How About an Every-Flavour Bean?

As it turned out, eleven-year-olds got to know each other pretty quickly.

After a few brief exchanges, Harry decided to treat Glenn and Ron to something to eat.

But as Glenn looked at the assortment of strange and unusual foods Harry had bought from the trolley, he fell silent.

"Oh, no, it's bogey-flavored..." Ron said, his face twisted in disgust after accidentally swallowing one.

"You have to be careful with Every-Flavour Beans. They come in every flavor imaginable. If you're lucky, you get chocolate, peppermint, or marmalade. If you're unlucky, you might get vomit."

Although Harry and Ron had just invited him to team up with them to investigate Every-Flavour Beans, Glenn was certain he wouldn't eat one at mealtime unless it was part of some kind of game penalty.

As for Super Bouncy Bubble Gum, Licorice Wands, and the other snacks, they were fun enough, but if all you wanted was to fill your stomach, there was really no need to bother with them.

Thinking this, Glenn picked up a pumpkin pasty and took a bite.

It was mildly sweet, with no real flaws—but no real merits, either.

If he'd known beforehand, he might have preferred to pack himself a lunch.

As it happened, when he'd transferred to Hogwarts all those years ago, the first teacher he'd met was Professor Figg, and the second had been Professor Weasley—Matilda Weasley, the deputy headmistress and Transfiguration teacher at the time.

And now, the second new student he'd met was a Weasley, too!

Glenn gave Ron, who was busy examining a Chocolate Frog with Harry, a not-too-obvious once-over.

Well, judging by his eyes and brows, he did look a little like that strict, responsible professor.

His family didn't seem particularly well-off, though.

Aside from the awkwardness he'd shown when the trolley came by, his robes were clean but rather worn, which made it clear.

Still, that wasn't surprising. He'd said there were seven children in his family, so these robes probably belonged to one of his older brothers who no longer needed them.

"Have a Chocolate Frog, Glenn," Harry said excitedly. "They all come with moving pictures!"

As he spoke, he showed Glenn the card he'd just opened.

It showed a man with silver hair and a flowing beard, a crooked, long nose, and a pair of Half-moon Spectacles.

The name beneath the picture read: Albus Dumbledore.

He was the current Hogwarts Headmaster, widely regarded as the greatest wizard of the modern age. He had defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, discovered The Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood, and made great strides in alchemy alongside his partner, Nicolas Flamel...

"Don't all the pictures move?" Ron asked curiously as he ate his own Chocolate Frog.

"In the Muggle world, people in photographs usually don't move," Glenn said, taking the Chocolate Frog.

"That's amazing. If my portrait had to stay still, I'd get tired of it and complain all the time... Oh, Merlin's beard! You got Merlin on your very first card!" Ron exclaimed in surprise.

"Is he rare?" Harry asked curiously.

"Of course. I've only got one, and I had to pester Bill—the oldest Weasley brother—until he gave it to me." Though he was talking to Harry, Ron kept his eyes fixed on the Merlin card in Glenn's hand.

"What about Morgana?"

"I've already got six of her... But this is a good start, too. You can start collecting them as well."

To Glenn's surprise, he was more interested in Morgana than in Merlin.

"Can I take a look, Harry?"

"Oh... sure."

After Harry handed him the card, Glenn examined it closely.

The description read: Merlin's nemesis, widely regarded as one of the most powerful dark witches of the Middle Ages...

Well, this was the medieval Morgana, a different person from the one he'd had in mind.

The Morgana Glenn had been thinking of was Isidora Morgana, a witch from the nineteenth century.

That witch, who had abused Ancient Magic, was entirely to blame for the turmoil a century ago.

Besides inciting the Fourth Goblin Rebellion, she had also ensured that after Glenn transferred to Hogwarts, he barely got to experience student life at all. He was either cleaning up the mess she'd left behind or on his way to do so.

In a way, he was sitting on this train to Hogwarts now because of her, too.

As he recalled the past, someone suddenly knocked on the compartment door. Then a round-faced boy with tears glistening in his eyes came in.

"Sorry, I wanted to ask if you've seen my toad?"

Harry and Ron both shook their heads.

"I've lost him again! He's always trying to run away from me!" the boy said tearfully.

Well... that wasn't entirely true.

Resting his chin on his left hand, Glenn set down the card.

He had two choices now.

First, he could reach into the wide inner pocket of the boy's robes and pull out the toad glowing blue inside.

Second, he could wait for the boy to find it himself.

Clearly, it wasn't a difficult choice.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one." A little while later, the boy who'd lost the toad opened the compartment door again.

But this time, it wasn't him who spoke. It was a girl standing beside him, already changed into her Hogwarts robes, with a thick mop of brown hair and a pair of prominent front teeth.

Ron was just about to use his rather battered wand to change the color of his pet gray rat, Scabbers.

"We already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, frowning slightly.

But the girl ignored him and only looked at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Then let's see what you can do." With that, she sat down beside them as if she'd known them for ages.

The unexpected interruption left Ron momentarily stunned. "Oh... all right."

Then he turned his attention back to his wand.

"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunshine, turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

Ron waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers was still gray.

"Are you sure that's really a spell? It doesn't look very good," the girl said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"I tried a few simple spells at home before, just for practice, and they all worked. No one in my family knows magic, so when I got my letter, I was incredibly surprised—but really happy, too, because, I mean, as far as I know, this is the best school of magic there is. I've memorized all the textbooks, of course. I just hope that'll be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. What are your names?"

She rattled it all off at such a rapid pace that everyone in the compartment was left somewhat stunned.

What was she talking about?

As Harry and Ron exchanged looks and decided to ignore everything she'd said before, answering only her question about their names, Glenn turned to the boy behind her, who was still sniffling quietly.

"If I'm not mistaken, your name's Neville, right? How about an Every-Flavour Bean?"