Prisoner of Azkaban was on TV this evening, and it seemed appropriate to endorse it with some Sherlockian scepticism and logic.

20/08/11 - story amended so Sherlock is actually correct. Huge thanks to Eisette, who spotted the mistake.

"All they ever found of him of him was his finger"

"Black didn't kill Pettigrew, he destroyed him."

John hears Sherlock shift impatiently in his seat, and can feel the list of complaints building up inside the detective. An impatient sniff issues from the sofa about five minutes later, and John gives up on watching the film undisturbed.

"Go on, then."

"I thought these 'wizards' proclaimed themselves to be intelligent!" Sherlock protests. He points at Professor McGonagall, and sighs. "She is meant to be a professor, and he," he points to Fudge, "is presumably this world's equivalent to the Prime Minister. I realise the character is not meant to be the brightest, but it takes skill to acquire such a position! And this…is so obvious."

John listens to the outburst with a smile

"What's so obvious?" he asks, humouring the man.

"That Pettigrew isn't dead, and therefore he clearly was the one who betrayed Harry's parents!"

When John doesn't answer, and refocuses his attention on the screen, Sherlock scowls, and continues more loudly.

"If all they found of him was a finger, then he blatantly wasn't dead!"

"Uhuh."

"Where was the body? I'm sure they could have 'magically' found it. If there was no body, then it seems most likely that Pettigrew is alive. Even when these 'wizards' use their 'killing curse', the bodies remain intact; perfect condition other than the fact of no longer being alive. Therefore Pettigrew is alive - so, he's got something to hide - conclusion: he's the betrayer...because otherwise why would he be pretending to be dead? I can't believe someone like Dumbledore didn't pick up on it. It's preposterous, frankly."

John's looking at Sherlock again by the time he finishes his rant, and what was an amused smile has blossomed into a full blown grin.

"I know, Sherlock. I read the books."