September first found the Laytons at King's Cross Station, where they were saying their goodbyes.

"…And don't forget to write."

"I know, Ma."

"And be sure to stay warm in the winter months."

"Ma…"

"And if you get homesick, I packed you some of your favorite tea…"

"Ma, I'm gonna miss the train!"

"Oh, sorry…" Mrs. Layton pulled away from her son, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's just… it's going to be so lonely when you're gone…"

Hershel smiled, reassuring his mother. "I'll be home for Christmas. Don't worry."

Mr. Layton stood beside his wife and said, "Be good now, Hershel. Don't get into too much trouble."

"I'll try not to, Pa. See you in a few months!" With that, Hershel turned and pushed his cart towards the wall Randall told him about. He broke into a run, going faster with every step, closing his eyes as he braced for the impact that would never come.

When he opened his eyes, they instantly widened at the sight of the magnificent red steam train in front of him. His attention was only pulled away when he heard Randall (who had gone in before him) yell and wave him over to an opening in the train.

Hershel pushed his cart over to the opening as he noticed that Randall was not the only one there. There was Brenda and Claire (who looked particularly happy to see him), both smiling and waving. There was also, to his surprise, another one of his friends from Stansbury (and his Randall's 'secret' crush), Angela.

"Isn't this great, Hersh?" Randall asked excitedly. "Angela's coming to school with us and we can all hang out and it'll be the greatest thing ever!"

"Yea, that'll be fun." Hershel smiled as he began trying to unload his cart. "Where's Henry?"

Randall gestured to the inside of the train. "He and Clark are saving a compartment."

"Who's Clark?"

"One of the friends I made within the past ten minuets."

"Ah." Hershel attempted to pull his trunk onto the train, but the sheer weight of it made it impossible to lift off the platform. Even with Randall's help (all the girls had gone ahead to the compartment), it would be impractical to expect to be able to do it before the train left.

A voice came from inside the train, "Need a hand?"

Hershel turned and saw who it was. "Oh! Um…Desmond!"

Desmond smirked as he stepped out of the train. He was already wearing his school robes, his green and silver tie glinting in the station light. The older boy grabbed the handle Hershel was holding. "Go help your friend lift it up from the other side."

Hershel did what he was told, and with less effort than before, they were able to lift the trunk onto the train. "Thanks again, Desmond." He said, smiling at the older boy.

"My pleasure." Desmond smiled back. Something clattered behind him, causing all three to look in that direction. "Those idiots… Please excuse me," He nodded a polite goodbye and walked to the other end of the train.

"Wow, Hersh, already making friends with the older kids." Randall smirked at is friend. "He's gotta be fourth year, at least. And he's a Slytherin!"

"Is that a good thing?" Hershel asked, grabbed the handle of the trunk again, preparing to drag it across the floor to the compartment.

"In a sense." Randall grabbed the handle with his friend and began sliding it across the floor. "People who've been at Hogwarts for while usually have more time to learn the loopholes in the school rules and whatnot, and Slytherins in general are pretty persuasive. Or, at least, that's what my dad told me. He was a Slytherin too, actually, so I'm taking his word for it." He stopped suddenly to rub his sore arms. "Geez, what'd you pack in this thing? Did you bring your whole room?"

"I think Ma slipped some extra things in there when I wasn't looking…" Hershel mumbled, making a move to slide open the door that Randall pointed to.

"Like what, a sack of bricks?" Randall joked as the door slid open. Inside the compartment was everyone Hershel expected to see: Henry, Claire, Brenda and Angela. The only one there Hershel didn't know was a small brown-haired boy with an odd cowlick on the back of his head. The boy stood up, just barely coming up to Hershel's shoulder, and said, "Oh, are you Hershey?"

"Hershel." The taller boy corrected him. "And you're…Clark?"

Clark nodded, smiling and offering to help Hershel bring his trunk inside. Due to the slightly cramped space in the compartment and the fact that none of the eleven-year-olds could even lift it, the trunk served as a makeshift seat for Hershel. After a few minuets of aimless conversations, the train lurched forward and the journey began.

A few minuets after the train started moving, an elderly woman with a tray full of candy came by the compartment. Randall immediately bought a dozen Chocolate Frogs, Angela bought a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and Claire bought a few handfuls of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

Randall passed out his Chocolate Frogs, two for each person. Hershel was fascinated with the fact that the chocolate frogs actually acted like frogs, but was glad that they didn't taste like their animal counterpart. His first two Chocolate Frog Cards were Babayaga and Circe, two witches that gave him nasty looks and made him feel a bit uneasy looking at them.

Shortly afterward, Angela dared everyone to eat at least one of her Every Flavour Beans. Everyone ate them one at a time, starting with her. She popped the bean in her mouth and immediately grimaced. "Uggh, mustard!"

Henry was next. "This one isn't bad… I think it's blueberry?"

"I got a apple-flavored one!" Clark said, relieved that it wasn't disgusting.

"Ew, dirt!" Hershel spat it out into his handkerchief.

"Oh, I hate pears!" Claire coughed, her disgust clear on her face.

"Hm… bugglegum." Brenda didn't seem too disappointed.

Randall was the last to take it. He practically threw up. "Liver and tripe!" He whined, coughing to try to get rid of the taste.

"Here," Claire handed him a bit of gum after popping one into her mouth. "It'll get the taste out." He gratefully accepted it.

Soon, she had passed the gum around to everyone, and practically the rest of the trip over to Hogwarts was spent seeing who could blow the biggest bubble. Brenda and Henry seemed to be rather good at it, blowing bubbles larger than their entire heads.

After a few hours of this among other things, a Prefect (as shown by his badge with a bright, shiny 'P' on it) knocked on the door and informed them to get dressed into their robes. This took a relatively short time, as everyone opted to just pull them on over their Muggle clothes, and they soon stepped off the train onto Hogwarts' grounds.