Potterlock

Golem

"That's probably not something you want to look into," a deep, masculine voice said from the stairs. The trio spun around to find Sherlock Holmes descending the staircase into the basement.

"Bloody hell, mate! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Ron cursed.

Sherlock ignored him and smiled at Hermione, "You're onto something, Ms. Granger."

"Thank you," she blushed a little.

"It was a sort of experiment. I found something similar in some of his associates' hideouts across Europe," Sherlock began searching the book shelf. "At each place there were people I killed and piles of matter such as dirt or small stones around the room. The bodies cooled unusually quickly, but I usually blamed the cold locations. So stupid!"

"You aren't stupid, Sherlock. There was no reason to look at it before now," Hermione said.

"Everything has importance," Sherlock muttered. He snatched a book off the shelf and began turning the pages at a rate that made Ron's eyes bulge. There was no way any human, wizard or not, should be able to read that quickly. Hermione stood on tiptoe at his shoulder, trying to see what he was reading.

Sherlock found the page he was looking for and put it down on the table so they could all read it. "Golems are magical beings made of earthly materials," Hermione murmured, "Of course! How did I not think of this before?"

"It's a rare brand of magic. Most people have forgotten about it because it fell out of favor when people used it in stunts such as this. It explains everything," Sherlock smirked, satisfied.

"Does it?" Harry read the page.

Golems are magical beings made of earthly materials. They are dutiful to their creators and usually serve a purpose. Wizards in ancient times used them to help tend crops and find food. Golems themselves find sustenance in sunlight, like many magical plants.

Golems can be made of many materials, but soil and stones are the most common options used, as they are in greater supply. They often leave footprints of the material they are made of. These creatures have no heartbeat because they have no heart; they are just animated bodies. These bodies can be disguised as others and can die as easily as, if not more easily than humans.

"So the Moriarty we killed was a golem made of dirt."

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Sherlock said.

"So he's alive and so is Seamus."

"Again, yes, Mr. Potter," Sherlock replied, exasperated.

"We have nothing to go on, then. He could be anywhere," Harry sat down, frustrated.

"He's not at the manor," Ron said.

"That's obvious, Ronald!" Hermione said, also frustrated.

Sherlock was pacing with his eyes closed and his fingers jammed into his ears to block out their noise. Images flashed by in his Mind Palace like a picture show at the Muggle cinema. London, Ireland, Hogwarts, the small cave in Russia, the castle in Switzerland, Malfoy Manor, Tom Riddle's childhood cave. Or somewhere else? He zoomed out to see the whole globe. Pins popped up at potential locations. New York City would be an ideal place to hide, with so many people. Chicago was a possibility, too, as were Toronto, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Dubai, Cairo, Moscow and hundreds of other cities. It was overpowering, the number of places Moriarty could be.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were so engrossed in their own conversation that they missed it when Sherlock Holmes fell over, overwhelmed in his own head.

"Where does a crazy bloke like him go?" Ron asked.

"To his crazy bloke lair," Harry replied.

"Or to his minion's lair," Ron said, "Like Voldemort at the Malfoy's place."

"Seamus's mom's house, you think?" Harry said.

"No," Hermione shook her head, "Men like him like to be near the action. They like to see the mayhem they cause. He probably won't like change; he'll stay somewhere familiar."

"London?" Harry said.

"We'll make a list, and you can check them. He thinks we're dead; we can't leave, Harry. I'm sorry," Hermione said. She summoned a quill, some ink, and a scrap of parchment to write Harry a list.

"It's fine, Hermione, I understand," Harry smiled and patted her hand.

"Okay, so, his flat in London, 221B Baker Street, the Irish Manor. Where else?"

Suddenly Sherlock was there. He took the quill from Hermione and started scribbling. Russia, Switzerland,  Malfoy Manor...

"Malfoy Manor?" Ron demanded, "I thought he was a decent person now now!"

"He was Voldemort's ally, Moriarty was no enemy of Voldemort, they could be associates now," Sherlock said drily as he continued writing.

"Tom Riddle's cave?" Harry asked, "What connection-"

"He dabbles, Mr. Potter. He might have liked the idea and taken it," Sherlock shrugged.

"Okay, fine. Should we check Voldemort's family's old residences, too, then? He hid things there," Harry suggested.

"Yes, just to be safe," Sherlock said. Seamus's childhood home.

"So, I was right?" Harry asked.

"It's a possibility. Seamus's mother would probably give it up willingly, and if not, he wouldn't mind killing her," Sherlock said as if he were discussing the weather and not a heartless murder.

"She bore him a child!" Hermione cried.

"He doesn't have a heart, Ms. Granger," Sherlock said softly.

"Kinda like you," Ron growled, glaring at the man comforting his wife.

"Quite right, Mr. Weasley," Sherlock replied and he stared at the paper, willing himself to write the word he didn't want to.

"What do you mean you don't have a heart?" Hermione asked softly.

Sherlock muttered something about human emotion and the losing side of things. That confused Hermione. Professor Dumbledore had always  taught that love would win and that it was a good defense against the dark.

"Love is good protection," Hermione murmured.

"A mother's love is good protection," Sherlock corrected, "The love you speak of is a weakness. And even a mother's love can't protect you from everything." He wrote the word, stood, and walked away.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley..." He faltered, "Ms. Granger." Then he was gone.

The three of them turned to the paper and paled. The one word written there was the one place they had secretly prayed that Moriarty would avoid.

Hogwarts.

Author's Note

Hello Witches, Wizards, and Muggles! Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thank you so much! xox