Hello, and welcome to Durmstrang: The School of Dark Wizardry. Since you are one of our first years, follow me and I will show you around. My name is Mike, and I am here to help you. There are 3 houses in Durmstrang. The first house is Katzenaugen, which is known for being cunning, sly, and dark. The second house is Dracheseith, which is known for neutrality strength and power. I myself am a 6th year Prefect for Dracheseith. The third house is Ehrandler, which is known for is white magic, or good magic.
Lets go to the festivities, and see which house you're sorted onto. We need to separate, temporarily, for we need to sit with are houses. You will go over and sit with the new students.
Look! It's the Headmaster, Anita Azulasta, we must be quiet, so we don't lose house points!
"Hello students. I hope you enjoyed the carpet ride; you will become familiar with it. Lets let the festivities begin! You may now enjoy your feast, you will have one every night for the rest of the semester."
Look, she's pointing to you! She wants you to be sorted! Walk up, talk to her, don't be nervous.
Sorting Knife:
Proceed up to the table
Where I shall lay
still
Until the sorting ceremony begins
When I shall begin to
drill
Your mind will be questioned
Against my rigorous
test
For sorting new students into chambers
Is what I do the
best
Perhaps Dracheseith is the place
Where you should be
put
Neutrality, strength, and power
Will set you on the right
foot.
Or perhaps over in Ehrandler
Where the eagle flies
Good
magic and friendship
Shall beat out evil's lies
Or perhaps
in Katzenaugen
You'll find your family
Cunning, sly, and
dark
Is what this house is to be
Now pick me up and hold me
tight
So I can try to find
The chamber to which you belong
The
people of like-mind.
Look! You've been sorted into Ehrandler, known for their good magic! Congratulations! You will make friends, learn magic, and best of all, be a full blown dark wizard!
Here is some history on the school:
The Founders
Kathe Katzenaugen
In 1563 a special child was born to parents Kate and Kyle Katzenaugen. The child's name was Kathe. Happy as the two parents were, they had some suspicion as to how special Kathe really was. You see, when Kathe was a little child, around 2 or 3, objects in whatever room Kathe was in, would move. Fearing that something was terribly wrong with their daughter, Kate and Kyle took Kathe to every doctor around trying to figure out what was wrong with her. When the doctors came to the conclusions that there was nothing physically wrong with Kathe, they began to question what their home life was like. "It's not natural for things of this nature to occur", the doctors said. "Perhaps she is a...witch?" As witches and wizards everywhere were being persecuted for their abilities, Kate and Kyle banned Kathe from ever doing magic. Everytime something extraordinary happened, they would dismiss it by saying that it was "probably just the wind". It wasn't until Kathe was 18 that these dismissals could no longer explain what was happening. By now, Kathe was not only able to move things around, but she could destroy them as well. Fear crept back into the hearts of her parents. Once again, they tried to bar her from anything magical, but this wasn't meant to be. For, once Kathe turned 21, she moved out of her parents' house and began to live on her own. At this time, she was contacted by the German Ministry of Magic as to why she had never attended wizarding school. Completely oblivious to the fact that she was a witch, she questioned her parents about it. Kate and Kyle knew that the time had come when they would have to explain to her what she was. They told her about the letters that they had recieved from various wizarding schools around the world, offering Kathe a place in their institutions. They also told her how they destroyed every letter, to keep her safe, as being suspected of practicing witchcraft, was under penalty of death. Furious at her parents for not only their decision about keeping her from her true potential, but for lying to her, was enough to take matters into her own hands. Replying to the Ministry's letter about why she hadn't attended wizarding school, Kathe set out to uncover her true identity and the world to which she belonged.
By now, she was too old to attend wizarding school, so she studied from numerous spellbooks and grimoires, hoping to learn as much magic as she could, especially the dark arts. Dark magic came with power, and with power, Kathe could do whatever she wanted. After 2 years or so, Kathe had learned more magic than most wizards and witches do in their 7 years at wizarding school. But the dark arts were where her heart truly lied. Twisted by power and tormented by the thoughts of her parents, she decided that something needed to be done about them. "They kept me from this for my entire life?", Kathe said. "They will pay the price for thinking that I would obey them." Finally coming to a decision as to what her parents' fate would be, she set off for their home. Upon arriving, Kate and Kyle did not recognize their daughter, as her physical form had radically changed. Her once, golden blonde hair was now jet black, and her skin had developed a fine layer of black hair on it. But what was most terrifying about her wasn't her hair or her skin. It was her eyes. They had an eerie glow to them and the shape of them was unnatural. They looked more like a cat's eyes, than a human's. Ready to take her revenge out on her parents, she pulled out her wand and cast a spell of tremendous power. It's said that no one is for sure what happened to Kathe's parents, or what spell it was exactly that she performed. It is known, however, that Kate and Kyle Katzenaugen were never heard from again.
