"Sherlock, well done!"
"Worthy of being the Lion King, you really didn't let us down!"
When Hermione caught up, she saw that Dean and Seamus, who had just dragged Sherlock out, had now let him go and were praising him profusely, one after another.
"Who says just because we're British, we have to support the Irish team?"
"You know what? I actually prefer the Bulgarian team!"
"Me too—because they have Krum!"
"But I never dared mention it in front of my mum."
"Exactly, Sherlock, what you just said was brilliant!"
"The Irish team has so much support, they don't need us too!"
Hearing Dean and Seamus's words, Hermione couldn't help but smile.
She really hadn't expected these two had pulled Sherlock out to say this.
But thinking about it, she actually admired Sherlock quite a bit too.
To speak so frankly in that atmosphere, contradicting Seamus's mother.
She could never have done that herself.
"Pure emotional outburst has no meaning. Decorating tents like that is even more formalistic.
If it's just personal preference, that's fine, but since they want to avoid attracting Muggle attention, they shouldn't do this.
Unfortunately, from the current situation, the Ministry seems powerless to stop it, and will ultimately have to clean up with Memory Charms."
Naturally accepting Dean and Seamus's praise, Sherlock then changed the subject. "I suppose you just ran into Harry and the others, right?"
"That's right, Sherlock! I knew you'd figure it out."
Seamus said with a smile. "Actually, my mum also forced them to admit they liked the Irish team.
They weren't as brave as you—I guarantee, after we go back, my mum is definitely going to be furious."
When talking about his mother getting angry, Seamus seemed very happy—what a caring son.
Dean supplemented. "Ginny heard what Seamus's mum said and said she wanted to know what the Bulgarians had hung on their tents, so they went to look."
Sherlock nodded, then pointed in a direction. "That way?"
"Exactly, Sherlock, how do you know everything?"
"Just observation."
Sherlock and Hermione were looking for the water-fetching trio anyway, and since they'd learned where the three had gone, there was no need to make a wasted trip to the water source.
Besides, Sherlock and Hermione also wanted to know what the Bulgarians had done to their tents to make Seamus's mother so dissatisfied.
Soon, they got their answer.
The Bulgarian tent area was easy to identify—white, green, and red tricolor flags flew in the air.
When the wind blew, the flags unfurled their bright colors, particularly striking in the grayish mist.
Their tents weren't wrapped in vines or covered with plants like Seamus's mother had done, but simply stood plainly in place.
However, one unified detail made them especially eye-catching.
On each tent's canvas was pasted an identical portrait.
The portrait showed a thick-browed, large-eyed young man with deep features but an expression that conveyed a certain coldness.
Magical portraits were usually vivid and lively, but this young man's portrait was exceptionally monotonous.
It only had two expressions.
Either furrowed eyebrows, as if worrying about the match.
Or blinking quickly once, rarely even moving the corners of his mouth.
"Who is this?" Hermione stared at those repeated portraits, frowning slightly in puzzlement.
"Krum, Bulgaria's Seeker," Sherlock replied casually.
"How do you know? Do you know him?"
Hermione turned to look at him in surprise, her eyes were widening slightly. She'd never heard Sherlock mention any Quidditch-related figures.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Sherlock's gaze swept back and forth across the Bulgarian tent area, his fingertips unconsciously tapping his palm, explaining matter-of-factly.
"Seamus just mentioned he was more inclined toward Ireland winning, but even so, he still chose to support Bulgaria, the reason being 'they have Krum.'
Also, when we passed those Latin-speaking wizards earlier, they were also discussing—Bulgaria has a 'Seeker who can turn the tide.'
For someone to be considered capable of single-handedly turning things around even when their team might be losing, their abilities must be exceptional.
For Bulgarians to plaster his portrait all over their tents as the focus of their promotion—isn't that perfectly logical?"
"I don't like him."
Hermione's gaze fell back on those portraits, watching countless Krums simultaneously frown and blink at them, her own frown deepening.
