In an empty classroom at Hogwarts Castle, Sherlock, Hermione, and Fleur were in secret discussion.
Hearing Fleur finally willing to admit her true intentions, Hermione couldn't help opening her mouth slightly in surprise. Sherlock, however, smiled mockingly.
"As expected, this is exactly the sort of thing he would do. So, he's paying you for this, correct?"
"Yes."
"So now you're telling this because you want to cooperate with you, and then split the paynt with ?"
"Huh?"
"Too bad—it seems you don't currently have that idea."
"Uh..."
"So that ans the paynt he gave you wasn't for Beauxbatons to win the Triwizard Tournant championship?"
"No. He told at our first eting that as long as you're willing, Hogwarts winning the championship would be a foregone conclusion."
"Heh, my brother certainly has confidence in . But it seems you didn't believe that."
"I didn't believe it before, but now I'm absolutely convinced."
"You've awakened to this rather late."
"You're right. I should have realized earlier—you two brothers are equally clever. How could the Triwizard Tournant possibly stump you?"
"No, purely in terms of the art of observation and deduction, my dear brother has mastered it to a higher degree than I have."
"Perhaps—"
Fleur let out a long sigh, thinking to herself that there was no need for the two brothers to keep comparing themselves. She looked at Sherlock again, asking with a try-anything attitude.
"Actually... we t when you were little. Do you rember?"
"I don't," Sherlock said straightforwardly. "Though as I've said before, based on known facts, I can also deduce this point."
"I can tell you!"
Fleur said quickly.
"When you were four and the other Mr. Hols was eleven, your whole family traveled to France. Two years later, you returned to England—it was during that ti that our two families t. But I was only seven years old that year..."
As she spoke, a reminiscent expression appeared on Fleur's face.
"That year, my magic went out of control. Through a chance coincidence, you two brothers saved . My parents were very grateful for this, and from then on our two families knew each other. But at that ti, you didn't know about the existence of magic..."
Hearing this, Sherlock frowned slightly. He truly had no mory of this matter at all. Of course, Mycroft had never ntioned it either.
"Just last year, when the Triwizard Tournant was confird to restart and be hosted by Britain, Mr. Hols had soone find and made this request. I don't understand how he managed to do this after nearly ten years had passed."
"For him, it couldn't be simpler—but speaking of which, I'm rather interested in what paynt he actually gave you."
Fleur. "..."
"Oh, I see—it wasn't given to you, but to your family."
Seeing Fleur remain silent, Sherlock imdiately snapped his fingers. "He offered paynt that your family had no way to refuse."
The expression on Fleur's face instantly froze, then transford into a mix of shock and disbelief bordering on horror. She looked up sharply, staring fixedly at Sherlock. She hadn't said anything at all! The content of the Delacour family's deal with Mycroft was absolutely confidential!
She took a deep breath, trying to calm in her heart.
"You... how could you possibly..."
Fleur's voice carried a barely detectable tremor, even her breathing becoming slightly rapid.
"This is almost the only reasonable explanation, Miss Delacour."
Sherlock smiled faintly.
"As a mber of an ancient and proud magical family, for you to be manipulated by Mycroft and act as his informant, personal gratitude or ordinary monetary interests cannot fully explain it—especially given how brief your contact was. What drives you must be interests that the entire Delacour family cannot resist.
I imagine your family is deeply mired in so kind of predicant. The nature of this predicant is that it's cleverly caught in the gap between the magical world and the Muggle world. It might be that a key industry your family relies on for survival or wealth accumulation in the Muggle world has encountered fatal blockage or suppression from Muggle legal or bureaucratic systems.
Or it could be so ancient prohibition or resource restriction from the Ministry of Magic targeting your family. The key to lifting it unexpectedly involves so crucial elent or evidence controlled by the Muggle governnt. And the key to solving all this happens to be held by Mycroft, who can mobilize the power of Britain's entire state machinery."
"You're practically using Legilincy on ..."
Fleur murmured.
