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Hermione quickly realized she had been overthinking.
Gasps erupted from the table across the aisle beside her.
Following the sound, she was astonished to find that Sherlock had completely transformed the matchstick into a needle!
Professor McGonagall didn't hesitate to give her assessment:
A genius in Transfiguration!
Students who fully transformed the matchstick into a needle received four points, while those who only managed to sharpen one end got one point.
McGonagall's awarding of points to Gryffindor this time was perfectly justified and logical. Even her gaze towards Sherlock and Hermione softened considerably.
Precisely because of Sherlock and Hermione's outstanding performance, the phrase she had prepared for the end of class – "You are the worst class I have ever taught" – remained unspoken.
However, Hermione knew in her heart that although it seemed one of Gryffindor's five points was earned by her, McGonagall wouldn't have awarded that point without Sherlock.
Her own transfiguration was worth only a smile; that one point was entirely thanks to Sherlock.
In that instant, she felt the same sensation as Harry and Ron.
Being carried by a master!
Yet, she couldn't quite feel happy about it.
Her parents had told her before school started to look out for each other. Now it seemed completely unnecessary?
Her emotions went unnoticed by others.
The first years continued their routine: attending classes, finishing classes, eating, sleeping.
Just before bedtime, Harry finally asked the question that had been bothering him all day:
"Sherlock, did you really not recognize that the cat was Professor McGonagall?"
The other three occupants of the dormitory, hearing Harry's words, despite having already settled down for the night, couldn't help but secretly prick up their ears.
"My dear Harry, I thought you would have asked me much earlier."
Sherlock chuckled, then immediately countered with a question, "Well... what do you think?"
Harry thought for a moment, feeling he should be honest with Sherlock. "I think you were deceiving her."
"Harry, you've spotted the blind spot."
Sherlock confirmed, then calmly elaborated under Harry's astonished gaze:
"As I've told you before, what we need is observation, not merely seeing.
You also noticed the markings around the cat's eyes but didn't connect them to Professor McGonagall.
This cat's behavior differed from that of a normal cat. If you were familiar with the animal, you could easily spot the discrepancies.
Of course, the most crucial factor is that I knew about the Animagus transformation.
Putting together these observed results, it wasn't actually difficult to deduce the conclusion."
The difference between observation and seeing aside, upon hearing Sherlock bluntly admit he had deceived McGonagall, Ron finally couldn't resist sitting up.
"Bloody hell! Sherlock, I thought you didn't lie!"
"In most situations, I indeed do not lie," Sherlock stated calmly. "Unless it is necessary."
"Then today..."
"A white lie is more suitable for someone like Professor McGonagall than the truth. I have no desire to be under her scrutiny for the foreseeable future."
After all, he still intended to explore Hogwarts.
Harry and Ron looked at each other.
Their understanding of Sherlock deepened yet again.
Sherlock had initially held high hopes for the Defence Against the Dark Arts course.
After all, based on the current curriculum, the teachers at Hogwarts seemed highly accomplished.
Even the ghost Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher who lectured straight from the book, proved knowledgeable when questioned directly.
Unexpectedly, Professor Quirinus Quirrell turned out to be the exception.
During the first lesson, the entire classroom reeked of garlic.
Although he didn't explain why, rumors circulated that it was to ward off a vampire he had encountered in Romania.
It's common knowledge that garlic is an effective deterrent against vampires. For someone as timid and neurotic as Quirrell, constantly worried about being attacked by dark creatures, such behavior was somewhat understandable.
As for himself, he explained his large turban – a gift from an African prince as thanks for helping the prince escape the clutches of a revenant zombie.
The students were collectively skeptical.
Harry, curious, couldn't help but whisper, "Sherlock, is he telling the truth?"
Sherlock shook his head.
Quirrell lying wasn't a major issue in itself, as long as he could perform his primary duty of teaching effectively.
The problem was, Quirrell couldn't.
To put it bluntly, the professor was practically a soulless repeater.
His level of reading straight from the text surpassed even Professor Binns in History of Magic.
When students asked questions, he would stammer, evade the topic, and start talking about the weather.
A course demanding the most practical application being handled like this...
Sherlock was at a loss for words.
It seemed not all Hogwarts professors were elites.
Conversely, Harry felt a sense of relief.
He realized that even students from wizarding families were roughly at the same level as him.
The best performers among the entire first year were actually Sherlock and Hermione, both from Muggle families.
This freed him up enough to joke with Sherlock:
"Actually, Professor Quirrell is a nice person. I met him in Diagon Alley..."
Harry recounted his experience in Diagon Alley to Sherlock. When he mentioned that Quirrell was from Ravenclaw and had originally been very clever, Sherlock frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"Harry, what reasons do you think could cause a person's personality to change so drastically?"
Harry thought for a moment and said, "Hagrid mentioned that Professor Quirrell wanted first-hand experience, ended up encountering vampires and hags in the Black Forest, and became like this afterwards."
"A plausible reason."
Noticing Sherlock's dismissive attitude, Harry was surprised. "What, did you think of something?"
"My friend, it is always dangerous to theorize before one has data."
Sherlock patted Harry's shoulder. "Come on, it's time for lunch."
After finishing their third Herbology lesson of the week in the afternoon, the first years faced the only evening class of the week.
Astronomy.
Professor Aurora Sinistra required all first years to observe the night sky through telescopes.
The main content involved learning the names of different stars and the paths of planets.
Compared to other courses, this one undoubtedly seemed much simpler.
It was the only course that didn't require the use of magic.
However, Sherlock, who excelled in other subjects, surprised everyone.
Having heard about Sherlock and Hermione's achievements beforehand, and considering the unique nature of this course, Professor Sinistra specifically questioned Sherlock and Hermione, who came from Muggle families.
Hermione's answer was excellent. She not only fluently named the nine planets (Note: Pluto was still considered a planet then) but also explained the ecliptic and equatorial planes.
But when it was Sherlock's turn, he frankly admitted that he knew nothing about it.
He didn't even know that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Everyone was stunned.
(End of Chapter)