Well... never mind then. I guess I'll just work on it and add my version to the mix.

In White Night
Under the accords, the white council is tasked with defending mortals against attacks by supernatural entities. They are forbidden from involvement with mortal politics - See Turn Coat.

In the short story Restoration of Faith Harry has a conversation with the bad guy to the effect suggesting there are specifics set forth in the accords which designate what supernatural powers are entitled to do 'legally.'

My initial thinking was geared toward a spirit evocation which would act like a ward. The same 'rules' for wards would apply. They can be battered down by exceeding their value. When attacked but not penetrated, the ward reflects the attack at the same value back at the attacker. Just like with wards, the attacker would then have the chance to defend against the reflected attack.
Since the general rule seems to be that special features cost 2 shifts, It hought it would be a suitable place to start.

Another idea to achieve a similar result would be to attach the effect to an enchanted item would carry the ward, when activated it sets up an instant ward attached to the personal nature of the item (say a ring always worn by the character). While not as strong as the threshold concept, there's nothing to say a threshold is absolutely required.
The ward could be tied to the location where it was activated so that the player cannot move from the zone without the ward collapsing. The ward would then just do what wards do.

Great sites and info. Always fun to know what others are drawing from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_holmes
Hmmm... the scholarship and performance angles are trickier. His knowledge is, indeed, based on what he finds necessary for his work and interests. Perhaps an investigative stunt along the lines of using investigation in place of scholarship for research on evidence would be the correct approach.
He certainly maintained a catalogue of knowledge of forensic investigation techniques.
How about 'Forensic Scientist' or 'Encyclopedia of Practical Forensics'

Additionally, Holmes was a master of disguise and able to mimic patterns of speech well beyond simply copying accents.

Victorian Gentleman would certainly be an appropriate aspect for Holmes. The aspect could easily be invoked similarly to Harry's own 'Chivalry is not Dead, Dammit.'

Dr. Watson describes Holmes as living a 'Bohemian' lifestyle (one characterized by few permanent ties and largely focused on the individual's own pursuits (frequently esoteric or artistic in nature)). This could also be applied to an aspect. Holmes does what he does not primarily as a career, but because it is of interest to him. He's not a man of the system.
He is a loner and prone to fits of fugue. In our day, he would probably have been regarded as a low grade manic depressive.

Order in Chaos Holmes personal space appears to any conventional person as an absolute shambles, but his organization is not based on convention. It's more organic and holistic. Things in his space are positioned based on relationship, and he knows right where everything is. Despite this, he is also fastidious about his own appearance and grooming.

Holmes is a patriot as well. In many stories he undertakes a case for the good of England.

Holmes is also a habitual user of cocaine and, on occasion, morphine.

Holmes is a talented fist fighter and also well versed in martial arts and weapons (he uses his cane and a sword in the stories).

I've read through those sections before and my head-scratcher issue is still one. So, where does it indicate anywhere therein focus slots are included in the package? I don't see it anywhere in there? I've noticed some talk in this thread about discounts for foci and obtaining them through sponsored magic, but I don't see any basis for obtaining focus items or focus item slots through sponsored magic.

It's a waist deep game - skills capped at great. So pretty low level. Without a redesign of the character I don't see getting much more pull out of the item. Possibly I could get it up to 5 if I reorient skills and I'm in the process of re-working the character.

I do like the maneuver idea. It's kind of the angle I was thinking. Harkening back to Douglas Adams and the 'Somebody Else's Problem' field generator. Always thought that pretty clever. It's easier to make people ignore something than to actually make it invisible. Plus, if it were invisible, someone might walk right into it. Better to make them ignore it and go around it without seeing the importance of it.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll chat with the GM about it and see how it goes.