Sophia Brandt and the Brooch of Isolt Sayre

A Mysterious Disappearance

This chapter goes out to @PaigeBStorey, who added both of my books to her collection of Ilvermorny stories. I was so excited to see that there are tons of writers like me who decided to create stories about Ilvermorny. Thanks so much for reading!

Sophia and her friends lost the grins on their faces quickly. 

The first event of the QMCs, a race up to the top of Mount Greylock, had seemed too easy for the Ilvermorny team. They were more familiar with the woods and the creatures that inhabited it than the other teams. Sophia was so sure they'd easily be victorious. 

But after a good start to the race, the four champions from Ilvermorny encountered their first difficulty when they faced a tall ridge that they couldn't climb. They had to backtrack and find a   new route, which took more time than they could afford. 

Meanwhile, the Mahoutokoro and Castelobruxo teams proved that they were formidable competitors. When faced with a wild pukwudgie, one of the girls from Castelobruxo quickly dodged its poison tipped arrow and rendered it unconscious with a spell. They were already halfway up the mountain within the first hour. 

The Mahoutokoro four, faced with an even taller ridge than the Ilvermorny champions, used their wands to create ropes that they attached to trees at the top of the cliff and ascended with incredible speed. Their classmates were nearly hoarse with cheering as the team made its way to first place. 

Ilvermorny landed in a disappointing third place, far behind the Castelobruxo champions. The North American team had encountered a horned serpent in the river and were unable to cross for nearly half an hour as it taunted them.

The Mahoutokoro students were in a great mood as they went out of the arena, ready to celebrate their victory in Mayflower Landing that night at the traditional magical ball held during the championships. 

And although Ilvermorny's hopes for an early lead to the championships were dashed, there were still two more events left. The Ilvermorny and Castelobruxo champions wouldn't let Mahoutokoro win the QMCs so easily a second time.

Sophia and her three friends rode the gondola up to the castle afterwards. After Rosie reminded them of their History of Magic essay due on Monday, Sophia certainly wished that she could be an upperclassmen so that she could go to the ball, if only to avoid doing her homework.

Sophia was late to breakfast the next morning after researching for her essay late into the night. She wandered in at ten in the morning, her hair tucked up in a ponytail and eyes still blinking sleepily. 

To her surprise, her three friends were still at breakfast, bent over in a hushed conversation at their usual table.

"Good morning," Sophia said cheerily.

Callum, the closest to her, visibly jumped at the sound of her greeting. Three sets of eyes looked at her before Rosie gave her a quick hi. 

"What's up with you guys?" Sophia asked, eyebrows scrunching together suspiciously. She ladled some eggs onto a plate, a few pieces of french toast, then waited for them to answer her. 

"Something happened at the ball last night," Callum told her. His face was serious, which should have been the first sign that something was very, very wrong.

"Hm?"

"Well, not exactly at the ball," Rosie corrected him. "And why don't you talk louder so the entire dining room can hear you." 

Sophia almost laughed, but realized quickly that no one else was laughing. They all looked like someone's pet tarantula had died. 

"Tell me what's going on." 

Noah's dark eyes met Sophia's. "The brooch of Isolt Sayre has gone missing." 

It took Sophia only a moment to recall what she knew about the brooch. Although she and her friends had skipped out on the ceremony when it had been moved into the Great Hall, she still knew that it was a very important piece of Ilvermorny's history. 

Callum shook his head. "Not just missing. It was stolen." 

"That's a serious accusation..." Rosie said quietly. "It could have been misplaced, or taken away for cleaning."

"You sound like your mom," Sophia said, speaking of the sensible Headmistress Calderon-Boot. "Is that what she told you?" 

Rosie nodded. "Yes." 

"And she specifically said that we're not supposed to tell anyone about it, as if people won't notice that it isn't there anymore," Callum scoffed. 

"No one knows?" 

Sophia looked around the dining hall. Many of the older students were finally coming down for breakfast now, with dark crescents under their eyes from a long night in Mayflower Landing. If they knew about the disappearance of the brooch, they didn't look it. 

"Well, the Headmistress and most of the professors know about it now," Rosie answered. "And we do." 

"So what are we going to do about it?" Callum asked, eyes meeting Sophia's.

"We?" 

"Yes, we." Sophia nodded at Callum conspiratorially. "We have to do something if the Headmistress is going to try to cover it up like this." 

Sophia and Rosie, best friends from the start, rarely disagreed on something as important as this. But Rosie seemed adamant, shaking her head. 

"We're not supposed to do anything, Sophia." She sighed, tugging a piece of dark hair behind her ear. "If the brooch has been stolen, then the investigation must be handed over to MACUSA. They're the ones who decide whether or not to handle it." 

"They can decide that they don't want to handle it?" Noah asked. "As if it's not important enough for them?"

Callum bit his lip, nervously. "You don't want anyone hearing you saying stuff like that about MACUSA, Noah." 

"It's what I think," Noah said, somewhat brazenly.

Sophia looked at Rosie, who clearly agreed with her mother on the matter: the four of them weren't supposed to be investigating the brooch if the MACUSA stepped in. Still--that did leave a bit of a loophole for them. 

"Well, she hasn't contacted MACUSA yet, right?" Sophia asked Rosie, who nodded. "So they don't know what's happened."

"Which means that they won't be investigating it for a while," Callum continued, clearly catching on. 

Rosie's eyes narrowed slightly, but other than that, she couldn't seem to find an argument with their plan. "My mom can't hear anything about this, you guys. I wasn't even supposed to tell you that the brooch was missing." 

"She won't," Sophia agreed. "And if MACUSA steps in, then we'll let them handle it. But for now..."