His bags were stowed, there was no way Seren could locate him through the windows, and he had secret galleons in his pocket. First stop: food trolley!

Thronton licked his lips as he scanned the offerings. He had no idea what any of them were, only that he had been denied the opportunity to try any of them for years. Would he like lemon drops? Were they sour? What about acid pops? Chocolate frogs? He'd at least heard about the trading cards, which was cool, but did the chocolate taste good?

He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he clinked the coins together in his pocket. He needed to choose carefully and what if he wasted his money on something that he didn't like??

That was when he saw the box. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans! Every flavour! Thornton grinned and handed over his money excitedly, almost forgetting to wait for his change. This is the perfect choice, he thought to himself. If it's every flavour, then I'll know what all the flavours of candy taste like to choose other things later!

He greedily tore into the box, little pieces of cardboard littering the floor of the train. Reaching in, he grabbed a dark green bean and rolled it between his fingers, examining it before tossing it into his mouth.

Gwen went straight for the trolley. Her dad had denied her pretty much any candy buying right before she left saying she could get what she needed on the train. But she had been candyless the whole last week of summer and that was just uncalled for. Not to mention she went to her mum's and Stephen's and he was some kind of health freak that didn't keep candy in the house. Who does that? Honestly.

She quickly paid for her chocolate frogs and her licorice wands before turning to go find a seat. Then she spotted a boy, scarfing down Bertie Bott's. "I'd be careful if I were you. They mean every flavour when they say every flavour. Even the gross ones." Why she was pointing it out to this boy instead of just letting him bite into a bogey flavoured one was beyond her. Excitement about going to Hogwarts must be going to her head.

Mmmm. Watermelon. That was the first bean. It was quickly followed by buttered popcorn, orange juice, honey ham (which, he admittedly thought was odd), and then something sweet that he could only guess must have been some sort of candy flavor.

He looked at a beige one and tossed it in his mouth just as a girl called out a warning. Chomp. It was bitter. It was chewy. It was.. salty?

Thornton spit the half chewed bean out, it rolling across the floor and coming to rest near her shoe.

"Sorry! My sincerest apologies," he blurted out as he pulled the embroidered hankie from his pocket and bent swiftly to pick up the candy. Wrapping it up and putting it in his pocket, he stood.

"Why would they do that?" He thought candy was supposed to be sweet and pleasant. What had he put in his mouth??

Gwen couldn't help but laugh a little. She'd tried to warn him. And it hadn't hit her foot so she was good. There was no way she was picking it up though. That was his spit, that was his job. And who on earth talked like that? "It's fine. I didn't get spit on my shoes. We're cool."

Gwen shrugged taking a bite of her licorice wand. "Dunno. Maybe whoever came up with it thought it would be funny." It really was when you watched someone bite into a nasty one. You learned the flavours after a while. Just took some time.

Thornton scrunched his face up in thought. "Father says humor at another's expense is the lowest form." He paused. "I'm not even sure what it was that I ate, though. It was beige, with brown spots... It tasted a little salty?"

He tapped his index finger against his lips as he considered what it might be, lost in thought, before realizing that he was neglecting even the most basic social graces.

Startling himself back to the present moment, he extended his hand. "Thornton Baines, of the Wrexham Baines. Pleasure to meet you."

Okay. That was definitely not how a normal eleven year old talked. And Gwen thought this kid looked pretty normal. Obviously she was wrong. "Can't control when I laugh." If something was funny, she was gonna laugh at it. End of story. "Sounds like vomit." Which was just gross. Now that was a flavour that definitely didn't need to be in there.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the introduction. Now that was fancy. Probably from a family like the kind her dad usually worked for. "Gwen Samson. Nice to meet cha too." She shook his hand, which she thought was really weird too.

