"Knock, knock, knock!"
A knock woke Jerry. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was only five in the morning.
"Who is it?" Jerry snapped, still cranky from being woken. "Can't you see it's only five?"
He opened the door to find Malfoy standing there, fully dressed. Malfoy looked at him with some apprehension. "A few older Slytherin students were injured. Professor Snape wants everyone to gather in the Common Room."
Malfoy had just come from the Common Room and seen the state of the three students. He was certain Jerry had done it. Phelly had told him last night that they were going to teach Jerry a lesson, and now all three had ended up like that.
Jerry got dressed and washed up. Seeing that he was taking his time, Malfoy didn't dare rush him and returned to the Common Room alone.
Twenty minutes later, Jerry finally finished getting ready and strolled into the Common Room. It was packed. The Slytherins all stared at him, then parted to let him through.
Snape stood at the front, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd. When Jerry approached, he asked:
"Mr. Green, why are you so late? Didn't sleep well last night?" Snape's voice was hoarse.
"No, Professor. The Slytherin Dormitory is wonderful, and the bed is very comfortable. If Malfoy hadn't woken me, I'd still be fast asleep." Jerry answered sincerely. His meaning was clear: he had slept soundly and knew nothing.
Snape said nothing more. After staring at Jerry coldly for a moment, he sent everyone back to their dormitories.
Jerry caught hold of Malfoy and, pretending he had no idea what had happened, asked him about it with a puzzled look.
"Three older students were attacked last night," Malfoy said. "They were found injured in the Common Room, and their clothes had been stripped off."
"Really? Were they badly hurt? What about the attacker? Have they caught them?"
Malfoy looked at Jerry's innocent expression and faltered. Had he remembered wrong? Had Phelly and the others not gone after Jerry last night?
Back in the Dormitory, 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 fullest, while Gryffindor had the fewest people. Perhaps because of Snape, there were also plenty of Slytherins there today.
Jerry skipped the Slytherin table and found Hermione, the tireless bookworm, in the Gryffindor section. She held a spoon in her left hand while turning pages with her right.
"Hey, good morning, Hermione."
Seeing it was Jerry, Hermione put down her spoon and book. "Jerry, are you all right? I just heard some Slytherin students say your dormitory was attacked last night. You weren't hurt, were you?"
"Don't worry. The injured students were older ones. I only found out about it this morning."
"I'm glad you're all right. Those older students must have been hurt while practicing some wicked spells with someone. It might even have been Dark Magic. My roommate told me Slytherins are all dark wizards. Stay away from them, Jerry."
Jerry: ...
"Squawk!" While Hermione and Jerry ate breakfast, Tom flew in and plunged headfirst into Jerry's bowl of oatmeal. Poor Tom must not have eaten last night. He was starving.
Jerry stroked Tom as he ate and said to Hermione, "Hermione, could you do me a favor? My Dormitory is beneath the lake, and Tom can't fly in. Could you look after him at night from now on?"
Hermione patted her chest. "Leave it to me."
"Hey, look! A little snake!"
Jerry turned around. It was the Weasley twins. He hadn't expected the two of them to be up this early.
"Morning, Fred, George."
"Morning, Jerry. And Hermione. Are you two on a date? Also, Jerry, I'm George!"
Hermione blushed at the twins' words. Jerry was thick-skinned enough to ignore their teasing entirely.
"What are you two doing up so early? It's not even seven!"
The twins didn't answer. They came over, each slinging an arm around Jerry's neck. "Jerry, did something happen in Slytherin last night? Got any inside information? Tell us, and we'll give you a Stink Bomb. It's a prank item made by us Weasley brothers."
"Trust me, Jerry, once you've used it, you'll love it. Of course, you'll have to pay if you want another one. We'll give you thirty percent off, as a friend."
Jerry's mouth twitched. So they had heard about the attack on the Slytherin students and gotten up early to dig for details.
"I don't know much either. You know how it is. As a Muggle-born wizard, I'm an outcast in Slytherin. No one would tell me anything."
"True. But how did you end up in Slytherin, Jerry?" the twins asked, nodding curiously.
"I might have offended the Sorting Hat," Jerry replied, a little embarrassed.
The twins grew excited at once and demanded to know how he had done it.
Jerry had no choice but to say it was a secret, on Snape's orders. He hoped Snape's name would scare the twins into dropping the subject.
Instead, hearing Snape's name only excited them more. Convinced it involved some embarrassing secret of his, they pestered Jerry with questions. In the end, Jerry told them to ask Malfoy. Malfoy knew everything, he said, and was Snape's godson. If Malfoy wouldn't talk, they could use a Stink Bomb. That would get him talking.
Seeing that Jerry wouldn't say another word, the twins went off to find Malfoy. Before leaving, they told Jerry to come to them if he needed prank supplies. They guaranteed good quality at low prices.
Once the twins had gone, Hermione asked with a smile, "Is it okay to pick on Malfoy like that? What if he gives you trouble? Want me to teach him another lesson?"
Jerry: ???
"It's fine, Hermione. Violence can't solve problems. Malfoy and I have made up. He won't give me any trouble."
Sorry for the trouble, Malfoy!
Hermione thought about it and agreed. Jerry wasn't the sort of person who would resort to violence.
"Jerry, my roommate said the Library at Hogwarts is huge and has loads of books. It's on the Second Floor of the Castle. Let's go read there after class."
Jerry nodded and agreed. He still had his eye on the Alchemy books in the Restricted Section.
"Jerry, Professor Snape wants you in his office. Right now."
It was Prefect Gemma Farley. She had searched the Slytherin dining area for Jerry without finding him. She hadn't expected to find him in the Gryffindor section, much less chatting so happily with a young Gryffindor witch.
"Got it, Prefect."
"Hermione, I'll see you in class. Please look after Tom for now, too." Jerry said goodbye to Hermione and headed to Snape's office.