0098 The Obvious Clues (Big-Chapter)

Being looked down upon by Sherlock, Marietta Edgecombe's psychological defenses had nearly collapsed.

After all, she was just a 13-year-old girl who couldn't withstand the interrogation of this abnormal person, Sherlock.

But she soon began screaming hysterically:

"What expressions, what eyes, what anxiety—it's all your speculation! You have no evidence!"

"Heh—your reaction isn't slow—of course, if I only relied on these to identify you, even I would despise myself."

Sherlock chuckled: "Miss Chang, please close the common room door. If anyone wants to enter, have them wait a moment. Miss Penelope, please watch Miss Edgecombe. If convenient, it would be best to use magic to control her movements. Miss Kirke, please work with Miss Chang to ensure we won't be disturbed temporarily. Don't worry, I'll finish this quickly."

After saying this, he returned to his seat, looking at the already frantic Edgecombe, and said slowly:

"Regardless, this is my first real case since coming to the magical world, which has special meaning for me. Last time with Miss Abbott's case, it was actually the Ministry of Magic that played the crucial role—though they themselves didn't know it. However, this case, while simple, has several points worth learning from."

"Simple?"

Hermione couldn't help but exclaim.

The other girls, including Edgecombe, looked at Sherlock with equally puzzled expressions.

Obviously, they didn't agree with Sherlock's assessment.

"Yes, extremely simple. It's hard to use any other word to describe it."

Noticing everyone's surprised gazes, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh.

"You might think about it carefully—aside from a little help from my friend, through just ordinary reasoning, I actually caught this criminal within a day. This proves the case was essentially very simple."

"If understood that way, it does make sense—"

Hermione said thoughtfully. She had originally thought Sherlock would need several days, even a week, to solve this case.

"Everyone, things that look or sound extraordinary are generally not obstacles. In my view, they're actually clues. When solving such problems, the most important thing is being able to use deductive reasoning, layer by layer of backward reasoning. This is a very useful skill and quite easy to accomplish.

Unfortunately, people rarely apply it in practice. Whether in the Muggle world or magical world daily life, forward reasoning is more useful, so we often overlook backward reasoning. After coming to the magical world, I found that for wizards who aren't good at logical reasoning, if fifty people can comprehensively reason from various aspects of affairs, those who can use analytical reasoning might be fewer than ten."

"I'm not a criminal!"

As if she'd had enough of Sherlock's boastful display, Edgecombe screamed again:

"You have no evidence!"

"You want evidence?"

Sherlock looked at Edgecombe contemptuously: "I'll give it to you now."

Looking at Edgecombe, who was trying to struggle but was controlled by Penelope, Sherlock paced back and forth in the Ravenclaw common room and began to state slowly:

"The second bed by the window in your dormitory has light blue bed curtains embroidered with Chinese cloud patterns in silver thread. Undoubtedly, this bed belongs to Miss Chang.

There's a magical plant pot on the bedside table. I opened the cabinet and saw that the missing sandalwood box was originally placed on the third shelf. Although the cabinet wasn't locked, the keyhole retained a trace of sandalwood scent, mingling with the herbal sachet fragrance scattered inside the cabinet. For Mrs. Norris, this was as obvious as a beacon in the night.

Adjacent to Miss Chang's bed, there's a dressing mirror inlaid with malachite on top of the cabinet, with 'A.E.' carved on the mirror frame's edge."

Obviously, this was Miss Edgecombe's bed—because this is the Edgecombe family abbreviation.

I think Miss Edgecombe didn't notice that the dressing mirror has a fine crack, with several streaks of silver Floo powder gleaming on the crack.

Of course, this alone doesn't mean much, since your mother, Mrs. Edgecombe, works at the Floo Network Authority in the Department of Magical Transportation.

But it was precisely this that reminded me and let me understand your motive for the crime."

At this point, Sherlock glanced at Edgecombe, taking in her expression completely, then continued:

"As for the other two beds, there's nothing much to say—tidy to the point of being rigid. Parchment rolls arranged by date, quill tips always sharp. It seems to reflect Ravenclaw's typical sense of order, but the corner of a crumpled 'The Quibbler' magazine peeking out from under one bed seems rather absurd."

"No wonder you didn't ask us who owned which bed."

Cho Chang showed a look of sudden understanding.

"This is just the most basic reasoning, hardly worth mentioning."