Oh, oh no. She'd thought that he'd meant her, and not the makers of the infernal awful beans. "Oh, no no no," he stammered. "I didn't mean you. I was referring to the motivations of the bean makers..." he trailed off. What did it matter. He sighed, shoulders slumping a little. He looked at his shoes, internally chastising himself. What good were all those etiquette lessons if he couldn't carry on a conversation on a train?!

And then it hit him. She'd said it sounded like a vomit flavoured bean. His stomach flipped and his face briefly grew a little pale. What had he wasted his money on?!

Perhaps a subject change would be in order. "Are you a first year, too? Or have you been to Hogwarts before?"

Oh. Well darn. Now Gwen felt kinda bad for saying that. Not much but just a little bit. "Some people just like laughing at others." It wasn't the nicest thing to do, but she wasn't going to lie. She did it herself from time to time. Like just now. Gwen watched him stare at the ground. This kid definitely needed some better people skills.

Maybe she shouldn't have told him that. She didn't want him to vomit...because then she would too. "Don't worry. They're not all bad. There's a bubblegum flavoured one that's fantastic!" Yes. Get his mind off the nasty flavour. That should do it.

"'m a first year too, Thornton." Obviously she didn't need to ask if he was too. Also she was obviously going to have to find something else to call him. Thorny? Thorn? Thor? Nah kid was too weird to be called Thor. Then again, that was kinda weird too.

"I... don't know what bubblegum tastes like," he replied, with a noncommital shrug. "Never had any."

He carefully folded the top of his box of beans over to close it, stalling for time. The collar on his shirt felt a little tight, but his family had insisted he get on the train already in his school robes. He'd thought about asking Seren if he could change, but he knew that she couldn't let him if she were under orders from his dad.

"I'm glad to meet another first year, then," he offered. "I don't really get a chance to be around people my age at home, so I don't know anyone else coming to Hogwarts." He paused, before leaning against the side of the corridor. "Do you know what to expect?"

Gwen's jaw literally dropped. "How have you never had bubblegum?! Did you live under a rock?" Probably not with a name like Thornton from Whatever-it-was. Poor kid.

Also the robes. They didn't have to be in those yet did they? The older kids weren't in them so Gwen wasn't putting them on yet. She wasn't going to comment on it though. Might as well not make him anymore uncomfortable. He might be her only friend for this ride.

"I know one person. His name is Hugo." And why were all the people she was meeting that were her age boys? Where was that magical girl bff she needed for her time at Hogwarts? "Lessons that are a mix of practical and magic, fun things to do on the grounds. Stuff like that."

Gwen was still deciding what to call this kid. But everything she was thinking of was weird to her and she didn't know actually how weird he was.

Was he.. that unusual? No one he knew ate candy, except for that one kid who would sneak out and get muggle snacks sometimes...

"My parents don't allow candy of any sort in our house," he explained straightforwardly. He said it rather matter-of-factly, though her addition of "live under a rock," had him feeling ab it uneasy internally. He paused, then, thinking about his bean predicament, and laughed. "My governess snuck me some extra galleons when we did my supply shopping, though, so the first thing I did was come right to the food trolley. But I didn't know what to get!"

He listened intently as she talked about Hogwarts, though it wasn't painting a much clearer picture than the brief conversation he'd had with Seren, who had admittedly gone to Hogwarts something like a million years ago. "I suppose we'll find out more when we arrive!"

Oh my gosh. This poor kid. Gwen was going to have to introduce him to the wonder that was candy. Muggle and wizarding. Yep. She gave him a soft smile. "Well Thorny, I'm going to have to show you the wonders of candy." She would share for a bit, but then he'd have to give her money for it. Also she was sticking with Thorny for now.

"Mhm." Gwen gave him a smile. She hadn't found a compartment yet. "Hey. You got a seat yet?" Might as well start his learning experience now.

His breath was coming out funny. Like only a little bit. Or not at all. That was the worst. There had already been a few minutes where his head had suddenly started to throb and everything felt warm and only then did Kyroh realize that he couldn't remember the last time he had taken a breath.

