Jerry's fear of heights

"Why aren't you two watching the Quidditch match? What are you doing here?"

An icy voice came from behind Hermione and Jerry.

They turned around to find Snape watching them with a gloomy expression.

Jerry began to explain, "Professor Snape, you know I... all right, we'll go to the pitch right away!"

Under Snape's threatening gaze, Jerry changed his tune before he could finish, took Hermione's hand, and ran toward the Quidditch pitch.

"Jerry, aren't you uninterested in Quidditch matches?"

Hermione asked in confusion as they went.

Jerry said, "I really don't like Quidditch, but haven't you always wanted to watch a match, Hermione? Of course I'm coming to keep you company!"

At his words, an inexplicable joy welled up inside Hermione, and she smiled. "Jerry, you're so sweet!"

Before long, Jerry followed Hermione to the Gryffindor stands, where Neville had saved them seats with an unobstructed view.

The young Gryffindor lions around them showed no discomfort at Jerry's arrival. They were all used to it by now.

These stands are a bit high!

Once they reached the stands, Jerry swallowed and clutched Hermione's hand, not daring to look down.

Yes, Jerry was afraid of heights, which was another major reason he disliked broomsticks.

Noticing his odd expression, Hermione asked with concern, "Jerry, you... aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

Jerry said nothing. He merely forced a faint smile and nodded gently in reply.

"Pfft!"

Looking at Jerry, whose face had gone rather pale from sheer nervousness and who refused to let go of her hand, Hermione somehow found him a little cute at that moment.

Jerry was usually outstanding, but sometimes he seemed overly confident and proud. Compared with that, she preferred him like this. He was so well-behaved!

Hermione comforted him softly. "It's all right, Jerry. Don't be scared. Just hold on tight to my hand."

Unlike Jerry and Hermione, who sat quietly, Ron and Neville were incredibly excited.

To surprise Harry, Ron and Neville had come up with a brilliant plan.

They found a bedsheet that Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, had dirtied and used brightly colored paint to turn it into an enormous banner.

Bold, powerful lettering on the banner read, "Potter for the win."

Dean, who was good at drawing, had also cleverly painted a majestic Gryffindor lion beneath the words.

Not long after they hung up the banner, the Quidditch players from both teams entered the pitch, and deafening cheers and shouts of encouragement rose from the surrounding stands.

Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the pitch, broomstick in hand. She was the referee for today's match.

Once both teams were assembled and ready, Madam Hooch blew her silver whistle, officially starting the match.

"Excuse me, make way, excuse me!"

Shortly after the match began, a huge figure made his way over to Jerry.

"Hello, Hagrid!"

Hearing Jerry greet him, Hagrid beamed. "Hello, you lot!"

Jerry and the others shuffled aside to make room for Hagrid's enormous frame.

Raising the binoculars hanging from his neck, Hagrid watched Harry searching around the pitch and asked, "The Golden Snitch hasn't appeared yet, has it?"

They shook their heads, and Ron said, "Not yet. Harry's waiting for the Golden Snitch too."

While they were talking, the Golden Snitch appeared on the Quidditch pitch.

Harry and Slytherin's Seeker, Terence Higgs, both spotted it and dived toward it at the same time.

But Harry had clearly overestimated the opposing players' sportsmanship. Slytherin's Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint, deliberately rammed into him, nearly knocking him off his broom.

In the surrounding stands, students from all three houses other than Slytherin unleashed a torrent of curses.

"That's dirty cheating from Slytherin!" Ron shouted behind Jerry.

Unfortunately, Quidditch wasn't football. They could only award a penalty shot; they couldn't send a player off.

Once the penalty was over, the match resumed!

Nothing was destined to go right for Harry that day.

Before long, Harry's broom went out of control, jerking and shuddering wildly in the air as though trying to throw him off.

The wildly bucking and twisting broom gradually carried Harry away from the pitch, flying higher and farther.

The others noticed something was wrong too. Ron asked anxiously, "Did that collision damage Harry's broom?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Impossible. Nothing but powerful dark magic can interfere with a broomstick's normal operation."

At Hagrid's words, Hermione turned her binoculars toward Snape, then said to Jerry in disbelief, "Jerry, I can see Snape's lips moving. It looks like he keeps muttering something!"

Jerry immediately responded, "Then let's hurry down and find a way to stop Snape's 'plot'!"

Well done, Professor Snape! Thank goodness, I can finally get down from here!

Hermione nodded, then took Jerry's hand and hurried down from the stands.

Once they were back on the ground, Jerry let out a long sigh of relief.

Hermione asked anxiously, "Jerry, how are we going to stop Snape?"

"Follow me!"

They made their way to Snape's stand. Jerry deliberately bumped into Quirrell, then crouched down, drew his wand, and set Snape's robes on fire.

As Snape cried out in alarm, Harry's broom finally returned to normal.

After they had completed their task, Hermione patted her chest. "That was close. We nearly got caught. But Jerry, I just can't understand why Snape would want to hurt Harry."

Jerry offered Hermione no explanation, nor did he expose Quirrell. After all, he wanted to see the Philosopher's Stone for himself.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore might still be watching him, and he had no way to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from the Mirror of Erised. Luckily, though, he had someone he could use.

"Are we going back up to watch the match?"

Seeing Jerry's reluctant expression, Hermione pointed to the nearby hillside and smiled. "Never mind. I brought binoculars. Let's watch from the top of that hill instead!"

Jerry looked where Hermione was pointing. The spot was ideal, with a clear view, so he nodded in agreement.

And so Jerry took Hermione's hand of his own accord, while Hermione tacitly went along with it, showing no resistance.

Together, they climbed to the deserted hilltop, found a clean spot to sit, and gazed at the match in the distance.