0091 Absent Quirrell

Seeing Sherlock's indifferent attitude, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, Dumbledore could only take the initiative to speak:

"Sherlock, our agreement—"

"Must it be this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, must Harry face Voldemort directly?"

Sherlock met Dumbledore's gaze unflinchingly, speaking each word deliberately:

"Making a first-year student face Voldemort again and again—your idea is genius-level stupidity! Do you think Harry will thank you for it? Or do you just want him to thank you from his grave? Tonight's battle has already proven that Harry can't even maintain a normal state when facing Voldemort!"

Dumbledore coughed. "About that scar, I actually have an idea—"

Before he could finish, Sherlock cut him off mercilessly:

"Do you really think of Harry as the Chosen One? Or do you just want to make him Voldemort's sacrifice? Headmaster, surely you can't expect us first-years to protect the Philosopher's Stone! If the wizarding world's power is truly so weak, I suggest we might as well destroy it directly!"

Sherlock's blunt words not only shocked Dumbledore but also stunned Harry completely.

Good heavens, this was Dumbledore!

Although he usually appeared kind and gentle, and even Hogwarts students feared Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape more than this smiling old man, still—

Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, current Headmaster of Hogwarts—this long string of titles wasn't just for show. He was the greatest wizard of the age, universally acknowledged as the only person Voldemort feared!

For Sherlock to dare speak like this was tantamount to pointing at his nose and cursing him. Not to mention that he, like Harry, was just a first-year student.

But thinking that Sherlock was entirely considering his own good, Harry suddenly felt warmth in his heart. Sherlock's image grew immeasurably tall in his mind.

Just then, Dumbledore once again turned his gaze to Harry. Sherlock's eyes suddenly narrowed.

He heard Dumbledore speak to Harry in an almost pleading, gentle tone:

"Harry, trust me. I only need you to face him once more—the last time."

Clearly, Dumbledore intended to break through Harry's defenses.

He hadn't expected that in less than a school year, Sherlock's influence on Harry had grown so significant. Even with all his experience, he found it difficult to judge whether this was good or bad for Harry.

Earlier, placing the Mirror of Erised and deliberately leading Sherlock and Harry there had been to see their true nature through the mirror. Harry's result was within his expectations. As for Sherlock—Dumbledore shook his head. Even though he was only a twelve-year-old boy, Dumbledore still couldn't claim to see through his nature.

Fortunately, one thing was certain: his friendship with Harry was clean and pure. That was enough.

So now, facing Harry, he kept his posture humble. He believed Harry could understand him. This was for Harry's sake, as well as the future of the entire wizarding world.

Harry looked at Sherlock with some difficulty: "Sherlock—"

Sherlock couldn't help but cover his face with his hand. The boy was good, just a bit slow to react.

But since this was Harry's own choice, Sherlock, as a friend, wouldn't interfere. Of course, he still made his demands:

"Headmaster, I've solved what could be solved with brains. I only hope you won't disappoint us when brute force becomes necessary."

Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "Naturally. I promise you that no matter what means Voldemort uses to control Quirrell, he cannot harm you."

"I hope so."

Sherlock's tone was still far from pleased, but he had clearly relented. Both Harry and Dumbledore secretly breathed sighs of relief. They exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of gratitude in each other's eyes.

"So, when are you planning to leave?"

Just then, Sherlock suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

Dumbledore didn't react immediately and asked reflexively. But after asking, he realized this was trouble. Having dealt with Sherlock so many times, he had gained some understanding of this young wizard. His kindness and intelligence were unquestionable, but his sharp tongue wasn't fake either, especially when he was angry.

Obviously, Sherlock was currently in that state.

Sure enough, Sherlock launched into a merciless attack:

"I'm really curious—did you pour all the sugar into your brain when drinking tea? Or is this just a manifestation of your senile dementia? If you're at school, how could that fellow possibly make a move on the Philosopher's Stone?"

Although he had expected it, Dumbledore still hadn't anticipated Sherlock's attack being so fierce. It seemed that after tonight's battle in the Forbidden Forest, his insistence on having Harry face Voldemort had truly angered Sherlock.

