Illvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"*The great North American school of magic was founded in the seventeenth century. It stands at the highest peak of Mount Greylock, where it is concealed from non-magic gaze by a variety of powerful enchantments, which sometimes manifest in a wreath of misty cloud.*"
— Description of Ilvermorny[src]

**Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** was the American wizarding school, located on Mount Greylock in Massachusetts. It accepted students from all over North America. Students of this school, as at Hogwarts in Scotland, were sorted into four houses.

When Newt Scamander travelled to New York in the 1920s, he met several people (including Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein) who were educated at this school.

## Contents

* 1Location
* 2History
	+ 2.1Early history
	+ 2.2Middle history
	+ 2.321st century
* 3Houses
* 4Sorting
* 5Reputation
* 6Uniform
* 7Subjects
	+ 7.1Defence Against the Dark Arts
	+ 7.2Charms
	+ 7.3Transfiguration
	+ 7.4Potions
	+ 7.5Xylomancy
	+ 7.6Arithmancy
	+ 7.7Study of Ancient Runes
	+ 7.8Creature Care
* 8Administration
	+ 8.1Heads of Ilvermorny
	+ 8.2Professors
* 9Known students
* 10Behind the scenes
* 11Appearances
* 12Notes and references

## Location

*Main article: Ilvermorny Castle*
Ilvermorny Castle was on top of the highest peak of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The castle was once a granite stone house constructed by Isolt Sayre and James Steward to be their home, named after Isolt's childhood home in Ireland. When it eventually became a school, the house kept expanding until it became a castle. The front doors were adorned with marble statues of Sayre and Steward on either side. It was concealed by several enchantments which sometimes looked like a wreath of misty cloud.

## History

### Early history

"*By the time Webster turned eleven, the reputation of the family's little homeschool had spread. Two more magical boys from the Wampanoag tribe had been joined by a mother and two daughters from the Narragansett, all interested in learning the techniques of wand work in exchange for sharing their own magical learning.*"
— The start of Ilvermorny transition into a larger school[src]

Ilvermorny was founded in 1627, 637 years after Hogwarts, and the school was originally just a rough shack containing two teachers and two students. Ilvermorny was originally a stone house constructed by Irish immigrant Isolt Sayre, and her No-Maj husband James Steward. It became a school when their adoptive children Chadwick and Webster Boot hoped they could return to Ireland so they could attend Hogwarts. Isolt then promised they would build their own school at their Mount Greylock home, with the objective of home-schooling them.

Thus, the school started with just the couple acting as teachers and their two adopted sons, Chadwick and Webster Boot, as students. Each of them named one of the four Houses: Chadwick created Thunderbird, Webster created Wampus, Isolt created Horned Serpent, and James created Pukwudgie.

Eventually, the school enrolled more students, and the couple were able to provide wands not just for their children, but for the other students too. Among the students were Native Americans of the Wampanoag and the Narragansett tribes, who shared their knowledge of magic in return for being taught the technique involved with wandwork. Therefore, Native American magic became involved in the foundations of Ilvermorny. Over the next few years, the school grew even more, and by 1634 there were enough children for inter-house competitions.

For a time, the school acted only as a day school, with James, Isolt and their family as the only live-in residents. News of the new school reached Europe, and Isolt's wicked aunt, Gormlaith Gaunt, finally found her niece. She made her way to the school, and cast a curse on James and Isolt from a distance to put them in a deep sleep while hoping to kill them and abduct their newborn twin daughters. She did not know, however, about Chadwick and Webster, and when she then used Parseltongue to disable Isolt's wand, the brothers' wands (whose cores were of Horned Serpent horn) alerted them to the danger.

Chadwick went to hold off the Dark Witch, while Webster tried to wake their parents. Webster joined the duel and the couple were awakened by the cry of their infant daughters. While James went to protect the babies, Isolt tried to join the fight, but her wand was useless, being disabled earlier. In the duel, the whole family was driven to the bedroom, and Isolt called out to her late father William for help and was answered by her old friend William, a Pukwudgie, who killed Gormlaith with a poisoned arrow, and from that day on, William and his family acted as the school's security and maintenance staff.

After Gormlaith's death, Isolt and James buried Isolt's wand outside the school grounds. She did not wish to keep the wand as it was the last reminder of her unhappy childhood. Within a year, a snakewood tree grew from the ground where it was buried. Any attempts to kill or prune it were unsuccessful, and it was kept after it was discovered that the tree contained powerful medicinal properties.