Sherlock waved his hand and held up three fingers: "There are exactly three pieces of evidence that confirmed the criminal for me."

Everyone pricked up their ears at this moment.

"First is the magic spell.

With the help of the magical magnifying glass, I found weak traces of magic remaining on both Miss Chang's jewelry box and the wind chimes hanging at her bedside.

Normally, as the owner, Miss Chang wouldn't need to cast spells when opening her jewelry box or the sandalwood box containing the eyeshadow.

As for the copper wind chimes, there's even less reason—as magical instruments translated into musical notes, I don't think anyone would use them for practice.

So, there's only one possibility—the magic was left by whoever took the eyeshadow.

Then why would they use magic on someone else's belongings and the wind chimes in the dormitory?

I can think of many possibilities, but the most likely is to cover up the opening actions and interfere with the wind chimes' sound.

Under these circumstances, the most suitable spell would obviously be the Confundus Charm.

Although this is a very difficult spell that requires complete concentration on a single target, with any mistake leading to failure.

However, if the target is a stationary object, the difficulty naturally decreases greatly.

Even so, for second-year students, it's still quite difficult.

It would probably require multiple attempts to succeed, which is why magical traces were left."

After saying this, Sherlock leaned forward slightly, clasped his hands to support his chin, and looked at Penelope with interest:

"Miss Penelope, I believe with your abilities, you should be able to easily cast the Prior Incantato charm?"

Penelope nodded confidently.

"Then please give Miss Edgecombe's wand a try!"

Edgecombe's face instantly turned pale.

"Marietta, take out your wand."

"Prefect Penelope, would you rather believe an outsider than me?"

"Hand over your wand!"

Kirke, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and directly grabbed Edgecombe's wand to give to Penelope.

Penelope wasn't polite either, pointing at the target and waving her own wand.

"Prior Incantato!"

As Penelope recited the incantation, a flickering golden thread appeared between the two wands.

The next moment, the golden thread split, forming hundreds of light arcs that finally wove together into a domed golden net.

Watching Penelope's skilled spellcasting, Hermione couldn't help but feel envious.

When would she be able to be this proficient?

Soon, everything returned to calm. Penelope was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"The Confundus Charm was indeed cast, and—more than once."

"Marietta!"

Cho Chang, hearing this result, covered her mouth in surprise.

"Cho, you have to believe me!"

Edgecombe glared at Sherlock: "I did use the Confundus Charm, but that's because I've been practicing spells alone recently! Difficult spells like the Confundus Charm are perfect for training my fine magical control. Is that not allowed?"

"Don't worry, Miss Edgecombe, this is just the first piece of evidence."

Sherlock silenced Edgecombe with one sentence and continued:

"Second, the scent.

The eyeshadow had been stored together with the scattered herbal sachets in the bedside cabinet for a long time, with sandalwood and their scents mingling, making it easy for Mrs. Norris to notice this.

Here I must say again, your spellcasting level is really too poor—even Mrs. Norris could detect the abnormality.

Do you think it appeared at your feet just now because it likes you?

It easily discovered that a small drop of liquid shimmering with fine glitter had been left at the corner of the walnut table.

According to Miss Chang's description, that was exactly the golden eyeshadow from the seven-colored eyeshadow set.

Perhaps out of excitement, perhaps nervousness, after getting the eyeshadow, you actually couldn't wait to start trying it in the dormitory—

Do you know? That cat's evaluation of you is even lower than mine."

Looking at Sherlock continuously shaking his head, Edgecombe couldn't say a word.

"Of course, you could still claim all this has nothing to do with you.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Norris could find the eyeshadow's hiding place even using just her paws—this is also the third piece of evidence."

Sherlock stood up as he spoke: "Miss Chang, you can open the door now."

Cho Chang nodded and opened the common room door. Many Ravenclaw students had already gathered outside.

However, under Penelope's gaze, they all stepped aside.

Only one tall male student remained standing in place.

He was Robert Hilliard, another Ravenclaw prefect.

When he saw Penelope, his eyes showed a hint of joy: "Penelope—"

However, as soon as he started speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Penelope: "I don't want to talk to you right now!"

After saying this, she gestured for Sherlock and the others to go first.

Sherlock shrugged and took the lead.

Hermione followed closely behind.

Cho Chang and Kirke stood on either side of Edgecombe.

