Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

"Sheriff Gordon, you finally remembered me!"

Gordon smiled, shook Severus's hand, and gave him a hug.

"Sherlock! The Bristol Police Department's most loyal friend, I've forgotten no one but you! You're going to be on the case again, aren't you? You'll make sure those criminals have nowhere to hide and bring all evil to justice!"

Harry's eyes widened as he stared at Commissioner Gordon, who was completely different from before, with an expression of utter disbelief.

Severus let out a hearty laugh.

"Look at what you're saying. I only did some trivial things. Like now, the police need my help, right?"

"Yes! You have to see the case at Budmington Estate! It's absolutely outrageous, such a poor disabled girl!"

"Then let's go, Gordon. Let's go to the police station and show me all the clues you've gathered."

As they chatted, they naturally got into Gordon's car. Before getting in, Severus waved to Harry, who was standing there dumbfounded, signaling him to hurry up and follow.

Harry followed Severus into the back of the car, and Gordon kept boasting about Sherlock Holmes's achievements the whole way.

It is said that he successfully exposed the Red-Headed League's scam and successfully caught the thieves who stole from the bank vault.

He also said that he identified the criminal by observing bloodstains, rings, and footprints, and used cigarette ash to eventually arrest the real killer who committed the revenge murder.

He even claimed that he had a final showdown with "the Napoleon of the criminal world" Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, and that he escaped death afterward!

Gordon was very emotional while recounting his story, and Severus had to remind him to keep a firm grip on the steering wheel.

Harry listened in a daze, and only later did he finally understand that these were all cases that happened in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". However, Gordon was now treating them as real events and really believed that Severus was Sherlock Holmes!

"This is the Confusion Spell."

Noticing Harry's surprise, Severus lowered his voice and whispered something to him.

"This magic can temporarily alter a person's perception and is the spell that wizards most often use when facing Muggles."

Severus simply explained without going into detail that the Confusion Charm has extremely high limits, because the spell itself is colorless and soundless, and some skilled users can use it without the spell or the staff.

Unbeknownst to them, they can subtly and imperceptibly cause cognitive shifts in people, and Severus was one of the masters of this.

However, Gordon was just an ordinary Muggle, and he didn't have the trouble of being silent and wandless. This also made the Confusion Charm very effective.

Gordon quickly parked the car in front of the Bristol Police Station. After warmly inviting Severus and Harry out of the car, he led them into the station and directly to his office.

He took out his key, opened a filing cabinet, and took out all the records, photos of the scene, and physical evidence that he had previously prepared, and placed them in front of Severus.

Severus picked up the notes first.

After receiving a report, the police went to Badminton Estate and immediately took statements from everyone in the estate, including Mr. Somerset and his family, as well as Mr. Somerset himself.

Some crucial lines were deliberately highlighted in red by the police.

Not only Patty's brother noticed her change in mood, but her father and stepmother also felt that about two or three weeks ago, she had suddenly changed from her lifeless state at home and even showed a smile on her face, something she hadn't done in a long time.

Mr. Somerset had asked Patty what had happened, but Patty simply said that whatever happened was none of his business.

Around this time, the cook in charge of the kitchen would find some cooked food and desserts missing from the cupboards every morning when she checked the kitchen inventory. The housekeeper even reprimanded the manor's servants for this, suspecting that someone was stealing.

In addition, the servants would occasionally hear the sound of a motorcycle in the garage at night, but when they opened the garage, it was empty and the motorcycle was parked in the same spot.

This record is much more detailed than what the Auror kept at the manor!

Muggles are better suited to investigating other Muggles. Letting Aurors handle cases that primarily deal with Muggles is really a challenge for them, since the Ministry of Magic has rules that prevent them from using Veritaserum or hiring Legilimency masters.

After reading the statement, Severus looked at the various photographs taken at the crime scene.

The photos show that Patty's bedroom was very tidy, with no signs of a struggle. The police even took a picture of the two shallow wounds on the back of Patty's neck, which the Aurors had not noticed.

The police forensic examiner also conducted an examination of the two wounds and suspected that they were left by the tusks of some animal.

Finally, there were some items found in the bedroom that appeared to be evidence.