### Middle history

By the 18th century, Ilvermorny became a granite castle and more teachers were added to cope with the growing number of students. By this point, the school had become a boarding school. Ilvermorny reached the same reputation that other schools of magic had, and the founders had concealed their school by clever enchantments, some of which made it look like a misty cloud to No-Majs.

During the 18th century, one of Ilvermorny's ex-students, Dorcus Twelvetrees, revealed to a No-Maj named Bartholomew Barebone the location of the school, among other information concerning the wizarding community. However, it turned out that Bartholomew was the descendant of a Scourer, and he revealed all the information he got from Dorcus to the No-Maj community, including Ilvermorny's address. It led to one of the greatest ever breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy, but also the passage of Rappaport's Law, which effectively segregated the No-Maj and wizarding communities.

When first-years arrived at Ilvermorny, they were sorted into their house and then taken to another area where they got to choose (or be chosen by) their wand. Before Rappaport's Law was repealed, students were not allowed a wand outside of school until they were seventeen, and were not allowed a wand before arriving at Ilvermorny.

By the nineteenth century, Ilvermony gained its international reputation. By the 1920s, Ilvermorny had been flourishing for almost three centuries and was widely considered to be one of the greatest magical educational establishments in the world. As a result of their shared education, all witches and wizards who attended were proficient in the use of a wand. They had also developed a school song.

In 1926, Ilvermorny offered extracurricular Xylomancy classes.

Scared parents of Ilvermorny students asked Ilvermorny to hold all students during the holiday season. The New York Ghost reports on their House points and awards. An essay from the Ilvermorny Scholars' Vanishment report was published in Transfiguration Today in 1926.

In 1927, French students were offered a student exchange programme to Ilvermorny for students whose parents worked at the French Ministry of Magic. Ilvermorny introduced Creature Care into their Curriculum in 1927.

### 21st century

By 2016, the position of Headmaster of the school was occupied by Professor Agilbert Fontaine, a direct descendant of one of the original twelve Aurors at the Magical Congress of the United States of America, with all seven volumes of *Chadwick's Charms* was still in use.

In 2018, the outbreak of an unauthorised and seemingly chaotic magical activity throughout the non-magical world dealt a devastating blow to the world wizarding community on a global scale by generating a large number of large-scale breaches of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and in 2020, Calamity Investigators from the Statute of Secrecy Task Force arrived at the school in order to help the faculty set up defences (what little there could be) against the Calamity in order to protect the school's inhabitants.

## Houses

**The Houses of Ilvermorny**
 Founder

## Sorting

*Main article: Sorting Ceremony (Ilvermorny)*
There were four houses at Ilvermorny: Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird and Pukwudgie. When a student started their education at Ilvermorny, they would step onto a Gordian Knot on the floor in the centre of the entrance hall, with large wooden statues of the mascots of the four houses facing them. The carved statues would react if they wanted the student in their house. The older students watched in silence from a circular balcony on a floor above them as the new students were sorted. The carvings reacted in different ways: the crystal in the Horned Serpent carving's forehead glowed, the Wampus carving roared, the Thunderbird carving beat its wings, and the Pukwudgie carving raised its arrow.

However, sometimes more than one carving would try to select the same student. If this happened, the student would be able to choose the house they preferred. This happened very rarely. Sometimes — as rare as once a decade or even a generation as in the case of one student — a student would be selected by every house. Seraphina Picquery, who was President of MACUSA from 1920 to 1928, was known to have had this honour. She chose Horned Serpent.

After the sorting, the student would be brought to a large hall where they were chosen once more, this time by a wand. Prior to the end of Rappaport's Law, children could not have a wand prior to schooling and had to leave their wand at school during school breaks, and could only take the wand out of school when they reached seventeen years of age.

## Reputation

As might be expected of a school part-founded by a No-Maj, Ilvermorny had the reputation of being one of the most democratic, least elitist of all the great wizarding schools. Students were also well versed in the use of a wand.

In edition 2579 of *Transfiguration Today*, an essay from Ilvermorny scholars was featured on the front page and on page 4 of the magazine.

## Uniform

*Main article: Ilvermorny uniform*
The robes of Ilvermorny were blue and cranberry. The colours honoured Isolt and James: blue because it was Isolt's favourite colour, and because she had wished to be in Ravenclaw house as a child; cranberry in honour of James's love of cranberry pie. All Ilvermony students' robes were fastened by a gold Gordian Knot, in memory of the brooch Isolt found in the ruins of the original Ilvermorny Cottage.

