Arrival at Ilvermorny
Red River Valley, Dakota Territory, 1867
Matthäus Brink stood in the field behind his family's sod house on the windy Dakota Territory plains. It was a chilly early September night. He was waiting for midnight, not that he could tell exactly when that would be. There probably wasn't an actual clock within 30 miles of where he was. Cattle mooed and coyotes yapped. Jack, a large mutt, got up and growled quietly.
"It's alright boy," Matthäus stroked the dog's neck, "The cows are in the barn."
The dog stayed on alert, and began to bark as a stagecoach pulled by skeletal winged horses descended from the sky and landed nearby. The similarly bony driver waved a chalk-white hand and the dog went silent. Matthäus tried to yell, but he had been similarly silenced.
"Howdy, I'm Buck and I'm here to take you to Ilvermorny," The living skeleton tipped a moth-holed hat.
The stagecoach's door swung open. Ilvermorny, Matthäus knew this day was coming but he was still surprised. An owl had dropped off a cryptic letter, and Matthäus's mother had given it to him behind the barn one day. She explained that magic was real, and that Matthäus had inherited the ability. He felt his pocket to make sure the letter was still there, in case he needed it.
His mother, Helga, was a squib, born to a wizard and a muggle woman from Germany. She had hoped more of her children were gifted, but only Matthäus was. He was her youngest child, with two brothers and three sisters. She said that Matthäus's father would understand, and that they would tell the other settlers in the area Matthäus had been sent east to work for a relative, cutting ice in Wisconsin. It was a good enough cover story.
There were three other kids in the coach, a boy and two girls. One girl was pale and freckled, with braided red hair. The other had dark brown skin, matching eyes, and thick, curly black hair. The boy was blonde, and slightly overweight. He was wearing a tan tailcoat, with the matching vest and trousers. He also had shiny brown leather shoes. The girls both wore plain cotton dresses, and no shoes.
The coachman took Matthäus's bag, and motioned for him to get in the carriage. Matthäus climbed in, and took the empty seat next to the boy.
"I'm Matthäus Brink," He said.
"Millie Mae McMillan, but my folks call me Jay Bird," The red-haired girl held out her hand and Matt shook it.
"Sarah Freeman," The other girl said, and Matthäus shook her hand too.
"Thomas Beauregard Smith, you can call me Tom." The boy drawled. He didn't hold out his hand. He kept looking out the window.
The carriage was a curious thing, it seemed to stand still as the ground under it moved. From what Matthäus could tell, they were headed east. Eventually the carriage stopped on a mountain, with a massive granite castle looming above it. It was shrouded in early morning mist. Parked all around the stagecoach were various other magical modes of transportation, including a skeleton in a ruby red suit with a matching top hat. The skeleton set down his calico carpetbag, and four very confused children stepped out. Other children stepped off of magic carpets, flying boats, and other enchanted vehicles.
"Well this is… strange," Matthäus said.
"First time seeing real magic?" Tom scoffed.
"Yeah, the other folk around said my ma's grandma was a witch but I never met her." Millie Mae chimed in.
"My dad would do magic sometimes, before he left during the war. He meant to come back for us but…" Sarah's voice trailed off.
"Explains how he was able to get off the plantation. Believe it or not I'm the first from my family to go to Ilvermorny, the ones that were born in Virginia were tutored at home. But there's new rules for us Southern wizards…" Thomas droned on, and Matthäus stopped paying attention to him.
The students were lined up, and were handed lanterns as they got on the trail that led to the castle. The children walked in silence to the grand gates, massive doors made of old oak covered in carvings. The doors creaked as they slowly swung open. The first year students filed into the grand hall, where the older students were already seated at the long wooden tables. They were wearing blue or cranberry-red robes.
It was unlike anything Matthäus had ever seen. He'd never even seen a building this large, or this many people in one place. It was a bit anxiety inducing, to say the least. The first-years were lined up, and one by one they stood on a gold Gordian knot inlaid in the floor. The wooden statues of the four magical creatures would react when a student that would fit in their house stood on it. Rarely, more than one would move and the student would have to choose themselves.
By the time Matthäus stood on the symbol, he was thoroughly overwhelmed. He waited a moment and watched as both the wampus cat and the curious looking pukwudgie both moved. He started sweating. He was overwhelmed by the whole situation, so he went with his gut.
"Pukwudgie!" He said, and the students at that table cheered. He noticed Millie Mae and Sarah were sitting there already, so he walked over and sat between them. The meal that was served next was extravagant, featuring foods that Matthäus, Sarah, and Millie Mae had never seen before. They ate until they were too full to move, and then some. Sharecroppers and frontier homesteaders weren't used to getting that much to eat. It was also the first time Matthäus used real silverware, and an actual drinking glass.
After the meal the youngest students were led by the headmaster, George Walker, to another hall. In this hall there were more tables, red and blue robes were piled on some and others held wooden wands. They were fitted for robes, and in many cases shoes. The headmaster explained the purpose of wands, as well as the properties of their cores and the woods they were made of. He then instructed the students to stand in a silver circle, and hold out their dominant hand. The first student did so, and a wand flew into his hand. One by one the students received their wands. Matthäus's was a thirteen-inch pine wand with a Snallygaster heartstring core.
The rest of the day was filled with more orientations, introductions to teachers, and a grand tour of the castle and its grounds. Despite not sleeping the night before, Matthäus felt wide awake all day. He wasn't sure if it was from excitement or from something in the food. By the time they were shown to the Pukwudgie common room, the sun was setting and the students began to get tired. The Pukwudgie common room was guarded by a pair of statues, and inside it was warm and inviting. There were three fireplaces, and numerous cushioned chairs set around small round tables. It had a high ceiling, with hovering candles. The floor and walls were covered with lacquered oak.
The boy's dormitory had rows of bunk beds for the first-years, and double rooms for the rest. The mattresses were real feather beds, which was a huge difference from the straw mattress Matthäus was used to sleeping on. The blanket was wool like the one Matthäus had at home, but it wasn't thin and scratchy. His bag and a stack of books and other supplies were sitting on the bed.
"I'm Ole Jensen," a tall blonde boy said, "I've got the top bunk." He had a thick Danish accent.
"Matthäus Brink," he shook the other boy's hand, "Where are you from?"
"I was born in Denmark but we moved to Minnesota when I was young."
"I was born in Bavaria, and we moved to the Dakota Territory when I was too young to remember."
"I'm the first wizard from my family to go to school here, instead of Durmstrang."
"My mother told me the same thing."
"Do you know any magic yet?" Ole twirled his wand in his hand.
"No, you?" Matthäus asked.
"I know a few things from my parents… but we're not allowed to use magic outside of class, and they know if we do." Ole waved his wand around.
"What will we even be learning? My school was just one room and all we learned was reading and arithmetic." Matthäus asked.
"Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Astronomy." Ole read from a small piece of paper.
"I don't know what any of that means." Matthäus said.
"We'll learn, that's what teachers are for, yeah?" Ole dropped his wand, and it clattered on the floor.
"Stop playing with your wands," an older boy stopped as he was walking by, "Arthur Bexley, Pukwudgie Prefect. I'm in charge here, and it's lights out." He waved his wand and the candles extinguished.
The boys took that as a cue to get into bed and go to sleep. Sleep came easy for Matthäus, despite this being his first night away from home.