Chapter 63: They Are All My Customers

After the History of Magic class on a certain Monday morning, Sherlock saw off several senior Ravenclaw students who had come to find him.

When he returned to the classroom, he was greeted by the astonished gazes of his friends.

"They are all my clients."

Before they could ask, Sherlock took the initiative to explain.

"Clients?"

The others looked at each other in dismay.

Calling fellow students clients seemed a bit too bizarre, didn't it?

"Ever since the word got out about the incident on Halloween, people have started coming to me. Speaking of which, I really have to thank Mr. Neville Longbottom. The first few clients all found me through his introduction."

"Neville?"

The group turned to look at Neville.

The latter was stroking the toad he had just found, and upon hearing Sherlock's praise, he lowered his head shyly.

"When I successfully helped them, gradually more people came to ask for my assistance. Actually, the troubles they faced only required someone to point the way. I carefully listened to the facts of their cases, they listened to my advice, and once the problem was solved, the fee went straight into my pocket."

Hearing Sherlock put it this way, his friends finally understood why he called these schoolmates clients.

Though it felt a bit unbelievable, when they thought of Sherlock's remarkable abilities, they immediately realized it was not entirely incomprehensible.

"If only I could be as smart as Holmes," Seamus said with quite a bit of envy. "Even Ravenclaw students are coming to you, that's just amazing!"

As everyone knew, Ravenclaw represented wisdom.

When the little eagles of Ravenclaw came to consult Sherlock, it naturally meant his intellect had been recognized by that notoriously proud group.

Not even Hermione Granger, the know-it-all miss, had ever received such treatment.

Since today's History of Magic class had ended rather early and no one was in a rush to go eat, they simply chatted a bit longer.

"Speaking of which, I only just found out that Mercury passed away yesterday," Dean said with a regretful look.

"Who?"

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

"Freddie Mercury! Have none of you ever heard of him?"

Seeing that his friend's topic failed to strike a chord, Seamus could not help offering an explanation.

"Freddie Mercury? Is he some famous wizard?"

Neville asked timidly.

"I've never heard of the Mercury family," Hermione mused for a moment, then looked at Ron. "What about you?"

Ron spread his hands: "Me neither."

"Freddie Mercury, a British male singer of Asian descent, lead vocalist of the band Queen."

Sherlock rarely spoke without stunning an audience, but his single sentence shocked everyone present.

Seamus looked at him in sheer disbelief: "Holmes, you actually know who Mercury is!"

In his view, aside from the wizarding-born Weasley and Longbottom, whether it was Potter or Granger, either of them should have known about Mercury far better than Holmes.

Yet the reality was that only Holmes knew of him.

Sherlock's three roommates were even more speechless.

They knew Sherlock's nature all too well—this was a guy who didn't even know the Earth revolved around the sun!

How could someone like that possibly know a band and its lead vocalist?

"Queen... are they famous?"

Neville raised his hand and asked timidly once more.

"Famous? They're more than just famous!"

Whenever the topic turned to music, Dean instantly shed his drowsy classroom demeanor and began speaking fluently and passionately:

"After Queen was formed in London in 1971, they immediately released their self-titled debut album, *Queen*. Their 1975 release, *A Night at the Opera*, brought the band commercial breakthroughs, and its track *Bohemian Rhapsody* won the first Brit Award for Best British Single. Their 1977 release, *News Of The World*, had a massive impact, especially the singles *We Will Rock You* and *We Are the Champions*, which have been widely used in sporting events since the 1980s. Their 1981 compilation album, *Greatest Hits*, sold over six million copies, making it the best-selling album in UK history. Just last year, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music."

Watching Dean enthusiastically enlighten everyone, his friends all wore looks of astonishment.

Was this still the quiet black kid they knew?

It felt as though he had transformed into a completely different person.

Only Seamus was entirely unsurprised by Dean's performance, and he picked up right where his friend left off:

"Queen blended glam rock, progressive rock, classical music, and heavy metal into one, influencing nearly every heavy metal band of the late twentieth century..."

At this point, he suddenly paused, a look of sudden realization dawning on him: "I get why Holmes knows about Mercury now! Dean mentioned that you play the violin exceptionally well!"

Hearing him say this, Harry, Ron, and Neville—who shared a dormitory with Sherlock—immediately caught on.

Ah, right! Since Sherlock played the violin so brilliantly, it wasn't strange at all for him to know such a renowned band.

"What? You play the violin too?"

Only Hermione looked utterly surprised; this was the first time she had learned of this.

"I heard he died of pneumonia caused by AIDS, at only forty-five years old. Such a terrible pity!"

"Yeah, yeah! His extraordinary vocal range spanning four octaves and his soaring, brilliant timbre were simply magnificent!"

Ron and Neville looked at each other blankly; Muggle bands were truly a blind spot in their knowledge.

Harry and Hermione weren't much better off.

However, when Seamus and Dean hummed a bit of *We Will Rock You*, the two of them realized they had indeed heard that song before.

For Sherlock, although Queen didn't have a dedicated violinist, just as Seamus had said, many of their works incorporated classical music elements.

That was the reason why he, skilled in the violin as he was, also happened to know of Queen.

The group then suggested heading back to the dormitory so they could simply ask Sherlock to play a tune.

Just at that moment, a sudden rap came knocking at the door.

Lifting their heads, they saw a young witch walking in.

She wore her blonde hair in two braids, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Abbott, what brings you here?"

When Hermione caught sight of her, she asked in immediate surprise.

The young girl was none other than Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff.

Because she had been the very first to wear the Sorting Hat during the Sorting Ceremony, Hermione held a particularly deep impression of her.

"Granger, you're here too, wonderful!"

Abbott looked quite pleased upon seeing Hermione, and immediately added: "I'm looking for Mr. Sherlock."

As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Sherlock's direction.

(¬‿¬)

Seeing this, the group understood everything at once, smiling as they stood up and headed for the exit.

Hermione walked at the very back, but just as she was about to step outside, Abbott suddenly reached out to grab her sleeve, pleading with a beseeching expression:

"Granger, please don't leave, I'm begging you."

Hermione was somewhat taken aback, then looked over at Sherlock.

"Hermione, if you're willing to sit for a little while, you might be of great help to me."

Hermione had already been quite curious about Abbott seeking out Sherlock, only feeling a bit shy about staying behind alone now that everyone else had left.

Yet since both Sherlock and Abbott had put it that way, she smoothly sat back down.

"Very well, Miss Abbott, can you tell us what troubles you now?"

"How did you know I was troubled?"

Hannah Abbott asked in astonishment.