Standing in the line at the food trolley, he slowly took another breath in. The train had left the station and his parents were gone with them just like last year. Well.....his papa and mum. Glo hadn't been there. Which he hadn't really.....

Kyroh took another breath in and leaned to the side in attempt to count how many people were in the line in front of him. He had a PLAN. A mission. Yes. He'd get candy, which was the FIRST part. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small toy miniature dragon. "After we get the candy our next mission is operation locate Red, Bodie, and Firepants, okay Ramsey?"

Rob walked over to the food Trolley and ordered a Butterbeer and a Pumpkin Pasty. He stood in a corner of the area and took a bite of the pasty and chewed thoughtfully as he people watched and waited to see if any of his new or even old friends came up.

Right after he got his letter and badge from Healer Cece, Ethan did not miss a day reading the Prefect’s Handbook. He had questions all right, but he’d reserve those once he gets to Hogwarts. But first things first! FOOD. He needed all the ammo because he knew that the day would be a long one, what with patrolling the train corridor and compartments, making sure that everyone was behaving. No matter how amusing it would be, he didn’t want students to have busted lips or black eyes before they step into Hogsmeade Station.

“Thank you.” Ethan grinned at the trolley lady as he paid for his stash, and began to eat one of his candies. Nooooooow. Time to patrol? Yes, it seems that he has to start now.

So far…so good. No shoving, no fighting albeit the noise of over-excited students. Merlin, he’d be jumping off the walls if only he wasn’t wearing his badge. Who would have thought it’ll be that heavy? Ethan had a piece of blue liquorice hanging from his lips when he saw a familiar face: Kyroh.

Grinning, Ethan threw his arm around Kyroh’s small shoulder. Heh. He doesn't need to see the badge yet. “Had a great summer, Ky?” Ethan asked, letting the piece of candy dangle while he chewed on. “Who's that?” A dragon, eh? If only Kyroh knew his cousin Mordred...

...

Thorny?

Go with it, Thornton, he told himself. He smiled, though, at her mention of teaching him about candy. "That's wonderfully nice of you," he said. No more wasting his money on vomit flavoured "candy" or classlessly spitting in the middle of trains!

"A seat? No, not yet. As soon as I was on the train and sure that Seren couldn't see me, I came right to the candy." He laughed, looking down the length of the train at the bunches of students and he suddenly felt a bit of panic rise in his chest. "Have you chosen a compartmentt? I hope it won't be difficult to locate one!"

Eden, after searching for a very LOOOOOONG twenty minutes, FOUND this mysterious food trolley. And now that she was here, she didn't even know what she wanted. Merlin's socks. She saw that there were a few other people in line...one of them being Gwen, the cute little first year she had met in Diagon. She smiled and waved but remained quiet. She just wanted to GET snacks----and go. GO.

But WHAT did she want? Pumpkin juice--duh--and then food. Probably some...chocolate frogs...pumpkin pasties? Cauldron Cakes? JELLY BEANS? No. Those were gross. She didn't want to end up with one of the disgusting flavors. Nope.

She pulled out her money pouch and jingled it around a little. She didn't know where her father had found all this extra money lately, but she had some pretty cool new stuff to bring to school, PLUS money for this...food trolley. So she was very happy about THIS. But NERVOUS about everything ELSE. All the new people....GAAAAAAHHHHH. What if she made NO friends and EVERYONE HATED HER?! She could be...an emotional handful.

SIGH.

And now to wait her turn and stuff.

The line was never ending. Which meant that he would be in the line FOREVER. Maybe until he was 40 years old. Could he ride the train at 40 years old? If he was still in the line at 40 years old did that mean he'd still be a second year because he was too busy line waiting to go to class? These were important questions swarming the twelve year olds brain but they couldn't be answered because a sudden arm rested itself on his SHOULDER.

What-OH ETHAN!

