Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 97 Ravenclaw Girls' Dormitory
"Miss Granger, has he always been like this?"

Penelope couldn't help but ask.

"Once he's lost in his own world, that's what he's like."

After all, Hermione had seen Sherlock's performance, so her reaction was naturally much more normal than the other three.

In fact, she had originally tried to find some clues like Sherlock, but she was rudely stopped by Sherlock just as she moved her feet.

In this situation, she could only stand there with the other three Ravenclaw girls and watch Sherlock busy himself.

But even standing there, she could see the whole picture of the dormitory.

This women's dormitory is located at the top of the west tower of the castle. A flowing star map is embedded in the arched dome, and bronze and dark blue curtains, the same style as those in the public lounge, hang down from the dome.

The dormitory layout is similar to the Gryffindor dormitory, with the same four-poster bed and draped flannel curtains.

However, the color was not deep red but light blue, and the faint light of the stars shone through the magic glass windows onto the four-poster beds.

The bedposts were carved with patterns of ravens and scrolls, and the copper wind chimes hanging at the head of the bed rang gently in the wind, making an ethereal tinkling sound.

Noticing Hermione's attentive listening, Penelope explained:
"This is a magical item made from the motto of the founder of Ravenclaw, translated into musical notes."

In the center of the room stood a round walnut table, the surface of which was engraved with graffiti and magic formulas by generations of students. Stacked on the edge were several automatically turning magic books and a steaming pot of honey tea.

Qiu Zhang whispered to Hermione that her bed was the second one by the window.

Hermione took a quick look and saw that the bed was very neatly made.

The light blue bed sheet was wrinkle-free, and although the quilt had not been folded into a tofu block, it was still neatly arranged.

There was also a small potted magical plant on her bedside table, with crystal dew condensed on the leaves, exuding a fresh scent.

That was all Hermione observed.

She tried to analyze it like Sherlock.

All we can infer is that Qiu Zhang is a witch who loves cleanliness, hygiene and has a cheerful personality.

Then it was gone.

She sighed secretly.

Sure enough, although Sherlock always said "this is common sense", "obvious", and "easy to deduce", those were only for himself.

I can’t do it myself!

Sherlock was still carefully examining every item in the room, even the walnut table and the brass wind chimes.

When it was his turn to make the beds in the dormitory, he took out his magic magnifying glass and observed them carefully without hesitation.

This action made Qiu Zhang and her two roommates blush.

Strangely, Sherlock didn't ask them who owned the bed.

"Mr. Holmes, do we need to go out...ah——!"

Marietta Aikmo was interrupted by her own scream before she could finish what she was about to ask.

Mrs. Norris suddenly appeared under her feet.

"Where did it come from?!"

"Isn't that Mrs. Norris? Filch's cat!"

In fact, Mrs. Norris entered the bedroom before Sherlock and the other three.

While Penelope was explaining the situation to Qiu Zhang's two roommates, Sherlock had already used the three witches who were traveling with him to block the view and put it into the house.

It was easy for him to do this.

Mrs. Norris did not disappoint Sherlock's expectations.

It was not discovered until this moment.

Sherlock's gaze lingered on Mrs. Norris for a few seconds before he looked away.

Next, he opened Qiu Zhang's bedside table, and after a careful inspection, he turned his attention to the bedside tables of the other three people.

Marietta Edgemore and Alicia Keys' faces changed immediately.

But at this moment, Sherlock withdrew his gaze.

"Okay, the field survey is over. Ladies, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sherlock said as he walked to Mrs. Norris, bent down and picked it up.

Qiu Zhang's two roommates both looked at Penelope, and after the latter nodded, they began to answer Sherlock's questions.

Their answers were similar to Qiu Zhang's.

They all admitted to having seen Qiu Zhang using eye shadow, and had tried it on themselves along with Lucy, who had already returned home.

The time when I discovered that the eye shadow was missing was the same as Qiu Zhang's, after returning to the dormitory after the last Potions class on Easter.

No abnormal conditions have been found in recent times.

When Sherlock asked Alicia Keys why she suddenly wanted to check her eye shadow after returning to the dormitory after Potions class, her eyes suddenly became sharp:
"Are you doubting me, Mr. Holmes?
If I really did this, how could I deliberately bring it up at that time?
Wouldn't that make you even more noticeable?"

"Mr. Holmes, Ravenclaw students would never steal, especially those in this dormitory!"

