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The Snakefang House Tower
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Together with Snako Malboy, who is fast becoming your best friend, you join the line of Snakefang house children leaving the dining room on their way to the House Tower.

The route winds its way through the stone corridors of Hogsnorts School for what seems like hours: along high walls with battlements on one side and a steep drop on the other. Through dingy underground stone tunnels lit only by the occasional flickering torch. Up and down stone staircases with steps which sometimes seem built for a giant, and you have to clamber up one at a time, and at other times seem built for a gnome and you almost trip over them they are so small.

But at last you can sense from the excited chatter of the other students that you are getting closer. It also seems to be getting warmer - the cold dank of the school corridors has been replaced by a dry heat radiating from the walls.

Finally you reach a stone archway painted in the Snakefang House colours of silver and green.

"We're here Snakefangs, our home sweet home," states one of the older boys. "Everyone remember that only Snakefangs are allowed in the House Tower. Anyone else who tries to enter will get swallowed by the Blood Squirter, if they even get that far!" The children give a low chuckle.

"What's the Blood Squirter?" you whisper to Snako.

"I don't know," he whispers back with a bloodthirsty grin, "but whatever it is, it sounds super cool."

"In we go then!" commands the older boy and you all file through the arch. As you pass through you realise the arch is carved in the shape of an enormous open snake's mouth, its fangs dripping down like giant stalactites.

When you enter the tower your mouth drops open as you are confronted by a fantastic, almost otherworldly scene.

You are in a wide circular space paved with a shiny black stone. It is walled all around with a stone wall that rises upwards for as far as you can see, leaving a small circle of open sky at the top. It would be dark if it wasn't for the pool in the middle of this strange courtyard.

That's because the pool is full of glowing orange lava.

This must be the source of the heat you noticed in the corridor as you approached the tower. And basking on the edges of the lava pool are some huge snakes, each a different colour.

"This is so cool," you say to Snako, and walk forwards to get a closer look. When you reach the pool of lava, one of the snakes lifts his head (as big as yours) and flickers his tongue out in your direction. You carefully reach out a hand and stroke the snake's scaly chin. He makes a satisfied hissing noise.

"I can see he likes you," says an older girl who has walked over. "Say hello to Blood Squirter."

"So this is Blood Squirter - what a beautiful creature!" You turn to the girl: "This place is amazing, I love the snakes, the lava lake... But it doesn't look very... comfortable. Where does everyone sit down for a rest or to go to sleep?"

"This is just the central courtyard of the tower," shrugs the girl. "We don't hang out here much, it's mainly for the snakes or when we want to toast marshmallows. No - around the edge of this big tower everyone has their own personal smaller tower which you can get to by climbing the stairs."

You look at where the girl is gesturing and realise that this giant tower has a long stone staircase winding its way up the inside of the wall. Every now and again the staircase has a small landing leading to a locked door.

"You mean I have a tower just for me?" you ask, your eyes wide, and the girl nods.

"We have got to check this out," you say to Snako and the two of you run over to the stone staircase. As you climb you pass the locked doors that you noticed earlier and you see that each one has a name above them: Gertrude Viper-Collins, Bartholomew Beetlebottom, Lyra Poisonwood read a few.

After you have climbed the staircase high above the lava pool you notice two doors next to each other. Above one it says Snako Malboy and above the other Arthur Otley. You notice a much smaller sign next to the door too, which reads: 'Insert wand into key hole'.

With a thrill of excitement you slowly put the end of your wand into the keyhole of the door. After a moment the whole doorway is outlined in a magical golden glow and then - without a sound - the door swings inwards. At the door next to you Snako has done the same.

You and Snako take a deep breath, nod goodbye to each other, and enter.

You find yourself in the most wonderful room.

Whereas the courtyard below was bare and dim, this place is comfortable, light and airy. There are two or three sofas and comfy armchairs scattered around, tall windows on the room, looking down on the Hogsnorts School grounds, and a low table in front of the fireplace. You notice that the fireplace contains a little bubbling pool of lava, no doubt fed from the same source deep below the earth as the lava pool you saw earlier. A large TV and games console are nestled next to a window.

Kicking your shoes off and bouncing down onto a sofa, you notice a spiral iron staircase leading up to the second floor above you and realise that the girl you were talking to before was absolutely right. This is a whole tower just for you. The main Snakefang House Tower must be studded with hundreds of student towers, sprouting out the side of it like mushrooms.

Racing up the spiral iron staircase you find yourself in a large circular study room with a curved desk against one wall, some bookshelves against another, and a set of cupboards fully stocked with potent magical ingredients.

The next floor is a small kitchen with a magically replenishing larder to one side. Above that is the bathroom with a huge bath in the middle, propped up on four iron feet cast in the shape of snakes baring their fangs.

Above this is the bedroom, and above the bedroom under the sloping tower roof is a little astronomical observatory, complete with telescope.

Coming back down to the bedroom, you lie back on the enormous four-poster bed and crunch on a mint flavoured chocolate that you found on your pillow, next to a cuddly toy snake.

Through the window outside you can see the sun sinking slowly below the horizon.

You put your hands behind your head and smile. Yes, I could be happy here, you say to yourself as you slip into a deep untroubled sleep.