Though somewhat helpless, he was also pleased that Harry had such a friend who thought of him everywhere.

"I'll make him think I've left the school."

"He was stabbed by me and should be taking sick leave for a while."

"I'll have Watson and Hedwig notify you then."

"What about Harry's scar?"

"There's no solution for now. I only have a hypothesis, but after this incident, it should be confirmed."

"I need detailed information about the Philosopher's Stone's protective mechanisms."

"I'll send you a letter, or have Watson bring it to you."

The two continued their back-and-forth discussion, finalizing several key points for the Harry-Voldemort confrontation while Harry watched in bewilderment.

"I—"

Harry tried to voice his opinion, but Sherlock patted his shoulder: "Come on, Harry. There's no point staying here any longer."

"But—"

"Go with your friend."

Dumbledore saw Harry looking at him and nodded with a smile. "Also, Sherlock, are you sure you won't have some lemon water?"

"Keep that syrup for yourself. By the way, I suggest you consider using this year's dental checkup and free cleaning service. Dr. Granger's clinic would certainly welcome you."

Dumbledore: "..."

Sherlock and Harry, wearing the Invisibility Cloak, returned to their dormitory. Ron, Neville, and Dean had long since fallen asleep.

The next morning, Sherlock still took Harry for morning training. The battle in the Forbidden Forest had shown Harry his shortcomings, making him practice even harder.

After training, they returned to the Great Hall. Seeing no one around, Harry finally couldn't resist asking: "Sherlock, why could Hagrid's rock cakes block curses?"

Sherlock couldn't help but laugh.

"My dear friend, I thought you would have asked me much earlier."

Harry felt somewhat embarrassed—he had indeed held back for a long time.

"Dear Harry, if you think carefully, this isn't difficult to deduce. First, consider the nature of curses—they manipulate magical power to achieve effects ordinary people cannot. From the energy projection direction of offensive curses, they're often accompanied by physical phenomena like sound and light, so they can miss, be dodged, or be blocked.

Even the powerful Killing Curse isn't invincible—it can still be blocked by hard materials. Just as physical attacks can be blocked by sturdy shields in the Muggle world, curse attacks in the wizarding world have similar defensive mechanisms."

Harry nodded. This had been covered in Charms class, though most young wizards just took hasty notes without deep thought.

Sherlock pressed his fingertips together, continuing to look at Harry:

"Now let's consider the maker of these rock cakes—Hagrid. His identity as a half-giant plays a crucial role. You should know that giants naturally possess certain magical resistance. But people often overlook that this resistance doesn't just manifest in themselves—even items they create are imbued with similar properties.

So, when Voldemort's Killing Curse struck, the rock cake's special attributes—granted by Hagrid's giant heritage—combined with its relatively hard texture, successfully blocked the deadly curse. This seemingly miraculous coincidence actually follows clear logical patterns.

Of course, facing the Unforgivable Curse for the first time, I wasn't certain either, which is why I threw the shield directly. But now it's clear that Hagrid's carefully made rock cakes indeed inherited this trait. In the next battle, the shield will prove even more useful.

Now, please pass me the teacup. I need to think about your training plan before our next encounter and our action steps after Dumbledore leaves school."

For the next two weeks, just as Sherlock had predicted, Professor Quirrell didn't appear in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. This further confirmed that the crawling figure that night was Quirrell. Whether Voldemort controlled Quirrell through dark magic or attached himself to Quirrell in some way remained unknown.

Professor Snape's explanation was that Professor Quirrell was taking sick leave due to poor health.

Yes, with Quirrell absent, his replacement was none other than Potions Professor Snape. His teaching naturally meant more point deductions for Gryffindor.

Besides Harry Potter, who was routinely deducted points for various inexplicable reasons, Neville with his constant spell failures and Seamus with his mysterious explosions became primary targets.

Gryffindor, already trailing due to Sherlock's public fight with a classmate, saw their points plummet further. Under Snape's doubled efforts, they finally became "Gryffin-minus." Not only were they dead last, but the gap with first-place Slytherin kept widening.

This made the young lions cry out in despair. Of course, there were exceptions. Sherlock was quite satisfied with this.