In the Headmaster's office, Sherlock calmly analyzed the case.
"Second, that bloody message was left by Professor Quirrell.
Third, everything Professor Quirrell did was at someone else's instruction."
Silence. Long silence.
"Evidence?"
Dumbledore spoke, his eyes full of curiosity. "Just based on what happened that night?"
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Sherlock said in his characteristically calm tone:
"No matter how much he's looked down upon, Quirrell is still the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Being frightened into that state by a troll was already excessive, but then being able to run all the way from the dungeon classroom to the Great Hall, tell you what needed to be said, and only then faint—such acting was too clumsy."
Dumbledore smiled and said: "Minerva once told me that you have amazing analytical and reasoning abilities. Now I can see that's indeed the case. That night, you made some deductions about the person who left the bloody message. Can you tell me how you knew these things?"
After that night, McGonagall had specifically sought out Dumbledore to tell him about Sherlock's deductions.
The person who left the bloody message was a middle-aged man under six feet tall, right-handed, using a wand approximately nine inches long, quick-moving and cunning, who didn't act of his own will but at someone else's instruction.
Even before school started, McGonagall had already mentioned Sherlock's deduction that Hogwarts was in the Scottish Highlands.
Now with this latest incident, Dumbledore was naturally very interested.
"Actually, deducing these things is quite simple: a person's height can be determined from their stride length. The calculation method is simple, but explaining it step by step now wouldn't serve much purpose, so I'll skip it for now.
When writing in a not-very-large space, people habitually choose the center position. From the traces left at the scene, using the room's center point as reference, that line of text was slightly to the right.
Combining these two points, you can deduce the person's height and dominant hand.
Since they used a wand to write, you can also determine the wand's length. These things are as simple as child's play."
"How did you determine that he was quick-moving and cunning?"
Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask.
Compared to Dumbledore and Snape, she had personally witnessed Sherlock's abilities.
With no knowledge of magic, relying solely on clues to determine Hogwarts' location in the Scottish Highlands was truly impressive.
That's why she supported Sherlock in sharing his deductions that night.
"I reached the dungeon classroom the moment I saw Professor Quirrell, and even then, I barely encountered Hermione before the troll arrived, showing his speed wasn't slow."
Professor Quirrell released the troll for two purposes. The first was to create chaos so he could approach the fourth-floor corridor.
Although I don't know what exactly you had Hagrid place on the fourth floor, Dumbledore, that was obviously Professor Quirrell's target—unfortunately, he failed."
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged glances. "You deduced this as well?"
"Yes," Sherlock said, then looked at McGonagall. "Speaking of which, we should all thank Professor Snape."
Dumbledore smiled.
McGonagall looked somewhat surprised.
Snape remained expressionless.
"While others were searching for the troll in the chaos, Professor Snape went directly to the fourth floor and stopped Professor Quirrell, even getting his leg bitten in the process.
Also, that night Professor Snape was obviously trying to protect me by stopping me from continuing my analysis.
Professor Snape must have thought that if Professor Quirrell heard my analysis, he would realize I had deduced that he was responsible for this incident..."
"Holmes!"
Snape finally couldn't contain himself. Looking furious, he said: "Don't talk about irrelevant matters!"
Sherlock had originally wanted to elaborate on Snape's injury, but seeing his embarrassed anger, he could only shrug helplessly and give up.
"...Professor Quirrell's first objective was thwarted, so he could only settle for second best and join the other professors in dealing with the troll.
Of course, he didn't need to act personally against the troll—Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape's abilities were sufficient.
As for that bloody message, he had prepared it when he released the troll.
This can be verified both by the casting time and the traces left at the scene, so I won't elaborate.
After the professors resolved the troll situation and returned, Professor Quirrell would lead everyone there to discover the bloody message.
Incidentally, Professor Quirrell's acting when he saw the bloody traces was still too obvious, which confirmed my suspicions about him."
"So, what does RACHE represent? The person who instructed Quirrell?"
"A bold guess."
Sherlock shook his head. "My friend Hermione also thought the person leaving the bloody message originally intended to write a woman's name, Rachel, but was interrupted by something else, so didn't finish writing.
However, I don't think it's necessary to waste time looking for some 'Miss Rachel,' because 'RACHE' means 'revenge' in German.
From my deduction, the person instructing Professor Quirrell has serious racist tendencies, which is why they used German to write the word revenge.
So..."
Sherlock paused and looked at Dumbledore.
"Sir, can you now tell me what you've discovered?"
As soon as these words were spoken, even Snape, who had been about to mock him, was stunned.
His and McGonagall's gazes simultaneously turned to Dumbledore.
Meeting everyone's stares, Dumbledore was first startled, then laughed.
"Minerva's judgment is as excellent as always. Mr. Sherlock, you're even more outstanding than she described."
"Albus..."
McGonagall looked at Dumbledore nervously.
"It's alright," Dumbledore waved his hand and met Sherlock's gaze. "I have indeed discovered some things."
Hearing Dumbledore say this, Sherlock immediately pressed his palms together to support his chin, staring at him intently.
From the moment he learned that Dumbledore had summoned him, Sherlock already knew what would happen tonight.
Exposing Quirrell was just the beginning.
What was truly important was the person behind him.
It's just that his information wasn't complete, so he needed someone like Dumbledore to further confirm it.
However.
Dumbledore suddenly turned to Snape: "Severus, could I trouble you to step outside for a moment?"
Snape: (ー`´ー)
"In that case, I won't disturb your reunion!"
Snape said through gritted teeth, "However... Dumbledore, you owe me an explanation!"
After saying this, he walked out of the Headmaster's office without looking back.
"Youth is wonderful!"
Looking at Snape's retreating figure, Dumbledore couldn't help but sigh, then looked at McGonagall.
"Albus, me... me too?"
McGonagall pointed at herself, looking incredulous.
"I'm sorry, Minerva," Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall, still maintaining his smile. "Please trust me."
McGonagall: Σ(｀д′*ノ)ノ
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