Tracking the troll wasn't difficult. They just had to follow that nauseating smell. The downside was they couldn't get too close. Even with four people, they still couldn't face a mountain troll in direct combat.
Fortunately, the troll moved swiftly. It was the typical example of simple-minded but physically strong. So, Sherlock's group quickly returned from the dungeons up the stairs to the corridors.
After following the troll for some distance, when its figure appeared in their sight again, Sherlock suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" The three following him were all puzzled.
"This is the place," Sherlock said while walking in a direction completely opposite to the troll.
"Uh..." The three, who were already confused by Sherlock's decision to track the troll instead of Snape, were now even more bewildered.
Choosing to tail the troll rather than Snape was already inexplicable. Now, after following it all this way, why was he going in a different direction?
The three looked at each other. Seeing Sherlock turn another corner and about to disappear from their sight, they ultimately followed him.
But just as they followed Sherlock around the corner, they were shocked by what they saw.
Ron exclaimed, "Bloody hell!"
The originally clean, spotless floor was now marked with five large English letters spelled out in blood. The stark contrast created a visual impact that exceeded even their first sight of the towering Hogwarts.
After a long while, Hermione, who had developed some immunity from her recent close encounter with the troll, tentatively spelled them out: "R-A-C-H-E? RACHE?"
Except for Sherlock, all three were looking at each other in bewilderment. This bloody method of leaving a message was truly disturbing for them.
After another moment, Harry swallowed and asked in a low voice, "What does this mean?"
"How should I know?" Ron touched his nose—this wasn't the kind of thing to ask him about.
"RACHE... Rache... Could it be Rachel?" Hermione said hesitantly. "Could it be that someone intended to write Rachel but was interrupted by something and didn't finish?"
Harry quickly followed up, "You mean this represents someone's name? She's called Rachel?"
Hermione nodded uncertainly, "That's all I can think of."
She looked toward Sherlock for confirmation, as did Harry and Ron.
But when the three turned their attention to Sherlock, they found he had already begun taking action.
Sherlock had somehow produced a measuring tape and a circular magnifying glass, walking around those bloody letters. Sometimes standing, sometimes kneeling, sometimes even lying on the ground, completely ignoring the horrible and disturbing environment around him.
The three wanted to speak several times, but seeing Sherlock's busy appearance, they forced themselves to remain silent.
About five minutes later, Sherlock began examining the blood letters with his magnifying glass. After very carefully observing each letter, he seemed satisfied and put away the measuring tape and magnifying glass.
Only then did the three notice that Sherlock had kept them in a specially sewn large pocket on the outside of his robes.
"Thank you for staying quiet and allowing me to find what I wanted before they arrived," Sherlock turned back to the three with a smile.
"Some say genius is really an infinite capacity for taking pains. I personally think this definition isn't quite appropriate, but when applied solely to investigative work, it fits perfectly."
"Who are 'they'?"
"What did you want?"
"What did you discover?"
The three spoke almost simultaneously, but asked completely different questions.
Sherlock's gaze passed over the three, looking behind them. "Since I'll be interrupted immediately anyway, let's wait a moment."
The three were increasingly puzzled by Sherlock's mysterious behavior. The most impatient, Ron, was about to speak when they suddenly heard loud footsteps approaching.
Almost simultaneously, Professor McGonagall rushed over first, followed closely by Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell.
Quirrell, bringing up the rear, let out an "Ah!" the moment he saw those large bloody letters, sat down on the spot, clutched his chest tightly, and began sobbing weakly.
Snape immediately showed a disgusted expression, stepped two paces aside to distance himself from Quirrell.
However, his dark gaze quickly shifted to Harry: "Potter! What kind of mischief are you up to!"
This time McGonagall didn't defend Harry. But she looked at Sherlock and said in an icy voice: "Mr. Holmes, I need an explanation."
With just a glance, she could tell Sherlock was the leader of the group.
Facing Professor McGonagall, whose anger was about to explode, Sherlock smiled slightly: "An explanation... Isn't this obvious?"
Harry, Hermione, Ron: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
That's so like you!
"It seems the proud Gryffindors don't even deign to explain," Snape sneered, looking like he was enjoying the drama, "even to their own Head of House."
McGonagall said nothing, but just looking at her pale lips and iron-gray expression showed her fury.
"Don't make me repeat myself. Give me an explanation for why you weren't staying quietly in your dormitories."
"Isn't this obvi— fine." Sherlock was somewhat helpless. He genuinely thought the answer was obvious. In this situation, couldn't anyone deduce what had happened just by looking? No explanation needed.
Unfortunately, the situation was oppressive, so he could only patiently explain:
"During the Halloween feast, I noticed that Hermione wasn't present. Given that Ron had made her angry this morning, plus descriptions from other students, it wasn't hard to deduce she was alone in the girls' bathroom.
When Professor Quirrell announced that the troll was in the dungeons, I guessed it might very well encounter Hermione. So, I immediately rushed to the dungeons, intending to take her away."
Hearing this, Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry, silently communicating: See? This guy was indeed afraid we'd hold him back!
"My luck was good—I found her before the troll encountered Hermione. Then I met Harry and Ron, who had come for the same reason. Given the disparity in our forces, we could only make a strategic withdrawal. Then we walked all the way here."
"That's right, that's exactly what happened." The moment Sherlock finished, Hermione immediately stepped forward to corroborate his story.
This made Professor McGonagall's expression slightly better. As for Harry and Ron, she simply ignored them. Their testimony held no credibility.
"This is what you call obvious?" But before she could speak, Snape said coldly, "Mr. Holmes, or do you think the professors can guess what you've been doing just by observation?"
Snape was clearly being sarcastic. After all, he never spoke nicely.
Unexpectedly, Holmes turned around and asked in a matter-of-fact tone: "Can't they?"
Snape was stunned. Just as he was about to speak, Holmes said at extremely rapid speed:
"For instance, I can now tell that you just fought with the troll and have already subdued it... Also, before that, you tried to pass through a path guarded by a large canine, but ended up being bitten on the right leg."
As soon as he finished speaking, Snape's expression became even darker than McGonagall's had been moments before.
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