After Monday morning's History of Magic class ended, Sherlock saw off several senior Ravenclaw students who had come to find him.
When he returned to the classroom, he was greeted by his friends' surprised gazes.
"They're all my clients."
Without waiting for their questions, Sherlock proactively explained.
"Clients?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
Calling fellow students "clients" seemed rather odd, didn't it?
"Ever since the Halloween incident spread, people have been coming to me for help. Speaking of which, I have to thank Mr. Neville Longbottom for this. My first few clients all found me through his introductions."
"Neville?"
Several of them turned to look at Neville, who was stroking the toad he had just found. Hearing Sherlock's praise, he lowered his head bashfully.
"After I successfully helped them, more and more people gradually came to ask for my assistance. Actually, these troublesome matters for them simply require someone else's guidance. I listen carefully to their account of the facts, they listen to my advice, and once the problem is solved, the fee goes into my pocket."
With Sherlock's explanation, his friends understood why he called these students "clients."
Though they found it somewhat incredible, considering Sherlock's abilities, they suddenly felt it wasn't incomprehensible.
"If only I could be as clever as Holmes," Seamus said with considerable envy. "Even Ravenclaw students come to you—that's truly remarkable!"
Everyone knew that Ravenclaw represented wisdom. When the little eagles of Ravenclaw came to consult Sherlock, it naturally meant his intelligence had gained recognition from that usually proud and haughty group.
Even Hermione Granger, who was already called the know-it-all, didn't receive such treatment.
Since today's History of Magic class had ended relatively early and everyone wasn't in a hurry to eat, they decided to chat a bit more.
"Speaking of which, I just learned that Mercury died yesterday," Dean said with a regretful expression.
"Who?" Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
"Freddie Mercury! Haven't any of you heard of him?" Seamus couldn't help but add another explanation when he saw his friend's topic hadn't resonated.
"Freddie Mercury? Is he some famous wizard?" Neville asked weakly.
"I haven't heard of the Mercury family," Hermione pondered for a moment, then looked at Ron. "What about you?"
Ron shrugged: "Same here."
"Freddie Mercury, British male singer, lead vocalist of Queen."
Sherlock, who was silent until now, shocked everyone present when he finally spoke.
Seamus looked at him incredulously: "Holmes, you actually know about Mercury!"
In his view, apart from Weasley and Longbottom, who came from wizarding families, both Potter and Granger should have known more about Mercury than Holmes.
But the reality was that only Holmes knew about him.
Needless to say, Sherlock's three close friends were even more surprised. They knew Sherlock's character all too well—this was someone who only know the Earth revolved around the sun when talking about Universe! How could such a person know about a band and its lead singer?
"Queen... is it very famous?" Neville raised his hand and asked weakly once again.
"More than famous!" When it came to music, Dean immediately transformed from his classroom drowsiness and began speaking eloquently:
"After Queen was formed in London in 1971, they immediately released their first self-titled album 'Queen.' The 1975 release 'A Night at the Opera' brought the band commercial breakthrough, with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' winning Best British Single at the first BRIT Awards.
The 1977 release 'News of The World' had enormous influence, particularly the singles 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions,' which have been widely used in sporting events since the 1980s. The 1981 greatest hits collection sold over 6 million copies, becoming the best-selling album in the UK. Just last year, they received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the BRIT Awards."
Watching Dean excitedly educating everyone, his friends all showed surprised expressions. Was this still the same little guy they knew? He seemed like a completely different person.
Only Seamus was unsurprised by Dean's performance, continuing his friend's narrative: "Queen fused glam rock, progressive rock, classical music, and heavy metal into one, influencing almost all heavy metal bands of the late twentieth century..."
He suddenly paused, then said with sudden realization: "I understand why Holmes knows about Mercury! Dean mentioned you play violin very well!"
With this observation, Harry, Ron, and Neville, who shared a dormitory with Sherlock, immediately understood. Yes, since Sherlock played violin so well, knowing such a famous band wasn't strange at all.
"What? You also play violin?" Only Hermione looked surprised—this was the first time she'd learned about this.
"I heard he died from pneumonia caused by AIDS, only 45 years old. What a pity!"
"Yes, yes, his four-octave range and brilliant, soaring voice were simply wonderful!"
Ron and Neville looked at each other—Muggle world bands were definitely their knowledge blind spot. Harry and Hermione weren't much better off, though when Seamus and Dean sang "We Will Rock You," both realized they had heard this song before.
For Sherlock, although Queen didn't have a dedicated violin member, as Seamus said, many of their works incorporated classical music elements. This was why he, skilled at violin, also knew about Queen.
The group then suggested returning to the dormitory to ask Sherlock to play a piece. Just then, there was a knocking sound at the door.
Looking up, they saw a young witch walk in. She had two golden braids and a slightly flushed face.
"Abbott, what brings you here?" When Hermione saw her, she immediately asked in surprise.
This little girl was Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff. Because she was the first to wear the Sorting Hat during the ceremony, Hermione had a vivid impression of her.
"Granger, you're here too—wonderful!" Abbott seemed quite happy to see Hermione, then immediately said: "I've come to find Mr. Holmes."
As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Sherlock.
Seeing this situation, everyone understood and smiled as they stood up to leave.
Hermione walked last, but just as she was about to exit, Abbott suddenly reached out to stop her, saying pleadingly: "Granger, please don't leave. I beg you."
Hermione was somewhat surprised and looked toward Sherlock.
"Hermione, if you could stay for a while, you might be of great help to me."
Hermione had been quite interested in Abbott coming to find Sherlock, but with everyone else gone, staying alone felt somewhat awkward. But now that both Sherlock and Abbott had said this, she sat down accordingly.
"Now then, Miss Abbott, you can tell me what's troubling you."
"How do you know I'm troubled?" Hannah Abbott asked in surprise.
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