With a Nimbus 2000 in his possession, Jerry could directly help Gryffindor secure the Quidditch Cup in his first year, fulfilling Professor McGonagall's long-standing wish to defeat Slytherin on the pitch.
According to the original timeline Jerry recalled, Gryffindor didn't actually win the Quidditch Cup until Harry's third year at Hogwarts. During their first year, Harry spent crucial time unconscious in the hospital wing after preventing Voldemort from stealing the Philosopher's Stone. This caused him to miss the final match against Ravenclaw, ultimately costing Gryffindor the championship.
In the second year, the Quidditch season had been cancelled entirely due to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and the petrification attacks.
It wasn't until the third year that the Gryffindor team finally triumphed over the other three houses to claim their first Quidditch Cup in years.
Yes, Jerry decided. Joining Gryffindor House aligned perfectly with his current interests. If given the opportunity, he would choose Gryffindor at tonight's Sorting Ceremony.
When Jerry expressed his preference for Gryffindor, a warm smile spread across Hermione's face. She had already begun to value Jerry as a rare kindred spirit and hoped they would be sorted into the same House, allowing their friendship to flourish.
"Ah! Trevor! Where have you gone? Trevor's disappeared again!"
Neville's sudden wail shattered their peaceful moment, causing Hermione to startle visibly.
"Neville, who's Trevor? What's happened?" Hermione asked, quickly rising from her seat as Neville dropped to his hands and knees, frantically searching the compartment floor.
After a thorough but fruitless search of the small space, Neville slumped back against the seat, his face crumpling with distress.
"My toad, Trevor," he explained between sniffles. "My Great-Uncle Algie bought him for me as a reward when I got my Hogwarts letter. He's always trying to escape, and now he's gone again!"
"Don't worry, Neville," Hermione said firmly. "Jerry and I will help you find him!"
Though she could sometimes come across as know-it-all, Hermione was fundamentally compassionate. Seeing Neville's genuine distress, she immediately volunteered their assistance, glancing expectantly at Jerry.
"The train is large, but it's still confined," Jerry reassured Neville, though he already knew the toad would eventually be found. "Trevor can't fly, so he can't have left the train. He's probably hiding in a compartment nearby. We'll ask around, we'll find him soon enough."
Heartened by their support, Neville finally composed himself and rose from the floor.
"We must be getting close to Hogwarts," Jerry observed, noting the darkening sky and passing fields through the window. "Let's change into our school robes first, then go look for Trevor."
He reached up to retrieve his and Hermione's trunks from the overhead rack. Within minutes, all three had donned their new Hogwarts robes and stepped into the corridor.
"Jerry, you take that side," Hermione directed, gesturing down the train. "Neville and I will search this way."
With a nod of agreement, Jerry turned left and began systematically checking each compartment, while Hermione led Neville to the right.
"Think of it as earning a small Crimson Star bonus," Jerry muttered to himself.
These small acts of assistance, helping others locate lost items, typically earned him one or two Crimson Stars. Not a substantial reward, but every star counted toward his ultimate goals.
"This little creature is remarkably elusive," Jerry sighed twenty minutes later, having questioned every compartment on his side of the train without success.
The search hadn't been entirely fruitless, however. He'd encountered several familiar faces—students whose names and stories he recognised from his knowledge of this world. There were the Weasley twins, Fred and George, so identical that even their mother struggled to tell them apart. Rumours suggested they had troll blood in their lineage. He'd also spotted Marcus Flint, the imposing captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, among others.
When Jerry finally returned to their compartment, he was greeted by an unexpected sight.
"Crookshanks?"
There, in the middle of the floor, was Hermione's ginger cat, though she hadn't officially acquired him yet in this timeline, playfully batting at something. That "something," upon closer inspection, was Trevor!
While the three first-years had been methodically searching the train, the clever Crookshanks had apparently taken the initiative and located the wayward amphibian in some hidden corner of the carriage. Now, the cat was using just enough claw to nudge Trevor back whenever the toad attempted to hop away, effectively keeping him contained.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Jerry pointed his wand at the escaping toad and suspended Trevor in mid-air with the swish and flick of the levitation charm.
Stooping to pick up Crookshanks, Jerry stroked the cat appreciatively and offered him several strips of dried fish he'd brought from the orphanage as a reward. Crookshanks accepted the treat with a satisfied purr.
"Let's get you back to Neville before he has a complete breakdown," Jerry said, carefully grasping the toad after releasing the spell.
As soon as Jerry mentioned Neville's name, Trevor's legs began kicking frantically, struggling against Jerry's hold with surprising strength for such a small creature.
Jerry paused, lifting the squirming toad to eye level, and narrowed his gaze menacingly.
"Braised toad. Dry-pot toad. Garlic toad. Five-spice toad. Boiled toad..." he listed coolly. "Toad meat is absolutely delicious, you know. And the skin makes excellent potion ingredients once it's properly prepared..."
Trevor's struggles ceased immediately. The toad retracted all four legs beneath its body and began to quiver, suddenly docile.
Satisfied with this response, Jerry nodded and resumed his search for Neville and Hermione.
Of course, the threats were merely a bluff. The common garden toad resembled those found in the fields near his childhood home in his previous life, but they weren't remotely appetising with their warty, secretion-covered skin.
Now, bullfrogs were an entirely different matter. Properly prepared, bullfrog meat was genuinely delicious.
"Neville, I've found Trevor!"
After traversing two carriages, Jerry spotted Neville and Hermione walking back toward their compartment. He waved triumphantly, holding up the captured toad.
"Thank Merlin! Thank you, Jerry! My Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, his face lighting up with relief as he rushed forward with outstretched hands.
"You should really thank Crookshanks, he's the one who found him," Jerry smiled, carefully transferring the toad to Neville's eager grasp.
"Crookshanks is brilliant!" Hermione beamed, clearly proud of her future familiar, even if she didn't officially own him yet. Then, her expression shifted to one of barely contained excitement. "Jerry, guess who we just met!"
"Who?" Jerry asked, already suspecting the answer.
"Harry Potter!" Hermione confirmed, her eyes wide. "The Boy Who Lived, the Harry Potter who defeated the Dark Lord when he was just a baby!"
"Harry Potter?" Jerry feigned puzzlement, as though the name was only vaguely familiar.
"He's mentioned in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century," Hermione explained rapidly before catching herself. "Oh, but I forgot, those are supplementary texts I purchased. You probably haven't read them yet!"
She suddenly remembered that Jerry, like herself, came from a non-wizarding background and wouldn't have had the same opportunity to devour historical accounts of the wizarding world.
"Come on! I'll introduce you!" she offered eagerly.
Jerry noted with interest that while the films had portrayed Hermione as relatively composed during her first meeting with Harry, the reality seemed different. Like most young witches and wizards, she was, too, caught up in the excitement of meeting the famous Boy Who Lived.
It appeared Harry Potter's reputation in the wizarding world was even more significant than Jerry had initially realised, a fact worth remembering as events unfolded.