"Jerry, Hermione, have you seen Trevor?" Neville suddenly realized he seemed to have lost his toad and began searching the compartment.
"Who's Trevor?"
"My toad. I'm always forgetting where I put him." Neville grew anxious as he spoke.
"Jerry, let's help Neville look." Seeing Neville's round face turn red with worry, Hermione pulled Jerry up and began searching with him.
The three of them searched every corner of the compartment, but there was no sign of the toad.
"Neville, are you sure you brought Trevor onto the Hogwarts Express?" Hermione asked.
"I can't remember. I've had a bad memory since I was little, and now Trevor's gone. Gran will be so disappointed in me."
"Don't worry. Trevor's a Fantastic Beast. He won't be lost. He's probably hiding somewhere and might turn up on his own when we reach school." Jerry knew how this played out. He spoke calmly, then sat back down.
"Don't worry, Neville. Your toad's a Fantastic Beast. Maybe he's just playing hide-and-seek with you. Let's ask in the other compartments." Neville still looked uneasy, so Hermione decided to take him along to search.
"Jerry, come look with us. Three people will be faster. Please!" Hermione took Jerry's hand, her eyes full of hope and pleading.
How could Jerry, as a gentleman, refuse a girl?
"All right, all right. Let's split up. Hermione, take Neville through the carriages behind us. I'll ask in the ones up front, and we'll meet back here."
Delighted that Jerry had agreed, Hermione hurried off toward the rear carriages with Neville.
"Hello, have you seen a toad?" Jerry asked in compartment after compartment without finding him. Hogwarts students really varied in their manners. Some answered politely, while others told him to get lost—especially a few Slytherins.
Jerry made a note of their faces. For the next few years at school, they had better not let him catch them alone.
After searching the front half of the train without success, he returned to his compartment.
"Slytherin is the best house at Hogwarts! None of you deserve to get in!"
When Jerry entered the compartment, Hermione was arguing with several people. Their leader was a pale blond boy who looked arrogant and conceited. Behind him stood two lackeys, one fat and one thin.
"Jerry, you're back."
"Hermione, what happened?"
"Nothing. A few pests came into the compartment." She shot them a look of disgust.
"Who are you? What are you doing in our compartment?"
"Draco Malfoy." The boy paused deliberately between his first and last names, emphasizing his surname.
"These are Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. And you are?" Seeing that Jerry carried himself with unusual poise, Malfoy asked for his name.
"Jerry Green."
Malfoy thought for a moment but couldn't recall a Green family. He turned to his two lackeys, and they both shook their heads.
"What family are you from?"
"Can't you tell? I was born to a Muggle family."
"Do you know what the name Malfoy means?" At Jerry's answer, Malfoy grew even haughtier, his gaze turning scornful.
"No, and I don't want to. Please leave." Hermione had no interest in any of this. She just wanted the pests gone.
"So they're both Mudbloods..." Hearing that Hermione didn't recognize the Malfoy family, he began joking with his companions in a smug, arrogant tone.
"What did you just say?" Jerry's eyes went cold as he looked at the laughing boys.
"What, are you going to hit me? I said you and she are both Mud—ah!"
Jerry punched him in the nose before he could finish.
Malfoy cried out and crouched on the floor, blood pouring from his nose.
Seeing that his two lackeys still hadn't reacted, he shouted, "Goyle, Crabbe, you idiots! Can't you see he hit me? Do something!"
At their leader's furious order, the two finally came to their senses. They rolled up their sleeves, clenched their fists, and charged at Jerry.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Jerry didn't bother fighting fair. He whipped out his Wand and immobilized Goyle and Crabbe with two spells.
Seeing his companions petrified, Malfoy scrambled to his feet and turned to run.
"Levicorpus!" Jerry gave his Wand a flick, and a flash of green light shot from its tip.
Malfoy had barely taken two steps before Jerry's Spell flipped him upside down and left him dangling in the air.
"What are you going to do?" Malfoy asked, panic in his voice.
"Stay away from me!"
Jerry approached him with a smile. "Don't be afraid. I saw your nose was bleeding, so I'm just helping you stop it."
"You're finished! My father's a School Governor. I'll have him tell Dumbledore to expel you! And that Mud—"
Thud! Jerry punched Malfoy in the stomach. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."
"Cough, cough..." Malfoy nearly passed out. Tears and saliva streamed down his face.
"Malfoy, I hear you're from a noble family. Nobles care a lot about their reputation, don't they?"
"You wouldn't want anyone else to hear what happened today, would you, Malfoy?"
"O-of course not."
"And your nose?"
"I got a nosebleed. Y-you were helping... helping me stop it." He stammered through his answer as fresh tears spilled down his face.
"That's more like it. We all go to the same school. We should help each other."
Malfoy wiped his tears away and nodded frantically.
Jerry lifted the spells on Goyle and Crabbe, gave them a kick each, then released Malfoy. The three supported one another as they left.
"Jerry, a-are you really going to be all right? What if they tell a professor and get you expelled?"
"Relax, Hermione. They called you a Mudblood. It's a vicious slur in the wizarding world. If anyone calls you that again, draw your Wand—or come find me, and I'll make them pay."
"Mm. You're so kind, Jerry!" Looking at Jerry's handsome face and gentle smile, Hermione blushed faintly.
"Where's Neville?" Jerry looked around but saw no sign of him.
"We found Harry Potter in one of the rear compartments. Neville stayed to talk with them. I couldn't really join their conversation, so I came back first."
Hermione had met several first-years from wizarding families today. They weren't nearly as impressive as she'd imagined. They were rude and ill-mannered. Compared with them, Jerry was wonderful. He even loved reading as much as she did. He was practically perfect.
"Did Neville find his toad?"
"Uh... maybe he forgot about him again."
Jerry and Hermione: "..."