Chapter 71: A Midnight Encounter
Chapter 71: A Midnight Encounter
When Jerry left Snape's office, he was in a great mood.
Initially, he had only stepped in to save Neville to earn some Little Red Stars and because the boy was already quite dim-witted; another fall would only make him dumber.
But he hadn't expected to get a free Nimbus 2000 and a promise from Snape that he could come over in the evenings to learn more Magic.
It seemed that all his efforts had come full circle, back to his original plan.
He had wanted to join Gryffindor to get a Nimbus 2000 from Professor Mcgonagall and to get some extra tutoring from her.
Now, even though he had ended up in Slytherin by accident, he still managed to get a Nimbus 2000 and the same extra tutoring benefits.
It looked like he would have to take the upcoming Quidditch match seriously.
However, he couldn't afford to waste too much time on it and needed to find a way to achieve two goals at once.
When Jerry returned to the Slytherin dormitory, he hadn't even stepped inside when he heard the triumphant laughter of the Malfoy Trio.
"Can you imagine the look on Potter and Weasley's faces when they go to the Trophy Room to duel us and find Filch there instead? Just thinking about it makes me so happy!"
"I bet they'll get caught, and even if they don't get expelled, they'll definitely be in detention!"
"Can't help it; Gryffindors are always so gullible. I just mentioned it, and they believed me right away!"
"So, they're all idiots!"
The moment the three saw Jerry push the door open and walk in, their laughter abruptly stopped. They exchanged uneasy glances and left the dormitory, heading to the common room to continue their discussion.
Jerry simply shook his head and didn't bother with them. He lay down on his bed to catch up on his usual nap.
He didn't care about or try to stop Draco Malfoy and his friends from pranking Harry and Ron, because it wasn't necessary.
Harry had Dumbledore as his protector, and no one could expel him from the school.
Violating school rules might seem like a big deal to young wizards, but to the professors, it was nothing serious.
No professor would expel a student for breaking curfew at night. If that were the case, the Weasley twins would have been expelled dozens of times by now.
At least half of the Gryffindor students would be expelled before graduation each year, given their love for nighttime adventures.
Even the most rule-abiding Hufflepuffs would sneak out of their dorms at night to get snacks from the kitchen.
At midnight, Jerry slowly opened his eyes.
By now, Draco Malfoy and the others were sound asleep. Jerry quietly got up, grabbed his wand and a can of catnip, and sneaked out of the dormitory.
Starting from today, he would practice Magic in the Room of Requirement every night after midnight to improve his skills.
He was already used to this routine, as he spent this time earning Little Red Stars in the Main World.
Activating Superman Mode to enhance his senses and avoid detection by Filch, Jerry made his way up the magical stairs toward the Eighth Floor and the Room of Requirement.
"Ah!!!"
Just as Jerry reached the fourth floor, a series of terrified screams echoed from the end of the corridor.
He then saw Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville, their faces filled with fear, bolting out of a room at the end of the fourth floor.
"What's going on?"
Jerry was instantly baffled.
He remembered from the movie that the Golden Trio accidentally turned the Magic Staircase to the fourth floor during the day, leading them to discover Fluffy. Why was it now midnight?
And there was an extra person—Neville.
Oh, right, this was the world of a novel.
Realizing he was in a novel, where some details might differ, Jerry felt relieved.
However, he sighed again, as Harry and the others entering the fourth-floor forbidden area meant that Dumbledore was likely nearby, using a Disguise Charm.
This meant he couldn't go to the Room of Requirement to practice magic today.
"What's happening?"
Jerry stepped forward to intercept Harry and the others, asking them.
"Jerry, there's a terrifying three-headed monster in the fourth-floor forbidden area! We need to run!"
Hermione and the others, seeing Jerry, were panting and explaining in a panic.
"Calm down, calm down. The three-headed monster hasn't followed you!"
Jerry pointed to the corridor behind them.
The four looked back and saw that the fourth-floor corridor was empty. The three-headed dog was still chained and hadn't chased them.
"What's going on? What three-headed monster?"
Jerry feigned confusion.
The four then told Jerry how they had been chased by Filch into the fourth-floor forbidden area, where they discovered a giant three-headed dog and a trapdoor.
"Oh, right, Jerry, why are you here?"
After finishing their story, Hermione suddenly remembered something and looked at Jerry in surprise.
Jerry cleared his throat and began to spin a tale:
"Here's the thing. I heard you were supposed to have a midnight magic duel with Decora, but by twelve o'clock, I saw that they had no intention of getting up to duel you.
So I came to warn you to head back to your dorms early, so you don't get caught by Mr. Filch!"
"See, I told you Malfoy and the others were lying, but you wouldn't listen! Gryffindor almost lost points because of your recklessness, and I almost got expelled!"
Hermione angrily shouted at Harry and Ron.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They hadn't forced Hermione to come along, so why were they being blamed?
Still, they thanked Jerry.
Jerry had risked being expelled to warn them and help them escape, which was a true act of friendship.
Indeed, though Jerry was a Slytherin, he was a trustworthy one.
"Alright, you should head back quickly. I need to go too, or Mr. Filch might catch us on his next patrol!"
Jerry looked around, his sharp senses detecting a gaze from above, and quickly warned them.
Hermione and the others agreed and bid Jerry farewell, running up the stairs to the eighth-floor Gryffindor common room.
Seeing this, Jerry didn't linger and returned to the Slytherin dormitory.
Although he couldn't go to the Room of Requirement today, he now knew that Dumbledore had been monitoring Harry's every move.
He would have to be more careful around Harry in the future.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
