Chapter 67: A Thoughtful Gift

Led by Hagrid, Sherlock and his three companions arrived at the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were already busy setting up the Christmas decorations.

Seeing them approach, Professor Flitwick warmly greeted them right away:

"Ah, the last tree has been brought in. Hagrid, could you please put it in that corner over there?"

By the time the decorating was finished, the walls were draped with festive festoons of holly and mistletoe, and twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the hall.

Some of the trees were adorned with glittering little icicles, some flickered with hundreds of candles, and others needed no extra decoration at all, possessing immense ornamental value simply on their own.

All in all, the entire Great Hall looked even more magnificent and breathtaking than it had during Halloween.

"Tomorrow is the official start of the holiday," Hagrid said, turning to Harry as he looked at the scene. "I heard you're going to Sherlock's place?"

"Yes, Hagrid," Harry replied, his face beaming with a blissful smile. "Sherlock invited me and Ron."

"That is simply wonderful!" Hagrid was genuinely happy that Harry had found a friend like Sherlock. He placed his heavy hands on Sherlock's and Harry's shoulders respectively. "I bet this will be the best Christmas you've ever had in your life."

Harry nodded, feeling the exact same way.

However, because the news of Sherlock going home for the holidays had spread, an unusually large number of young wizards came looking for him during this period.

The momentum of it felt as though people were rushing to squeeze in one last divination session before time ran out.

Under these circumstances, Harry, Hermione, and Ron quietly arranged to meet in an empty classroom.

"Ron, are you sure Sherlock didn't follow us?"

"I don't think so. He was stopped by that Ravenclaw girl."

"Good. We must settle this matter before leaving school. Harry, you..."

Hermione was about to speak to Harry when she noticed his gaze was still fixed behind her. "Stop looking, Sherlock isn't coming over anytime soon."

"Er... right." A flush appeared on Harry's face as he quickly pulled his gaze back.

"Now, let's discuss what Christmas gift we should actually give Sherlock."

"Actually, I still think we should just ask Sherlock directly," Ron muttered, but when two cold, piercing gazes locked onto him, he decisively shut his mouth.

One was the Savior, and the other was the top scholar.

Neither of them was someone he could afford to cross.

"Recently, I took advantage of some free time to compile a dossier. Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be added." With that, Hermione pushed a piece of paper in front of the two boys, on which was neatly written:

Sherlock Holmes's Scope of Knowledge:
1. Literature and Philosophy – None
2. Astronomy – None, slightly improved after attending astronomy classes
3. Political Science – Superficial
4. Botany – Patchy, knows nothing about practical gardening, but highly knowledgeable about poisons and dangerous magical creatures
5. Geography – Limited to practical use; can distinguish different types of soil at a glance and determine which part of the school grounds he was in based on the color and hardness of mud splatters on his robes during a walk
6. Chemistry – Profound
7. Anatomy – Accurate, but unsystematic
8. Thriller Literature – Extremely extensive, familiar with almost all terror incidents that have occurred over the past century
9. Possesses rich and practical knowledge of British law.
10. Magic – Practical-leaning; familiar with the theoretical knowledge and practical execution of Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Herbology. History of Magic is only familiar in areas of personal interest. Defense Against the Dark Arts capability is unknown
11. Plays the violin exceptionally well.

After reading Hermione's summary, Harry and Ron could not help but exchange glances.

"You actually know Sherlock this well?" Harry asked first, genuinely impressed by Hermione's capability.

Having spent so much time with Sherlock himself, he had never managed to sum him up so aptly.

"Never mind those details!" Hermione said with an impatient wave of her hand. "Is there anything else to add?"

"Yes!" Harry said decisively. "Sherlock is skilled with clubs and proficient in swordsmanship and fisticuffs."

(ﾟoﾟ〃)

Hermione and Ron both turned to stare at Harry in unison.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry felt a bit sheepish under their intense gazes.

"Cut the crap and tell us how you know that!" Ron punched Harry lightly on the shoulder.

Though Hermione said nothing, her expression clearly conveyed the exact same sentiment.

Harry cleared his throat. "Ever since the first day of term, I've been doing morning exercises with Sherlock every day..."

Ron's eyes widened like copper bells. "Bloody hell, why didn't you invite me?"

Harry immediately glared back. "I invited you on the very first day, and you said you couldn't get up!"

"Er..." Ron looked a bit embarrassed, but quickly stiffened his neck and argued back.

"Then why didn't you guys call me afterward? Just because I didn't go the first day doesn't mean I wouldn't go ever again!"

"You..." Harry hopped in exasperation and was just about to retort when Hermione interrupted.

"You two, pipe down for a second—Harry, did you find out that Sherlock is good with clubs and swords while doing morning exercises with him?"

"That's right." Harry nodded. "Actually, before school even started, Sherlock mentioned that he had studied boxing and fencing—that time on the train when he dealt with Malfoy and the other two..."

"Oh, so that's why he told me he 'persuaded' them! Is that really how he persuaded them?" Hermione's eyebrows instantly arched up in anger.

Seeing this, Harry and Ron inwardly muttered that things were taking a bad turn.

Harry quickly chimed in, "Um... let's get back to discussing what gift we should get him!"

Hermione gave a huff. Since business came first, she decided to let the past matter drop.

Through further discussion, the three of them finally settled on their gifts for Sherlock.

Harry's gift was a magical magnifying glass.

Aside from functioning like an ordinary magnifying glass, it could also detect magical traces and reveal special runes and magical fluctuations on magical items.

If Hogwarts were ever to experience a theft of magical items or issues with tracking magical creatures, this magnifying glass would help Sherlock observe the crime scene much more closely.

This was inspired by the Hannah Abbott incident.

Not long ago, Hannah Abbott had made a special trip to find and thank Sherlock.

Her father had finally cleared his suspicion and restored his reputation.

Though the process had been somewhat twists and turns.

Even with a change in leadership, the Ministry of Magic was still unwilling to retry the case.

Just as Sherlock had predicted earlier, they only cared about an outcome.

As for whether that outcome was actually the truth, they did not care.

Fortunately, Abbott's mother had pulled some strings.

As a result, Wright Black would now face the full force of the law.

This incident elevated Sherlock's reputation at Hogwarts to a new height, bringing him even more people seeking consultation.

Ron intended to give Sherlock invisible ink and a specialized quill pen.

This ink could only be revealed under specific magical spells or reagents, making it convenient for him to conceal important information—another great helper for sleuthing.

As for Hermione, she planned to gift Sherlock a book.