However, the school robes worn by Chadwick and Webster Boot were identical, being mostly blue with cranberry red trim. They were also wearing black waistcoats and brown breeches underneath their robes.

## Subjects

### Defence Against the Dark Arts

Defence Against the Dark Arts, commonly shortened to D.A.D.A., was the class that taught students defensive techniques to defend against the Dark Arts, and to be protected from Dark creatures. Defence Against the Dark Arts was one of the subjects which had been taught at Ilvermorny since the 17th century. One of the professors of this subject was Rionach Steward, the daughter of Ilvermorny founders Isolt Sayre and James Steward.

### Charms

Charms was another known subject at Ilvermorny, and *Chadwick's Charms* Vols I–VII, which were written by founder Chadwick Boot, were standard textbooks for Charms class at Ilvermorny. A Charm was a type of spell concerned with giving an object new and unexpected properties, and this class mainly consisted of learning those sorts of spells. The Charms Chalice was a possible award related to the subject. In 1932, Eulalie Hicks taught the subject and her book, *Advanced Charm Casting* was required reading for her fifth-year students.

### Transfiguration

Transfiguration was also likely taught at the school, as an article by Ilvermorny Scholars was published in Transfiguration Today. Transfiguration was the art of changing the form or appearance of an object, and this was what this class taught. Transfiguration was a theory-based subject regarded as scientific. They also had a tournament called the Transfiguration Tournament.

### Potions

Potions was a class held at the school; the Excellence in Potions Cup was a related achievement at the school. Potions was described as the art of creating mixtures with magical effects. It required the correct mixing and stirring of ingredients at the right times and temperatures. The subject also required the use of a wand, and was the wizarding equivalent of No-Maj Chemistry.

### Xylomancy

Xylomancy was an extracurricular class offered by the school in 1926. It was an "often overlooked" type of divination that relied upon twigs. It is also possible that divination was taught at Ilvermorny.

### Arithmancy

Arithmancy was likely taught at the school, as the school has an award called the Arithmancy Achievement Accolade. Arithmancy was a branch of magic concerned with the magical properties of numbers. This subject was most likely a theory based one. It can also be assumed that this was an elective subject at Ilvermorny, as it was at Hogwarts.

### Study of Ancient Runes

Study of Ancient Runes was likely taught at the school, as the school had an award called the Excellence in Runes Cup. The Study of Ancient Runes was a general theoretical subject that studied ancient runic scripts. It can be assumed that this was an elective subject at Ilvermorny, as it was at Hogwarts.

### Creature Care

Creature Care was introduced in the school's curriculum in 1927, which may have been a consequence of the attack on New York City in 1926, and magizoologist Newton Scamander's actions to help the American wizarding community.

## Administration

The only highest position at Ilvermorny was a Headmaster. They made all major decisions regarding the safety and day-to-day functioning of the school, and had the power to override any decision made by any authoritative facilitator at the school.

### Heads of Ilvermorny

 James Steward
 Agilbert Fontaine

## Known students

Chadwick Boot

Webster Boot

Rionach Steward

Seraphina Picquery

Porpentina Goldstein

Queenie Goldstein

Eulalie Hicks

Holly Blackbird

* Two Wampanoag boys
* Narragansett mother
* Narragansett children
* Dorcus Twelvetrees

## Behind the scenes

* Ilvermorny is the only known wizarding school to have been co-founded by a No-Maj.
* In an interview shortly before the release of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* in 2000, J. K. Rowling responded to a question about whether American children could attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by stating, "No, they have their own school. You'll find out in Book 4." Ilvermorny, however, was not mentioned in the fourth book. It is likely that she was referring to the revelation that there were wizarding schools other than Hogwarts, rather than to Ilvermorny itself.
* Royal Cranberry, an ink from American quill and ink shop Voges Quills of Distinction, was advertised as "Ilvermorny's favourite"; implying an affiliation between the company and the school.
* The Ilvermorny school song was cut from the film, so its canonicity is unclear.
* The magic of local Native American tribes played an important role in the construction of Ilvermorny, who was known to have practised Wandless magic before the introduction of the wand (a European invention). As such, it is not unreasonable to assume the school retained and passed on some of their teachings, considering to Percival Graves's proficiency in casting spells without a wand.
* The Sorting Ceremony is similar to the discarded idea of founder statues for the Hogwarts sorting.
* On the *Pottermore* website, those who are sorted into their Ilvermorny house have the option to choose between their Hogwarts house theme or their Ilvermorny house theme.
* In 1926, *The New York Ghost* gave their readers an update on what appears to be the house points and awards given to each house at the time. Ilvermorny may have their own Quidditch Cup and Transfiguration Tournament, as well as awards such as the Charms Chalice, Excellence in Potions Cup, Excellence in Runes Cup, Arithmancy Achievement Accolade and the Gobstone Goblet.
* There may be an exchange programme for Hogwarts and Ilvermorny. The Damen Blue Line Subway Station in Chicago, Illinois, is, according to J.K. Rowling, where students make the exchange.
* It is currently unknown how students are enrolled in and made aware of their attendance at Ilvermorny.
	+ It is also currently unknown if and how Ilvermorny students differentiate between houses.
* So far, Ilvermorny is the youngest known wizarding school.
* It is unknown if the school offers classes in subjects such as Herbology, Astronomy, Flying or No-Maj Studies, although it seems likely.

