Chương 64: Chapter 64: Who has it?

All heads in the room turned toward Sherlock. Just now regathering his wits about him, Sherlock recalled the moments when Arthur Weasley and Malfoy had collided in a heated altercation.

"I was certainly present at the scene," he recollected with a calm voice, "Malfoy began confronting Mr. Weasley, taunting him about his financial situation, even calling him an embarrassment to wizardkind, and that's when the brawl started. I did contribute a punch to the cause."

Professor McGonagall stared at Sherlock in shock while even Dumbledore and Snape exhibited glimmers of surprise.

"You, in a brawl!" Professor McGonagall almost shrieked in surprise.

Unflustered, Sherlock answered her, "His derogatory words were unbearable, he even dared to insult my mother."

Hearing Sherlock's words allowed Professor McGonagall and the rest to grasp the gravity of the situation better. Given how the original owner carried himself, he wasn't someone to engage readily in physical altercations.

In his time as a student at Hogwarts, he only had a physical tiff on two rare occasions. In both those instances, the opposition found itself in the school infirmary for three days.

But about the specifics of that day, no one needed Ginny to explain. Sherlock himself laid out the rest of the details.

"Malfoy didn't get off lightly when I hit him. He left hurriedly... but not before he managed to stuff a book into Ginny's hands," Sherlock recounted the events of that day, trying to recall as many details as possible.

With his disclosure, everyone in the room circled in on the heart of the issue. Both Professors McGonagall and Snape held their breath. Dumbledore's gaze fell on Sherlock full of expectation.

"The book…?" Dumbledore asked pointedly.

"The book…" Sherlock ventured a look at Ginny. She responded with nervous flutters of her eyelids, waiting for him to go on.

"That book is a part of the heap of old books lying dormant at the bookstore. As a gift for Ginny, I bought her a brand-new set of textbooks, she put aside her old ones on a random shelf."

A deep silence swept over the room. Now, everyone knew where the crux of the issue lay. Sherlock too understood the seed of the problem that grew into this grave compound issue. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape find themselves at a loss for words, as did Sherlock.

Who would have expected that a simple act of gift-giving in the form of a book could spiral into such a drastic sequence of incidents?

With a subtle sigh, an evidently tired Dumbledore, remarked, "The root of the issue appears to be the book that, Sherlock, you unknowingly swapped out. Lucius might have planned to take revenge on the Weasleys via that book. Owing to a tangle with Sherlock, the book found its way to a dusty corner of a bookstore only to be brought back into Hogwarts eventually."

Slowly, a ray of relief spread across Professor McGonagall's face.

"Then the issue has simplified considerably," she said, a hint of triumph in her voice, "we only have to question the students, ascertain who purchased that old book, and then we will have resolved the issue!

However, Dumbledore's optimism appeared notably dimmed. In rhythm with the tapping of his finger on his desk, he voiced his concerns.

"We mustn't disclose our knowledge about the book yet."

Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore in utter surprise, and Snape's face reflected a similar reaction. Sherlock, however, could infer the rationale behind their hesitation.

"The notebook might possess a sentient quality. Considering multiple attacks have already occurred in the castle, it's evident the unlucky owner is either being influenced by said book or even worse -- completely under its control. So, publicizing our knowledge of the book now will not only lead us astray in finding it by alerting. The attacks might stop temporarily but in hiding the book will remain a dormant danger that could strike again at any time."

Having explained his perspective to the room, Sherlock noticed an unfamiliar spark of surprise in Dumbledore's eyes. "Your way of looking at things has change considerably," Dumbledore commended, "I'm eager to witness your evolution by the end of the school year."

Sherlock inclined his head subtly, as if acknowledging Dumbledore's praise.

Observing the lively exchange between the men, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but flash a look of irritation. "But if we're holding back that information, how are we to track it down? We simply can't let such uncertainties continue. So far, no student has lost their life, but we can't just bank on luck to keep it that way," she argued, the urgency palpable in her voice.

With a placating wave of his hand, Dumbledore assured McGonagall. He proceeded to share their next line of action. "Tonight, under the façade of diligent security and a hunt for the concealed perpetrator, we shall gather the entire student body in the Great Hall. The three of you -- Sherlock, Severus and Minerva -- will thoroughly search the different house dormitories, let Pomona know to join the search."

"While they're settled in the Great Hall, Filius and Filch will question the students about their whereabouts during Malfoy's attack, hoping to locate the book."

After discussing the plan in detail, Sherlock, along with Professor McGonagall and Snape, left the Headmaster's office. Professor McGonagall, with a furrowed brow, went ahead to arrange the assembly in the Great Hall. Simultaneously, Sherlock and Snape lingered in the doorway, stealing a glance at each other. Since the term's commencement, Sherlock had barely interacted with Snape. After all, the cold demeanor of the man named Snape was quite puzzling to him.

"I will handle the searching of the boys' dorms in Slytherin and Hufflepuff. You, on the other hand, need to investigate the ones in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," Snape dictated, his voice as frosty as always. However, Sherlock didn't protest. To him, it made no difference which dormitory he inspected.

As they both were about to part ways, Snape asked, his tone icy, "Do you think we'll be able to recover the book today?"

Sherlock paused. He pondered over the query before but was unsure why Snape brought it up now. "There's a strong possibility," Sherlock retorted, mirroring Snape's tone. "Given an attack occurred only today, the student under the book's control might not have found a well-disguised place to hide it."

This judgement reflected his genuine belief based on multiple factors. Though his presence had inadvertently disrupted the original storyline, it was this very presence that provided Dumbledore and the other Hogwarts professors with crucial insights linking the attacks. In the original plot, the identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets - the Basilisk - remained undisclosed until quite late. Also, no one was privy to the fact that everything traced back to an old book.

Equipped with all these clues, Dumbledore sprang into action almost immediately. Hence, Sherlock felt a fair amount of confidence in wrapping up the issue quickly.

"Let's hope so," Snape mumbled tersely, before decisive steps carried him away from the office entrance.