Ten o'clock in the evening at Edward Orphanage in the town of Winton.
"Crookshanks, Dad's heading out. Stay here and don't wander around the house!"
Jerry picked up his wand and donned his black clothing while addressing the orange cat lying contentedly on the floor. The cat amused itself by pawing at its fluffy tail. With a final glance at his pet, Jerry slid open the window and climbed outside.
Though his room was on the orphanage's second floor, the height posed no challenge for someone with Jerry's physical capabilities. He descended easily by leveraging a first-floor window ledge for support.
Children often possess climbing abilities superior to those of adults. With his remarkably developed physique and strength comparable to those of the average seventeen or eighteen-year-old, Jerry found such manoeuvres exceptionally effortless.
At this hour, the orphanage lay quiet and dark. Jerry moved silently through the shadowed front yard before swiftly scaling the tall iron gate and departing the grounds.
He deliberately chose nighttime for his magical experiments and Little Red Star acquisition, reasoning that darkness would conceal his activities and that criminal incidents typically occurred after sunset.
"Lumos!" Jerry whispered, drawing his wand from within his sleeve. The tip immediately illuminated with a bright glow comparable to a flashlight beam.
The Wand-Lighting Charm ranked among the simplest of the fourteen spells Jerry had mastered. During his studies, however, he'd discovered notes about an advanced version capable of producing light rivalling a small sun, primarily used in artificial environments lacking natural illumination.
This reminded him of Newt Scamander's enchanted suitcase from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, where such an advanced lighting charm may have well illuminated the interior world.
The realization reinforced Jerry's conviction that he shouldn't underestimate these fundamental spells. Many powerful, advanced enchantments likely evolved from these seemingly basic foundations.
Edward Orphanage was situated in the southern outskirts of town, a relatively isolated location. Jerry walked nearly twenty minutes, wand at the ready, before reaching the town center.
Unlike the orphanage, where everyone had retired for the night, numerous small shops remained open at ten o'clock, particularly near the local pub. Flamboyantly dressed men and women continued entering and exiting the establishment.
From what Jerry understood, areas around pubs became increasingly prone to criminal activity as midnight approached. He patrolled diligently, wand concealed but accessible, focusing particularly on poorly lit alleys with minimal foot traffic.
Unfortunately, despite maintaining his watch until one in the morning, Jerry encountered no criminal activity. His only intervention had occurred upon first entering town, when an elderly couple had slipped while walking. Helping them had earned him just two Little Red Stars.
Resigned to the unproductive night, Jerry returned to the orphanage to sleep, planning to resume his patrol the following evening.
This experience proved that the "Harry Potter" universe differed significantly from the Marvel world. In this tranquil small town where life proceeded unhurriedly, criminal incidents occurred far less frequently than he'd anticipated.
Jerry maintained his routine night after night, departing at ten and returning by one, with minimal success.
It wasn't until the evening before his scheduled return to Hogwarts that Jerry finally encountered a genuine crime in progress.
At half past eleven, in a dimly lit alley in Winton, a young professional woman returning late from overtime work found herself confronted by a muscular man wielding a fruit knife. Jerry, conducting his usual patrol, stumbled upon the scene.
Rather than intervening immediately, he concealed himself at the alley's exit and observed. After successfully robbing the woman of her money and necklace, the perpetrator fled toward Jerry's position, knife in one hand and stolen goods in the other.
"Transformo!" Jerry whispered, aiming his wand at a rain puddle near the alley exit.
London's characteristic damp weather ensured such puddles remained standard fixtures throughout the town.
Struck by the Transfiguration Charm, the puddle instantly transformed into an extraordinarily slick lubricant. The fleeing robber, rushing out at full speed, stepped directly into the transformed substance.
"Whoa!" The man's feet shot out from under him, his momentum carrying his body forward while his legs slipped backwards. He crashed heavily onto the ground.
Among Jerry's fourteen mastered spells, Transfiguration presented the greatest challenge. While most spells merely added properties to existing objects, Transfiguration fundamentally altered one substance into another, a distinction so significant that it constituted its own magical discipline.
However, not all Transfigurations proved equally difficult. The beginner's textbook outlined several principles to improve success rates.
First, transforming similar substances required less magical effort, converting water to wine or water to oil represented achievable goals for first-year students. Conversely, transforming water into stone or metal demanded significantly more magical power and accuracy.
Second, smaller objects proved easier to transform than larger ones. Turning a matchstick into a needle or hair into thread presented reasonable challenges, while transforming a match into a spear or telephone pole would strain even advanced practitioners.
Finally, structural simplicity facilitated transformation. First and second-year students could successfully transform mice into snuffboxes or rabbits into slippers, but converting owls into telescopes challenged even fifth-year students. Conjuring complex mechanical objects like airplanes or firearms likely exceeded the capabilities of all but the most gifted wizards, perhaps even Dumbledore himself.
These principles represented merely the foundation of Transfiguration. More advanced concepts included Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, cross-species transformation, and human transformation, subjects Jerry would study extensively at Hogwarts.
"Fumos!" Jerry cast a Smokescreen Spell while the robber struggled to regain his footing.
Instantly, thick smoke enveloped the fallen man, and Jerry darted into the concealing cloud with the speed and agility of a young cheetah.
The disoriented robber, sensing movement nearby, groped frantically for his dropped knife.
"Mollesco!" Jerry reacted swiftly, directing a Softening Charm at the weapon. The blade immediately collapsed like cooked pasta, rendering it harmless.
With the primary threat neutralized, Jerry delivered a powerful spinning kick to the temple of the rising assailant.
Despite his youth, Jerry possessed strength comparable to that of an average sixteen or seventeen-year-old. The full-force impact connected precisely with the robber's temple, immediately rendering him unconscious.