The **Ilvermorny uniform** was the set of clothing all students attending Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry must wear.

## Contents

* 1Uniform
* 2Behind the scenes
* 3Appearances
* 4Notes and references

## Uniform

Ilvermorny robes were coloured blue and cranberry, and were fastened by a gold Gordian Knot. They were designed by Ilvermorny's two founders, Isolt Sayre and James Steward: Isolt chose the colour blue because she had wanted to be in Ravenclaw house if she had attended Hogwarts, and James chose cranberry because of his love for cranberry pie. The gold Gordian Knot was a reference to one of Isolt's prize possessions; a brooch that had belonged to her mother, which Isolt had found in the ruins of the original Ilvermorny Cottage.

The design of Ilvermorny's uniform apparently changed over the centuries: In the Sayre family portrait, Chadwick and Webster Boot were shown wearing identical blue robes with cranberry red trim. They were also shown wearing black waistcoasts and brown breeches underneath their robes.

## Behind the scenes

* In North America, the Narragansett people of the Algonquian nation in the regions of New England (in which Massachusetts is included) appeared to be using cranberries in pemmican for food and dyes. Calling the red berries, *sasemineash*, the Narragansett people may have introduced cranberries to colonists in Massachusetts.[*citation needed*]

The **Sorting Ceremony** was an annual event that took place at the start of each school year at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The ceremony was held to sort every first-year into one of the four school houses: Horned Serpent, Thunderbird, Wampus and Pukwudgie.

## Ceremony

The ceremony was held in a circular room found behind the front doors of the school. The new students would stand by the walls of the room, and wait to be asked to step forward onto the Gordian Knot engraved into the middle of the marble floor. The older students would watch in silence from the balcony on the next level, which went around the circle. The school would then wait for one of the four wooden carvings, which were in the form of each creature the four houses represented, to react.

When the Horned Serpent wanted a student, the gem set into its forehead would glow, while Thunderbird showed approval by beating its wings. The Wampus would roar, while the Pukwudgie raised its arrow into the air.

If more than one statue reacted, the student could choose which house they wanted. In very rare cases, which would most likely happen once every decade, all four wooden carvings would react. Seraphina Picquery was one such student. She opted for Horned Serpent. When every new student was allocated a house, they were led to a large hall where they could choose or be chosen by a wand.

**Ilvermorny Castle** was the castle that housed Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It stood at the highest peak of Mount Greylock, where it was concealed from non-magic gaze by a variety of powerful enchantments, which sometimes manifested in a wreath of misty cloud.

## Contents

* 1History
* 2Description
* 3Gallery
* 4Appearances
* 5Notes and references

## History

The castle was once a granite stone house constructed by Isolt Sayre and James Steward to be their home, named after Isolt's childhood home in Ireland. When it eventually became a school, the house kept expanding until it became a castle.

## Description

The granite castle had marble statues of the founders Isolt Sayre and James Steward that flanked the front doors of the castle. Inside, there was an Entrance hall, a circular room, with four large wooden statues of the four houses: Thunderbird, Horned Serpent, Wampus, and Pukwudgie. There was a wooden circular balcony where the older students watched in silence as the new students were sorted, and was topped by a glass cupola. The Entrance hall was made of stone and had a Gordian Knot in middle of the floor. There was also a large hall where students selected or were selected by a wand.

There were also dormitories and a central tower with the Ilvermorny crest in the centre, and a stained-glass window with an image of a Snakewood tree on it. In the grounds, there was an actual Snakewood tree, which grew from Isolt's buried wand. Isolt Sayre's tomb was also in the grounds, with mayflowers placed at the tomb every year on the anniversary of her death. The Entrance Gates had the Gordian Knot on them.