Harry was completely stunned, and he stuttered, "P-Professor, you mean..."
Sherlock interrupted him directly. "Just do exactly as I said! Remember, as long as I don't answer immediately, use a spell right away. You should remember how to use the Stupefy Spell, right? I specifically guided you through it again during our trip."
Harry also realised something was wrong. He nodded to indicate he understood, then turned and ran back to the car.
After watching him leave, Sherlock didn't hesitate and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Under the effect of the magic, his entire body slowly disappeared into the air, to the point where he was almost invisible.
But after Sherlock started moving, the distorted ripples in the air still faintly hinted at someone's presence.
The Disillusionment Charm is a spell that allows a Wizard to become invisible, but its effect is not as good as an Invisibility Cloak; it is generally only suitable for use at night. During the day, anyone slightly careful can spot its flaws.
But Sherlock didn't need the invisibility effect to be perfect. After casting the Disillusionment Charm, he quickly followed the place where Nicolas Flamel had disappeared.
But after searching the courtyard of Mr. Flamel's house for a long time, he still didn't see any sign of Nicolas Flamel.
The door to Mr. Flamel's house was tightly closed, and upon approaching, one could even see the lock on it; it didn't look as though anyone had been in the house at all.
This undoubtedly confirmed Sherlock's suspicion even more.
But where did that "Nicolas Flamel" go?
Just as Sherlock was searching around, a girl with a few freckles on her face, holding a wooden box, suddenly walked out from the flower bushes in the back garden.
Looking at this girl who had met Fleur at the bar yesterday and called herself "Criel", a playful smile appeared on Sherlock's face.
Aha, wasn't "he" right here?
...
Harry firmly remembered what Sherlock told him, then sat inside the car.
Recalling the expression on Sherlock's face when he spoke to him just now, he could guess that something big must have happened; otherwise, the Professor's expression wouldn't have been so serious.
Harry was made nervous by his solemn attitude. He sat in the car, constantly looking around outside.
Just as he stuck his head out for the fifth time to see if Sherlock had returned, a familiar figure suddenly walked over from around the wall.
"Harry? Why are you the only one in the car? Where is Sherlock?" Fleur asked suspiciously as she walked over.
Harry's palm holding the wand was slightly sweaty. He stared closely at that "Fleur" and suddenly spoke up.
"What is your sister's name?"
Fleur was stunned, as though she hadn't figured out why Harry would suddenly ask this question.
"What? I just came back after finding the Philosopher's Stone fragment. I found three; we can each have one..."
"What is your sister's name? Say it!"
Harry continued to press.
Fleur stood there at a loss, stammering.
"I, I..."
"Stupefy!"
Harry didn't hesitate to thrust out the hand that had been hidden inside the car. A flashing red light shot from the tip of his wand and, in the blink of an eye, hit "Fleur", who was three metres away and had no time to dodge!
"Ah!"
"Fleur" was hit by the spell but didn't fall to the ground on the spot. Instead, she let out a loud cry and suddenly turned into a creature with pointed ears and a face like a rotten orange.
A Goblin!
After that Goblin turned back into its original form, a sound like a whip cracking through the air suddenly rang out, and the next second, it disappeared without a trace.
Harry, who had intended to cast another spell, lowered his wand after confirming that he was no longer in danger.
His tense nerves relaxed, causing him to pant heavily.
Harry had guessed correctly!
The other party hadn't used Sherlock's identity to approach him, but Fleur's!
Although he was no longer in danger, this couldn't help but make him worry about Sherlock.
Harry thought this matter was planned by Nicolas Flamel, and he felt that Sherlock might not be able to defeat that old monster who had lived for six hundred years.
...
Sherlock, however, wasn't worried at all about whether he could win.
He was quietly following behind Fleur's junior — "Criel".
Watching her walk into the woods where the Philosopher's Stone fragment was said to be hidden, Sherlock followed silently.
This forest was not small at all. Although it certainly wasn't as large as the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, it wasn't the kind of small grove one usually sees either.
The young Wizards who had come in to search for the Philosopher's Stone fragments had already been searching here for more than twenty minutes, and only a very small number had gained anything.
After "Criel" entered the forest, she kept asking the Wizards who were looking for Philosopher's Stone fragments about Fleur's location.
