After the Christmas holidays ended, Hogwarts maintained a stable routine.
Although the danger posed by Black still existed, this year was far less unsettling than the last.
At least everyone knew he was a murderous Wizard, and more than half the students were aware that his main target had always been Harry Potter.
A known murderer was obviously much more reassuring than the unknown Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry's study of the Patronus Charm under Sherlock was also proceeding systematically.
His talent for defence magic was indeed very high; Sherlock hadn't been wrong about that. After experiencing the intense pressure from the Dementor and releasing the rudimentary form of the Patronus, nearly every subsequent spell Harry cast reached that level, but a major breakthrough was still needed to fully materialise and summon a true Patronus.
This wasn't something that rushing could solve, and that Dementor was completely useless afterwards.
After Sherlock used it to experiment once more with the application of the Memory Charm on non-corporeal beings, he kept his promise and released it back into the wild, returning it to the queue of Dementors outside.
Its simple, weak mind had been tormented so thoroughly by Sherlock that, upon returning, it could only be a carefree Dementor focused solely on sucking emotions, unable to recall the months of near-hellish existence.
By the end of February, Harry requested two weeks off from Sherlock.
Their Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, which would determine the winner of this year's House Cup, was fast approaching, and he needed to dedicate most of his energy to pitch practice to win the game for Gryffindor.
It was naturally good for young people to have hobbies, and Sherlock didn't expect him to devote all his energy to studying magic, so he approved the two-week leave.
Sherlock didn't have time to watch the subsequent Quidditch match. The closer it got to the end of the term, the heavier the workload became, not just for the students but for Sherlock as well.
He had to grade over two hundred test papers every week, prepare lesson plans based on those tests, organise practical class content, and handle numerous other responsibilities.
Even with Lupin helping him share the teaching load for the first through fourth years, Sherlock was still very busy, and since he had no interest in Quidditch, he didn't go to watch the match.
But after the match ended, he still learned the result.
Harry, riding his flying broomstick, the Firebolt, which Professor McGonagall had inspected and declared safe, led the Gryffindor team to victory.
During the match, Malfoy and his Slytherin teammates tried to interfere with Harry by dressing up as Dementors to scare him. Not only did they fail to frighten Harry, but they were instead scared off by Harry's incomplete Patronus Charm.
Because of this, Professor McGonagall was as furious as a raging lioness.
She deducted fifty points from Slytherin right in front of Snape and prepared to report the incident to Dumbledore.
The entire Gryffindor House was filled with a joyful atmosphere on the day they won the match.
Although Sherlock wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, the vibrant youthful energy emanating from the students still put him in a good mood.
That afternoon, right after the match, Sherlock had just returned from the library. As he was carrying a pile of written materials, intending to drop them off at his office before heading to the Great Hall for dinner, he inadvertently heard quiet sobbing coming from an empty classroom.
He stopped and listened carefully to the sounds coming from the classroom, recognising it as a girl's voice.
Sherlock hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed the classroom door open and walked inside.
Inside, a girl was quietly sobbing while frantically writing homework on parchment with a quill. Next to her, books were stacked nearly two feet high, suggesting she still had many left to finish reading.
Hermione heard the movement. She hastily wiped her tears and looked towards the door. Sherlock saw Hermione, whose eyes were red and swollen.
"Professor Cavendish," Hermione sniffled, calling out.
Sherlock was very surprised to see that the person crying secretly here was Hermione.
However, he didn't immediately show his confusion. Instead, he pulled out a chair and sat down next to Hermione.
"Hiding in a classroom to cry secretly doesn't sound like something the Miss Granger I know would do."
Hermione put down her quill. She looked deeply aggrieved but was forcing herself not to show it in front of Sherlock.
Sherlock reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, placing it on the desk.
"How about some sweets? I stole these from Dumbledore's office. Before leaving, I even asked the portraits on the wall not to snitch, but unfortunately, Dumbledore came back just then and caught me. Luckily, he still let me take the sweets."(TN: Truly shameless.)
Hermione burst into laughter through her tears, amused by Sherlock recounting his own embarrassing story. She pulled out a tissue and blew her nose.
"You must be lying to me, Professor."
Sherlock shrugged noncommittally. He picked up a Flavour Bean and popped it into his mouth.
"So, can you tell me why you're hiding here alone feeling sad? Why aren't you back in the Common Room celebrating with everyone?"
Hermione's expression turned distressed again, but this time she didn't pretend, saying sadly,
"They won't talk to me anymore. Our friendship is over."
Having someone to confide in, Hermione poured out all the grievances she had accumulated over the past few days to Sherlock.