Seeing Robert Hilliard, Edgecombe's eyes darted around as she was about to speak.

Penelope was quick with her wand: "Silencio."

Edgecombe continued to move her mouth as if speaking, but couldn't utter a single word.

Robert Hilliard's face immediately darkened: "Penelope, it's not good to cast offensive spells on lower-year students."

"You'll naturally know the reason after this matter is concluded."

Although she had basically confirmed through the Prior Incantato charm and Edgecombe's behavior that Sherlock's deduction was correct—that Marietta Edgecombe was indeed the perpetrator of this case—only by finding the missing eyeshadow could it be truly considered catching both the person and the stolen goods.

Before that, she really didn't have the mood to deal with Robert Hilliard.

After saying this, she quickened her pace to catch up with Sherlock and the others.

Walking at the back was naturally to prevent accidents.

After all, Edgecombe had just tried to ask Robert Hilliard for help.

Robert Hilliard extended his right arm forward, palm spread with five fingers, wanting to call out to Penelope.

But he ultimately gave up.

Coming to the girls' dormitory for the second time, Sherlock, walking in front, seemed to casually ask, "Looks like Miss Penelope got rid of your pursuer?"

"That's right—wait, how do you?"

Being a Ravenclaw student, Penelope reacted almost instantly.

She looked at Sherlock in shock. Even in Ravenclaw, few people knew about Robert Hilliard's pursuit of her. Why would Sherlock know?

"Just look at his robes."

Sherlock spoke rapidly: "The collar was ironed sharp enough to cut fingers, and the cuffs were sprayed with cologne.

I don't remember Ravenclaw prefects needing to dress like they're attending a wedding, unless he wanted to attract a specific audience.

From the moment Miss Chang opened the common room door, he looked at you 27 times and at me 0 times—even though I'm the key figure in solving the case.

His pupils dilated when you turned around, and his mouth muscles unconsciously lifted—typical biological instincts during courtship.

Also, your attitude toward him.

It was like avoiding a Cornish Pixie. Throughout your conversation with him, you never looked directly at him."

After finishing this, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh: "You should thank this case—it gave you a perfect excuse to avoid this infatuated prefect."

"Mr. Holmes, I'm beginning to believe that from the first moment you saw her, you deduced she was the one who did this."

Hearing Penelope's praise, although Sherlock didn't speak, the upward curve of his mouth became even more obvious.

Penelope took a deep breath: "Now, please show us the third piece of evidence."

Entering Cho Chang's dormitory again, Sherlock released Mrs. Norris, and she immediately ran to Edgecombe's bedside cabinet, continuously pawing at the cabinet door.

Everyone except Sherlock was slightly startled at this sight. They couldn't help but recall Sherlock's earlier words: "Mrs. Norris could find the eyeshadow's hiding place even using just her claws."

Could Cho Chang's eyeshadow really be hidden here?

However, Sherlock didn't immediately walk over. He first went to the walnut desk and pointed out the solidified drop of golden eyeshadow to everyone.

"That's really my eyeshadow!" Cho Chang exclaimed.

Hermione couldn't help but glance at Edgecombe, finding her in a dazed state, as if she no longer cared about any of this.

Only then did Sherlock walk to Marietta's cabinet. Just as he had described before, a peacock stone-inlaid vanity mirror sat on top of the bedside cabinet, with "A.E."—the Edgecombe family initials—carved on the mirror frame's edge. Looking carefully, one could see the fine crack on the mirror surface, with the silver gleam of Floo powder shimmering brightly.

Sherlock lightly tapped with his wand, and Mrs. Norris quickly jumped aside. The cabinet door opened, revealing clothes at the bottom and books, notebooks, and some simple cosmetics on the upper shelves. However, Cho Chang's missing sandalwood box was nowhere to be found.

Everyone looked at each other. Penelope hesitated briefly, then cast a spell, and Edgecombe immediately regained her ability to speak.

"Where is it?" She stared into Edgecombe's eyes. "Where did you hide it?"

"Heh, shouldn't you be asking our great detective?" Edgecombe seemed to come alive again. She looked at Sherlock mockingly and said:

"Great Detective Holmes, didn't you say Filch's cat could find it using just her claws? Please tell me now—where is the thing I supposedly 'stole'? Don't tell me someone else took it away using a Confundus Charm again?"

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