A silver button had fallen off Patty's pajamas sometime during the night.

A notebook with a page torn from the end containing some photos of Patty with her mother when she was a child.

A uniquely shaped brooch, resembling a blooming tulip.

The most unusual item was the one that the police had set aside separately.

It was out of place with the other three pieces of evidence, and it contrasted sharply with Patty's identity, making it seem unlikely that it would appear in a bedroom.

However, Severus's eyes lit up when he saw this thing!

It was as if he had completely uncovered an answer.

“Watson, do you remember when we were guests at Professor Slughorn’s house, he told us about the banquet held on the day the potion went missing, and which new people came?”

It took Harry two or three seconds to realize that Watson was calling him.

"It happened this morning," he recalled.

"There's a broom maker and his son, band members, a newspaper editor, a former team captain, and... a newly minted bestselling author and his vampire friend."

Severus waited until he finished speaking, then held up the contents of the sealed bag and waved it in front of him.

"So, who among these people do you think has any connection to this thing?"

Harry recognized it at a glance.

It's a clove of garlic!

Chapter 26: Locking in the Murderer

"We should have gone to Knockturn Alley and bought a bottle of Hellfire Potion instead of stealing it from Slughorn!"

About ten kilometers from Bardemington Manor, in an abandoned ranger's hut, the short, stout wizard Elder Wavell, wearing glasses, was struggling with a seven-meter-long rope.

He coiled one end of the rope into three sections and brought them together, then gradually wrapped the remaining part around it.

Despite his perpetually pale face and handsome appearance, the young Xue Ni still looked timid.

"You said we're broke. Every little bit helps. It's just one less bottle of Hellfire Potion; Slughorn won't notice."

“It’s not us, you’ve never had any money! I’ve always been the one paying out!” Wolper glared at him. “I was trying to save some, but now I’m spending even more! Damn it, how could Slughorn have left a bottle of that special Living Hell Potion there!”

Blood Ny didn’t refute anything. He just suddenly started breathing heavily, his face became even paler, and his eyes seemed to glow red!

"Wait! Wait!" Walpole shouted, dropping the rope he had only half-finished and leaping up from his chair.

Just as Blood Nyx's face grew paler and paler, and two fangs began to emerge faintly from his mouth.

Wolper had already pulled a bottle of potion from a box nearby, and then shoved the bottle into Bloodny's mouth!

After drinking the blood-replenishing potion that he had purchased from Diagon Alley the day before, the previously terrifying features on Bloodny's body gradually disappeared.

He finished the medicine in the bottle with lingering relish, then peered at Walpole's box.

"Are there any blood-flavored lollipops left? I've been holding back for so long, let me savor that wonderful taste a little longer."

"So now you know why I wanted to save money on that bottle of Hellfire Potion! Where did all my money go!" Wolper looked like he'd had enough, but he still pulled a lollipop out of the box and tossed it to Bloodny.

Xueni caught the candy, but instead of showing the expected joy and happiness, he slumped his shoulders dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, I dragged you into this."

Walpole, who had been rambling on and about to complain even more, stopped talking and fell silent, walking over to his friend.

"No need to apologize, I did it voluntarily. I'm waiting to make a fortune off that book about vampires! When that happens, I'll definitely pay back double the money I spent on you!"

"Don't lie to me." Bloody covered his face. "You took me to curry favor with Horace Slughorn so you could ask him to help promote your new book, but because of me, you've offended him now!"

Wopple angrily punched him in the shoulder.

"As long as I write well enough, it won't be a big deal if he doesn't promote it! But since you know how much effort I've put in, you should persevere! Don't be discouraged, Bloody! Think about it, you promised her! You promised!"

Xueni lowered his hand from his face and stared blankly at the lollipop in his hand, muttering to himself.

"Yes, I made that promise to her. I'm a thief, a liar, someone with zero credibility among fairies."

He was pulling at his hair.

"But I promised her!!"

“Then let’s do it!” Wolper encouraged. “Things have already come to this point, so even if we’re caught by the Aurors and tried by the Wizengamors, the consequences can’t get any worse!”

Bloody didn't say anything more. He just slowly tore open the candy wrapper with his slightly trembling hand.

