In the Headmaster's Office, everyone's gaze turned to Sherlock.Sherlock had also come back to his senses by this time; he recalled the scene where Mr. Weasley and Malfoy had gotten into a scuffle.
"Yes, I was there too," he said calmly. "Malfoy was mocking Mr. Weasley's family background, and then they started fighting, so I stepped in to help and threw a punch."
Immediately, Professor McGonagall looked at Sherlock in disbelief, and even Dumbledore and Snape appeared somewhat surprised.
"You got into a fight!" Professor McGonagall asked, raising her voice.
Sherlock said calmly, "He said some very nasty things and even tried to insult my mother."
Hearing Sherlock say this, Professor McGonagall and the other two wore expressions of sudden realisation.
Indeed, judging by the personality of the Original Owner, he would never have resorted to violence easily.At Hogwarts, the only two times the Original Owner had resorted to violence, he had landed the other person in the Hospital Wing for three days.
Since the topic had turned to him, there was no need for Ginny to continue; Sherlock went ahead and explained what happened next.
"Malfoy was beaten pretty badly by me. After suffering a loss, he left immediately and didn't stay in the bookshop any longer..." Sherlock mused, recalling the events of that day. "However, before he left, he seemed to shove a book into Ginny's hand."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the office realised the key point.Professor McGonagall and Snape held their breath.Dumbledore looked at Sherlock with anticipation.
"Where is that book?"
"That book..." Sherlock looked at Ginny, and Ginny blinked as she looked back at him.
"I threw that book back into the pile of old books at the bookshop, and I bought Ginny a new set of textbooks as a gift for her."
"..."
The entire office fell silent.
Now everyone knew where the crux of the problem lay, and even Sherlock himself knew exactly who had caused this entire unexpected turn of events.
Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape were speechless, and Sherlock himself was speechless as well.
Who could have known that his casual act of giving a book would cause such a major deviation in events?
Dumbledore sighed softly; one could tell that he was very weary.
"The root of the matter likely lies with that old book that Sherlock put back. Lucius wanted to use that book to take revenge on the Weasley family. But Sherlock caused an unexpected turn of events; the book was left at the bookshop, but then someone else bought it from the bookshop and ultimately brought it to Hogwarts."
A look of joy gradually appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.
"Then the matter is simple now! As long as we notify the students and find out which one of them bought a strange old book, we can solve the source of the problem!"
But Dumbledore's expression did not seem as optimistic. He tapped his fingers gently on the desk and said softly,
"We cannot let word of the old book get out."
Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore in astonishment, and Snape's expression was equally puzzled.
Only Sherlock guessed the reason why they couldn't do that.
"That old book is very likely an object with its own consciousness. Since attacks have already occurred in the castle, it means a student has been bewitched by it or completely controlled by it. If we publicise the matter of the old book now, not only will we not find the book, but we will also alert the enemy, letting the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets know in advance that we have discovered them."
After Sherlock finished his analysis, Dumbledore's gaze towards him held even more surprise.
"Your perspective on things has changed quite a bit from before," he said approvingly. "I look forward to your transformation by the end of this school year."
Sherlock lowered his head slightly, as if to indicate that Dumbledore was overpraising him.
Seeing that they were still in the mood to discuss such things, Professor McGonagall's face darkened, and she asked urgently,
"If we can't make it public, then how are we supposed to find that old book? We cannot let things continue to develop this way. No student has died because of this yet, but no one can guarantee what might happen!"
Dumbledore waved his hand, signalling Professor McGonagall not to be so anxious, and he explained the strategy they were about to implement.
"Tonight, under the pretext of vigilance and searching for the culprit hiding in the castle, gather all the students in the Great Hall. Sherlock, Severus, Minerva, and Pomona, you four will search the common rooms of the four houses. Do not let any prefects interfere."
"As for the Great Hall, I will arrange for Filius and Filch to question the students about their whereabouts when Malfoy was attacked, in hopes of finding that book."
After everything had been assigned, Sherlock, Professor McGonagall, and Snape left the Headmaster's Office together.
Professor McGonagall, with her brow furrowed, went off to arrange for the students to gather in the Great Hall, while Sherlock and Snape stood by the door and exchanged a glance.
Since the start of the school year, Sherlock had rarely interacted with Snape.
This was because he did not know how to define Snape as a person.Knowing very little about the original work, he couldn't figure out whether this Potions professor, whose outward demeanour was clearly not very friendly, was good or bad.
"I will go check the boys' dormitories in Slytherin and Hufflepuff; you go to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," Snape said coldly, distributing the tasks between himself and Sherlock.
To this, Sherlock naturally indicated that there was no problem; searching the dormitories of any house was the same to him.
Just as the two were about to part ways, Snape suddenly asked in a detached tone,
"Do you think we can find that old book today?"
Sherlock paused. Although he didn't know why Snape was asking him this, he had indeed thought about this question seriously.
"There is a high probability that we will find it," Sherlock's voice was equally indifferent. "An attack just happened today; the student controlled by the old book probably hasn't had enough time to hide it in a sufficiently concealed place."
This was indeed what he truly thought.
However, there were other reasons for his confidence besides that.
Although his existence had disrupted the original plot, it was precisely because of his appearance that Dumbledore and the Hogwarts professors knew more clues about these attacks in advance.
In the original work, it should have been revealed only at the very end that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk.And no one knew in advance that all of this was caused by an old book.
Having mastered so many clues, Dumbledore had taken action immediately, and Sherlock felt that the chances of solving the problem this time were very high.
"I hope it can really be as you say."
Snape turned and left the front of the Headmaster's Office.