A large smile broke out on the boys lips. KY. Heh. "HI ETHAN!" HI! He hadn't seen the Slytherin since...welll...a WHILE okay? "It was awesome I kind of don't want to go back." He exclaimed honestly. He LIKED Hogwarts but, yeah. "This is Ramsey." The dragon took the introduction on cue and took off, so that it was hovering right in front of them. "He's one of my dragons." The one who didn't like people. So naturally it was only smart for Kyroh to take him out on a confined train with dozens of screaming loud children....."How was your summer?! Did you accidentally turn your tongue blue...and long?"

Craving some chocolate, Lux made her way over to the food trolley. It would be so much easier for her to buy more Chocolate Frogs than to dig the stash out from one of her suitcases. Who says a Hufflepuff can't be lazy every once in a while.

Joining the forming line, Lux noticed some people she knew and they got friendly smiles.

All this carrying her stuff around had made Vinnie hungry. A lot. She needed cauldron cake...or pumpkin pie. Or both. One thing was for sure, she needed food. After having found a place to sit, relaxing was the next point on her list. The journey was quite long so food was an essential part of relaxing.

Vinnie leaned against one of the windows and put her hair to one side. All of the food looked delicious and she had a hard time deciding. For once it was a good thing, that there was a queue.

Why was the food trolley so far? All the boy wanted was cauldron cakes, thanks to Leah's ice cream over the summer, and pumpkin flavored things. Except jelly beans. Ugh those were just plain gross. Who even invented those? Including the Bertie Bott's ones. Anyway, Jun walked towards the cart, jingling the money in his pocket. Arriving, he wrinkled his nose and waited in line behind a redheaded girl. Oh, he new this head anywhere. Resting his chin on top of her head, Jun chuckled.

"Running low on chocolate frogs already?"

After having recognized Lux and her red locks, his eyes kept wandering around. Who else did he know around here? Jun's eyes darted to the person leaning on the wall. Smirking, he stood up straight and inched closer to her. "You're looking pretty lonely there. Hope your boyfriend doesn't mind you having good looking company," Jun kept the smirk on his face and put his hand on the wall behind Vin's head.

Hi there.

Vinnie was still thinking of what to get...something cake-ie. That would last for a while. Chocolate frogs were way too tiny and the journey too long. But she was hungry, so the people in front of her should hurry up....

and then someone blocked her view. Not just any someone. Smirking at the boy in front of her she pulled him in closer. "Hmmmmm...i dont think he will mind", she said,"but you are verrryy good looking indeed." Dramatic Sigh. For now the food was forgotten, the brunette had found something better to play with.

O_O

There was a chin on her head.

Before Lux could freak out, she heard the person speak. Ooooh, it's only Jun. Smile forming on her face, she turned to give her friend a hug. It was always amazing to see him because he was so nice. "More like I was too lazy to get some out of my bag." Yep, she was being lazy today. "What are you going to get?" He didn't like Chocolate Frogs the way she did, so she was guessing he wasn't after the same thing as her.

Noticing Jun speaking to a girl, Lux waved. "Hello, I'm Lux."

Jun chuckled and hug Lux back. He hadn't seen her much since giving her the chocolate frogs last term. Then again he'd give her chocolate frogs anytime. Maybe he should start selling them. "So you're going to spend money on getting more? Shaaaaame," He teased and patted the top of her head. Then again, he would spend extra money on anything pumpkin flavored or fizzing whizbees. And cauldron cakes. "Maybe just some cauldron cakes or pumpkin pasties. Something that'll fill me up,"

Because nothing else would.
Jun grinned and kissed Vinnie. Pulling away, he took her hand and brought her to the line with him and Lux. "Did you find a compartment to sit in. Could've joined Connor and I at the front," Because they weren't doing much there anyway. "Vinnie, this is Lux. Lux, this is my girlfriend Vinnie," Because introductions were needed.