Helloooo beautiful people! Welcome to Opia, the fic that has been giving me wings the last few weeks. I won't keep you long, author's notes will be included at the end of the chapter. With the impending Fantastic Beasts franchise I've just been beside myself with reading all the goodness Pottermore has to offer on the North American Wizarding World. Like many, I assume, I was left wanting more. So, without further adieu, I present to you a magical example of one of our oldest HP tropes become possible and believable canon. It's as completely fleshed out as I could personally manage, and I'm having an absolute ball writing it so I hope you have just as much fun reading it. Onward!
Please note: This chapter is very heavy on Ilvermorny/NAWC knowledge, but i think presenting it in a story makes it a blast to read!
It was a brisk morning on Platform 9 ¾, the last whispers of summer being whisked away by the autumn breeze. Old friends embraced as the conductor expertly charmed their belongings with a swift 'reducio', shrinking a years worth of luggage down for optimal transport ease. Incoming first years clung tightly to their parents, robes devoid of any House crests as they wracked their young minds over which one they would be sorted into. The Muggle-borns were the easiest to spot, eyes wise with bewilderment as they breached the brick entrance to the platform for the first time. Their childlike wonder was always a breath of fresh air, but Leah was well aware of the discourse within the magical community, even more so at its epicenter here in England. She knew that while Hogwarts' reputation preceded itself, it was also still teeming with the old notions of blood purity. The first years would learn this soon and abruptly, as most parents of non-pure blood descent would consider them too young to fully explain the complexities of magical bloodlines. However, even here in England, the obsession with blood purity was dying out with collapsing family trees and how easy it was to taint the line in this country. Had it been nearly anywhere else, a witch or wizard would have to marry a true Muggle to break the lineage purity. Many other countries these days cared very little about alienating Muggle-borns and half-bloods. Magic was simply magic.
Leah had arrived at the platform early that morning, trunks already shrunk and ready to board the second the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. The prospect of being caught up in a sea of returning students who would immediately recognize her as an outsider was less than appealing. As soon as the train screeched to a final halt she'd stowed away and resolved to observe the students she'd now be calling her classmates. Everything, she noted, was much, much different here.
Soon enough the bustling crowd thinned to a trickle of stragglers, and once those final few were boarded the high pitch of a steam whistle ripped through the air and the train rolled out of the station. The Hogwarts Express struck Leah as odd, for certain. In a world of magic and in a platform hidden from curious eyes, what honest need was there for a Muggle tech train? Surely it could just be charmed to follow the tracks, though perhaps it was a final piece of comfort for the Muggle-born first years before they were thrown head first into a world so drastically different from their own. The compartment she was seated in was still empty, but by the time the train had reached a steady pace there was a light rapping on the window. Looking up she noticed three other students, the front most being a girl with lovely honey colored locks tamed into a delicate wave. The other two were boys, but with them dodging passers-by in the narrow corridor she hadn't gotten a good look at them. Still, she smiled brightly and waved them in.
"Do you mind if we join you," the girl asked, "none of the other compartments have room for three."
"No, of course not. I'm not sharing it with anyone else so please, help yourselves."
The girl graciously accepted, waving her two friends in. One of the boys had a brilliant head of red hair, the other a disheveled, but still charming, mop of black.
"Hermione Granger," she said, extending her hand, "this might seem odd but, since you look about our age, why is it your robes don't have a crest?"
"Leah Blake, and because I don't have a House yet. Just transferred, Ilvermorny formerly."
It became very clear to Leah that her new travel companion was quite bookish, but it didn't bother her. She found herself oddly relieved as Hermione prattled on about all she'd read about the American school of magic. She was indirectly informing both of her friends, the looks on their faces making that abundantly clear. Surely the moment the rest of her classmates heard of her transfer there wouldn't be a single one quite as informed as Hermione.
"What brings you to Hogwarts then? I know Ilvermorny isn't quite as old but from what I've read the crop of witches and wizards it's produced for the global Dark Force Defense League is one of the best in the Wizarding community."
"That might be true, but recruiting for the DFDL can be a little...aggressive at times. Given current turmoil though, maybe that isn't the worst thing, which is why my family's moved to England. Dad works as a liaison between the Ministry and the Magical Congress. Over in North America we've got all kinds of rules for wands, namely needing to carry a permit." Leah pulled a small laminate card from her pocket. "I know you guys don't do that here, but considering mine's an import I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'd really hate to have it taken from me. I'm not sure on the specifics because Dad's been real hush about it, but from what I've gathered the Ministry is taking a step forward to try and beat back the Dark Forces. See, we register our wands because it helps prevent magical crime. By documenting each wands unique magical signature, Congress Forensics is about to match any residual magic left at a crime back to the wand that created it, and if they're lucky enough – track directly back to the wizard."
"Blimey, think of everything we could've sorted out by now if we'd already had that," the red-head chimed in. "Ron Weasley, by the way. My dad works for the Ministry too, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts."
Leah chuckled, "That what you call them here, Muggles? Non-magical people?"
