How About an Every-Flavour Bean?

In truth, eleven-year-olds get familiar with each other quickly.

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

But looking at the table full of all sorts of bizarre foods he'd bought from the trolley, Glenn fell silent.

"Oh, blast, it's bogey-flavoured..." Ron grimaced in pain after accidentally swallowing one.

"You've got to be careful with Every-Flavour Beans—they come in every taste imaginable. If you're lucky, you get chocolate, peppermint, or marmalade. If you're unlucky, it might be vomit."

Even though Harry and Ron had just invited him to join in experimenting with the Every-Flavour Beans, unless it was part of some game punishment, Glenn figured he'd absolutely never eat those things at mealtime.

As for Super Bouncy Bubble Gum, Liquorice Wands, and the other snacks, they were fun enough, but if you were just trying to fill your stomach, there was no need for that.

Thinking this, Glenn picked up a Pumpkin Pie and took a bite.

A faint sweetness—no real flaws, but no real merits either.

If he'd known ahead of time, he might have preferred to bring a packed lunch.

It was rather curious, really. Back when he'd transferred to Hogwarts as a late arrival, the first teacher he'd met besides Professor Figg was Professor Weasley—Matilda Weasley—then the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor.

And now, the second new student he'd met turned out to be a Weasley too!

Glenn cast a casual glance at Ron, who was currently studying a Chocolate Frog with Harry.

Hmm, from the look of his eyes and brows, there was indeed some resemblance to that strict, responsible professor.

But it seemed his family wasn't very well-off.

Aside from the awkwardness he'd shown when the trolley came by, his clean but somewhat worn robes hinted at the same.

Not that it was surprising—he'd mentioned having seven children at home, and this robe was probably a hand-me-down from an older brother who no longer needed it.

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

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

It was a man's face, wearing half-moon spectacles, with a crooked, long nose, and silver hair and beard flowing down.

The name beneath the card read: Albus Dumbledore.

He was the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, widely regarded as the greatest wizard of the modern age, who had defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, discovered twelve uses of dragon's blood, and worked fruitfully with his partner Nicolas Flamel in alchemy...

"Aren't all cards supposed to move?" Ron asked curiously as he ate his own Chocolate Frog.

"In the Muggle world, once people are photographed, they usually don't move," Glenn said, taking the Chocolate Frog.

"That's amazing. If my portrait didn't move, I'd be exhausted from complaining all the time... Oh, Merlin's beard! You got Merlin on your first try!" Ron exclaimed in surprise.

"Is that rare?" Harry asked curiously.

"Of course it is. I only have one, and I had to beg Bill (the eldest Weasley brother) to give it to me." Though he was talking to Harry, Ron's eyes were fixed on the Merlin card in Glenn's hand.

"What about Morganach?"

"I've already got six of her... but this is a good start. You can begin collecting too."

Unexpectedly, Glenn seemed more interested in Morganach than in Merlin.

"Could I have a look, Harry?"

"Oh... sure."

Taking the card Harry handed him, Glenn gave it a careful scan.

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

Well, that was the medieval Morganach—a different person from the one he'd been thinking of.

The Morganach Glenn had in mind was Isidora Morganach, a nineteenth-century witch.

That witch was entirely responsible for the turmoil a hundred years ago, having abused ancient magic.

Besides sparking the Fourth Goblin Rebellion, she'd also ensured that after Glenn transferred to Hogwarts, he'd barely had a proper school experience—either cleaning up the messes she'd left behind or being on his way to clean them up.

From a certain perspective, the fact that Glenn was now sitting on this train to Hogwarts was all thanks to her.

Lost in brief recollection, the compartment door suddenly knocked, and a round-faced boy with tears in his eyes stepped in.

"Sorry, but have you seen my toad?"

Harry and Ron both shook their heads.

"I've lost it again! It always tries to run away from me!" the boy said, his voice choked with tears.

Well... not entirely.

Glenn propped his chin on his left hand and set the card down.

He now had two choices before him.

First, he could pull out the blue-glowing toad currently tucked in the hidden pocket of his oversized robes.

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

Clearly, this choice wasn't a hard one.

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

But this time, it wasn't him speaking—it was a girl beside him who'd already changed into her Hogwarts robes, with a bushy head of brown hair and a pair of prominent front teeth.

Just then, Ron was planning to use his somewhat shabby wand to change the color of his pet gray rat, named Scabbers.

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

But the little girl paid him no mind, her eyes fixed on the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." With that, she sat down beside them as if she'd known them forever.

This unexpected little interruption caught Ron off guard. "Oh... all right."

With that, he turned his attention back to his wand.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Ron waved the wand, but nothing happened. Gray Scabbers stayed gray.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? It doesn't look very good." The girl shook her head regretfully.

"I've 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 acceptance letter, I was absolutely shocked, but also really happy, because, I mean, as far as I know, this is the finest school of magic there is—I've memorized all the textbooks, of course, I just hope that's enough—my name's Hermione Granger, by the way, what are your names?"

She rattled it all off at lightning speed, like a string of firecrackers, leaving everyone in the compartment a bit stunned.

What was she talking about?

As Harry and Ron exchanged glances, deciding to skip the earlier part and just answer her about their names, Glenn extended an invitation to the boy still sniffling behind her.

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Neville? How about an Every-Flavour Bean?"