With power comes responsibility, and Kathe knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to open her very own wizarding school, where she could teach the dark arts to every student who wished to learn them. So, in the late 1500's, Kathe designed a layout for her school. She would call it "Durmstrang Institute". Now with a layout and a name, she needed to construct the castle. Unable to complete this task on her own, Kathe invited a select group of witches and wizards to help her, one of which was fellow founder, Erik Ehrenadler. Once completed, Kathe took her place as Headmistress and Professor of the Dark Arts, and in 1605, Durmstrang Institute began it's first school term.
Erik Ehrenadler
Erik Ehrenadler was born a few years after Kathe, in Bonn, Germany. His history is far different from Kathe's, however. Erik was born to a noble wizarding family in the mid-1500's. Because he was born to a wizarding family, magic was always being performed around him, so he had a normal wizarding life. Preferring to being left alone, Erik spent most of his time around animals, especially birds. He was fascinated by their grace and beauty, studying them as much as possible in the hopes that he may learn their secrets someday. Although birds in general seemed to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, he was particularly interested in one specific bird - the Eagle. To him, eagles not only possessed great beauty and grace, but they were also very agile and noble themselves. Identifying with the eagle, he spent a lot of his time researching Transfiguration spells and Charms, so that he would be able to speak with them, or even fly with them. Eventually he found enough information that he went under a series of magical transformations, eventually becoming an animagus of an eagle.
As said before, Kathe Katzenaugen was searching for wizards and witches to help her build Durmstrang. When she saw Erik's potential and power, she quickly invited him to join her at the school. He readily agreed, as he knew that the profession of teaching was one of respect and of great importance. But what subject would he teach? Did he have a specific subject which he excelled at? As to this, he wasn't sure, so he asked Kathe what she thought on the subject. She told him that he would be a terrific Transfiguration teacher, as he transfigured himself into an animagus, which is no easy feat to do. Realizing that what she said had a lot of truth to it, he agreed with her suggestion, and he took up the position of Transfiguration Professor.
Unfortunately, Erik did not agree with Kathe's idea of teaching the Dark Arts to students, as magic was to be used to promote growth and life, not to destroy it. Argument after argument ensued as Erik kept pushing for Kathe to stop teaching the Dark Arts and instead teach defense against the dark arts. Kathe ridiculed this idea every time Erik brought it up. She wanted to teach the dark arts and if Erik did not agree with her on the subject, then he could leave the school. Erik seriously thought about it on many occasions, as he didn't want to be looked down upon by the wizarding community. However, in the end, he stayed, because if he didn't teach, what would he do? He couldn't give up teaching that easily. So he continued until Kathe and himself got into another argument. This time, words could not remedy the situation, so Erik called a duel.
Erik and Kathe were scheduled to duel at sunrise on the eve of the full moon, in March. On the grounds, near the entrance to the wood, Erik stood waiting as Kathe showed up with her wand in her hand. Once the other professors had situated themselves down to watch the duel, Erik and Kathe began. Spells began flying every which way. Fearing that Kathe wasn't going to stop before she killed him, Erik took a precautionary measure. Using her own killing curse, Erik had destroyed Kathe. With the outcome of the duel in the minds of the professors, Erik was banished to the Dragontorch Forest. However, this would not be the end of Kathe, as her spirit and ruthlessness lived on and still does to this day.
Drache
When Erik was banished to the Dragontorch Forest, he had no clue where he was or how to get back to Durmstrang. That was until he met Drache, a man of considerable power and ability. Drache's past was a mystery, even to Drache himself. All he knows is that he was raised in the depths of the forest by a German Thornscale dragon that could speak English. Because Drache was raised by dragons in the Dragontorch Forest, he had developed a thicker skin than most humans have. I suppose that he evolved to support himself in his surroundings. Anyways, one day, Drache was out hunting for food, when he met a man, lost and confused. He approached the man with caution, as he had never met another human being in his entire life. When Erik turned to see Drache, he looked up at his face and saw a pair of glowing, red eyes. Slowly, Erik began to speak, as he wasn't sure if Drache knew English or not. After introducing himself as Erik Ehrenadler of Durmstrang Institute, he turned to leave as Drache was hesitant to answer him. However, once Erik started off, Drache began to speak. He told him that he was going the wrong way, and that Durmstrang was north, not south. Overcome with surprise at hearing Drache speaking English, that Erik whirled around and asked him what he said. Again, Drache said that he was going the wrong way. Interested in hearing more about Drache and the forest, Erik decided to stay a while and chat. And so Drache started to explain.
