At Hogwarts, Afraid of School Violence

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock at the door woke Jerry. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was only five in the morning.

Still grumpy from being woken up, Jerry snapped, "Who is it? Don't you know it's only five?"

He opened the door to find Malfoy standing outside, fully dressed. Looking at him with a hint of fear, Malfoy said, "Some older Slytherin students have been injured. Professor Snape wants everyone to gather in the common room."

Malfoy had just come from the common room, where he had seen the three students' miserable state. He was certain Jerry had done it. Phelly had told him last night that they were going to teach Jerry a lesson, and by this morning, all three had ended up like that.

Jerry got dressed, then quickly washed up. Seeing him take his time, Malfoy did not dare hurry him along and could only return to the common room on his own.

Twenty minutes later, Jerry finally finished dawdling and strolled into the common room, which was already packed. The Slytherins all stared at him as he arrived, then parted to let him through.

Snape stood at the front, sweeping his icy gaze over the crowd. As Jerry approached, he asked:

"Mr. Green, what took you so long? Did you not sleep well last night?" Snape's voice was hoarse.

"Not at all, Professor. The Slytherin dormitories are wonderful, and the bed is very comfortable. If Malfoy hadn't woken me, I'd still be fast asleep." Jerry answered sincerely, his meaning clear: he had slept very well last night and knew nothing.

Snape said nothing more. After fixing Jerry with an icy stare for a while, he sent everyone back to their rooms.

Jerry caught hold of Malfoy and, pretending not to know what had happened, asked him with a puzzled expression.

"Three older students were attacked last night," Malfoy said. "They were left injured in the common room, and someone had stripped off all their clothes."

"Really? Were they badly hurt? What about the attacker? Did they catch whoever did it?"

Looking at Jerry's innocent expression, Malfoy began to doubt himself. Had he remembered last night wrong? Had Phelly and the others not gone after Jerry?

Back in his room, Jerry no longer felt sleepy. He picked up a few books and went to breakfast.

Quite a few people were already in the Great Hall. The Ravenclaw table was the busiest, while Gryffindor had the fewest students. There were also plenty of Slytherins there that morning, though Jerry was not sure whether that was because of Snape.

Rather than heading to the Slytherin table, Jerry found Hermione, the queen of overachievers, in the Gryffindor section. She held a spoon in her left hand while turning the pages of a book with her right.

"Hey, Hermione. Good morning!"

Seeing Jerry, Hermione put down her spoon and book. "Jerry, were you all right last night? I just heard some Slytherin students saying there was an attack in your dormitories. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry. The ones who got hurt were older students. I only found out this morning myself."

"As long as you're okay. Those older students must have been injured trying out some evil curses on each other. Maybe even Dark Magic. My roommates said all Slytherins are Dark wizards. Stay away from them, Jerry."

Jerry was speechless.

"Caw!" While Hermione and Jerry were eating breakfast, Tom flew in and plunged headfirst into Jerry's bowl of porridge. Poor Tom must have missed dinner last night and been starving.

Jerry stroked Tom as he ate with his head down. "Hermione, could you do me a favor? My room is under the lake, so Tom can't fly in. Could you look after him at night from now on?"

Hermione patted her chest confidently. "Leave it to me."

"Hey, look! There's a little snake here!"

Jerry turned to see the Weasley twins. He had not expected those two to be up so early.

"Good morning, Fred, George."

"Good morning, Jerry. You too, Hermione. Are you two on a date? And Jerry, I'm George!"

Hermione blushed slightly at the twins' words. Jerry, being thick-skinned, ignored their teasing entirely.

"What are you two doing up so early? It's not even seven yet!"

The twins did not answer. Instead, they walked over and slung their arms around Jerry's neck, one on each side. "Jerry, did something happen in Slytherin last night? Got any inside information? Tell us a bit, and we'll give you a Stink Bomb. It's a prank item made by us Weasley brothers."

"Trust me, Jerry, you'll love it once you try it. Of course, you'll have to pay if you want another one. Since we're friends, we'll give you thirty percent off."

The corner of Jerry's mouth twitched. So they had heard about the attack on the Slytherin students and gotten up early to fish for news.

"I don't really know either. As you know, being a Muggle-born wizard makes me quite the outcast in Slytherin. They wouldn't tell me anything even if they knew."

"True. But Jerry, how did you end up in Slytherin?" The twins nodded, then asked curiously.

"I might have offended the Sorting Hat!" Jerry replied, looking a little embarrassed.

The twins grew excited at that and asked Jerry how he had managed it.

With no other choice, Jerry told them it was a secret, and that Snape had ordered him to keep it. He hoped Snape's name would scare the twins into dropping the subject.

Hearing Snape's name only made the twins more excited. Assuming it involved some embarrassing secret of his, they pestered Jerry with questions. In the end, Jerry had no choice but to send them to Malfoy, telling them that Malfoy knew everything and was Snape's godson. If he refused to talk, they could use a Stink Bomb. That would definitely loosen his tongue.

Seeing how tight-lipped Jerry was, the twins could only go and find Malfoy. Before leaving, they told Jerry to come to them if he needed any prank items, guaranteeing good quality at low prices.

Once the twins had left, Hermione asked Jerry with a smile, "Are you sure it's okay to pick on Malfoy like that? Won't he make trouble for you? Do you want me to teach him another lesson?"

Jerry looked utterly baffled.

"It's fine, Hermione. Violence doesn't solve problems. Malfoy and I have already made up. He won't cause me any trouble."

Thanks for taking one for the team, Dung Boy!

Hermione thought it over and agreed. Jerry was not the sort of person who would resort to violence.

"Jerry, my roommates told me Hogwarts has a huge library with loads of books. It's on the second floor of the castle. Let's go there and read after class."

Jerry nodded in agreement. He was still thinking about the alchemy books in the Restricted Section.

"Jerry, Professor Snape wants you in his office. Right now."

The speaker was the prefect, Gemma Farley. She had searched the Slytherin dining area for Jerry without finding him. She had not expected to find him among the Gryffindors, much less chatting so happily with a young Gryffindor witch.

"Understood, Prefect."

"Hermione, I have to go. I'll find you in the classroom later. Sorry for the trouble, but could you look after Tom for now, too?" After saying goodbye to Hermione, Jerry headed for Snape's office.