Although they had only known each other for a short time, Ron already considered Harry a friend.
Moreover, Malfoy had not only offended Harry but also insulted Sherlock and himself, so Ron naturally had to stand up for them.
Harry stared coldly at Malfoy. "Say that again."
Though introverted by nature and reluctant to argue with others, when it came to his parents, they were his most sensitive spot—he would never allow any insult to them.
"Oh, you want to fight, do you?"
Malfoy was somewhat surprised by Harry and Ron's courage, but glancing at Goyle and Crabbe beside him, he immediately sneered.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Sherlock hadn't stood up with Harry and Ron, and the contempt in his gaze grew stronger.
'Mudblood is just mudblood—no guts at all.
Though Weasley is a blood traitor, he's still better than him.'
At this moment, Goyle and Crabbe had already moved forward with perfect awareness of a lackey, looking down at the three from their superior height.
In truth, Harry's heart wasn't as brave as his outside facade showed.
Since Crabbe and Goyle were much larger than he and Ron, he was somewhat putting on a show of bravado.
Ron was in a similar state—both were sustained purely by momentum, bluffing their way through.
After all, they were still elementary school students, so the timidity they unconsciously revealed was immediately detected by Goyle and Crabbe, who became even more disdainful.
As for Sherlock, like Malfoy, they didn't take him seriously at all.
A cowardly mudblood wasn't worth mentioning.
So, after discovering that Harry and Ron were all bark and no bite, and Sherlock was as timid as a mouse, Goyle made the first move.
He reached his evil hand toward the Chocolate Frogs beside Ron:
"These snacks look good, but they're mine now!"
"Let go!"
When it came to food, Ron finally overcame the fear in his heart and lunged forward.
Unfortunately, before he could even touch Goyle, the latter pushed him down with ease.
It was Effortless.
Seeing this situation, Harry froze completely.
At this moment, Goyle, who was a full two heads taller than him, inevitably reminded him of his cousin Dudley, who had bullied him since childhood.
He wanted to do something, but the psychological shadow formed over the years made his body somewhat unresponsive.
Watching Goyle laugh heartily, about to tear open the packaging, a thought arose in Harry's mind:
'I was bullied before I came to Hogwarts, and I'm still being bullied after coming to Hogwarts. Haven't I come to the magical world for nothing?'
Just as Harry was about to fall into desolation, Goyle, who was preparing to tear open the snacks, suddenly let out a scream.
A strong, powerful hand suddenly gripped his wrist tightly.
Goyle cried out and swung his hand, trying to break free, but though the hand wasn't large, it clamped around his wrist like an iron band.
"I say, you lot..."
Sherlock, who had been ignored by Malfoy's trio, slowly stood up.
Gripping Goyle's wrist, his face showed helpless expression: "Before taking someone else's things, shouldn't you at least say hello first?"
Goyle was already bending over from the pain.
Sherlock wasn't short to begin with, and now as he stood straight, he was the one looking down from above.
"Sherlock!"
Seeing this scene, Harry couldn't help but cry out in joy, his voice full of delight.
At this moment, Sherlock's figure appeared incredibly tall in his eyes.
Ron also struggled up from the ground, looking at Sherlock with pure amazement in his eyes.
'A big shot's got our backs!'
"Let him go!"
Crabbe finally reacted and charged toward Sherlock.
"Be careful!" Harry finally overcame his fear and planned to help.
But before he could rush forward, the situation had already changed.
Facing Crabbe charging at him with a yell, Sherlock nodded. "Alright."
With that, he released his grip on Goyle's hand.
Goyle immediately began falling to the ground.
However, before his body hit the floor, his chin received a swift and vicious uppercut from Sherlock.
At the same time, Crabbe charged over.
Sherlock seemed to casually stick out his leg.
"Thud!"
Crabbe immediately fell flat on his face.
Then Sherlock withdrew the hand that had given Goyle the uppercut and casually delivered another blow to Crabbe.
Goyle and Crabbe were now clutching their heads and howling in pain.
Though these two were considered physically strong among their peers, they were only eleven years old after all—their ability to take hits really wasn't that impressive.
Moreover, they were dealing with Sherlock, a professional.
Sherlock's gaze now turned to Malfoy, whose face had changed dramatically and who was backing away continuously. He flashed him a friendly smile:
"Mr. Malfoy of the pure-blood family, would you also like to give it a try?"
In Malfoy's eyes, Sherlock's smile at this moment was like a demon's.
He never would have imagined that the other could single-handedly defeat Goyle and Crabbe.
No, it couldn't be called defeat—it should be called crushing.
This guy didn't seem like a wizard at all!
He had long lost his earlier arrogance, backing away repeatedly before quickly fleeing the compartment.
Crabbe and Goyle followed close behind, crawling and rolling their way out.
Sherlock didn't stop them, letting them leave.
At this moment, Harry and Ron looked at Sherlock with nothing but worship.
That earlier thought appeared in Harry's mind once again—'if only I could be like him or always be with him.'
"That was amazing, Sherlock! How did you do it?"
"They were too weak," Sherlock didn't feel proud at all. "My family hired teachers to teach me some fencing and boxing."
"Boxing?"
"Fencing?"
Harry and Ron looked at each other, imagining Sherlock wielding his wand like a longsword, fighting others in battle.
'A melee wizard?
How bizarre!'
"Is 'mudblood' a curse word?"
Sherlock suddenly spoke, interrupting Harry and Ron's imagination.
Harry looked questioningly at Ron, who was stunned, as if he hadn't yet recovered from his earlier shock.
Only after a moment did he explain in a low voice:
"It's a very malicious and insulting term for Muggles, extremely offensive. Only evil, hopeless, utterly despicable dark wizards would call Muggles that."
"I see..."
Sherlock showed a thoughtful expression. "Is Malfoy that kind of person too?"
"Not quite."
Though Ron disliked Malfoy and his family, he felt they weren't quite at that level.
So, he added, "Those Slytherin lot would call people that too—Malfoy's definitely going to Slytherin House."
Hearing Ron's explanation, Sherlock pondered briefly before speaking:
"Ron, I have two questions."