In an inconspicuous corner of the Quidditch pitch stands—
When everyone's attention was focused on Harry, Sherlock brought Hermione to find the big black dog hiding in the shadows.
Seeing Sherlock and Hermione approaching, the big black dog turned and left.
Sherlock and Hermione naturally followed with mutual understanding.
Upon reaching an unnoticed corner, he transformed back into human form.
"I knew you two would find me."
Sirius smiled at Sherlock and Hermione, not seeming very surprised.
Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "What, not planning to meet with Harry?"
"No," Sirius shook his head. "Hogwarts doesn't usually allow parents to visit the school."
"Hu! I didn't know you'd become so rule-abiding."
"I just don't want to cause trouble for Harry."
Sirius winked at Sherlock. "Actually, as soon as I arrived at the school, Dumbledore discovered me."
"As expected…..."
Sherlock wasn't surprised at all.
Sirius smiled slightly. "Harry performed very well in this match, just like his father—but more than that, I'm more interested in something else."
"What?" Hermione asked curiously.
"That girl, the Asian girl."
"You mean Cho Chang, Ravenclaw's Seeker?"
"Yes, that's her."
"What about her?"
"Oh, Hermione, don't be like that. Harry looked at her with obviously different eyes than he looks at you."
Sirius looked at Hermione, saying in a teasing tone, "He looks at you like he's looking at another boy."
Hermione: (¬_¬)
"Of course, that was just a joke, don't take offense."
Seeing Hermione's expression, Sirius quickly said.
"Actually, I think that girl is quite good—pretty, good at studies, can play Quidditch—"
"The most important thing is that she's pretty, right?"
Hermione was obviously still bothered by Sirius's earlier assessment of her. "Also, isn't it a bit too early to be talking about this, Mr. Black?"
"No, no, no. Harry's already fourteen years old. You have to understand, when James first started at Hogwarts in first year, he was already noticing Lily.
By James's fourth year, he had even been targeting Snape for four whole years because of Lily. So, for Harry, this isn't early at all. In fact, when I just saw that girl, I thought she was just like Lily back then."
Hermione wasn't particularly concerned about Sirius's evaluation of Cho Chang.
But another matter made her open her mouth in surprise. "You're saying—Harry's dad in first year already..."
"Sounds a bit unbelievable, doesn't it?"
A bitter smile appeared on Sirius's face, as if sinking into distant memories.
"But that's the truth. Sherlock, I think you already knew that Lily and Snape were friends before starting school, right?"
"Yes, I learned it from Harry's Aunt Petunia. She told us that Harry's mother and Professor Snape were friends from young age. Unfortunately, after arriving at Hogwarts, Harry's father appeared. The result was that the longtime childhood friend lost to the newcomer—Harry's father stole her away, and Professor Snape sadly left the scene."
Sirius: "..."
Hermione: "..."
After a moment of silence, Sirius spoke with difficulty.
"Actually, the truth is far less simple than that. On the Hogwarts Express, I was discussing with James which house we might be sorted into. At that very moment, Snape was also talking to Lily about the same topic.
The moment James first saw Lily, he was deeply attracted to her. So, he deliberately interrupted, saying he didn't want to go to Slytherin—actually just wanting to get Lily's attention."
"Wasn't he implying that Slytherin students are all bad people?"
"You're right, Hermione, that's exactly what James meant. But Snape was a petty guy. He immediately mocked that Gryffindor students were all brawn and no brains. From then on, our feud was established!"
Hermione said nothing. Actually, she felt that in this matter, Harry's father was clearly in the wrong.
As the saying goes, whoever provokes first is at fault.
You say their house is full of bad people, so them calling you simple-minded isn't really a problem.
However, for Harry's sake, she really couldn't say this out loud.
Sirius continued.
"Later, we learned that Lily and Snape were friends, and James became even more hateful toward that Snivellus. So, did I. Until graduation, we found each other disagreeable and fought for all seven years at school."
"Snivellus?"
This was the first time Sherlock had heard this nickname.
"Yes, that's what we Marauders always called him."
"Marauders?"
Sherlock heard yet another new nickname.
"Yes, Marauders. It's the name we gave ourselves. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Thinking back now, we were really childish then... Only Remus was somewhat rational, thinking we shouldn't target Snape. Unfortunately, he had his own problems, so although he didn't agree with what we were doing, he didn't feel comfortable pointing it out.
Especially with bastards like me—I once nearly got Snape killed. If it weren't for James—"
Seeing Sirius constantly shaking his head, Sherlock and Hermione exchanged glances, both eyes brightening.
Sherlock directly said. "Tell us more."
Sirius looked strangely at the young couple. "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you."
Snape was a very intelligent person, there was no doubt about that.
So, he had always been suspicious of Lupin's identity.
In James and Sirius's fifth year, Snape saw Madam Pomfrey taking Lupin to the Shrieking Shack to transform.
Sirius had long been dissatisfied with Snape and deliberately told the curious Snape how to enter the Shrieking Shack. just poke the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and you could follow Remus inside.
Snape followed Sirius's method and entered the passage.
But once he entered the Shrieking Shack, he would encounter Remus, who had already transformed into a werewolf.
At that time, Remus was in a state where he didn't recognize anyone and would kill indiscriminately.
At the critical moment, James learned of this.
Although he hated Snape, he hadn't hated him to the point of wanting to kill him.
