An unanticipated journey open

@Ivy Finch, @Finius Allred

Ivy had scary eyes, he'd give her that, and he could tell her smile was forced, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from befriending the two of them. Based on their questions, he assumed they were muggle-borns. For a second he thought of telling them he was a pureblood, but it would most likely come off the wrong way. He nodded to her comment on her wand's core. From what he remembered, the phoenix feather core was the rarest core, which was impressive. The only other person he knew to have it was Granpa.

"I know how," He quickly said, to Ivy's question. Edmund grabbed his wand and flicked his wrist, as if to cast a mute spell. Of course, nothing happened. "I've never cast a proper spell because we can't do that outside of Hogwarts, but I know the gist of it," He shrugged, putting it back in his grey robes, running his hands over it. "Yes, I grew up in London, but moved to Cambridge a few years ago,"

Edmund didn't feel like elaborating more on why he moved and wondered where exactly in London Ivy was from. Then, he turned to Finius, glad to see that he wasn't as shy as he initially judged. Edmund hummed, eyes going up to the ceiling as he thought, "I am looking forward to History of Magic the most. Herbology, too. DADA - Defense Against the Dark Arts," He explained. "will get more interesting as we grow older, I think. I'd say Care of Magical Creatures, too, but that's only from our third year onwards," Which was a shame, in his opinion. He'd love to tell his mother he was doing amazing in her favorite class. He snickered like a fox to Finius' last comment. "We do have magical police. People can't hex one another as freely nowadays, I think. Though, if you want more experience with charms, you can always join the dueling club at Hogwarts - my cousin was a duelist when he studied here. Lower stakes, but it counts,"

Ivy listened intently to the two boys conversing, trying to learn as much as possible from the small facts of their lives they were sharing. She wondered why Edmund had moved to Cambridge, and why he still thought to say he was from London despite having moved out many years ago. She supposed these were things she would learn if she became friends with him, and so she didn't press on the topic. Instead, Ivy waited patiently for Edmund to finish talking so she could answer Finius's question, and he sure did have a lot to say. It was interesting to hear how he grew up, coming from a Wizarding background, though he didn't specify Edmund had to be at least half-blood, but Ivy didn't dare admit this, knowing it would only feed into his already shockingly-high ego. At least, she thought it was shockingly-high.

"I think charms will be interesting," she says to Finius eventually, "And History of Magic. I really want to know how all...this came to be. I mean, how ancient wizards managed to create a secret society hidden in plain site blows my mind." Before anyone can say anything else, however, there is a rattle on the door, startling Ivy. For a moment her heart sinks as she thinks someone else is going to join the compartment, but when an old woman opens the door carrying a trolley full of sweets and treats, she knows she's safe. That being said, she wouldn't mind another girl on here.

"Anything from the trolley, Dears?" The woman asks, her voice kind but fragile. Ivy stares at the magnificent array of snacks before her, completely intimidated by the seemingly alien food. She's hungry, but doesn't want to make a fool out of herself by choosing something that will taste bad, so she simply stays quiet, hoping someone else will speak up instead.

@Ivy Finch, @Finius Allred

Edmund got up at the sight of the trolley witch, a big smile on his face as he'd been craving sweet since he got up. The old lady smiled expectantly at the three of them, but Ivy didn't say anything. He took the lead and shoved his hands in his pockets, playing with the galleons and sickles Granny had given him for the trip. He analyzed the trolley, then looked back at Finius and Ivy, counting his money, before handing it to her.

"I've been craving Honeydukes for months, ma'am," He said, which made the lady giggle. "Uh, I'll have six chocolate frogs because I need more cards for my collection - you wouldn't know if you have Harry Potter's card, would you?" The lady looked away. Edmund knew he shouldn't even try. Other students must've asked for the same thing. "One large cauldron cake, and a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, please and thank you,"

The lady gave him his chance and the sweets he bought, before smiling at Finius and Ivy, "Do you two want anything, sweetheart?"

"My mum says pumpkin pasties are good too if you guys want to try it out," said Edmund, dumping all of his sweet onto his lap, excitedly unwrapping one of the chocolate frogs. He watched it as it jumped twice, landing on his wrists. The card he got was Salazar Slytherin."I can't have it because I'm allergic to pumpkin. Salazar? Really? Again?"