Erik stayed there for many days learning about the forest, and more importantly, Drache. When Erik finally realized that he needed to get back to Durmstrang, Drache led him to the edge of the forest. Little did Erik know, but the forest was on the borders of the village, Gruneflamme. Gruneflamme was where Durmstrang students did their school shopping, much like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade for Hogwarts students. Finding out that he was already close to Durmstrang, Erik decided to stay with Drache a bit longer to test his magical ability. Putting Drache through a series of tests, Erik concluded that Drache was a powerful wizard indeed. Powerful enough to repel most of Erik's spells. That power, coupled with his natural spell resistance, gave him an advantage against evil wizards/witches. It was due to this that Erik invited Drache to join him in running Durmstrang. Drache accepted, left Dragontorch Forest, and began to teach the new Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Although Erik protested against the notion, Durmstrang kept the Dark Arts class, though monitored it so that extremely lethal and dangerous spells wouldn't be taught.
About 5 years later, Drache and Erik tried to banish the spirit of Kathe Katzenaugen from Durmstrang, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The spirit of Kathe Katzenaugen was too evil and powerful to be completely taken from the school that she had loved so much. So in the attempt, Erik and Drache were both killed. Due to their efforts, a house was named after Drache. All 3 of their spirits still reside at Durmstrang and help guide those of their own houses in (what they feel as) the correct path. Where the spirits reside is unknown to everyone but the headmaster.
Headmasters and Headmistresses
Since the death of Erik Ehrenadler and Drache, there has been 12 headmasters and headmistresses. This is equivalent to about one every 30 years or so. The most common one is probably Igor Karkaroff as he was a death eater at one point in time. Or at least he was accused of being a death eater at one point. Igor, however, did not last 30 years. He didn't even last 20 years. Suffice it to say, he wasn't a very good headmaster. He pushed the dark arts on his students and was, in a way, training an army. All of this ended in 1995, however. In 1995, Karkaroff had fled as he learned that the dark lord had risen again. His current whereabouts are unknown, and no one knows if he is even still alive. After him, Strom Ulbrecht, Karkaroff's deputy headmaster, took Karkaroff's place as headmaster. Though he didn't last long either. A nundu had been released from it's chamber, and it killed everyone around. Ulbrecht tried to hold the nundu off, to protect the students, but he wasn't successful. The nundu had taken his life. By this time, the professors at Durmstrang had gotten sick of the nundu, and had the Ministry of Magic come and deal with it. A team of 100 wizards successfully subdued the nundu long enough to dispose of it and it's deadly breath.
Since Ulbrecht passed away, the school has taken on 4 new administrators. This precautionary measure was taken just in case one or more of the administrators passed on. The new administrators are: MorganaDrake, Vivianne Llewellyn, Talberon Firedorn, and a man known only as Achilles. Together they govern Durmstrang in the ways that they see fit.
Arrival and Sorting
Every , new students arrive at Durmstrang by way of special magic carpets that fly to Durmstrang only. At the beginning of each year, new students are assigned a magic carpet that they will keep throughout their years at Durmstrang. It is the only mode of transport for the school, and will be up to the student to make sure that their carpet is in fine working order. During the year, the student's school trunk is placed upon their carpet, ensuring that they do not forget it for the travel home. If by some chance, the student loses his/her carpet, they are fined 25 galleons, and are assigned a new carpet.
Once the students arrive at Durmstrang, the older years are to go into the Enchanted Hall and await the start of the sorting ceremony. The new students are to stay in the Entrance Hall and wait for an administrator to explain the basics of the castle, and to collect them to begin the sorting ceremony. At the far end of the Enchanted Hall, the sorting sword will be laid upon a table, awaiting the students, so that it may sort them into the different Durmstrang houses: Katzenaugen, Ehrenadler, and Dracheseith. Once sorted, the student shall lay the sorting sword down, and shall join their house table.
House Information
Katzenaugen
Katzenaugen means "Cat's Eyes" and is associated with cats of every color, though most predominantly, black cats. Out of all 3 houses, Katzenaugen is the one that is most related to dark magic. Students that are sorted into this house are usually creative, cunning, intelligent, and most of all - evil. That's not to say that all Katzenaugen students are natural born killers or anything, it's just that they have more of a tendancy to turn to the dark arts than others do. If you value role-playing highly, this is probably the house for you.
Ehrenadler
Ehrenadler means "Eagle of Honor" and as such, is associated with eagles. This house is the one most related to good magic and protection. Students in this house are usually brave, kind, loyal, and good. Once again, this is not to say that all Ehrenadler students are going to be saints, but it's more likely that they will resist the forces of darkness with more ease than those students of other houses. If you value friendship, this is probably the house for you.
Dracheseith
Dracheseith means "Dragon Torch" and is associated with dragons and the Dragontorch Forest. This is the house of neutrality and strength. Students in this house are usually magically powerful, wise, secretive, and a bit crazy. This house doesn't really take sides with either of the forces. Dracheseith is both white and dark magic, just like nature is. If you value craziness and mystery, Dracheseith is probably the house for