Mrs.
Holmes was indeed fond of helping others.
However, that was only one reason she eagerly assisted the Granger family.
As his mother, she naturally knew her son’s personality better than anyone: solitary, eccentric, and unsuited to group life.
At his previous school, she had suffered endless headaches over this.
Although Sherlock had resolved the issue on his own, the final outcome could hardly be called pleasant.
Therefore, if he could make a friend before entering school, nothing could be better.
Meanwhile, Sherlock had already greeted the girl named Hermione.
Out of courtesy, he said to Mr.
Granger, “Dr.
Granger, pleased to meet you.” “Pleased to…
wait, how did you know I’m a doctor?” Mr.
Granger responded reflexively, only to suddenly realize something was wrong.
He had not mentioned his profession during his introduction.
Mrs.
Granger and Hermione, who had a bushy head of brown hair, were equally stunned.
Seeing the astonished looks on the Granger family’s faces, Mr.
and Mrs.
Holmes exchanged a smile.
Of course, they were not surprised in the slightest.
After all, similar things had happened many times before.
However, Mrs.
Holmes soon lost her smile.
Because Sherlock did not answer Mr.
Granger directly; instead, he turned to Mrs.
Granger: “Mrs.
Granger, I actually suspect my mother is suffering from pulpitis caused by dental caries, but she has been too afraid of the pain to go to a hospital.
I hope you can help her.” Mrs.
Granger’s eyes lit up, and she immediately inquired about Mrs.
Holmes’s symptoms.
Though Mrs.
Holmes glared at Sherlock, she cooperatively began describing her condition to Mrs.
Granger.
When Sherlock had been pulled to the front, Hermione Granger was already observing him.
Sherlock had short black hair, grey eyes, and was taller than average for his age, making him striking at first glance.
Hearing him state her parents’ professions outright, she was astonished and could not help stealing several more glances at him.
That was when she noticed his rather thin, hooked nose.
*So big.* When Sherlock’s sharp gaze swept over, Hermione, caught red-handed, blushed slightly and quickly turned her head away.
*** The Granger family had arrived late in the day after all.
Although the two mothers got along swimmingly, in order to buy all of Hermione’s school supplies as quickly as possible, the Grangers had to get moving.
Before parting ways, however, Mrs.
Holmes not only helped them confirm the location of The Leaky Cauldron, but also shared her shopping experience from today with Mrs.
Granger without reservation.
At the same time, Mrs.
Granger persuaded Mrs.
Holmes to let her perform a comprehensive periodontal checkup before school officially started—guaranteed pain-free, no less.
And so, the day in Diagon Alley came to a satisfying close.
Over the next month, Sherlock had a very full schedule.
He did not dwell on the Granger family.
His mother’s pulpitis was indeed a pleasant surprise.
As for looking out for each other at school with Hermione, that was unnecessary.
Sherlock had always felt that taking care of himself was troublesome enough.
As for having Hermione look after him, that was even more out of the question.
Besides…
if he brought along a young witch, where would he find the time to explore Hogwarts?
During this period, he carefully studied how to make use of his new pet.
After trying a few times, he found that just as the pet shop owner had said, the owl could carry both letters and packages.
While it seemed no different from a postman, its speed and precision were far superior.
He also took the opportunity to give his pet owl a name: Watson.
Sherlock could not say why, but he felt this name suited a companion meant to stay by his side for a long time.
Apart from that, he had finished reading all his textbooks and the extra books he had purchased.
Through them, Sherlock finally gained a systematic and high-level understanding of the wizarding world.
Compared to the young witch Hermione Granger, he was far more interested in two other names.
One of them was Harry James Potter.
Whether it was *A History of Magic* from the required reading list, or *Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century* and *The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts* which Sherlock had bought extra, all of them mentioned this name.
This boy, the same age as himself, was born on July 31, 1980.
He was hailed as “the Boy Who Lived,” “the Savior of the Wizarding World,” and “the Dark Lord’s sole nemesis.” As for why Harry Potter possessed these titles, it was due to another name connected with him—the very Dark Lord whom Harry Potter countered.
According to the books’ descriptions, he was the most powerful and dangerous dark wizard in history.
So much so that when referring to his name, many books simply called him “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” Only a very few books contained the name “Voldemort,” and often it appeared only once.
When mentioned further down, it defaulted back to You-Know-Who or the Dark Lord.
Sherlock, a firm believer in science, found this somewhat incomprehensible.
It was truly absurd beyond measure.
Perhaps…
this was just a feature of the wizarding world?
In short, because Voldemort possessed formidable strength and a vast following, he had once ruled the wizarding world.
For the entire wizarding world, that was the darkest period in history.
However, where there is oppression, there is resistance.
His dark and tyrannical rule sparked outrage among more and more people, and eventually, a long, drawn-out war between good and evil erupted.
The person who led the light wizards in battle against Voldemort was none other than Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This was also why Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Dumbledore himself held such a lofty status in the wizarding realm.
This war was known as the Wizarding War, and it raged for eleven long years.
The entire wizarding world suffered heavy losses in this war.
According to the books, if the war had dragged on, Voldemort might truly have ruled the wizarding world.
Yet, in the eleventh year of the Wizarding War, when Voldemort’s power was at its absolute peak, a turning point occurred.
October 31, 1981, Halloween Eve.
For reasons unknown, the terrifying Dark Lord came to Godric’s Hollow, a small village in southwestern England and a semi-wizarding settlement named after the famous wizard Godric Gryffindor.
Harry Potter and his parents lived there.
Unquestionably, the Potter couple were outstanding wizards.
They were powerful and had once been active on the front lines of the fight against Voldemort.
Even so, in a direct confrontation with Voldemort, the Potters were brutally murdered by him without suspense.
After killing the Potters, Voldemort turned his wand upon the fifteen-month-old Harry Potter.
However, the terrifying Dark Lord, who possessed overwhelming power, had personally slain hundreds of people, and struck terror into the entire wizarding world, failed!
The powerful magic that had always succeeded in the past blew the Potter house into ruins, yet Harry himself emerged completely unharmed.
With that, Harry Potter became the sole person to date to have survived at Voldemort’s hands.