@Ivy Finch, @Finius Allred

"You guys can have one if you want," said Edmund, right away, offering two, chocolate frog legs hanging from his mouth as he checked each of the cards. He had bought six, after all, and he wasn't going to eat them all by himself. He could get nauseous if he ate too much chocolate at once, and he didn't want to throw up in front of them. "Alberta Toothil," He hummed, not recognizing the smiling witch, reading the back of the card - winner of the All-England Wizarding Dueling Competition. "Nice,"

Edmund cleaned his mouth after eating the poor chocolate frog, turning to Finius who had asked him a question.

"Yeah. There's Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and a bunch of other important figures. The more important, the cooler the card, you know. See, this one is a common one," He flashed Alberta Toothil's card to Finius, as he opened another card but it was another common one. "But we can get golden ones. I have one back at home." He could always ask Granny to send it by owl. "Well, yeah, I guess I am. I find it interesting - knowing all about the past. Don't you? Did you guys read Hogwarts, a History?"

Ivy was unsure of the delicacy, after all, the concept of a chocolate frog was rather unusual to her, but after seeing Edmund enjoy the sweet so much, she felt reassured and accepted the offering. The chocolate itself was good, she'd had better but it was still tasty, but she was more interested in the card. Despite not knowing any famous witches or wizards, Ivy was still curious to see who'd she get.

"I've read it," Ivy said, patting Hogwarts, a History next to her as she ate away. "Hey, I got Ronald Weasley, he any good?" She observed the figure on the card. Ronald had rosy cheeks and a large smile, his hair astonishingly red. On his shoulder was a little owl, though this meant nothing to Ivy. She flipped the card around and read aloud.

"Famed auror partially responsible for the downfall of the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort." Ivy looks up at the two boys to get a response, "I know him," she says, "he's in Hogwarts, A History. Something to do with the Battle of Hogwarts, right?" Ivy put the card in her pocket, before helping herself to a sweet called Drooble's.

@Ivy Finch, @Finius Allred

"Ronald Weasley? Yeah, he's like, Potter's best friend. That's a rare card," Edmund let out, leaning in to check her card, eyes going wide at the sight of the famous red-haired wizard. Before he could fanboy over the wizard, impressed by her luck, he turned to Finius. "I recommend the read. It's fantastic to learn so much about Hogwarts, its founders, and everything that's ever happened in it - that we know of, of course,"

He couldn't keep his eyes off Ivy's card. He'd been trying to get one of the so-called Golden Trio for almost a year now. And nothing! His oldest cousin, Rose, had all three of them and she guarded her collection with magical spells so he would never try to take one for himself.

"Wow... you're so lucky, Ivy," Edmund muttered, super jealous, opening another one of the chocolate frogs, and biting each of the limbs at a time, watching as the enchanted sweet squirmed in his grip. He analyzed the card, groaning - Carlotta Pinkstone. Another common card. It was ridiculous. His collection was mostly composed of those - it's so boring. He slid across the velvet seat in defeat, playing with the card as he finished his frog. "Oh, this is so unfair,"

Reducio

You can start a collection by looking in the Leaky Cauldron. People give chocolate frogs and every flavor beans!

@Finius Allred, @Ivy Finch

"Yea, he did," said Edmund, with a shrug, still disappointed with his cards. He talked a bit more about the wizard, assuming, based on Ivy's reaction, that the other three must not know a lot about the Second Wizarding War and the Boy Who Lived. "He's done some other great feats, too. I've heard he's an Auror now? Or is probably retired, I dunno. If I had saved the world when I was a teenager, I would ask for a break immediately,"

Studying alongside Harry Potter must have been the coolest experience ever, and he could only dream of experiencing something nearly as thrilling during his time at Hogwarts. Not necessarily life-threatening, because he wanted to come back home all in one piece, thank you very much, but more than studying and doing homework. Granny would ground him for twenty years if he got himself in too much trouble, so his hopes and fantasies of becoming a hero would have to fade. Granny terrified him when she was mad.

But Hogwarts was gigantic - there must still be secrets waiting to be uncovered, right? And why couldn't he be the one to discover them? If Salazar Slytherin had a secret chamber, the other founders needed to have something equally as cool, right? Right?

"I hope so. Must be fun, to be a hero, right?" He turned to Finius, eyes sparkling with mischief. "If we get into Gryffindor, we can join forces and explore the castle together,"