Ilvermorny Year One: The Lost Witch

The Treasonous One

The light of the full moon on the freezing January night could barely break through the canopy of the dense Massachusetts forest. The figures wearing dark cloaks and blood red masks rode their brooms swiftly through the forest, streams of wind zipped through the frozen trees behind them, leaving wakes of snow in their paths. The scourers were out for blood. They were on the hunt for someone who used to be their leader. Someone who had stolen their trust. They were on the hunt for the treasonous one. They were on the hunt for Alpha.

One of the scourers pulled his wand out from under his cloak. He flicked it as he and the other scourers weaved through the trees and a large ball of light flew from the wand and illuminated the forest for few dozen yards ahead. "Faster!" growled one of the scourers as the light began to fade in front of them.

William, or Alpha as the scourers knew him, sat outside of the tent watching his surrounding while Trey slept inside. Whoosh. The sound made William's ears perk up and he began looking around to see where it had come from. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The sounds were getting faster and louder. William quickly ran into the tent.

"Wake up now," Williams shouted as he began stuffing items from around the tent into a small bag. Trey groggily wiped his eyes and walked the center of the tent. He was wearing his Ilvermorny sweater and pajama pants. "Dad," Trey said with a cracking voice, "What is going on?" William stopped packing for a moment and looked Trey in the eyes and said, "They've found us." Trey was fully awake now and quickly ran to start packing as well.

The scourers flew through the forest so fast that the trees began to blur as they passed by them. The scourer that was leading the pack flicked his wand again and threw out another ball of light. William and Trey's tent could be seen in the distance. "It's right up ahead. I can smell his yellow blood from here," one of the scourers shouted as they flew closer and closer to the tent.

Trey and William ran out of the tent. William turned and flicked his wand at the tent, it then folded itself up into a small pouch. William ran over and picked it up. He flicked his wand again and two brooms dropped from the treetops above. William grabbed the brooms and walked over to Trey. "Dad, I can't fly a broom," Trey protested as William tried to give him the broom.

William mounted his broom and then looked back over at Trey. "Son, if you want to live, you're going to have fly one today," William said as he pushed the broom back towards Trey. Trey held the broom in his hands and looked over. "Dad I can't..." Trey started to say. Just as William was going to respond, a bright red bolt of lightning struck the ground beside them sending a cloud of dirt into the air. Trey quickly hopped on the broom and flew off. William laughed a little and then took off behind him.

"Stay low," William yelled as caught up with Trey. He nodded without looking over at his father as he concentrated on dodging trees in the almost pitch black forest. Boom. Trey looked and saw a red bolt of energy had hit a large tree and snapped in half. "Pull up," yelled William as he saw the tree falling in front of Trey. He pulled up on the broom, barely missing the large tree. Boom. Boom . Boom. More and more bolts of red lightning hit the trees and earth as they flew through the forest.

Trey and William finally flew out of the woods and onto a large frozen lake. The scourers flew out a moment later. The moon reflected bright across the lake. Trey looked back and saw that at least two dozen scourers were flying towards them. Their frozen breath came from beneath their masks made them look like dragons. Boom. The bolt of lightning had hit the surface of the lake, sending shards of razor sharp ice into the air. Trey and William dodged the falling ice as they neared the middle of the lake.

"Son," William shouted, "They are after me." Boom. Another group of razor sharp ice pieces rain down. Trey went to the left, William to the right. Once all of the ice had crashed they met back at the middle. "Trey," William shouted, "when we reach the shore, I want you to keep going into the forest and don't stop until they are no longer chasing you." Trey looked ahead at the nearing shoreline and then back at his father. "But Dad," Trey shouted. "Do as I say!" William shouted back.

They reached the shore and Trey flew into the forest. William made a hard right turn and took the scourers back onto the lake and away from the forest. Most of the scourers continued to follow William but two continued into the forest. William sped up on the broom and pulled out his wand. He dipped low and flew close to the ice. He touched his wand to the surface of the ice and a large cloud of smoke began to rise from the lake.

Some of the scourers were caught in the smoke and were frozen in midair and then dropped out of the air and hit the lake like rocks. A few scourers dodged the smoked and continued to chase William as he darted above the treetops and flew over the forest. Trey flew to the right and then to left, dodging trees. Boom. A cloud of dirt flew into Trey's path, sending him spiraling off to the right. He flew directly into a tree and dropped hard to the ground.

"Where did he go," one of the scourers shouted. Trey lay on the ground as still as he could. All went silent. All Trey could hear was his own heart thumping in his chest. He looked around and then slowly rose to his feet. He began to walk cautiously through the forest. Quiet step after quiet step, until SNAP. Trey looked down and saw he had stepped on a small branch. Boom. Boom. Two bolts of red lightning shot his way. Trey took off running through the forest.

Above the treetops, William had fended off all of scouers except for one. The scourer flew beside William. He shot a red bolt, William would fire back with a yellow one. The explosions of the battle sent shockwaves through the still winter air. William's last shot made the scourer lose his balance on the broom. When he regained his balance and caught up to William, his mask was gone. "Beta," William shouted, "My brother."

Beta sent over another bolt. William dodged it, but did not fire back. "I am fighting for something bigger. I am fighting for all magical people," William shouted, "I want us to live in harmony with each other and the NoMajs." Beta sent over two bolts of lightning. "Magic does not bring peace! Only war," Beta shouted back, "We all must live as humans! No magic,"

Beta inhaled deep and then screamed as he put all the energy possible behind his wand. A the thunderous red bolt of energy made its way towards William , he pulled out his wand and shot back a bright white bolt of energy. The bolts locked and began to fight with each other. The sun slowly started rise over the tree tops. As the sunlight shined on Beta's face he began to lose control of his wand. His bolt of energy dissipated and William's struck him hard. Beta went flying off his broom and down into the forest.

William quickly dipped down into the forest to find Trey. The two remaining scourers flew within in closes distance behind Trey. Boom. Trey narrowly missed being hit. "Come on think, think," Trey said to himself as he ran through the trees. "I got it," he yelled and pulled his wand from his jacket pocket. "Turbinis," Trey yelled as he flicked his wand. Trey dove to the ground and Scourers halted behind him.

"I guess he's given up," one of the scourers joked. As they pulled out their wands to attack Trey, the wind started to pick up. "What's going on, "one of the scourers asked. Soon the wind was so intense that blew the scourers off their brooms and back into the forest. Trey hung on to a tree root for dear life as the intense wind blew through the forest. After a minute or so the wind ceased and Trey flopped to the ground. He lay there for a few seconds and caught his breath.

Just as Trey's breathing had settled, he heard footsteps approaching him. He quickly turned around and pointed his wand. "Going to attack me son?" said William as he threw his hands in the air. "Dad," Trey yelled as he ran and hugged his father. William returned the hug and they began to walk through the forest.

"Where are we going now," Trey asked as they made it to the edge of the forest. "To our destination," William said with a smile. They made it out of the forest and began to walk through an open stretch of land. "Dad, I don't see anything but grass," Trey said they continued walked. "Because you aren't looking and watch your step," William advised. Trey looked down and saw a train track. He cautiously stepped over it and continued to walk behind his father.

William stopped and closed his eyes. Trey stopped beside him and looked around until he saw a tall mountain in the distance. The clouds around the top of the mountain cleared as the bright morning sun reached its peak. Trey's mouth dropped as the colossal castle came into view. William opened his eyes and looked down at his son and said, "Welcome to Ilvermorny."