Ever since receiving that mysterious phone call, Harry had been filled with anxiety.
Although he didn't know who the caller was, he was certainly no ordinary person.
Even without Sherlock's wisdom, Harry could tell from the way the man had easily deduced his identity and claimed to be Sherlock's nemesis that he was definitely not someone to trifle with.
More importantly, despite Harry having made his position clear, the other party didn't seem to care.
He had even said he would switch his target to Ron.
Harry was deeply worried about this.
Unfortunately, until the caller hung up, neither Sherlock nor Ron, who had gone to find him, had returned. Harry waited for over an hour before the two finally arrived.
Looking at the composed Sherlock and the heavily panting Ron, Harry was completely bewildered.
Weren't you supposed to be looking for someone? How did you end up like this?
He looked at Sherlock, then at Ron: "You two—"
"Mate, I... I've got to hand it to you this time!" Ron said breathlessly, "To think you can... can actually keep up with this guy's morning workouts every day!"
Sherlock glanced at Ron: "It was just a bit of jogging."
"Jogging? You call that jogging!"
Ron seemed to want to complain, but in his eagerness to speak, he suddenly coughed violently, choking until his face turned bright red.
"Fine... fine, whatever you say. I'm going to... to rest!"
After saying this, Ron paid no more attention to the two of them, dragging his heavy steps to his bedroom and collapsing straight onto the bed.
Under normal circumstances, Harry would have followed to check on him.
But today was different.
Besides, the conversation he was about to have wasn't something he wanted Ron to overhear anyway, so he pulled Sherlock aside and said in a low voice:
"Why are you only just getting back? Didn't Ron tell you?"
"Well, he said Hermione called again and that you wanted me to hurry back. I didn't think it was anything serious, so I took him for a couple of laps."
Harry: =(ಠ_ಠ)
Suppressing the urge to curse, Harry took a deep breath: "It wasn't Hermione! Just now, someone who claimed to be your enemy called. He—"
"Oh, which one?"
Harry was stunned. 'What, do you have many enemies?'
"He said he was your nemesis—"
"Oh."
"Did he offer to pay you to spy on me?" Sherlock asked calmly.
Harry was amazed. How could he guess that?
"Yes."
"Did you agree?"
"No."
"What a pity. You should have agreed, and then we could split the money."
Harry: (╯°□°）╯
After this exchange, Harry found himself unable to keep up with Sherlock's train of thought.
He had to interrupt the conversation and ask directly: "Wait—who exactly is he?"
"Someone who takes great pleasure in trying to mess with me, someone who always tries to tell me what to do, and also the most dangerous person you know."
Hearing Sherlock say this, Harry was alarmed. "More dangerous than Voldemort?"
"In some ways, yes."
Harry: ⊙﹏⊙
This was truly terrifying!
Upon hearing this answer, Harry no longer hesitated and recounted the entire phone conversation in detail, emphasizing the possibility that the caller might target Ron.
But to Harry's frustration, despite his serious tone, Sherlock seemed rather indifferent, appearing not to care much at all.
"Please tell Ron that if the man contacts him, he should definitely consider it carefully. I can split the money with him too."
Harry: =(ಠ_ಠ)
"Sherlock, you—"
But before Harry could lose his temper, Sherlock interrupted him: "Let's not talk about this now. Let's discuss our arrangements for when we return to school."
"What?"
Sherlock ignored Harry's surprised look and quickly outlined what they would do after returning to school.
First: explore the castle. Second: venture into the Forbidden Forest. Third: confront Quirrell.
The plan was crystal clear.
On one hand, it was to train Harry's abilities, but more importantly, it was to help Harry understand his situation.
According to Dumbledore's original intention, he wanted the Boy Who Lived to face the Dark Lord directly.
However, Sherlock had mercilessly criticized this approach.
In Sherlock's view, even if there was a necessary reason for Harry to face Voldemort, Harry should be told the truth and allowed to make his own choice.
Rather than deceiving an eleven-year-old wizard without honor.
Some people had been in positions of power for too long, hearing only support and praise.
When voices of dissent became fewer and fewer, it was inevitable that they would become intoxicated by their authority.
Without Sherlock, given Dumbledore's depth and Harry's personality, the two would have been perfectly matched, rushing toward each other with mutual enthusiasm.
Was this good?
This was not good!
Fortunately, Dumbledore was essentially a positive character.
So instead of becoming angry at Sherlock's questioning and trying to eliminate the questioner, he had carefully considered the matter and ultimately agreed with Sherlock's viewpoint.