"Yes, things couldn't get any worse than they are now. There can't be any worse."

Instead of continuing to braid that damned rope, Walpole pulled out a quill and parchment and said with unwavering determination.

"I will keep writing, I will finish this story, even if it's in Azkaban!"

"vampire!"

Harry looked at the garlic and gave the answer.

"Only vampires are afraid of garlic! And the wound on Miss Patty's neck, that was also caused by a vampire bite! She was drugged and injured by a vampire!"

"It was that newly-minted bestselling author and his vampire friend who did it! They stole Professor Slughorn's Hellfire Potion at the party that day and then did this!"

Even Harry could guess the answer after seeing the garlic, so Severus certainly couldn't have missed it either.

Those Aurors underestimated Muggles. If they had made more contact with the Muggle government and communicated with the police station, even if they lacked some information from Slughorn and couldn't immediately identify the killer, they could still have made significant progress.

Now, Severus has clearly benefited from this discovery.

“The killer has been basically identified. The only thing that is still unclear is their motive for harming Patty.” Severus put down the clove of garlic he was holding. “However, once we catch the killer, the truth will come out.”

“Come on, Harry, we’ve had a long day. It’s time to go back and rest. We’ll go find Slughorn tomorrow and get the bestselling author and his vampire friend’s whereabouts from him.”

Sheriff Gordon warmly opened the door for Severus and offered to drive them home himself.

Severus politely declined, but thanked Gordon for his help and promised to solve the case quickly, living up to the name "Sherlock Holmes".

Gordon was deeply moved by these words. He stood excitedly at the entrance of the police station, watching the "great detective" and his assistant leave.

Harry is still too young, and Severus doesn't dare use Apparition to bring him along. If something goes wrong and Harry splits into two, it will be a huge problem.

So, once they were out of Gordon's sight, Severus hailed a taxi, and the two returned to Budmington Estate together.

As soon as they returned, they found the employee who had stayed at the manor in a state of panic because of their sudden departure. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them return.

“Professor Snape,” he said earnestly to Severus, his tone almost pleading, “since you’ve chosen to stay, you’re now considered an unofficial member of the investigation team. If you have any plans to go out later, please let me know first, okay? Otherwise, I won’t be able to explain it to the department.”

Severus certainly knew what he was afraid of.

The Aurors have already included him in their list of suspects in the creation of potions, and they don't want him to just disappear like that.

“We’re just going out for a walk. Well, in that case, I’ll let you know in advance.” Severus didn’t want to make things difficult for his employee. “I have to go out again early tomorrow morning to see Professor Slughorn. If all goes well, I should be back by noon.”

Seeing the employee's troubled expression, Severus continued to finish what he hadn't said.

"However, my student Dudley will stay."

Since they were going to arrest someone tomorrow, and there was a high chance of conflict if the other party resisted, Severus and Harry decided not to take him along after discussing it, so that he could spend more time with his new friends at the manor.

The employee finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that one of the two would ultimately stay.

He looked at Severus with gratitude.

"Thank you, Professor Snape. You are nothing like the rumors! You are a truly good professor!"

Chapter 27 Kidnapping

The next morning, Severus left Budmington Manor early.

Harry stayed behind; this trip might be dangerous, and it wasn't appropriate to bring him along.

Upon arriving at Slughorn's old house, Severus could clearly sense that, in just one day, the fat walrus had become much more tense and haggard than before.

Upon seeing Severus, he couldn't help but speak first.

"I've received some information that the Aurors at the Ministry of Magic have found a potion distributor with whom I frequently work, and they'll be there soon."

“Then they probably won’t make it to find you in time.” Severus patted Slughorn on the shoulder, interrupting him. “The murderer is basically confirmed: it’s Elder Wolper and his vampire friend, who were there for the first time at the banquet that day!”

Slughorn stared at Severus in shock.

"Them! Are you sure? That vampire looks incredibly cowardly. Elder Walpole is a former student of mine, a guy who's obsessed with making a fortune by writing books. He's here to beg me to promote his new book!"

"And why would they hurt a Muggle? What grudge could they possibly have against her?"

"It's most likely them. I found a clove of garlic in the victim's bedroom. Only vampires would hate that kind of thing."