Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

**Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** is the American wizarding school, located on Mount Greylock in modern-day Massachusetts. It accepts students from all over North America. Students of this school, as at Hogwarts in Scotland, are 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.

## Location

Ilvermorny Castle is 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. When it eventually became a school, the cottage kept expanding until it became a castle. The front doors are adorned with marble statues of Sayre and Steward on either side. It is concealed by several enchantments which sometimes make the school like a wreath of misty cloud.

## History

### Early history

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 cottage 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 could build their own school at Ilvermorny with the objective of home-schooling them.

Thus, the school started with just the couple acting as teachers and their two adopted sons 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. These 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 cast a spell in 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. 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 her wand in 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 up from the ground where it was bu ried. 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 with 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 location. This led to one of the greatest ever breaches of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, but also the passage of Rappaport's Law, which effectively segregated the No-Maj and wizarding communities.

By the 19th century, Ilvermorny gained the international reputation it enjoys today. By the 1920s, Ilvermorny had been flourishing for more than two 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 are proficient in the use of a wand.

## Houses

Sometimes considered to represent the mind of a witch or wizard. It is also said that Horned Serpent favors scholars. | **Wampus**

Sometimes considered to represent the body of a witch or wizard. It is also said that Wampus favors warriors. | **Thunderbird**
Sometimes considered to represent the soul of a witch or wizard. It is also said that Thunderbird favors adventurers.

## Sorting

There are four houses at Ilvermorny: Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird, and Pukwudgie. When a student starts their education at Ilvermorny, they step onto a Gordian Knot on the floor in the center of the entrance hall with large wooden statues of the mascots for the four houses facing them. The carved statues react if they want the student in their house. The older students watch in silence from a circular balcony on a floor above them as the new students are sorted. The carvings react in different ways: the crystal in the Horned Serpent carving's forehead glows, the Wampus carving roars, the Thunderbird carving beats its wings, and the Pukwudgie carving raises its arrow.

However, sometimes more than one carving will try to select the same student, so the student is then able to choose the house they prefer. This happens very rarely. Sometimes - as rare as once a decade or even a generation as in the case of one student - a student will be selected by every house. Seraphina Picquery, who was President of MACUSA from 1920 to 1928, is known to have had this honor. She chose Horned Serpent.

After the sorting, the student is brought to a large hall where they are 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 has the reputation of being one of the most democratic, least elitist of all the great wizarding schools.

## Uniform

The robes of Ilvermorny are blue and cranberry. The colors honor Isolt and James: blue because it was Isolt's favorite color and because she had wished to be in Ravenclaw house as a child; cranberry in honor of James' love of cranberry pie. All Ilvermorny students' robes are fastened by a gold Gordian Knot, in memory of the brooch Isolt found in the ruins of the original Ilvermorny Cottage.

As evident by students visiting MACUSA headquarters, the Ilvermorny robes (at least as of 1926) come in two separate, solid colors, rather than being the same for all students. However, the school robes worn by Chadwick and Webster Boot were identical, being mostly blue with cranberry red trim. They are also wearing black waistcoats and brown breeches underneath their robes.

## Subjects

### Defense Against the Dark Arts

Defense Against the Dark Arts, commonly shortened to D.A.D.A., is the class that teaches students defensive techniques to defend against the Dark Arts and to be protected from dark creatures. Defense 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 is another known subject at Ilvermorny, as *Chadwick's Charms* Vols I-VII, which was written by founder Chadwick Boot are standard textbooks for Charms class at Ilvermorny. Charms are a type of spell concerned with giving an object new and unexpected properties, and hence this class mainly consists on learning those sorts of spells.

### Transfiguration

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

### Potions

Potions is a class held at the school; the Excellence in Potions Cup was a related achievement at the school. Potions is described as the art of creating mixtures with magical effects. It requires the correct mixing and stirring of ingredients at the right times and temperatures. The subject also requires use of a wand and is the wizarding equivalent of Muggle chemistry.

### Xylomancy

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

### Arithmancy

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

### Study of Ancient Runes

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

### Creature Care

Creature Care was introduced in the school's curriculum in 1927. It may be a consequence of the attack on New York City in 1926 and magizoologist Newton Scamander's action to help the American wizarding community.

## Administration

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

### Heads of Ilvermorny

 Agilbert Fontaine | A direct descendant of Theodard Fontaine and Headmaster of Ilvermorny by 2016.

## Known students

Chadwick BootWebster BootRionach StewardSeraphina PicqueryPorpentina GoldsteinQueenie Goldstein
* Two Wampanoag boys
* Narragansett mother
* Narragansett children
* Dorcus Twelvetrees

## Notes

* Ilvermorny is the only known wizarding school to have been co-founded by a No-Maj.
* Royal Cranberry, an ink from American quill and ink shop Voges Quills of Distinction, was advertised as "Ilvermorny's favorite", implying an affiliation between the company and the school.