The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 1: The Pendant of Life

Chapter 5: The Aurors Office

Chapter 5

     It was a long two weeks but it was worth it, Shade told himself. He needed the time to prep himself and get caught up on the curriculum at the Salem Academy of Magic.

     The Salem Academy of Magic was built in 1777, a year after the Colonies had declared their independence of Great Britain, after the decree that freedom of religion and freedom of speech was granted and witches and wizards everywhere in the former Colonies rejoiced. Once the harsh and unfair practices of the regional governors were expelled, Salem became the new central hub for witchcraft and sorcery in America. The highest influence in the area of sorcery still belonged to the Native Americans and their millennia-old practices and spell making. With the European magic folk flocking to the East Coast and many settling near or around Salem, it became an important trade center for the wizarding world.

     Most visiting wizards and witches stayed at the Jefferson across from the Salem Train Station on Bridge St. They normally would arrive in Boston by boat or the Floo Network. But the only way into Salem besides broom and Floo was the Phoenix Flyer, an old steam engine train that brought in the tourists and visitors twice a day: at 11 AM and at 6 PM on Platform 13.5.

     The Jefferson was right next to the MTBA train station. It had the façade of a Muggle rental community building, but it served as a hotel for visiting witches and wizards for a long time. Through an enchanted wall just up the winding staircase in the main lobby, there were many rooms and accommodations for the weary traveling family or stranger. It would get quite busy before the start of the Salem school year, the first week of September every year. Many parents, both magical and Muggle, whose children were enrolled to attend Salem, would stay at the Jefferson a few days so that they can go shopping in Witching Way in downtown Salem, the main hub of all things wizard and magical in town.

     Salem had a great tradition of being very busy during the start of the school year every year. It was the time of the year, besides Halloween and Christmas, when the town was bustling and bursting, visitors from all around the world began to flock and gather. Witch’s Day was what it was called, the day before the start of the school year at Salem. Ships arrived in the harbor laden with overseas travelers, and the Floo Network from Boston was sometimes flooded by arriving parents, dignitaries, Ministry officials, and, of course, the occasional tourist.

     Shade had spent a little time with Master Wolf, going over the list of students coming from Hogwarts. There were eight students transferring over from Hogwarts and Shade wanted to familiarize their faces and a little about their backgrounds so that he could identify them readily when they arrived.

     Besides the Cloudstorm twins, who were in their Sixth year at Hogwarts, there were two other Sixth Years, a Seventh Year, a Fifth Year, and two Third Year students: six girls and two boys total.

     One of the other Sixth Year students was a French Canadian national named Cedrique Devereaux, a young man whose wealthy family often traveled the world over. His father had extended business in England and enrolled Cedrique there, but Cedrique had volunteered to travel to America for the program. He was going to stay on the two-year plan. His picture showed a handsome and athletic young man with black hair and brown eyes that almost looked silvery when the light moved on them and he turned to the side in the picture. He was sporting what some of the kids called a faux hawk hair style, which was popular at the time.

     The other Sixth year was a girl named Polly Stone. She was a Ravenclaw who came with a lot of high recommendations from her potions professor, Horace Slughorn. She was adept in potions making, and would often talk about how different potions can be manipulated without having dangerous effects if done right. She was a red-headed, green-eyed girl with a quirky smile and freckled skin.