Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts

【Kensington-Chelsea-King's Road 128-2nd Floor Master Bedroom】

【For Mr. Sherlock Holmes】

Sherlock received a strange letter.

It was strange because, logically, no one would specify the recipient's address to the extent of "2nd Floor Master Bedroom" when sending a letter.

You couldn't expect the postman to deliver the letter directly to the bedroom, could you?

But this letter actually arrived in Sherlock's bedroom.

This is the second reason why it's strange.

The letter's postman was an owl.

Yes, an owl.

Sherlock looked towards the top of the coat rack beside him.

There stood a black and white patterned eagle owl.

It was this eagle owl that had just flown in through the second-floor window with the envelope in its beak, circled the room, and accurately dropped the letter into his hand.

It was practically supernatural.

Sherlock was naturally surprised at first.

--Anyone would be taken aback by such a thing.

But unlike ordinary people, the excitement this event brought Sherlock quickly suppressed his surprise.

Turning the envelope over, there was a dark red wax seal and a shield emblem, which looked quite striking.

However, even more noticeable than those was a capital "H" letter, surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake.

The patterns of the four animals were not distorted by the envelope's small space; instead, each was lifelike, as if about to jump off the paper.

Sherlock took out a magnifying glass from the drawer and began to observe skillfully and meticulously.

A pair of gray eyes shone brightly, and slightly trembling hands showed that his heart was not as calm as it appeared.

Finally, Sherlock happily laughed out loud:

"Finally, something exciting has come along! The local criminals have been too unmotivated lately..."

In 1991, with the continuous acceleration of European Union integration, the EU member states unanimously accelerated their pace.

Rumor has it that the European Community will pass the formal treaties of the European Economic and Monetary Union and the European Political Union by the end of this year.

As one of the core member states, Britain, in order to show the former imperial glory and suppress its two main rivals, France and Germany, also increased its efforts to maintain domestic治安 and stability.

In fact, large-scale criminal organizations had already almost disappeared from the British mainland by the end of the 20th century.

Only street gangs remained, stubbornly demonstrating their presence.

In this context, London, as the capital, was naturally the first to bear the brunt.

Faced with such high pressure, the criminals all quieted down and temporarily stopped operating.

In addition, he had just recovered from a serious illness not long ago, and his parents had also arranged a preparatory school for him.

For Sherlock, who liked to pursue excitement and was tired of a peaceful life, this time of only being able to stay at home and wait for school to start naturally seemed increasingly boring.

Until today.

Of course, despite being very excited, Sherlock still carefully observed the envelope before opening it.

This was a habit he had always cultivated.

"No postage stamp, emerald green ink, parchment paper, excessively thick paper... Interesting."

Through observation, Sherlock had already reached a preliminary conclusion.

However, further confirmation was needed through the main text of the letter.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

(President of the International Confederation of Wizards, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)

Dear Mr. Holmes,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Please find enclosed a list of required books and equipment. The term begins on September 1st.

We await your reply by owl no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

"..."

Before reading the letter, Sherlock had thought of many possibilities, but not this one.

Hogwarts?

Magic school?

Grand wizard?

So... this is an admission letter?

The content of the letter was so outrageous that even the always rational Sherlock couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

As the letter said, there was a second page of stationery attached after the main text, which was a list of essential school supplies.

Sherlock glanced at it and found things like wands, magic books, magic robes, etc., which only appeared in magical-themed literature and film and television works.

Books such as 'The Standard Book of Spells' and 'A History of Magic' were even marked with the author's name.

It's as if it's real.

After a moment of silence, Sherlock held the letter up to the light.

"Ha!"

His eyes shone even brighter.

If it were any other child, they would probably have already believed everything in excitement at this moment.

However, the 11-year-old Sherlock Holmes was no ordinary person.

He was much more mature than his peers.

And a young man who firmly believed in science.

Magic?

How could something that only exists in legends really exist?

So this must be a prank.

Exquisitely made envelope?

Can be forged.

The content of the letter?

Can be made up with a little thought.

His own address?

This is the easiest, even less effort than making up the content of the letter.

The only doubtful point is the owl that delivers the letter.

Before this, Sherlock had indeed never heard of them doing such a thing; this job was often undertaken by its relatives - pigeons.

But not having heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

As long as you are willing to spend the effort, Sherlock felt that this was not impossible to do.

The question is, would anyone really spend a lot of effort doing such a boring thing?

The answer is yes.

Because this kind of thing has happened before.

Sherlock's dream used to be to be a pirate.

This dream can certainly be called strange, but it is not unacceptable.

--After all, this is also part of the country's traditional culture.