At this mont, she finally abandoned the last trace of doubt about Sherlock's abilities. Looking at the Sherlock before her, this figure gradually overlapped with the image from ten years ago—a five-year-old who could already use a magnifying glass to observe scorched grass after a magical outburst.
"Yes, you're right."
Fleur let out a long sigh, as if resigned to fate.
"Your brother... Mr. Mycroft Hols offered conditions that our family—or rather, my parents—simply could not refuse."
Hermione, hearing this, couldn't help holding her breath. Sherlock's precise deductions certainly captivated her, but for soone who knew Sherlock very well, that was actually secondary.
More importantly, Mycroft could, as a Muggle, make an offer that the Delacour family—foreign wizards—could not refuse. What kind of power was this?
In the case involving Sirius and Peter, she had actually already witnessed Mycroft's formidability. In her view, influencing the Ministry of Magic through the Muggle governnt was already quite remarkable.
Before that, she had never even considered such a possibility. But she never imagined that even so, she had still underestimated how formidable Sherlock's older brother was. He could even influence a neighboring country! And the magical world of that neighboring country, no less!
Thinking of this, she unconsciously moved closer to Sherlock, as if this could provide so sense of security.
"Mycroft Hols."
Speaking his brother's full na, the corner of Sherlock's mouth lifted in a sowhat sarcastic arc.
"My dear brother's work—oh, perhaps it should be called his talent or duty is to rember and master all the detailed affairs of the British governnt. He himself is the living archive of the British governnt, the most core central nervous system of that enormous bureaucratic machine. Every decision's trajectory, every transaction's cards, even those gray areas that remain unspoken—all are imprinted in his mind. In short..."
Sherlock paused, his gray eyes appearing particularly profound in the light.
"He is Britain."
"Yes... I deeply understand this."
The helplessness on Fleur's face beca even more apparent.
"Before this, I never imagined that a Muggle could control such terrifying... in this way..."
"Power?" Hermione cautiously interjected from the side.
"This is perfectly natural."
Sherlock affird.
"He may not understand magic, but he's deeply versed in the ga of power. He's skilled at using the Muggle world's vast resources and influence to leverage any fulcrum he desires, including certain joints in the magical world. So, my dear brother doesn't need to foolishly wave a wand like we do.
He only needs to, at the appropriate ti, extract from his vast mory palace information that can precisely strike an opponent's vital point. Or mobilize forces in the Muggle world significant enough that even the Ministry of Magic must take seriously.
If my deduction is correct, he must have demonstrated to your family that he possesses this power and has the ability to instantly apply this power to your family."
Sherlock's expression showed no change whatsoever, as if Fleur's confession rely confird the logical chain already clearly ford in his mind.
"Exactly right—it involves a sum of..."
Fleur weighed her words carefully, seeming to asure what information could be disclosed.
"A sum... of assets critically important to our family. They've been frozen for years in the complex procedures and restrictions of certain magical bureaucrats, seriously affecting the family's livelihood and so important magical research.
We tried many thods, even sought out people from the International Magical Cooperation departnt, all to no avail. The bureaucratic system and those outdated regulations were like thick layers of ice, simply impossible to break through. If we lose this industry, the family will suffer greatly, and magical research will be difficult to continue...
Then, shortly after I was confird as Beauxbatons' champion, Mr. Hols contacted us. He didn't reveal any details about how he learned of our predicant, but he clearly stated that he had both the ability and the willingness to clear those obstacles. Just as you said, when his representative first t with us, he didn't rely propose conditions."
She paused, a complex light flashing in her eyes—concern for her family's predicant mixed with admiration for Mycroft's thods.
"That person directly showed us a docunt at the ti—a critical docunt that we couldn't obtain despite using all our connections. What terrified us even more was that less than twenty-four hours after he left, the Muggle local bureaucrat who had been adamantly opposed to us was transferred from his position.
He was replaced by a new bureaucrat who expressed understanding of our family industry's historical background and proactively contacted us to renegotiate! This must be what you just called a demonstration of power."
