Chapter 145 "Detective Sherlock"

Hearing what he said, Sherlock shook his head, "What a shameful betrayal."

He frowned again, remembering what Lupin said before, "You said that after they found out that you were a werewolf, they learned a high-end spell?"

Lupin waited to answer Sherlock's question. He silently raised his head to look at the full moon hanging high on the night outside, and he remained silent for a long time.

After a while, he spoke slowly, "I've always felt guilty about this, and I've even been hesitant to tell Dumbledore about it. Now that I've told you, even if Dumbledore is disappointed in me, I'll tell him the whole story."

Sherlock didn't say anything. He wanted to hear Lupin finish the story.

"James, Sirius, and Pettigrew, in order to come to accompany me when I turn into a werewolf, they especially learned a form of a spell called "Animagus." This magic can turn wizards into animal form, and werewolves are only interested in attacking humans and have no intention of attacking animals."

"James and Sirius are talented in magic, and they both learned this magic alone. Pettigrew also mastered Animagus with the help of others. After learning it, none of them reported this to the Ministry of Magic, and they wandered around Hogsmeade with me and turned into werewolves."

"I was young at the time and didn't even think about how dangerous it would be to do this. Not only Snape, but many times I almost hurt others, but fortunately I still graduated from Hogwarts safely."

"Sirius knows Animagus; he is very likely to sneak into Hogwarts through this. But I have never dared to tell Dumbledore about this, saying it is equivalent to telling him that I caused this to happen when I was a student. I am afraid that he will be disappointed in me."

"The students in the castle like me very much and think I'm a good teacher, but I've been scared and hesitant to tell the truth."

Sherlock didn't care about Lupin's current mood because Lupin's words reminded him of something; he stared at him, who was blaming himself, and asked quickly, "Do you remember what animal Black turned into?"

"It's a black dog."

Hearing his answer, Sherlock suddenly stood up from the ground, "A black dog?"

Lupin noticed Sherlock's behavior. He raised his head as if he had guessed something and looked at Sherlock blankly, "Yes, he is big and can reach the waist of an adult."

Sherlock hit his palm heavily, "So it's him!"

"Have you met him?" Lupin asked nervously.

"More than just seeing him, he had helped me a lot!"

Sherlock didn't specifically say what he was helping; he was pacing back and forth as if thinking about something.

"But no one knows he's an Animagus. He infiltrated Hogwarts with ease and touched the Gryffindor common room twice. Why? Harry didn't get attacked once. Was Harry lucky?"

He muttered to himself, and Lupin also heard him muttering to himself, but he didn't know why. Sherlock suddenly stopped. He stared at Lupin and began to analyze.

"The first time I saw him was at the beginning of school at Hogwarts. At that time, he should have just arrived in Hogsmeade, but he had yet to find the opportunity to sneak into Hogwarts. The second time was at Hogwarts. It was the evening of the first day of school, and he was still in Hogsmeade, which means he hadn't found a chance yet."

"On Halloween, I went to Hogsmeade again. But he was no longer there. That night, while the Halloween dinner was going on, he violently infiltrated the Gryffindor common room, which meant that in he made it to Hogwarts."

"The third time I saw him was when the Dementors forced their way into the Quidditch match on the highest floor of the Quidditch stadium; he thought there would not be anyone here there, and I just happened to meet him again."

When he said this, he suddenly stopped. The Shrieking Shack was so quiet, so quiet that Lupin's heavy breathing could be heard clearly.

"This proves one thing," Sherlock said slowly.

Lupin stared at him, "What?"

"He broke into the Gryffindor common room for the first time on Halloween. When I met him during a Quidditch match, he broke into the Gryffindor lounge for the second time, and he hasn't left."

Lupin disagreed with Sherlock's conclusion, "Impossible. I've used the Marauder's map and haven't seen his name in any area of ​​Hogwarts."

Sherlock stared into his eyes, "Does the Marauder's map cover the entire area of Hogwarts?"

Lupin said without hesitation, "Of course."

"What about the Forbidden Forest?"

Lupin was stunned. 

The Forbidden Forest is large. As one of the creators of Marauder's Map, Lupin is clear that they have recorded every corner of Hogwarts, all secret passages, and all exits. But it is impossible to draw the Forbidden Forest on it because it was so huge.

If Black wants to find a place to hide in Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest is the best place for him to hide.

"He can hide in the Forbidden Forest?" Lupin showed a huge surprise. 

"We'll go to Dumbledore tomorrow, tell him the full story, and conduct a big search of the Forbidden Forest." Lupin said excitedly.

Sherlock did not respond to his proposal but stared at Lupin with bright eyes, "Maybe we can try it tonight."

Lupin was taken aback by Sherlock's words, "Tonight? Us?"

"Yes, tonight. Us." He said affirmatively.

"But I'm still a werewolf."

"That's exactly what I meant." Sherlock looked at him and said, "In this state, are your hearing, smell, and vision much stronger than normal?"

Lupin said hesitantly, "You're right, but it's just the two of us, and the Forbidden Forest is big."

"I know the chance is very small, but it's totally worth a try."

In the end, Lupin was persuaded by him.

The two passed through the tunnel of the Shrieking Shack and returned to the Whomping Willow. At this time, it was almost one o'clock in the morning. Apart from the insects and birds from the Forbidden Forest, there was no other sound.

Sherlock and Lupin did not act separately because even if they searched separately, it would be useless for them to do so. When the two of them are together, they can guarantee that if Black is discovered, they will not let him escape easily.

After entering the Forbidden Forest, they have been searching deep. Lupin is one of the magical creatures at the top of the food chain right now. The Ministry of Magic's official risk rating for werewolves is XXXXX, along with dragons and Basilisks. 

They don't have to worry about encountering other magical creatures attacking in the Forbidden Forest. With Lupin around, they can handle it.

Sherlock and Lupin have been digging for about an hour. They have even reached the area that used to be the Acromantula's territory, which has now been burned. They still haven't seen Black.

"With only the two of us, it's hard to find a black dog in such a big place." Lupin shook his head.

Sherlock touched his chin and thought, "Maybe we were looking in the wrong direction. We thought that since Black wanted to hide in the Forbidden Forest, the deeper he hid, the more secure he would feel."

"But it doesn't matter where he hides in the Forbidden Forest when he is in the state of Animagus. Because no one knows his Animagus form except you, even if someone sees him in here, they would think it's just a normal dog and wouldn't care much about it."

"What's more, he must pay attention to the movements at Hogwarts. If he hides in the depths of the Forbidden Forest, it will be hard for him to observe Hogwarts."

"We shouldn't search in the depths of the Forbidden Forest. We should search the edge of the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts."

Lupin's impression of Sherlock was astonishing. Sherlock's performance at this time is like that of a genius among wizards, combining all the clues to deduce a result that is close to the answer.

They immediately turned around and returned and began to search again on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. But after searching for more than an hour, when the sky began to turn white, there was still nothing.

Sherlock shook his head and sighed, "It seems that the two of us can't find it now. When we go back to the castle, we should tell Dumbledore about it and let more people come to look for it."

Just as Sherlock finished talking, Lupin suddenly pricked up his ears.