HP: Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts

"Sherlock, are you trying to surprise me today or what?"

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing Sherlock's invitation.

To him, just being able to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays was already a pretty good option.

He never expected Sherlock to invite him home for Christmas.

It was a completely unexpected but delightful surprise.

Sherlock gave a small nod, then turned to Ron. "You too, Ron."

Ron froze, pointing at himself. "Me?"

"Yes. You don't need to stay at school either. Come home with Harry and me."

"But… wasn't Ron already going home for the holidays?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are heading to Romania to visit Charlie. Ron and his three older brothers are all staying at school this year."

"How do you know that?"

Ron's eyes grew even wider than Harry's had earlier. "I haven't even told you yet!"

Sherlock smiled slightly. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Er… never mind then. You probably deduced it again."

Ron muttered with a hint of frustration.

Every time he heard Sherlock break down his thought process, it always left him feeling intellectually crushed.

So unless it was absolutely necessary, he'd rather not go through that again.

Besides, even if Sherlock didn't say anything, Ron had already guessed as much.

After all, he had just sent an owl home a few days ago.

With Sherlock's observational skills, deducing all of this must've been a walk in the park.

And so, with Sherlock's invitation, Harry and Ron were set to spend the Christmas holidays at Sherlock's home.

Fueled by a touch of pride, Ron "accidentally" let the news slip.

After all, Sherlock had become somewhat of a celebrity at school.

Sure, his personality could be odd, and his words often rubbed people the wrong way.

But the ability to glance at someone and instantly deduce what they had done yesterday—it was a skill every young witch and wizard admired.

And if you could ignore his more abrasive traits and focus solely on consulting him for help, it was actually a pretty pleasant experience.

In such circumstances, being invited by Sherlock was definitely something worth boasting about.

"Sorry… I probably shouldn't have said anything… Achoo!"

Ron muttered gloomily as Malfoy mocked Harry.

With the holidays approaching, Ron had caught a cold, and even his voice had changed.

"It's fine—"

Before Harry could finish, Sherlock calmly interjected, "Why apologize? You simply stated a fact."

Ron: (o)

It was the first time Ron had ever found Sherlock's words so comforting.

He immediately straightened his back with pride.

Yeah! Malfoy's the one being a jerk. What's it got to do with me, Ronald Weasley?

"Potter, talking during class. Five points from Gryffindor."

At this point, Harry had long grown used to losing House Points for all sorts of arbitrary reasons.

Especially after Sherlock had explained what Snape really meant during that first Potions lesson, Harry saw him in a completely different light now.

He was, after all, a kind-hearted boy. And after learning the truth...

Of course, he chose to forgive him!

So now, he was completely unfazed.

Which only seemed to irritate Snape more.

By the time he gleefully docked enough points to make "Gryffindor" read more like "Gryffinope," the class had just ended.

As they stepped out of the dungeon, they were met with a startling sight: a massive fir tree blocked the entire corridor ahead.

At first, everyone was confused. But when they spotted the two large feet beneath the tree and heard the loud huffing and puffing, they immediately knew who was behind it.

In all of Hogwarts, there was only one person who could manage this kind of task without magic.

Ron curiously poked his head through the branches—and sure enough, he saw a familiar bearded face.

"Hey, Hagrid—need any... cough—help?"

"No, I've got it, thanks, Ron," Hagrid replied cheerfully.

"Outta the way, would you? Even dogs know not to block the road!"

Just as Ron and Hagrid were exchanging pleasantries, a sneering voice came from behind.

"I'm guessing you're hoping to earn some pocket change, eh, Weasley?" Malfoy drawled.

"Or maybe you're planning to be a gamekeeper once you graduate? Honestly, Hagrid's hut is a palace compared to your actual home."

It had to be said—Malfoy really had a talent for snide remarks.

And unfortunately, after Sherlock's earlier analysis, Ron had briefly considered something like that.

Which, of course, only made him angrier.

Just as he was about to charge at Malfoy, Sherlock reached out and stopped him.

"Draco Malfoy."

At the sound of Sherlock's voice, Malfoy stiffened instantly.

In that moment, he was vividly reminded of the terror of being psychologically dismantled by Sherlock.

Even if he wasn't the one who had been punched that day.

"Not just the Weasley home," Sherlock said flatly. "Compared to your house, Hagrid's hut is a palace."

The smile froze on Ron's face.

Mate… I get you were insulting Malfoy, but did you really have to burn me too?

"Holmes, you bas—"

Malfoy wasn't stupid like Goyle. He knew when to quit.

As soon as he saw Sherlock's gray eyes fix on him, he immediately clammed up and walked off with his head down.

No point picking a fight you can't win.

Crabbe and Goyle quickly followed behind.

"Sherlock, you shouldn't have stopped me—I almost taught that git a lesson… Achoo!"

Ron growled, watching Malfoy's retreating back. His face was as red as his hair.

Sherlock shook his head and looked off to the side. "If you had, you wouldn't have landed a single punch. You'd have lost House Points."

Following Sherlock's gaze, everyone gasped.

Standing silently on the staircase was none other than Professor Snape.

Even though they now believed—thanks to Sherlock's deductions—that Snape wasn't a bad person...

Still.

Had Ron actually attacked Malfoy just now, it would've been him paying the price.

Snape walked toward them, his eyes sweeping over Ron.

"You should be grateful, Weasley," he said coldly.

"If Holmes hadn't stopped you, Gryffindor would've lost even more points for your poor judgment."

"Sherlock, thank Merlin you noticed," Harry said once Snape walked away.

"No way, Sherlock," Ron said, spitting on the floor with frustration. "You have to help me find a way to clobber that little ferret."

He looked at Sherlock with burning hope.

Surely someone like Sherlock could set up the perfect opportunity.

To his surprise, Sherlock simply replied:

"You'd lose."

Ron: ( o｀ω′)ノ

"What do you mean I'd— cough cough cough—!"

Ron got so worked up he fell into a fit of coughing.

"All right, cheer up—it's almost Christmas," Hagrid said, slapping Ron on the back so hard that both the cough and complaints were knocked right out of him.

"Come on, you lot—follow me to the Great Hall. It's truly a sight to see."