Ilvermorny

Ilvermorny-Part Four

When I woke up, I is on the ground of a forest, surrounded by people. April is next to me. I could hear the people muttering around me. And then it all stopped when an old, bearded man held his hand up. "Are you alright?" the bearded man asked me.

"Ye-Yes."

"Okay. Can you remember anything?"
"Yes... A hooded figure coming at me... bad memories..."

"We understand. A dementor. We got it away before it could suck your soul. Are you two girls able to make it to the Sorting Ceremony or..."

"Yes!" we both shouted at once. This is the most exciting part of the school, as far as I knew. I wanted to be there, with everyone else.

He helped us up, letting us get a good sight of the school.

It is truly a beautiful sight. It looks like the Queen of England's castle. It is huge. Ilvermorny is a beautiful, stone building that is surrounded by forest. It reached up to twelve stories high and is the width of about nine blue whales. Pathways and fountains lead up to the entrance. Many fields full of sand are around it. I assumed for playing sports. Many bridges could be seen, connecting one part of the castle to another.

"Everyone, please, follow me," says the headmaster. We did so.

When we entered, we saw four very long tables, filled with students feasting on magnificent foods I'd never seen before. The headmaster lead us to the very front, where a four different stone animals that I'd also never seen before. The headmistress start calling out names. "Emily Annlen." The headmistress placed Emily on a square that is elevated. It start glowing red, and one of the creatures roared loudly. "Wampus, for the fighters!" And several students from one of the tables clapped. Emily joins that table.

A few other names are called, and soon, I conclude that "Wampus" is for the fighters, "Thunderbird" is for the adventurers, "Pukwudgie" if for the healers (all the staff, not including the teachers, are made up of these creatures. They are kind of like janitors, it's just that none of the teachers want to say that, so they call them "caretakers"), and "Horned Serpent" is for the scholars.

"April Bellafore!" says the headmistress. This catches my attention. As soon as she steps onto the Sorting Square (it glowed purple), one of the animals that had a gem on its head's gem starts to glow. "Horned Serpent, for the scholars!" Many students clapped, and April joins their table. I zone out until I heard my name. "Laurel Smith!"

I walk up to the Sorting Square, trembling. I step on it, and it didn't glow for about twenty seconds, that felt like forever. When it did, it turned purple, and the gem on the Horned Serpent's head glowed. "Horned Serpent!" I join April's table.

"Horned Serpent, for the scholars" had been what she said. I'm not that smart, am I?

We ate until our stomachs hurt. About an hour later, a pretty girl that looks about fourteen says, "First years, this way!" I follow, April by my side. The girl leads us to a room with lanterns to light the room. A bunch of wands are arrayed in a pattern. "Find the wand that glows your House color when you hold it," the girl says. My house color is purple.

It takes a while, but I finally find one. It has wooden vines all around the handle, and the Horned Serpent Prefect tells me it has unicorn hair as a core and is made of hawthorn wood. Apparently, my unicorn hair is the same unicorn that her sister's core came from. 

Then, April and I go up to our dormitories (we had to climb behind a painting of a Horned Serpent. The password is "Jelly Beans.")to get a good night's sleep before classes start the next day.

Waking up in the morning is a challenge. The previous night, it was hard getting to sleep because of the excitement of what magic we first years are going to learn the next day. 

I scramble out of my bed and change into the robes that had been put on my bed last night by the prefect for Horned Serpent, I think she said her name is Lucy.

I go down to the common room to see the Horned Serpent schedule for today. A poster has been put up. It reads:

Horned Serpent: First Year*

Breakfast at 6:00-7:00

Basic Magical Theory 1 at 7:10-8:10

Break at 8:15-9:00

Transfiguration 1 at 9:10-10:10

Charms 1 at 10:20-11:20

Lunch at 11:30-12:30

Herbology 1 at 12:40-1:40

Potions 1 at 1:50-2:50

Break at 2:55-3:40

Defense Against the Dark Arts 1 at 3:50-4:50

Dinner at 7:00-8:00

*Please note that this is not a regular day. Normally, you would have 3 classes one day, 4 the next, and more and longer breaks, but you must see every teacher today, USA Ministry of Magic requires so. Have fun! Also, grab a copy below. A map of Ilvermorny is on the back. The map changes, don't be alarmed.

So I have to hit all classes today, and have to work constantly until five o'clock. Great. But at least maybe they won't work us too hard on the first day. Hey, I said maybe.

I glance at my watch. It's 5:50. I grab a copy of a schedule and climb out the portrait hole in hopes of making it to the Great Hall in time for lunch.

When I get to the Great Hall, I'm relieved to find that only about half the students were there. So I grab a seat at my table next to April. "Morning!" I say happily.

"Morning," she yawns back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. You?"

"Ugh." She yawns again. "Not used to it yet."

I notice that today, she is wearing a purple and blue hijab to match House colors. I wonder if she came prepared for every House. The thought makes me laugh a little.

Suddenly, the headmaster stands up, and the loudest silence is echoed through the room.

"Good morning, students. Welcome, first years, to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the headmaster, Agilbert Fontaine. I am excited to work with you here at Ilvermorny. Please call upon me if you need help, and Headmistress Emaline Goode is also available.

"Please do treat the pukwudgies with respect, they are volunteers. Do not bother them unless you have a sincere question.

"Now, everyone, your professors will tell you everything else you need to know. Let the feast..."
(He flicks his hand, and tons of breakfast foods appear on the tables) "...Begin!"

When I'm full, April and I go back up to our dormitories and pack our bag with our books, wands, cauldrons, and such to be prepared for our first class, Basic Magical Theory I, and all our other classes so we won't have to stop again. We still have fifteen minutes of free time, so we decide to go to the library.

Once we get there, we are shocked to see rows upon rows upon rows of books. They are separated by category, such as "History of Magic" and "Other Wizarding Schools" and even "Restricted-Please have teacher note," which catches my eye.

"Should we explore?" asks April. I agree without a moment's hesitation.

I look around for a second, seeing if anything in particular sticks out to me at first sight. But nothing does. "Looks like a normal library to me..." I say. She nods in agreement. We keep looking around, but still don't see anything weird. That is, until the pukwudgie cleaning the shelf, if that counts. I mean, it certainly was odd to me.

Suddenly, the bell rings, which means that we are due at Basic Magical Theory in ten minutes.