Marietta Edgemore said this with a certain sympathy.

"Alicia, Marietta, please don't..."

Sherlock waved his hand to stop Penelope from speaking.

"Ladies, I have to say that you are a bit sensitive." When the two heard Sherlock say this, they both snorted.

"In my opinion, your behavior may be a form of reverse thinking, doing the opposite of what is expected, deliberately doing something uncharacteristic in order to evade suspicion."

Sherlock's words instantly stunned the girls present.

You are really brave!

In their view, this is undoubtedly like pointing at your nose and saying "you are a criminal"!

Alicia Keys' chest heaved with anger, and she pointed at Sherlock and said, "Holmes, are you...are you insulting me?"

"Not only are you insulting us, you're insulting Ravenclaw!"

Marietta Edgemore said coldly, then turned to Penelope, "Prefect, we don't need this person's help!"

"You made a mistake."

Facing the accusations of the two girls, Sherlock said calmly:

"The client of this incident is not you, not even Miss Zhang, but Prefect Penelope standing over there!"

"Holmes, you..."

Sherlock said, no longer paying attention to the two of them, but turned to Hermione and waved: "Dear Hermione, can you do me a favor?"

Confused, Hermione came to Sherlock, who then whispered a few words to her.

Hermione immediately looked surprised.

But after a moment of hesitation, she nodded and ran out quickly.

Penelope couldn't help but ask:

"Mr. Holmes, what are you doing..."

"Oh, don't worry about her. I just asked her to do me a little favor."

Sherlock stroked the cat with his skillful movements and suddenly said:
"Four ladies, if you would like to be introduced, I would like you to move to the common room."

"Don't you need to check again?"

Penelope couldn't help but ask.

The three girls in the dormitory also showed surprised looks at the same time.

Sherlock took in the expressions of the few people one by one, then smiled and shook his head:

“This case happened too long ago and many key clues have disappeared.

For example, data from a formatted hard drive can often be recovered.

But if you keep writing new data after erasing, it becomes difficult.

Your dormitory happens to meet this condition—there's no scene protection, and the entire dormitory, including Miss Zhang's locker, is constantly in use. Many clues have long been obscured by new traces of use..."

At this point, Sherlock suddenly changed the subject, "Fortunately, I still found some useful information. I hope it will be helpful to you."

The four girls looked at each other, and finally turned their gaze to Penelope.

Sherlock's mouth corners slightly raised as he watched this scene.

Ten minutes later, Sherlock and four girls arrived at the Ravenclaw common room.

Sherlock sat in the middle, and Mrs. Norris lay comfortably on his knees, making "Duang~Duang~Duang" sounds non-stop.

Four girls sat opposite Sherlock, vaguely surrounding him.

If someone who doesn’t know the situation sees this scene, they might think it’s an interrogation of a criminal.

Sherlock naturally turned a blind eye to all this. Facing their curious and scrutinizing gazes, he stroked the cat and said calmly:

"Scouting is certainly a physically demanding job, both in the Muggle and wizarding worlds.

But I still want to thank Penelope for giving me this opportunity, which makes my Easter holiday not so boring."

As soon as Sherlock said this, the four girls' expressions changed immediately.

After all, they are all Ravenclaws, so they can still understand language of this level.

Penelope was the most impatient and immediately asked:
"Holmes, are you saying that... you have completed your mission?"

"That depends on your definition of 'mission'. Is it to find Miss Zhang's lost eyeshadow, or to catch the thief who took it, or...both."

As he said this, Sherlock's gaze lingered briefly on someone's face.

As soon as he said this, the four people's expressions changed again.

The temperature in the Ravenclaw common room, which was originally dominated by cool colors, seemed to drop by one or two degrees Celsius.

After a brief silence, it was Penelope who spoke first to break the deadlock. Her expression was not good:
"So, it has been confirmed that it was man-made?"

Upon hearing this, Sherlock couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I thought there was no doubt about this! Could it be that Miss Zhang really forgot it somewhere?"

"Very good," Penelope took a deep breath, "Please tell us everything, Mr. Holmes!"

"Wait a minute!"

"Just now you were using the example of hard drive formatting to explain your lack of clues. Why are you so confident now?"

At this moment, Alicia Keys suddenly interrupted and looked at Sherlock with suspicion: "Are you being mysterious?"

(End of this chapter)