Her tone carried frank rejection. "His appearance is too gloomy. It makes people uncomfortable."
"I must remind you, dear Hermione, judging by appearance is wrong."
Sherlock withdrew his gaze, speaking in a light tone.
"From Seamus's preference to the Bulgarians' reverence for him, this person called Krum has quite high Quidditch skills.
I remember telling you more than once that evaluating a person shouldn't be based only on appearance."
"Fine, you never judge by appearance..."
Hermione muttered quietly, her gaze falling on Sherlock's calm profile.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered something from the past.
Once she had curiously asked Sherlock whether he had any special feelings about Gemma's elegance or the Patil twins' sweetness.
At the time, Sherlock had pointed out that he wouldn't focus excessively on appearance, as that was merely the most superficial label.
Now, facing Krum's gloomy appearance, he hadn't instinctively rejected it like she had.
From this perspective, Sherlock was indeed a gentleman consistent in word and deed.
His judgments were always based on facts and logic, not superficial impressions.
Finally passing through the Bulgarian tent area, no longer seeing the numerous Krum portraits, Hermione breathed a long sigh of relief and unconsciously rubbed her temples.
Being stared at by so many gloomy eyes, she had felt stifled.
Now even her breathing felt smoother.
Coincidentally, just as they stepped out of the Bulgarian tent area, familiar voices came from not far away.
They had finally encountered the water-fetching trio—Harry, Ron, and Ginny.
This time, Hermione's deduction was confirmed.
Harry and the others had indeed run into acquaintances.
Cho Chang and her parents.
Seeing this, Hermione couldn't help but show a knowing smile.
Since Harry had encountered Cho Chang, it wasn't surprising he'd been delayed so long.
Compared to their last meeting at Grimmauld Place, Cho Chang was still stunningly beautiful.
At this moment, she was chatting happily with Harry, both appearing very pleased.
Ron was saying something to Chang Wei, and from their expressions, they were getting along well.
Ginny was talking with Chang Dali, though she seemed somewhat constrained.
Just then, she suddenly noticed Sherlock and Hermione standing side by side, and her eyes lit up.
"Sherlock, Hermione, we're over here!"
She called out while waving vigorously, trying to attract their attention.
In fact, even without her doing this, they were already walking over.
"Uncle, Auntie!"
Sherlock and Hermione politely greeted Wei Chang and Chang Dali.
Wei Chang asked curiously, "How did you come over?"
"Need you ask? Obviously to find Harry and the others!"
Chang Dali said with a smile, gently pushing her daughter. "Alright, Cho, stop bothering your classmates. They need to go light fires and cook!"
Cho Chang's face reddened slightly.
Oh no, she'd been so caught up chatting with Harry that she'd forgotten about that.
After greeting Sherlock and Hermione, she stood beside her parents.
Harry also felt a bit embarrassed. Coming here this year, he seemed more easily affected by beautiful girls.
At this point, Wei Chang asked puzzledly. "I remember there's a spell that can produce water quickly for you. Why do you still need to fetch water?"
"Silly, you're talking about the Aguamenti charm."
Chang Dali smiled slightly. "But since they all came to fetch water, they must all be law-abiding good citizens. How could they use magic?"
"I feel it's not very effective."
Wei Chang spread his hands and shrugged.
"I've already seen many people using wands to light fires.
Honestly, I'd rather wizards use magic.
Having them use Muggle methods to light fires and cook is practically a disaster. Several tents over there have already caught fire. I don't know what the organizers are thinking..."
"Alright, Wei, say less."
Chang Dali gently stopped Wei Chang.
Seeing his wife smile, Wei Chang couldn't help but stare.
"Silly, haven't you seen enough after all these decades?"
"Not enough. A lifetime wouldn't be enough."
"..."
The young wizards looked at each other.
Hey, there are children here! This isn't appropriate!
Cho Chang felt embarrassed, watching her parents like this.
