Chapter 35: He Is a Good Man

When Hermione mentioned Poirot, the look of disdain on Sherlock’s face softened slightly.

"Poirot can be considered a true detective. His deductive reasoning is far superior to Dupin’s; he is capable of solving certain cases using his brain alone, and his process of deduction is meticulous enough to be called rigorous."

"However, he does not like to go into the field. Being physically powerless, he relies on the police to present the facts to him on a platter, only then using his so-called 'little grey cells' to analyze them. Once the police fail to bring him the actual facts, he—unable to seek out clues for himself—is easily misled, leading him to draw conclusions that do not align with reality."

"But he manages to find the killer every single time!"

Hearing the two figures she admired so much being belittled by Sherlock, Hermione couldn't help but retort.

"My dear Miss Granger, that is because it is a novel."

Faced with Hermione’s challenge, Sherlock smiled.

"As the author, Agatha Christie can naturally ensure that Poirot’s intuition is infallible every time, and the same applies to Miss Marple in her books, but it is not necessarily so in real life. Incidentally, like most popular novelists, this author loves to pile on settings and detailed descriptions while neglecting the true core of a novel: a brilliant plot and distinct, vivid characters. Consequently, whenever the deductive segments become too long-winded, they become boring; readers lose patience and just want the killer to appear as soon as possible. Only someone like me would care for the process of deduction itself—though, unfortunately, I can hardly be considered a normal person."

Upon hearing Sherlock disparage the two characters she admired, Hermione was initially somewhat angry. But after hearing his self-assessment, she suddenly felt there was no need to be angry anymore. Calling himself "not a normal person"... since he was even willing to insult himself so ruthlessly, what was there to be angry about?

Although she was no longer angry, she ceased talking to him. Seeing her silence, Sherlock did not take the initiative to speak either. Thus, the two walked back in silence, with an unexpected sense of tacit understanding.

They did not speak until they reached the Gryffindor common room and saw a notice posted on the bulletin board. After a month of school, flight training was finally beginning. This course was exclusively for first-year students, scheduled for Thursday afternoon after Charms, taught by Madam Rolanda Hooch, and focused on learning how to use a broomstick.

"We have to attend class with the Slytherins again?" Hermione frowned upon seeing the notice. "Why must they always put us together?"

"Do not hold prejudices against that house," Sherlock said, far more calmly than the dissatisfied Hermione. "There is no hierarchy among the four houses, and Head of House Severus Snape is also an excellent professor..."

"Are you certain?"

Hermione looked shocked. "Do you really think Professor Snape is a good person?"

"Although I find it somewhat one-sided to evaluate a person simply as 'good' or 'bad,' if we are using your definition, Professor Snape is indeed a good person."

"He targets you and Potter like that, and you still think he's a good person?"

Hermione now truly felt that Sherlock was right about one thing: he was definitely not a normal person.

"From the perspective of a professor, there is nothing wrong with his methods; deducting points is his right. As for the targeting..." Sherlock smiled. "Miss Granger, you might not believe me, but he is quite possibly the person in this school who least wants any harm to come to Harry."

Hermione: (°ー°〃)

After a moment of silence, Hermione let out a long sigh. "If you... if you are happy with that conclusion, then so be it... but I don't think Potter himself would agree."

"To be honest, his opinion is not important."

"Exactly! This month alone, Snape has deducted thirty points from him—more than double the total of all other Gryffindors combined."

At this, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Poor Harry Potter; his reputation as the "Boy Who Lived," which was so highly acclaimed by everyone else, seemed to lose all effect on Snape.

After discussing it a bit more and realizing she could not convince Sherlock, Hermione had to return to the girls' dormitory. However, before leaving, she once again wore a hesitant expression.

Sherlock: "Miss Granger, speak your mind."

"..."

Hermione took a deep breath. "In the future, may I call you Sherlock?"

Sherlock was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "Of course."

After Hermione left, Sherlock shook his head. Changing how one addresses a person from surname to given name—isn't that something that happens naturally as a relationship grows closer? Was it really necessary to bring it up specifically? And with that conflicted tone?

As expected, his father was right; even he sometimes could not comprehend the thought patterns of women.

The excitement brought by the flying lessons among the first-years was far greater than imagined. Most students from wizarding families began recounting their past flying experiences whenever they had a spare moment. It seemed their childhoods were spent mostly flying across the wilderness on broomsticks. This included Ron.

Whenever anyone was willing to listen, he would recount the thrilling story of how he once rode Charlie's old broom and nearly crashed into a hang glider. This was naturally an exaggeration, but it was still better than Malfoy from the Slytherin house next door, who constantly claimed to have had near misses with helicopters.

Students like Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione, who grew up in Muggle families, were interested in the flying lessons, but not nearly as excited as the others. Neville was the only exception. While others were a mix of excitement and nervousness, he was purely nervous. Although he grew up in a wizarding family, his grandmother never allowed him near a broomstick.

Because of this, he spent all his time intently listening to every word Hermione said—the latter having found some flight instructions in a library book titled *Quidditch Through the Ages*. Sherlock had read this book too, but he felt that such things had little real meaning. To fly higher, relying solely on books was certainly not enough.

Flying is like driving a car; the instructions written in books only become useful after one tries them personally. One must realize that many people who obtain a driver’s license still do not know how to drive. Only by actually getting behind the wheel and taking to the road can one master real driving techniques.

Finally, Thursday afternoon arrived amid great anticipation. Compared to his excited classmates, Sherlock, while looking forward to the flying lesson, did not show it as excessively. He even wanted to ask Professor Flitwick a few more questions after Charms ended, but eventually left under the repeated urging of the anxious Harry and Ron.

Even so, by the time they and the other Gryffindors walked quickly down the sloping lawn to the grounds in front of the school, the Slytherin students were already there. As the little lions arrived, the gazes of the little snakes immediately turned icy. The little lions, known for their courage, naturally glared right back without hesitation.

As their gazes locked, a tense atmosphere began to permeate the air. The standoff between Harry and Malfoy was particularly intense.

Sherlock ignored it all. His attention was focused elsewhere.