Three days before the Christmas holiday began, it started snowing at Hogwarts.
The snow fell heavily, covering the entire castle in a pure white coat in less than two hours. Students, finished with their day's lessons, excitedly ran outside, looking forward to an afternoon of play.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, were not in the mood to run out and play in the snow like the other students.
They sat with complicated feelings in the chairs of an empty classroom, staring blankly at the overwhelming snowflakes outside.
Although Harry and Ron were initially very excited about Sherlock's jinx coming true, it was only after they had calmed down that they, like Hermione, realized how unbelievable the whole thing was.
"Is it possible—and I mean just possible—that this snow actually has nothing to do with Professor Cavendish? After all, it usually snows around Christmas every year; this year it just came a little later?"
Hermione said, feigning nonchalance.
She simply couldn't accept this fact. Neither the eleven years of science nor the two years of magic she had studied provided any precedent for a person to be so omnipotent that merely by speaking, even the weather could change.
Harry and Ron, however, looked at her strangely.
"Don't deceive yourself, Hermione. You said before that all those things about Professor Cavendish were coincidences, but today's weather was something we personally tested with Professor Cavendish. The facts are already before us."
Harry said, spreading his hands.
"If you still don't believe it, we can even test it again."
Hearing Harry's words, Ron also became excited.
After discovering that the flags Sherlock Cavendish set always resulted in the opposite of what he said, they were now addicted to the game.
"Yeah, we can totally test it again. Professor Cavendish is right here in the castle anyway."
The three immediately put their plan into action. This time, Hermione didn't stop them; she genuinely couldn't believe it was true.
If even one test failed, it would prove that the so-called jinx was all just coincidence, not some strange talent.
The three of them stealthily gathered in front of Sherlock's office door. They whispered and deliberated for a long time outside, finally deciding that Ron would go in this time.
Ron cleared his throat outside, adjusted his robes, and once ready, gently knocked on Sherlock's office door.
"Come in."
He pushed the door open and walked in. Sherlock looked up from the seventh-year homework, and, seeing Ron, his expression was strange.
"What mischief are you up to now?"
Seeing that Sherlock was already suspicious before he even spoke, Ron quickly said what they had planned outside.
"Professor, when I went back to do my homework, I found some knowledge about Boggarts that I didn't understand in class. Could you explain it to me again?"
Sherlock gazed at Ron with eyes that seemed to penetrate one's heart. Fortunately, Ron's psychological fortitude was strong enough; he didn't avoid Sherlock's gaze. Instead, he swallowed and nodded sincerely.
"Which part didn't you understand?"
Sherlock merely thought that Harry and the other two mischievous kids were acting a bit strangely today, but he still couldn't use Legilimency to see what Ron was thinking. When a student asked a question from class, he naturally had to provide clarification.
"You said that a Boggart is a magical creature with no specific offensive capabilities, only able to cause fear in people. So how does it survive normally?"
The question Ron asked was thought up by Hermione. Sherlock had only briefly mentioned this topic in class without going into specific detail, so asking about it after class was perfectly appropriate
and didn't seem out of place.
Sherlock didn't detect anything unusual in the question. He organized his thoughts and began to explain to Ron.
"No one has ever seen a Boggart's true form. The manifestations it displays are all transformations based on people's deepest fears. Their essential requirement for survival is precisely this—fear. Boggarts feed on fear..."
Sherlock explained in great detail, and Ron seemed to listen very attentively. Finally, after he finished, Ron politely thanked Sherlock.
"Thank you, Professor." Then he added, quite naturally, "If Filch doesn't bother me afterward, then I believe I'll finish this homework very quickly."
Sherlock looked at him suspiciously.
"If you haven't broken any castle rules, why would Filch bother you?"
Hearing Sherlock say this, the excitement on Ron's face became uncontrollable.
"You mean, Filch won't bother me before Christmas, right?"
Sherlock pulled out the seventh-year homework again to grade, saying without looking up,
"Unless you've done something wrong, there's no need to worry about Filch bothering you. That castle caretaker, while unreasonable at times, usually follows the rules."
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Ron could no longer sit still. He stood up, bade farewell to Sherlock, and then scurried out of the office.
Sherlock watched his eager back, sighed, shook his head, and continued grading homework, while simultaneously monitoring Neville's movements on the Marauder's Map.
After Ron ran out of Sherlock's office, he immediately found Harry and Hermione waiting in the corridor.
"Professor Cavendish said that if I don't make a mistake, Filch won't bother me before Christmas!"
Hermione said seriously.
"This is the best way to test whether everything that happens is related to what Professor Cavendish says. Because under normal circumstances, if Ron doesn't make a mistake, Ron is unlikely to be bothered by Filch."
At this moment, Ron felt no fear or worry. Even though he knew that if Sherlock's jinx really came true, Filch would punish him, it didn't suppress his excitement in the slightest.
"Yes, we haven't broken any school rules recently, so why would Filch bother me?"
Harry and the others said as they walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room.
Since Ron's specified time was before Christmas, they had to wait for the result over the next few days.
But before they even reached the stairs leading to the Gryffindor Tower, Filch, with his fish-like bulging eyes, angrily blocked their path.