"These are called bertie bott's every flavor beans," Lee Jordan said, shaking his box and offering it to the three. "They have all sorts of flavors, try some."
"You have to be careful eating these," George warned. "When he says 'every flavor,' you know, he means *every* flavor."
"Not just common flavors like chocolate, peppermint, and marmalade, but also spinach, liver, and tripe. Oh, and watch out for earwax flavor." Fred reached out, grabbed a bean, and popped it into his mouth. "This one is pumpkin."
"What flavor is this one?" Albert asked, picking up a gray bean.
"Pepper flavor. If I were you, I wouldn't touch it," Georgekindly reminded him. "Like this one I have, it's chicken flavor."
"What about this?" Albert asked, picking up something that looked like bubblegum.
"These are Blown-Up Super Bubblegums."
"I know this one, chocolate frog. I had one last time," Albert said, pointing to a chocolate frog.
"Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice wands," George began to explain other strange foods. Some would turn your entire tongue different colors after eating, and others could make various sounds.
"Animal Sound Candies, they can make all sorts of animal sounds."
Albert unwrapped one, took out a candy, and asked, "What sound is this?"
"I don't know."
"How long does it last?"
"About a few seconds!"
Albert popped the candy into his mouth, and suddenly a lion's roar burst from him. Everyone else couldn't help but laugh.
"Want to try?"
The candy George ate made him sound like a baboon, Fred like a cat, and Lee Jordan was less lucky; his made him sound like an elephant, his cheeks instantly flushed red, and two puffs of steam shot from his ears, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
"Oh, I didn't buy enough." Albert found this candy very interesting, so he went to other compartments to find the Witch and bought another pack.
"They're for my sister," Albert explained with a smile, noticing the others' puzzled looks.
Of course, Albert didn't intend to fill his stomach with these things. He also took out the sandwich Daisy had prepared for him and began eating it under the confused gazes of the others.
"You brought your own food, so why buy so much?" Lee Jordan was very puzzled.
"Because they're novel. If I find something interesting, I'll send a portion back to my family," Albert said, picking up a bottle of peach-flavored soda. "Do you want to try some?"
"What is this?"
"It's a drink you probably haven't had before." Albertbought a cup of pumpkin juice. The taste was a bit peculiar, somewhat similar to drinking soy milk.
"How do you open it?" The Twins curiously examined the canned soda.
"There's a pull tab on top, don't shake it, be careful the drink sprays out," Albert reminded them, but it was already too late. When Fred pulled the tab to open the soda, he got sprayed in the face.
"I warned you not to shake it." Albert couldn't help but laugh, taking the half-empty can of peach-flavored soda from his hand.
He pulled out his wand, cleaned the water stains from the table and newspaper, and then asked, "Do you want to try the taste?"
As he spoke, he raised his wand and lightly tapped the candy paper bag on the table, transforming it into a plastic cup.
"Wow!" The Twins immediately made exaggerated sounds.
"What's wrong?" Albert asked, looking at them in confusion, then chanted, "Geminio."
He used the Duplication Charm to turn the plastic cup into three.
"You just used magic, didn't you?"
"Oh, it's a little trick I learned from a spellbook, very useful," Albert said casually. "Is there a problem?"
"Is there a problem?" Lee Jordan said weakly. "Of course there is! I remember you're a Wizard from a Mugglefamily, aren't you?"
"And?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I dare say no other first-year can use magic as skillfully as you."
"Aren't you being a bit too dramatic?" Albert changed the subject. "Want a drink?" He poured a small half-cup for each of them.
"The taste is a bit strange, but not bad."
"It feels a bit like beer, but it's not the same."
"You've had beer?" Albert asked curiously.
"George secretly drank some."
"You secretly drank some too."
"After all, you're not Muggles, so it's normal not to be used to the taste." Albert found it easy to understand, just like his own experience with pumpkin juice.
"That's not the point. How did you do it? I heard Transfiguration is super hard to learn," Lee Jordan said dramatically.
"Super hard?" Albert thought carefully. It didn't seem as hard as he described. He had asked Truman for the trick to match-to-needle Transfiguration, and after practicing for a week and maxing out his Level 1 Transfiguration, he could easily transform small objects.
"It is a bit difficult. It took half a day to turn a match into a needle, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite simple."
"Half a day." The three looked at each other, suddenly feeling a bit withdrawn and not wanting to talk to him.
You'll lose friends if you show off like that.
"Is it really simple?"
"Um, how much magic have you mastered?" Georgeasked weakly.
"I've tried all the spells in the textbook… Haven't you tried magic during the summer holidays?" Albert asked, looking at them suspiciously.
"Our family wouldn't let us touch our wands."
"You could try secretly. And didn't you buy wands?" Albert was speechless.
"Does that mean you succeeded with all of them?" Fredasked feebly.
"Most of them were successful. During the summer holidays, I also met a Hogwarts student, and we've kept in touch through letters. He's given me a lot of… in terms of magic."
Boom, a clap of thunder split the sky, interrupting Albert's words. The rain outside the compartment grew heavier.
Was even heaven displeased?
Lee Jordan got up and closed the window to prevent the rain from coming in.
"I hope the rain stops by the time we reach the school," Albert said, popping a piece of chocolate into his mouth and slowly chewing.
The long train journey was really a bit boring.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Albert asked, looking at the three silent figures.
"Nothing!" Fred managed to squeeze out a sentence. "I just have a feeling you'll become a formidable fellow in the future."
"I think so too," Albert suddenly said, which made all three of them choke.
"Haha, just kidding. No one knows what the future holds."
For the rest of the time, they ate snacks and talked about things in the Wizarding World. Mostly, the three of them spoke, and Albert listened.
When they talked about Quidditch, Albert found it very interesting as the three of them tried their best to explain how four balls and seven players conducted a match.
It was clear that both Twins wanted to own a good Flying Broom and play an exciting game.
"I'd like to try the feeling of flying in the sky," Albert said. "Though riding a broomstick is a bit odd."