She unconsciously looked toward Harry, only to find him showing an envious expression.
Cho Chang: ╰(°▽°)╯
After brief pleasantries, the group said goodbye to Cho Chang's family of three and set off again.
Ginny was the happiest one, for reasons only she knew.
On the other hand, with Sherlock and Hermione helping share the water they'd fetched, their speed immediately improved considerably.
But it soon slowed down again.
Because on the way back, they kept seeing familiar faces—or rather, being seen by familiar faces.
Mainly Hogwarts classmates and their families.
Sherlock and Harry needn't be mentioned—one was the wise Lion King of Gryffindor, the other the savior of the wizarding world.
Two such prominent figures were the focus wherever they went.
Even just greeting people required stopping, didn't it?
The two girls, Hermione and Ginny, were no less notable.
Hermione had been top scorer for three consecutive years, first in the grade on every exam. As the Know-It-All Miss, her fame was second only to Sherlock and Harry.
Ginny was popular purely for being pretty.
Now in her third year, she had reached her budding youth and finally blossomed with her own beauty.
As Sherlock's roommate Dean had said, some British people still found it difficult to appreciate Cho Chang's type.
But all native males would like Ginny's type.
So, wherever she went, she always attracted a large crowd of male attention.
Ron had it worse. The Gryffindor Chess Saint nickname had only been popular for a while after first year ended.
After entering second year, basically no one mentioned it anymore.
Plus, he was still the tallest in the group.
This made him look like a bodyguard when standing beside the four—or rather, muscle man.
In any case, Ron's physical appearance naturally placed him in the category of sidekick-type roles, naturally failing to attract others' attention.
However, Ron's reactions were rather slow, and he hadn't realized this yet.
Most people they encountered just stopped to say hello, but some would pull them aside to chat for quite a while.
Like Oliver Wood, whom they were now encountering.
Wood was moderately built and strong.
Not only was he tall and robust, but also quite handsome.
He was the former captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, having just graduated from Hogwarts.
Last term, he had finally led Gryffindor to lift the Quidditch Cup, achieving his goal in his final year at school.
His fanaticism for Quidditch went without saying.
In the Weasley twins' words, even if curses rained from the sky, nothing could stop him from playing a match.
Of course, this was just an exaggeration, but it showed Wood's passion for the sport of Quidditch.
During his seven years at Hogwarts, all courses were just extras to him.
Nothing was more important than Quidditch.
To raise such a child, the family atmosphere was evident.
So, when such a grand event occurred, Wood's entire family had rushed here to watch the match.
As soon as Wood saw Harry and Sherlock, he excitedly pulled them into his parents' tent and introduced them to the adults.
Leaving Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looking at each other.
But they knew Wood's personality, so they shrugged and walked in themselves.
As soon as they entered the tent, they saw Wood lavishing praise on Harry.
He gave high marks to Harry's performance during his three years at school.
Wood emphasized that it was all thanks to Harry, the Seeker, that Gryffindor could lift the Quidditch Cup.
The youngest Seeker in a century, a genius born for Quidditch, more talented than Charlie Weasley, and so on.
After talking about Harry, he discussed Sherlock.
Wood pointed out that although Sherlock hadn't joined the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, he had always highly recognized Sherlock's talent in Quidditch.
Not only that, he took this opportunity to raise that old topic again, hoping Sherlock would join the Gryffindor house Quidditch team as soon as possible in the new school year.
Now Gryffindor was in urgent need of people. Sherlock, as the Gryffindor Lion King, should fully shoulder his responsibilities and not waste his talent.
Whenever Quidditch came up, Wood seemed to transform into a different person. Sherlock was long used to it, so he wasn't at all surprised by his statements.
Harry, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed—Wood was praising him a bit too much.
According to Wood, Gryffindor's Quidditch Cup victory last term seemed entirely Harry's achievement alone.
But Harry knew very well it wasn't like that.
The game wasn't something one person could play alone.
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