By this point, Fleur's voice had shifted from helplessness to powerlessness.
"He promised that as long as I could complete the task, he would ensure our family's difficulties were resolved before the end of the tournant. He even hinted that he could facilitate certain comrcial activities for our family in Britain's Muggle world. We simply couldn't refuse such paynt. Or rather, we couldn't afford the consequences of refusing him."
"So, monitoring my every move, recording my little actions—this is the key task for you to obtain this paynt that even your entire family cannot refuse?"
"Yes. He asked to, during my ti at Hogwarts, especially during the Triwizard Tournant, collect and report your key movents, action details, and especially your preparation and response strategies for the competition tasks to him."
"Excellent. My dear brother uses this as leverage to insert a hand into an ancient tournant he doesn't directly participate in. Just to ensure he can always grasp every detail of whatever small troubles his restless younger brother stirs up in the magical world? What a truly wonderful big brother!"
"That's right. He emphasized to that your safety is his primary concern."
Fleur couldn't help recalling Mycroft's calm yet oppressively authoritative words. Even though she was only conversing with Mycroft's representative, everything still seed to be on his chessboard.
"Safety? Wrong—this is rely comprehensive control. He needs to know my every plan, especially those parts that might deviate from the norm or might bring surprises."
Sherlock let out a short, light laugh that sounded particularly clear in the empty classroom.
"Of course, this perfectly confirms his stereotypical assessnt of my impulsiveness and discomfort with established rules. Precisely speaking, this is simply a typical case from his predictive model—he loves seeing his predictions proven correct."
Hermione looked at Sherlock, then at Fleur, and finally couldn't help asking.
"So, Miss Delacour, why are you telling us all this now? If you violate your agreent with his brother, the paynt he promised you..."
"This is precisely why I've co to you, Sherlock."
Fleur looked at Sherlock, speaking sincerely.
"I've co to you not only because I want to tell you about this, but more importantly because I cannot solve the golden egg's puzzle."
Hermione looked at Fleur Delacour in surprise. You're asking your competitor for help? This operation is too incredible!
She heard Fleur continue.
"With only one week left until the second task, we still have no clue. With you at Hogwarts, the championship is already beyond our reach. But... at least Beauxbatons cannot co in last! This concerns not only my personal honor, but the school's dignity and Mada Maxi's expectations. I assu you already know that Mada Maxi sought out Professor Hagrid."
She looked directly at Sherlock, using a tone of last resort.
"I've co to request your guidance—even just a hint. In exchange..."
She paused, lowering her voice even further, yet making it exceptionally clear.
"I'm willing to beco your collaborator rather than your monitor. I will continue transmitting information to your brother, but what to transmit and how to transmit it—these will all be decided by you. I have only one request. don't make stand in opposition to him. The cost of being his enemy is sothing neither I nor my family can bear."
Hermione was completely stunned. Honestly, she wasn't very familiar with this girl.
First, she was French. Second, she was far too proud. But at this mont, watching the desperation in Fleur's eyes as she struggled between family interests, tournant dignity, and fear of Mycroft, Hermione seed to see soone desperately struggling, trying to grasp a lifeline.
She couldn't help looking toward Sherlock, wanting to know how he would respond.
Several seconds later, Sherlock slowly spoke.
"The golden egg's sound changes underwater."
Fleur's eyes suddenly widened!
As soone chosen to be a Triwizard Tournant champion and captain, Fleur naturally wasn't stupid. Connecting this to recent school rumors about Hogwarts' trio and Durmstrang swimming in the Black Lake during winter...
The fog that had troubled her for weeks was instantly dispersed. What made her even more delighted was that he had actually told her the answer! However, just as wild joy surged to her heart, Sherlock's next words plunged her into an icy abyss.
"As for cooperation, Miss Delacour, you seem to have overlooked sothing crucial."
Sherlock gave a light laugh.
"You standing here now, confessing to , seeking protection... This itself has already placed you in opposition to Mycroft."
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