"That silver-haired, beautiful girl?" A young Wizard recalled and pointed in a direction. "I just saw her go that way."
"Thank you."
"Criel" thanked him very politely, then walked in the direction the Wizard pointed.
"She" continued deeper into the forest for several hundred metres and eventually saw from afar that Fleur seemed to be arguing with someone.
"I got this first, why should I give it to you?" Fleur said disdainfully, looking at the Witch standing opposite her.
That Witch wore a gloomy expression, staring fixedly at Fleur's right hand, where a blood-red fragment rested.
She had just seen it on a forked tree branch, but before she could retrieve it, the fragment had flown up by itself and finally landed in Fleur's hand.
"Because I saw it first!" the Witch said coldly.
"If everything you saw first belonged to you, then no one should enter this forest. Whoever sees it first would own all the Philosopher's Stone fragments here."
When it came to arguing, Fleur had never been afraid of anyone.
At Beauxbatons, not everyone was nice to her. Perhaps most boys were bewitched by her natural beauty and deliberately tried to please her, but most girls' attitudes towards her were not friendly.
After all, she was the most popular among the boys, and those girls who felt all the attention had been stolen by her naturally wanted to criticise her and pick fights.
But whether inside or outside the school, Fleur had never lost an argument.
"I saw you already dig one out of the grass. Isn't it a bit greedy to want another now?" The Witch approached Fleur step by step, clearly looking as though she was preparing to do something.
Fleur was not afraid of her at all. Even without a wand, her Veela bloodline made it easier for her to control her magic than a normal Wizard, which was also one of the reasons she had found two fragments so quickly.
"Mr. Flamel said it himself just now — you can take as many as you find. If you can't find even one yourself, you can only blame yourself for being useless!"
Listening to Fleur's ruthless mockery, the Witch finally couldn't take it anymore.
Just as she was about to rely on her stronger physique to pounce and snatch the two fragments from Fleur's hand, a third voice suddenly rang out from the side.
"Senior Delacour!"
The Witch stopped preparing to attack and looked uncertainly at "Criel", who had suddenly walked over.
Fleur also saw the arrival of her "junior" and couldn't help showing a look of relief.
Although she wasn't afraid of the other party trying to snatch the fragments, it was naturally better to have a helper.
"Criel" stood beside Fleur, and the Witch could only leave dejectedly after throwing out a harsh threat.
"Just you wait."
Fleur thanked "Criel".
"Luckily you came in time. Thank you."
"It's okay, Senior." "She" said with a grin. "You can use that Philosopher's Stone fragment as a thank-you gift."
Fleur shook her head and refused vigilantly.
"No! I promised to bring this back for someone else. I can't give it to you."
"Criel" quickly waved her hand.
"I'm joking, Senior. Why are you so nervous?"
Only after Fleur confirmed that her junior truly had no intention of snatching the fragments in her hand did she reluctantly lower her guard and continue walking with "her".
"Let's go deeper. It shouldn't have been searched thoroughly yet; maybe we'll find something."
They walked deeper into the forest together, and along the way Fleur asked suspiciously,
"Why did you come so late? I thought something had happened to you and that you weren't coming."
"Criel" smiled.
"Something delayed me. I arrived a little late, but it's not too late to come in now."
"It's not too late. As far as I know, five people have already found Philosopher's Stone fragments. Counting the two in my hand, that means seven have already been found. There are sixteen left. The probability of us finding another one is very high, and finding two isn't impossible."
Fleur spoke excitedly. In her heart, she was still fantasising that maybe she could bring back three Philosopher's Stone fragments, and then she, Sherlock, and Harry could each have one.
"Criel" watched the young girl searching the forest full of hope and laughed silently.
However, "her" smile was somewhat chilling.
"She" deliberately led Fleur to a place where two fragments were hidden in a bird's nest high in a tree.
"Look there, Senior!" "Criel" pointed out her discovery excitedly.
Fleur was also thrilled. She knew that finding three Philosopher's Stone fragments was no longer a fantasy. Now that two more had been discovered, she and "Criel" could each have one.
Just as she trotted towards the tree, preparing to use her magic to pull the fragments from the nest without a wand, a dazzling red light suddenly shot towards her.
"Stupefy!"