.
"Sherlock, good night. Mrs. Holmes, good night."
"Good night."
Watching the two children bid each other good night, Mrs. Holmes smiled once again.
Youth is wonderful!
Hermione usually had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds, but unexpectedly, her head had barely touched the pillow before she fell asleep, as if she were in her own home.
And she slept very well all night, so much so that she felt she had barely slept before Mrs. Holmes shook her awake.
"Time to get up, Hermione, dear."
Mrs. Holmes said softly.
Hermione rubbed her eyes and saw Mrs. Holmes leaving the room to wake Sherlock.
But when Mrs. Holmes entered, she found Sherlock had already woken up.
Even so, Mrs. Holmes didn't forget to remind him to take good care of Hermione when they got to the venue.
When the three were having breakfast, the sky outside was still pitch dark.
Both Sherlock and Hermione had habits of waking early, plus Mrs. Holmes's timely reminder the night before, so neither of them was yawning continuously.
After breakfast, Mrs. Holmes said.
"Your father is still resting. He said he won't say goodbye to you."
Sherlock nodded in understanding.
Hermione noticed Mrs. Holmes's face turning slightly red when she said this.
But she didn't think much of it, just heard Mrs. Holmes continue, "Mr. Black said you should just wait at home."
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.
"Right on time!"
She looked at her watch and stood up to answer the door.
"Harry, Mr. Black, come in quickly, have something to eat!"
"No thank you, Mrs. Holmes, we've already eaten!"
"Thank you, madam, but the Ministry's car is already here—are Sherlock and Hermione ready? If so, we can set off."
"Of course!"
Mrs. Holmes immediately called Sherlock and Hermione over.
She kissed the cheeks of all three—Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione and waved goodbye.
"The Ministry sent two cars."
Sirius said concisely.
"Sherlock, Hermione, you'll ride in this one with Harry and me."
"Also, give me your school supply lists. Molly said she's going to Diagon Alley shopping tomorrow and will help buy yours too."
"Is time very tight?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Yes, after the World Cup ends, there probably won't be time. Last time the match lasted a full five days."
Sherlock and Hermione had prepared their school supply lists long ago and handed them to Sirius.
Noticing their good spirits, he asked curiously, "You both look very energetic. Did you sleep early last night?"
"Yes, Mrs. Holmes had us sleep early, saying we'd be getting up early today."
"That's a good habit. These little ones are different."
Sirius pointed at Harry, who looked pale and clearly hadn't slept enough.
"They stayed up very late last night."
As he said this, Sirius looked completely gleeful.
"Sherlock, I wouldn't advise them like your mother does. They're thirteen or fourteen years old—they need to learn to be responsible for their actions. Especially those twins who'll be adults next year—if they can't learn to control themselves, they'll suffer for it later."
"Well said."
Sherlock smiled at his friend. "Harry, I thought you'd already adapted to waking up early."
He was referring to leading Harry and Neville in morning exercises every day at Hogwarts.
"I have adapted, but last night was really too late."
Harry said complainingly, "After what happened last year, Fred and George started Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes—it's their invented joke items, like fake wands, joke candy, and such. At the Burrow they had to hide it, but coming here, they're completely unrestrained. They showed us an order form, several long pages of price lists. Quite a few people are interested in this stuff. Last night they were demonstrating these things to me, which is why it got so late."
By this time, the four had gotten in the car.
Sirius sat in the passenger seat, with Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione in the back.
"Are we driving all the way there?"
"No, no, no, if that were the case, it would be too far."
Sirius smiled. "We only need to drive a short distance. For the Ministry, gathering large numbers of wizards together without attracting Muggle attention is very difficult. It's estimated that about one hundred thousand wizards from around the world will come to watch the World Cup.
The British Ministry naturally can't find a magical venue that can accommodate so many people. They can't stuff over a hundred thousand wizards all into Diagon Alley or Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, can they?
So they finally found a deserted marshland and took all measures to keep Muggles away. I heard Arthur say the entire Ministry has been busy with this for months. During this time, the Ministry has been like when I escaped from Azkaban—everyone, regardless of their job position, pitched in together, all devoted to this matter."
When Sirius explained to this point, his tone was full of disdain for the Ministry of Magic.
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