"P-Professor, did you use magic to control him?"
Harry, who is wearing a newsboy cap and introducing himself as Watson, looked up at the police chief.
After being pointed at by the 'Great Detective''s wand, the man trembled for a brief mont, and his previously furious expression instantly softened into calm relaxation.
Severus didn't answer Harry's question right away. Instead, he smiled and extended his hand forward.
"Chief Gordon! You've finally rembered !"
Gordon also broke into a smile. He shook Severus's hand and even pulled him into a hug.
"Sherlock! The most loyal friend of the Bristol Police Departnt, I could forget anyone but you! Are you taking on another case? You'll make sure those criminals have nowhere to hide, that all evil is brought to justice!"
Harry's eyes widened. He stared at Gordon, who now seed like a completely different person, with a look of astonishnt.
Severus let out a hearty laugh.
"Oh, co now, I've only done so trivial things. Just like now… the police need my help, don't they?"
"Yes! You absolutely must take a look at the case at the Badminton Estate! It's horrific… such a poor, disabled girl!"
"Then let's go, old friend Gordon. To the station… show all the evidence you've gathered."
As the two chatted, they naturally got into Gordon's car. Before getting in, Severus gestured to Harry, who was still standing there dumbfounded, urging him to hurry up and follow.
Harry climbed into the back seat with Severus. Throughout the drive, Gordon enthusiastically praised the achievents of 'Sherlock Hols'… how he had exposed the fraud of the [Red-Headed League], captured the thieves who robbed the bank vaults, and how he had used bloodstains, a ring, and footprints to identify the culprit, ultimately arresting the murderer who killed for revenge.
He even ntioned how Severus had faced off against the [Napoleon of Cri], Moriarty, at the Reichenbach Falls in a final showdown… and survived!
Gordon grew more and more animated as he spoke, forcing Severus to remind him to keep both hands on the wheel.
Harry was stunned as he listened. It wasn't until later that he realized these were all cases from [The Adventures of Sherlock Hols], but now, Gordon was treating them as if they had really happened, truly believing that Severus was the legendary detective himself!
"That's the Confundus Charm."
Seeing Harry's surprise, Severus murmured quietly to him.
"This spell can temporarily alter a person's perception. It's one of the most commonly used spells when wizards interact with Muggles."
Severus gave only a brief explanation and didn't elaborate further on how the Confundus Charm had an extrely wide range of effectiveness. Since the spell itself was both wandless and silent, so experts could cast it without incantation or even a wand.
With subtle, imperceptible influence, they could shift a person's cognition without them ever realizing it… and Severus was one such master.
However, Gordon was just an ordinary Muggle. Severus hadn't bothered with the more advanced wandless and wordless approach, which, in this case, made the Confundus Charm exceptionally effective.
Soon, Gordon parked the car in front of the Bristol Police Station. After warmly inviting Severus and Harry inside, he led them straight to his office.
Unlocking a filing cabinet with a key, he pulled out the compiled witness statents, cri scene photos, and evidence, laying them all out before Severus.
Severus picked up the statents first.
Upon receiving the report and arriving at Badminton Estate, the police imdiately took statents from everyone in the household, including Mr. Sorset and his family.
Among these statents, so critical details had been highlighted by the investigators.
Not only had Patty's younger brother noticed the change in her mood, but her father and stepmother had also observed that, roughly two to three weeks prior, as her previously lifeless deanor had suddenly shifted. For the first ti in a long while, she had even begun smiling.
At the ti, Mr. Sorset had asked Patty what had happened, but she had coldly replied that whatever it was had nothing to do with him.
Around the sa period, the kitchen maid responsible for inventory began noticing that cooked food and desserts were going missing from the pantry every morning. The butler had even reprimanded the staff, suspecting petty theft among the servants.
Additionally, so servants occasionally reported hearing motorcycle noises coming from the garage late at night. Yet, when they went to check, the garage was empty, and the motorcycle remained untouched in its usual spot.
These statents were far more detailed than what the Aurors had recorded during their investigation!
Muggles investigating Muggles were the true professionals. Having Aurors take over a case primarily involving Muggles had been awkward from the start… especially with Ministry regulations forbidding the use of Veritaserum or Legilincy experts without proper justification.
After reviewing the statents, Severus turned his attention to the cri scene photographs.
The photos showed that Patty's bedroom was tidy, with no signs of struggle or forced entry. The police had even captured sothing the Aurors had missed, which are the two faint puncture marks on the side of Patty's neck.
The coroner had also conducted an identification on the two wounds and suspected that they were left by an animal's fangs.
Finally, there are so things found in the bedroom that are suspected to be evidence.
A silver button, which is likely fallen from Patty's nightgown at so point.
A notebook with its last page torn out, containing old photographs of Patty and her mother from her childhood.
An ornate brooch shaped like a blooming tulip.
But the most peculiar item was the one the police had set aside separately.
It stood out starkly from the other three pieces of evidence, clashing with Patty's identity and seeming entirely out of place in a bedroom.
However, the mont Severus saw it, his eyes lit up!
It was as if he had finally uncovered the missing piece of the puzzle.
"Watson, do you rember when we were visiting Professor Slughorn's house, he told us about the party held on the day the potion was lost, and who were the new guests?"
It took Harry a few seconds to realize that 'Watson' was a call for him.
Since it had only happened that morning, he recalled easily.
"There was the broommaker and his son, the band mbers, a newspaper editor, a forr Quidditch team captain... and... oh, a newly famous bestselling author and his vampire friend."
Severus waited for him to finish before holding up the sealed evidence bag and waving it in front of him.
"Then tell … which of these people do you think would have a connection to this?"
Harry imdiately recognized what it was.
It's a clove of garlic!
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