Hello, Draco. Goodbye, Draco.

"Jerry, Hermione, have you seen Trevor?" Neville suddenly realized he seemed to have lost Toad and began searching the compartment.

"Who's Trevor?"

"My pet Toad. I keep forgetting where I put him." Neville grew anxious as he spoke.

"Jerry, let's help Neville look around the compartment." Seeing Neville's round face turn red with worry, Hermione pulled Jerry up to help.

The three of them searched every corner of the compartment, but there was no sign of Toad.

"Neville, are you sure you brought Trevor onto the train?" Hermione asked.

"I can't remember. My memory's been bad since I was little, and now I've lost Trevor too. Gran will be so disappointed in me."

"Don't worry. Trevor's a Fantastic Beast. He won't get lost. He's probably hiding somewhere and might turn up on his own when we get to school." Jerry knew how this played out. He spoke calmly, then sat back down.

"Don't worry, Neville. Your Toad is 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 caught Jerry's hand, her eyes full of hope and pleading.

How could Jerry, a gentleman, refuse a girl?

"All right, all right. Let's split up. Hermione, take Neville through the compartments behind us. I'll ask in the ones ahead. We'll meet back here."

Delighted that Jerry had agreed, Hermione hurried off toward the rear compartments with Neville.

"Hello, have you seen a Toad?" Jerry asked from compartment to compartment, but found nothing. The Hogwarts students varied wildly in their manners. Some answered politely; others told him to get lost, especially a few Slytherins.

Jerry made a mental note of what those students looked like. They had better not let him catch them alone over the next few years.

After making a circuit of the front half of the train without finding anything, he returned to his compartment.

"Slytherin is the best house at Hogwarts! None of you deserve to get in!"

As soon as Jerry entered, he saw Hermione arguing with several boys. Their leader was a pale blond boy who looked haughty and conceited. Two lackeys stood behind him, one fat and one thin.

"Jerry, you're back."

"Hermione, what happened?"

"Nothing. A few pests came into our compartment." She shot the boys a look of disgust.

"Who are you? What are you doing in our compartment?"

"Draco Malfoy." The boy paused deliberately between his names, emphasizing his surname.

"Behind me are Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. And you are?" Malfoy asked, noticing Jerry's distinguished bearing.

"Jerry Green."

Malfoy thought for a moment but couldn't recall a Green family. He glanced back at his two lackeys, who 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 more arrogant, his gaze turning contemptuous.

"No, and I don't want to. Please leave." Hermione had no interest in any of this. She just wanted the pests gone.

"So you're both Mudbloods..." Hearing that Hermione didn't know the Malfoy family, he began joking with the two boys behind him in a smug, haughty tone.

"What did you just say?" Jerry's eyes turned cold as he stared at the boys, who were still laughing.

"What, are you going to hit me? I said you and she are both Mud—ah!"

Jerry didn't let him finish. He punched Malfoy in the nose.

Malfoy cried out and crouched on the floor, blood streaming from his nose.

Seeing that his lackeys still hadn't reacted, he shouted, "Goyle! Crabbe! You idiots! Can't you see he hit me? Do something!"

The two boys finally snapped out of it at their leader's yelling. 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 fired two Petrificus Totalus spells, freezing Goyle and Crabbe in place.

Seeing his lackeys petrified, Malfoy scrambled to his feet and turned to run.

"Levicorpus!" Jerry gave his wand a slight flick, and a streak 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, terrified.

"Don't come any closer!"

Jerry walked over with a smile. "Don't be afraid, classmate. I saw your nose was bleeding, so I thought I'd help stop it."

"You're finished! My father is 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 catch it."

"Cough, cough..." Malfoy nearly passed out. Tears and spit streamed down his face.

"Malfoy, I hear you're a nobleman. Nobles must care a great deal about saving face, don't they?"

"You wouldn't want anyone else finding out what happened today, would you, Malfoy?"

"O-of course not."

"And your nose?"

"I had a nosebleed. You—you were helping... helping me stop it." He stammered through the words, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks.

"That's more like it. We're all going to the same school. We should help each other."

Malfoy wiped his tears and nodded frantically.

Jerry lifted the Petrificus Totalus spells on Goyle and Crabbe, gave each of them a kick, then released Malfoy. The three boys supported one another as they left.

"Jerry, a-are you sure you'll 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, pull out your wand—or come find me, and I'll get them back for you."

"Mm. You're so nice, 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 didn't have much to say to them, so I came back first."

Hermione had met several first-years from wizarding families that day and found they weren't nearly as impressive as she'd imagined. They were rude and crude. By comparison, Jerry was wonderful. He even loved reading, just like she did. He was practically perfect.

"Did Neville find his Toad?"

"Er... Maybe he forgot about him again."

Jerry and Hermione: "..."