It was also during that time that Sherlock received a letter.

Similar to this "admission letter," but that time the letter was delivered by a proper postman.

The writer claimed to be Captain Jack, and he said in the letter that he used to be a swashbuckling pirate leading many minions across the sea, robbing the rich and helping the poor, and was considered a prominent figure in a period.

Unfortunately, he accidentally fell into the trap of another bad captain and was robbed of his beloved pirate ship.

In the end, he was disheartened and ended up on the streets.

He wrote to Sherlock because he found that Sherlock had the potential to become an excellent pirate, so he made a decision that violated his ancestors: to cultivate Sherlock as his successor.

The purpose was to defeat the bastard who robbed him of his captain's ship and take back everything he once owned.

At first, Sherlock refused.

But as time went by, this Captain Jack eventually proved himself to Sherlock in various ways.

You must know that Sherlock is not an ordinary child.

Gaining his trust was not an easy thing to do in the first place.

Because of this, Sherlock repeatedly tested and verified throughout the process, but found no flaws, and everything was fine.

However, just when Sherlock finally believed the other party and made up his mind to follow Captain Jack on an adventure, he was told that this was a scam.

This was nothing less than a bolt from the blue for him.

Sherlock took a deep breath.

There's no need to mention the past anymore.

But people can't fall in the same place twice.

Now Sherlock's reasoning and analysis skills are stronger than when he was young and ignorant. With the lessons learned from the past, he will naturally not be easily fooled this time.

So even if common sense tells himself that owls won't deliver letters, based on the experience of being cheated last time, as long as he is willing to put in a lot of effort - it is not impossible to teach an owl to deliver letters.

In order to play with his feelings, that person is happy to do it.

Recalling this experience, Sherlock paced back and forth in the room.

Finally, he made a not-so-difficult decision and took out paper to write quickly.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

I am honored to receive your school's admission notice, and I am also happy to go to your school to study.

It's just that I and my family have never heard of "magic" matters before, and I don't know much about the admission preparation work. If your school can arrange for staff to come to our home to answer questions, I would be very grateful - Sherlock Holmes.

A smile appeared on the corner of Sherlock's mouth.

Since you want to pursue excitement, then carry it through to the end.

The other party has already made a move, so he will play with him well.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Sherlock had written the reply, the owl still on top of the coat rack immediately called out and fluttered its wings to come in front of him.

So proactive?

Sherlock tried to reach out, and it immediately took the letter, flapping its wings and flying out of the window.

Observing its flying posture and speed, Sherlock couldn't help but sigh.

Judging from the training results of this owl, a lot of effort has really been put into it.

This alone is worth taking seriously.

Based on his understanding of that person, the other party will definitely not give up so easily.

In what way will he respond to himself?

Is it to slowly gain his trust through letters?

Or arrange for someone to pretend to be a teacher at a magic school?

Or simply jump out and bluntly announce that this is a scam?

Well, only this is unlikely - after all, both sides want to continue this contest.

In any case, Sherlock is very much looking forward to what will happen next.

At least... this summer won't be boring.

It's just that Sherlock didn't expect the other party's response to come so quickly.

Three days after receiving the admission letter, Sherlock was having breakfast with his parents.

Mrs. Holmes picked up the newspaper and glanced at it, then exclaimed to her husband, "Tarnan, the burglary case has been solved - Sherlock was right, the culprit is really that one-armed man!"

Mr. Holmes smiled and looked at his son, "I remember this was a case from three months ago."

Sherlock put a piece of bread into his mouth and said indifferently, "Scotland Yard's efficiency has always been like this, and they turn a blind eye to obvious facts."

"Scotland Yard" is not a place name, but a synonym for the London Metropolitan Police Service.

It is neither located in Scotland nor responsible for Scottish policing.

The London Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for maintaining public order and traffic in the entire Greater London area except for the City of London. The old site is located at 4 Whitehall Street.

Because one of its back doors faces Scotland Yard, and this door happens to be the public entrance to the London Metropolitan Police Service, over time, Scotland Yard has become a synonym for the London Metropolitan Police Service.

Using place names to refer to institutions is not uncommon, such as Fleet Street, such as 10 Downing Street.

Not only in the UK, but other countries also have this habit.

For example, Sherlock, who is very interested in investigation, knows locations such as "Lubyanka," "Six Doors," and "West Ice Vault Hotel."

Mr. Holmes heard Sherlock's evaluation of Scotland Yard and couldn't help but suggest, "Sherlock, why don't you become a detective in the future!"

Sherlock raised his eyebrows and did not answer.

Just then, an eagle owl flew straight in through the open window.