Of course, this was also because Sherlock had carefully analyzed Dumbledore's behavior and predicted his reaction before launching his verbal assault.
Otherwise, he would have certainly chosen a different approach.
After Sherlock told Harry all this, the latter remained silent for a long time.
"Sherlock, are you saying that Professor Dumbledore wants me to face Voldemort directly?"
"He has great faith in that prophecy."
At this point, Sherlock also frowned.
"Obviously, he hasn't told me everything. He's still keeping things from me."
"He wouldn't harm me, would he?"
"That's beyond question."
"Then—just tell me what I need to do."
Sherlock smiled.
"Harry, you do indeed have a talent for listening and executing. With your help, many things become much simpler. But let's wait until we return to school to discuss the specifics."
It wasn't until Harry returned to his room that he suddenly realized something.
Wait, wasn't I supposed to ask about that mysterious person's identity? How did the conversation end up being about me again?
This left Harry quite depressed.
Because only now did he realize that he had been manipulated by Sherlock again without knowing it.
But he also knew that if Sherlock didn't want to tell him something, no amount of effort would be of any use.
However, without getting to the bottom of this matter, he wouldn't be able to sleep for the next several nights.
The next day, after careful consideration, Harry decided to tell Ron and Hermione about the incident.
"What? That mysterious person asked you and Ron to spy on Sherlock? If that's the case, why didn't he call me?"
Harry: (￣▽￣)
"Hermione, now isn't the time to discuss this—"
"How is it not the time! According to what you're saying, since he set his sights on you and Ron, he should naturally have thought of me too—I was the first to meet Sherlock!"
Harry: (=_=)
"But his purpose was surveillance, and Ron and I live in the same dormitory as Sherlock."
After a brief silence, Hermione asked again as if nothing had happened: "What did Sherlock say?"
"He refused to tell me, only saying that both Ron and I could agree to the request, then split the money with him fifty-fifty."
"How can he be like this! He's being so irresponsible toward himself! No—I need to come over!"
"Huh? Didn't you just visit a few days ago?"
Having been listening by the phone due to yesterday's false alarm, Ron suddenly piped up with this comment.
As soon as he said this, Harry immediately knew they were in trouble.
Sure enough, the next moment, Hermione's sharp voice nearly burst their eardrums:
"Ronald! What do you mean by that?!"
Hermione subjected Harry and Ron to a fifteen-minute high-decibel bombardment before angrily hanging up.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, both wearing somewhat stricken expressions.
"You shouldn't have told her—"
"I didn't know she'd react so strongly—"
Harry shrugged. "But it's good that she's coming. She's smarter than us—maybe she really can get the truth out of Sherlock."
"Aren't you two being too nervous?" Ron said, somewhat puzzled. "Since Sherlock himself doesn't care, it means this isn't a big deal at all."
"But he also said that person was the most dangerous person I know, more dangerous than Voldemort!"
"Hey, hey, don't mention that name again—"
"I'm going to say it: Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort!"
"Fine, fine, I was wrong. You're my brother, my dear brother, okay?"
Ron rolled his eyes helplessly.
He suddenly realized that Harry wasn't really different from Hermione.
Both of them were overly concerned about Sherlock.
They should think about it—what kind of person was Sherlock?
He was someone who could tell you exactly what you'd done all day just from a single glance.
Such a person didn't need their concern at all!
Ron thought Sherlock was absolutely right—if that person was really willing to pay, then why not agree?
Then take the payment and split it with Sherlock.
Easy money from a fool—why not take it?
Of course, given the current situation, this couldn't be said aloud.
However, neither the now-relaxed Ron nor the overly anxious Harry and Hermione anticipated that this matter would take a turn that would completely surprise them all.
Three days after that mysterious phone call, just as Hermione was about to visit—mainly because Mr. Granger felt she was visiting the Holmes house too frequently and needed to slow down—something unexpected happened.
That morning, after Harry finished his usual morning training with Sherlock and returned home, he was shocked to discover an unfamiliar man standing at their door.
He was a man who would leave a deep impression at first glance.
Tall and imposing, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, sharp facial features, and an overall commanding presence.
He held a black umbrella in his right hand, casually resting it at his side.
He appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, but his mature demeanor gave the impression of someone in his late twenties.
Seeing Sherlock and Harry, the man smiled:
"The great detective and his good friend have returned? It seems your boxing practice went smoothly today—Mr. Potter only took one fall."
Harry, who had been curious, felt all his hair stand on end when he heard the man speak.
Because this was exactly the voice that had been haunting his dreams for the past three days!
"Sherlock, it's him! The person I told you about!"
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