He assured her the train ride would fly by—Sadie could only hope it would. She’d never been particularly patient, and she’d wanted to go to Hogwarts for so [i]long[/i]. Brennan never answered enough of her questions and he had refused to show her even just a hint of magic (“[i]It’s against the law, blah blah blah, I’m a total jerk”[/i]). She knew next to nothing about it. It was a magical school, Brennan played some sort of game on broomsticks and was in a house called Gryffindor and apparently a ghost taught one of his classes. He’d always been rubbish at writing home and his letters never went into much detail. Mum and dad said he was going through a phase and simply needed space. Sadie thought he was just being a selfish prat.

“I hope so,” she tore her gaze from the green farmland rolling by, resolving to be a little less anxious. Everything would work out. She would make it work out. Sadie had always been determined, and Hogwarts had been so dear a dream for so long, she couldn’t bear the thought of it not living up to her expectations. 

George was explaining the sweets and Sadie was trying not to get too excited, which was a doomed effort. Candy [i]wands[/i]? How would that even work? Sadie’s curiosity burned, gears beginning to whiz in her brain. She’d read the brief section on crafting in [i]The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One[/i] which stated that, beyond simple tricks, true item enchantment was all but lost. Only the Goblins still knew how to create wondrous things, a secret they jealously guarded. Sadie hadn’t finished the section on Goblin Crafting in her copy of [i]A History of Magic[/i], as her mum had to physically confiscate her textbooks so she would do her chores. Mum had kept her busy with the chickens and the cows for the remaining week of summer holiday, insisting that she would have plenty of time with her books at school. 

“They just explode? That’s perfect. Prepare to lose!” she laughed, folding her legs up on her seat. Sadie got comfortable, pulling her red hair to one side and absently fiddling with the ends. “So did you grow up with all this, then?”