So, James risked his life to catch up with Snape, reached the Shrieking Shack, and pulled Snape back, thus saving his life.
But before Snape was pulled back by James, he also saw Remus transform into a werewolf.
From then on, Snape discovered Remus's werewolf identity and hated Remus even more—because he believed Remus had participated in Sirius's prank.
Lily believed that Snape owed James a debt of gratitude.
"I don't think Professor Snape would see it that way."
Sherlock calmly analyzed.
"In his view, Harry's father was trying to avoid having Remus's secret identity exposed and to prevent himself from bearing the guilt of causing someone's death and being expelled from school. Saving Professor Snape's life was merely the least important part of it, and it also conveniently allowed him to escape the condemnation of his conscience."
"Sherlock, has anyone ever told you that the way you talk is really..."
Sirius fell silent for a moment, as if weighing his words.
"Forget it, let's not talk about the past. Let's talk about that girl and what's really going on with Harry. Is their relationship what I think it is? I saw them together during winter break."
"Well—it seems—not yet?"
Hermione said somewhat hesitantly, "But they really are very good friends."
"That's good enough."
Sirius nodded with satisfaction.
The boy Harry took after his father.
Back then, James also pursued Lily because he saw she was pretty.
Of course, after getting to know Lily and discovering she was a gentle, kind, intelligent, and upright girl, he liked her even more.
Because of this, in sixth and seventh year, he changed some of his bad habits and gradually matured.
It just so happened that Lily also ended her ties and friendship with Snape, and the two began dating. Lily finally discovered the part of James's character that aligned with her own—brave and kind and eventually, they came together.
Truly beginning with appearance, bonding through personality, and lifelong through character.
By the time Sherlock and Hermione returned to the Quidditch pitch, there was hardly anyone left.
"We seem to have taken quite a long time?" Hermione looked around, somewhat puzzled. "Where did everyone go?"
"Quick, you two!"
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared before them—it was Padma, one of the Patil twins.
"They're having a party! In the Gryffindor common room!"
Padma Patil was, after all, a Ravenclaw student. Although Gryffindor certainly wouldn't refuse her arrival, running to the opposing house's common room to celebrate with them after they defeated her own house seemed too strange.
So, she declined her twin sister Parvati Patil's invitation.
Seeing Sherlock and Hermione at this moment, she told them about it. "Where were you two just now? Potter and the others have been looking for you!"
"We just happened to run into an old friend, so we chatted a bit longer. Thank you, Padma."
By the time Sherlock and Hermione arrived at the common room, the party had already begun.
Because it was so lively, no one asked them where they'd been.
Strangely, even though they'd only won one match, it felt as if Gryffindor had already won the Quidditch Cup.
Like this, Gryffindor's party lasted all day and continued late into the night.
During this time, the Weasley twins disappeared for two hours.
When they reappeared, they were carrying armfuls of Butterbeer, pumpkin juice, and several large bags of Honeydukes sweets.
When George tossed Peppermint Toads into the crowd, Parvati Patil asked curiously, "How did you get all this?"
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."
Fred lowered his voice and said to Harry's ear.
Although Harry was the biggest contributor to today's victory, at this moment, the protagonist wasn't the most important.
As Fred and George began juggling with Butterbeer bottles, the atmosphere was pushed to another climax.
Everyone had their own small circles, gathering in groups of three or two.
Harry took this opportunity to come to Sherlock and Hermione's side. "Where did you two go just now?"
"We met with Padfoot."
"What?"
Harry's eyes immediately widened. "He came too?"
"It seems you really didn't see him." Sherlock smiled and patted Harry's shoulder. "He asked me to tell you that your performance today was excellent, just like Prongs back in the day."
"Padfoot, Prongs—"
Hearing these familiar names, Harry's eyes became moist, and he quickly rubbed them.
"Why didn't you bring him along—I mean, why didn't you just come get me to go with you?"
Harry had originally wanted to say why didn't Sherlock and Hermione also bring Sirius to the common room.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized this wouldn't work, so he corrected himself in time.
"He didn't plan to see you, my dear Harry."
Sherlock sighed. "I could tell that Wormtail's matter had a great impact on him. He's become much more composed, which is a good thing for him."
"Why don't you two talk first?"
Hermione suddenly spoke up. "Sherlock, you tell Harry about Sirius."
As she spoke, she pulled a thick book from her bag. The title was Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles.
Obviously, this was reference material needed for the Muggle Studies course.
"Hermione, you're not planning to—"
Seeing that Hermione was already preparing to head toward the corner; Harry showed a surprised expression.
"Yes, Harry, I still have four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!"
Hermione's voice sounded almost hysterical. "I'm glad we won, and I think your performance was indeed excellent, but I also need to finish this book by Monday."
Harry had nothing to say to this. After Hermione walked alone to the corner, he looked at Sherlock with some concern.
"Shouldn't she be like this?"
Sherlock shrugged. "It's her own choice."
Thus, a strange scene appeared in the Gryffindor common room.
Everyone was celebrating today's victory, except for Hermione, who was alone, seriously reading.
"I don't understand."
Having shouted all day, Ron's voice had even changed.
"Sherlock, Harry, you and Hermione all took a full course load, but you're not like this. Making herself so busy, she looks more exhausted than the two of you combined, so what exactly is she doing?"
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