Sophia Brandt and the Brooch of Isolt Sayre

The Gaunt Family

AN: I want to dedicate this chapter to @AuthorWithoutAChance, who was my very first voter! 

After parting with their families, Sophia and Rosie got into line with the rest of the students. Sophia pushed past a few other students so that they were standing with Noah and his sisters, trying to finish the conversation she'd been having with him. 

"Noah, can we talk? I don't want you to be angry with me." 

He shook his head, crossing his arms angrily over his chest. "There's no more room on our gondola. Also, you really shouldn't cut in line."

Sophia's lips parted in shock--this didn't sound like the Noah she'd gotten to know last year at Ilvermorny! She and Rosie retreated to the back of the gondola line, where Sophia feared Noah's bad mood had rubbed off on her.

"Why is he so childish?" Sophia asked, huffing. "I don't understand it!"

Sophia was so annoyed that she didn't even notice when her friend Callum slid into line next to Rosie. It was only when he spoke up that she realized he was with them.

"Yeah, what's got him all riled up? School hasn't even started yet."

Sophia's eyes widened. "Callum!"

She nearly launched herself at him for a hug, and he returned the gesture. "How long have you been here?"

"A little while," he said, laughing. "Did he really tell you that you shouldn't cut the line?"

"Yes!"

"Hm...sounds more like something Rosie would say," Callum responded, earning a whack in the stomach from the girl beside him. "Hey! You know it's true."

"That was for all of the quidditch pictures you sent us. You don't even know the art of taking a good selfie, Callum Black."

"Ouch," Sophia said. "I bet that stung more than the punch."

"It did," he said. "But was Noah really that upset?"

"Did you hear about what happened?" Rosie asked. 

Callum shook his head. "I heard a few snippets from Sophia's rant, but I'm not sure I got the whole story."

Before Sophia could explain the confusing incident from the morning, they were at the front of the gondola line. A Pukwudgie got ready to usher them forward, and Sophia gripped her suitcases in her hands.

"You can tell me in the gondola," Callum told her.

The ride up Mount Greylock was especially long because, apparently, the new first years didn't understand how the gondolas worked. One of them had pushed an emergency stop button, so the entire train of cars had been halted while the Pukwudgies had to figure out that the first years were, in fact, not in any sort of trouble. 

However, it was all good for Sophia and her friends to catch up. She and Rosie explained what had happened in the store to Callum, who was uncharacteristically silent during the retelling. When they were finished, Rosie and Callum shared a look.

"What?" Sophia asked, confused once again.

"Callum, you recognize the name Theodora, don't you?" Rosie asked. 

"Should I?" 

Rosie rolled her eyes. "How about the name Theodora Gaunt?"

Recognition lit up on Callum's face. "As in, Howard Gaunt? The owner of the Fitchburg Finches?"

"Of course, that's all you know about them," Rosie said, unimpressed. "Howard Gaunt is also a prestigious member of the MACUSA. He's been serving on the council for almost ten years."

"Right, I knew that," Callum said. 

"But why was Noah so upset about all of it?" Sophia asked, shaking her head. "I just don't understand."

"Noah's mom married a no-Maj," Rosie explained. "Some wizards would see her as a traitor."

Callum looked like he too was thinking had about something. "The Gaunt family is one of the only 'pure' wizarding families left in America; I remember my dad telling me that."

"It's supposed to be some high honor," Rosie said, shaking her head, "but it just gives them all inflated egos. It doesn't really matter who you marry; the founder of Ilvermorny, Isolt Sayre, married a no-Maj, but her descendants are some of the best witches and wizards out there."

Sophia smirked at her friend. "Well, someone has a high opinion of themselves, don't they?"

Rosie Calderon-Boot blushed, remembering that she was one of those descendants. "I was talking about my cousins, Sophia."

"Well you are the best witch in our class," Callum said. Rosie blushed even harder.

Sophia stared out the window of the gondola pensively. So, Noah was upset because he wasn't a 'pureblood' wizard. Sophia didn't think it mattered much, but as he'd so scathingly told her, she was one. Had people treated her differently because of that?

Eventually, the gondolas started back up again, and Sophia listened as Callum and Rosie launched into an argument over what was the best dessert at Ilvermorny. Her stomach growled a little at the thought of dinner, but she knew that there was the first years' Sorting Ceremony to look forward to first, and moving in.

The trio got to the top of the mountain, and Sophia stared at the Ilvermorny castle. It looked like it hadn't changed a bit in the summer she was gone. As they walked into the castle for the Sorting Ceremony, having given their suitcases to the Pukwudgies to bring up, Sophia admired the statues of Isolt Sayre, wondering if she'd ever imagined her school would become so large and diverse. 

They ascended the steps to the viewing platform this time around, and crowded into seats with all of the other older students. They found a seat towards the back, as seventh years like Grace always had priority, and craned their necks out to get a good glimpse of the action. Sophia couldn't wait for the ceremony to begin.

She caught Noah's eye for a moment, when she was scanning the crowd, but he quickly looked away. Sophia wondered if this was how the year was going to play out: Noah Lewis was going to revert back to ignoring and despising her. She didn't like the thought of that. She didn't like that at all.

And then, Sophia saw Headmistress Calderon-Boot enter the room, in deep blue robes, and spread her arms out wide. "Welcome to Ilvermorny, first years and returning students. You have quite a year ahead of you."