61
On the Hogsnorts Express
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The boy in the bookshop seemed friendly so you decide to go and sit next to him. Your mind made up, you leap aboard the train just as the doors slam shut behind you.

"Hello," you say, "I'm Arthur, we saw each other in the spellbook shop in Hippoto Mews the other day."

You sit down in the spare seat next to him. He glances up from the spell book he is reading.

"Hello, I'm Daniel," he says then carries on reading his book and muttering to himself.

"What's that book you're reading?" you ask.

"Das Magical, by Lotso Larks. It's a collection of spells for coordinating large groups of people."

"Oh" you reply. "Would you like a Smarty?"

Daniel's eyes light up and he puts the book down. "I love Smarties. Have you got any purple ones?"

You share out the colourful chocolate treats companionably. Your favourite ones are blue ones which makes Daniel excited.

"Hey Arthur," he begins, "did you know that blue and copper are the colours of Ravenwing House? You like blue Smarties, maybe that's a sign that you will be in Ravenwing House like I will be?"

"Yeah maybe," you say "Ravenwing is for brain-boxes people right?"

"It's the house for people that love learning. What would life be like if you never learned new things? I want to find out as much as possible. I want to know the secret of teleportation, of space travel, of unlimited energy. I want to know everything! Don't you?"

"I guess I would" you reply although... that sounds like a lot of studying and even then you might not end up knowing everything.

While you are talking to Daniel the train chugs out from the dark tunnel into daylight, as the railway tracks emerge from the side of a hill.

You twist in your seat to peer out of the window. As far as you can see there are rolling hills covered in pine trees. In the distance, craggy mountains emerge, their tops clouded in mist. It looks like nowhere you have ever seen before, except perhaps in the illustrations to one of your favourite books, The Hobbit.

You feel like you have entered a magical new land and your adventure has truly begun.

A magically amplified voice interrupts your daydreams of dwarves and dragons, trolls and treasure.

"Train terminates here. All change please, all change. Mind the gap."

Hogsnorts station! This is it. You've arrived.