"Harry received that Firebolt for Christmas. The gift wasn't signed, but Ron and he were blinded by the broom's appearance. At a time like this, it could easily have been sent by Black to harm Harry! I voiced my concerns, but they blamed me for overthinking things, so I had no choice but to tell Professor McGonagall myself."
"Professor McGonagall took Harry's broom and was going to dismantle it for a full inspection. They ended our friendship because of that. Ron called me a troublemaker, and Harry was angry with me too."
"Until the day before yesterday, after Professor McGonagall confirmed the broom was safe, she returned it to Harry, and he was very happy to get it back. I was happy for them too, but Ron is still angry. Harry wanted to use the opportunity to make up with me, but... but..."
At this point, Hermione couldn't help but start crying sadly again. Sherlock didn't interrupt her but quietly handed her a tissue.
Hermione took the tissue, wiping her tears as she continued.
"But Ron's pet Scabbers is missing again! There was a pool of blood on his bed and some of Crookshanks' fur, and he says Crookshanks ate Scabbers!"
"It's all my fault!... They're blaming me for everything... I know Crookshanks has been acting strangely ever since we came to school... He doesn't listen to me, and he always tries to catch Scabbers... But they can't blame me for absolutely everything..."
Hermione's voice began to choke up.
"I don't have time to explain things to them... I still have so much homework to do... It's fine if they ignore me; I don't have time for them either..."
After listening to Hermione's account, Sherlock understood that it was merely a very common conflict between three children.
But he didn't dismiss these minor conflicts.
Sherlock was a teacher at Hogwarts, and a teacher's responsibility wasn't just instruction. When students faced confusion and distress regarding their friendships and lives, he naturally had the duty to help them confront these unexpected problems.
"Running away doesn't solve problems, Miss Granger."
Hermione retorted stubbornly, "I'm not running away... I genuinely have a lot of things to do... I don't have time to dwell on those things with them!"
"But you know you didn't do anything wrong. Or even if you did, and Crookshanks really did eat Scabbers, they still shouldn't treat you like that, right?"
Hermione frowned. Although she didn't answer Sherlock's question, it was clear she felt that way.
Seeing her reaction, Sherlock smiled.
"Actually, based on your account, I also believe you were right. A stranger sending a broom to Harry, especially while Black is still at large, is indeed very risky. Telling a Professor and letting them handle it was the safest approach, and you did absolutely nothing wrong in that regard. Even if the broom was ultimately proven safe, Harry and Ron had no reason to be angry with you."
Hermione pouted.
"Exactly."
"But you shouldn't avoid the matter of Ron's pet going missing, Hermione."
"They all blamed me..." Hermione tried to explain.
"Crookshanks is your pet, and as its owner, you are naturally responsible for its actions," Sherlock said seriously. "If you believe Scabbers' disappearance has nothing to do with Crookshanks, then explain it clearly to them and help Harry and Ron look for Scabbers, instead of hiding here feeling sad by yourself."
"Don't let the grievance from the previous incident affect you, Hermione. Harry and the others should apologise to you about the broom, and if Scabbers' disappearance is related to Crookshanks, then you should apologise to Ron."
Hermione fell silent.
Sherlock gave her time to think, then pushed the box of Every Flavour Beans towards her, blinking as he spoke.
"Life is like this box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans; everyone has experiences and stories with different flavours. The one we eat now might be a terrible pepper flavour, but when you taste strawberry in the next one, you won't find it any less sweet because of the previous pepper flavour. It's the same in life. A previous misunderstanding doesn't excuse later mistakes."
Sherlock picked out a pink Every Flavour Bean for her. Hermione silently took it, put it into her mouth, and it was indeed a sweet strawberry flavour.
Seeing her expression, Sherlock stood up from his seat.
"So, find an opportunity to explain things clearly to Harry and Ron, and don't overwork yourself so much. Knowledge is endless."
Hermione's mood seemed much better than before.
"I'll go find them after I'm done."
"Keep up the good work."
"Thank you, Professor."
After Sherlock's comfort, Hermione felt a little better. She looked at the piles of homework that seemed endless and temporarily put them aside.
Returning to the Gryffindor Common Room, all the Gryffindor students were indeed celebrating. Fred and George had somehow managed to buy a pile of sweets from Honeydukes.
Hermione, carrying a thick stack of books, avoided the crowd. Harry happened to notice her at that moment.
"You didn't go to watch the match?" Harry asked proactively.
"Of course I did," Hermione said, her tone muffled and somewhat hesitant. "I'm very happy we won, and I think you played really well, but I have to finish these books by Monday."
"Come on, Hermione, have something to eat," Harry said, glancing at Ron, wondering whether Ron was in a good enough mood to make up with Hermione.
"I can't, Harry, I still have four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" Hermione said, her voice sounding a little low.
"Besides," she added, also looking at Ron, "he wouldn't want me to join."
That was obvious, as Ron deliberately chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't been eaten, he could have had a few of these Fudge Flies. He always loved them..."
Hermione cried again, and her earlier intention to apologise, spurred by Sherlock's words, vanished.
Before Harry could say or do anything, she clutched her books and, sobbing, ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and out of sight.
Harry sighed; he had no idea how to resolve the conflict between his two friends.
Ron valued Scabbers greatly, and Hermione didn't seem willing to apologise proactively. He was completely at a loss.
However, the events of that night were not yet over.
All the Gryffindor students had a joyful day, but in the middle of the night, Harry was suddenly woken by Ron's shouts.
Ron woke up in the middle of the night to see Black standing at his bedside!
Harry heard a heavy door slam as he jolted awake. They shouted and rushed out of the dormitory, sprinting downstairs and waking everyone in the Common Room.
Just as the Gryffindor students gathered in the Common Room, Professor McGonagall also heard the commotion and walked in, looking furious.
"Gryffindor won the match, and I'm very happy, but your behaviour now is ridiculous!"
Harry and Ron explained what had happened to her, but Professor McGonagall didn't believe them because the portrait of Sir Cadogan at the entrance showed no signs of damage.
It wasn't until they questioned Sir Cadogan that they learned Black had read the correct password for the Gryffindor Common Room from a note containing the week's passwords, and Sir Cadogan had let him in.
And Neville had only recently lost his note with the passwords written on it.
That night, the entire Castle was searched again. Sherlock was also woken in the middle of the night by Professor Flitwick and was responsible for searching the area near the library.
It was another fruitless search; no one found any trace of Black. He seemed to know the Castle inside out, clearly aware of every possible escape route.
After that night, the Castle's security became even stricter.
Sir Cadogan, the portrait temporarily guarding the Gryffindor Common Room entrance, was dismissed. The Fat Lady, after being restored, returned to her post, and this time several gnomes armed with clubs patrolled around her frame.
Neville also received a punishment: Professor McGonagall forbade him from going to Hogsmeade for the rest of the term and prohibited anyone from giving him the password to the tower.
Poor Neville had to wait outside the Common Room every night, hoping someone would let him in.
Black's intrusion, besides increasing the Castle's security once again, did not otherwise affect the students' lives.
Hagrid also specifically sought out Harry and Ron, telling them that Hermione had been very sad recently, but Ron was still angry about Scabbers, stating that he would only accept her again if Hermione got rid of her crazy cat.
Hagrid tried his best to reconcile them, but it was clearly beyond his power.
Sherlock, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention to it, not even asking about it during his subsequent Patronus Charm lessons with Harry. He believed the three of them would eventually sort things out themselves.
Another half-month passed. During the full moon in March, Sherlock found Lupin in his office.
"How is it? Have you set the date?" he asked, sitting opposite Lupin.
Lupin replied with a wry smile.
"Are you serious?"
Sherlock shrugged.
"Of course I'm serious; otherwise, did you think I was joking?"
"But even with the Wolfsbane Potion, there's no absolute guarantee that I'll be safe."
Sherlock waved a hand dismissively.
"In your Werewolf form, how many Stupefy spells can you withstand at most?"
Lupin pondered for a moment before answering,
"I haven't experimented, but according to previous records, there have been cases where a dozen Aurors working together used Stupefy to subdue a Werewolf."
"Only a dozen spells?" Sherlock said. "Then don't worry. Even if you really lose control, you won't hurt me."
Lupin had no more reasons to refuse Sherlock's persistence.
A few days earlier, while they were having lunch together in the Great Hall, Sherlock had proposed observing the characteristics of a Werewolf up close during Lupin's next full-moon transformation.
Lupin had thought he was only joking, but he hadn't expected Sherlock to be completely serious.
"If you really want to see it, then come with me tonight," he said calmly. "Today is the day of my transformation."
While Sherlock was waiting idly in Lupin's office, he suddenly noticed a familiar old parchment on the desk.
He asked in surprise, "Did you get this from the Weasley twins?"
Lupin also looked surprised by Sherlock's reaction.
"No, I got it from Harry. Do you... recognise this?"
Sherlock's expression turned strange. He didn't hide anything and spoke the name of the parchment.
"The Marauder's Map. At the beginning of last year, I confiscated this map from George and Fred, then returned it to them because they performed well. I didn't expect it to end up in your hands again."