"I mean yeah, what else are we supposed to call them?"
"Oh no, it's just that I'll have to add another British slang word to my list. In North America someone without magic is called a No-Maj, literally as in 'no magic'. Gets the point across pretty quickly, not sure how you guys managed to come up with Muggles." Leah diverted her attention to the third member of Hermione's group. He seemed anxious, staring intently at the wall opposite him and bouncing his leg. "Sorry, don't think I've caught your name yet."
He looked up at her through his glasses with a look that could only be described as honest confusion, like he'd been caught off guard.
"Sorry," he finally mumbled out, "it's been a while since I've actually had to introduce myself. Harry Potter."
Understanding spread across Leah's face. "That makes sense. You're a celebrity around the community for sure, but we don't import many foreign papers so I couldn't say that I've ever seen a single photo of you." He smiled at that, and she realized it must not be that often that a perfect stranger doesn't swamp him with conversational nonsense. Still he sat there, chewing on his lip like he had something to say but tapping his fingers as if waiting for a moment he could finally say it. "Hey Hermione, where's the restroom?"
"Girl's lavatory is next carriage up, can't miss it."
Again she laughed, "Man, you guys have a word for everything, don't you?" She hadn't actually needed the restroom, but she thought maybe Harry needed to speak with his friends alone. While in the corridor of the carriage she made quick acquaintances with an odd girl handing out printed papers.
"Quibbler?"
"Would love one." Leah noted the oddly shaped glasses on the girls head. "Wrackspurts? Hate those nasty things, threw off my entire study schedule for my O.W.L.'s last year."
"American, how peculiar for Hogwarts. A few years ago Daddy and I did a survey of Fairygnats in the United States, lovely country."
"Ugh, Fairygnats are the worst, especially during the rainy season."
The girl in odd glasses seemed very pleased by Leah's knowledge of mischievous creatures, offering her a pair of Spectrespecs and a delicate handshake.
"Luna Lovegood, a pleasure."
"Leah Blake, nice to meet you."
"Better put those on, first week of classes is always a drill to see how much you remember!" Luna continued down the hall, handing Quibblers and Specs even to those who looked at her odd.
"Thanks!"
Leah put the prismatic Specs on her face, reveling in the odd, discolored shapes they projected into her field of vision. She was watching an odd shape float through the hall when she noticed Harry had left and decided to rejoin Ron and Hermione. She questioned the perturbed look on Ron's face until she realized her Specs were still on.
"Helps to see the Wrackspurts, a nice girl named Luna gave them to me."
"Figures it was Loony," he grumbled unintelligibly, earning a quick thwack from Hermione.
"You might think they're silly, but I definitely saw something in the hall just now. Seemed too big to be Wrackspurts though."
That had shut him up quickly, earning nothing but a deep gulp in return.
"Anyway, Leah, earlier you said you were worried your wand might be confiscated for being – imported? Why would they do that?"
"Oh, it's an entirely different league of wand. Not by power necessarily, but definitely by make. See, while a lot of American wands are made the same as the ones you'd see here, there's also a lot that are entirely different. Mine for example," she said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out her wand, "mine isn't just made with a wood species specific to America, the core is too. Redwood, eleven inches, wampus cat hair core. Very flexible. Best for charms and hexes, good for potions too."
"Sorry, did you just say wampus cat hair, as in one of the Ilvermorny Houses?"
"Yeah, that's another thing we do differently. Your Houses are named after their founding members, Ilvermorny was started by one family, so they named the Houses after magical creatures that best reflected the kinds of witches and wizards they wanted to teach there. I was a Thunderbird myself."
Ron's face scrunched up, trying to piece together everything he was hearing. "Thunderbird, so's that mean you're going to be in Ravenclaw?"
"Not...exactly? See, sorting at Hogwarts values what qualities you see or want to see in yourself while also considering what House you want to be in. At Ilvermorny the House chooses you because it's based on who you are fundamentally. Four Houses, four parts that make the perfect wizard. Thunderbird is soul, Wampus body, Pukwudgie heart, and Horned Serpent is mind. There's not much of a connective thread but I think Thunderbird would be closest to Gryffindor."
That caused him to perk up. "Bloody hell that'd be brilliant then. The three of us are in Gryffindor."
"Yeah it would be, but I don't think your Sorting Hat is going to have an easy time with me. My family hasn't attended Hogwarts for literal centuries, but we've still got a pretty rooted legacy in Ravenclaw."
"Oh that won't matter much," Hermione chimed back in, "almost everything except dorming is mixed Houses so I'm sure we'll see you plenty. Curious though that your wand has a wampus hair core but you weren't sorted into that House."
"I nearly was. See, when you get sorted at Ilvermorny you stand in this sort of chamber surrounded by statues of the four magical creatures. They've each been enchanted to move forward and claim students they want in their House. The only way you get to make a choice is if more than one moves forward. I swear I saw a glint in the Wampus' eye, but it stayed put. I'm not bothered though, hardly any witch or wizard to attend there has had the privilege of being chosen by more than one House."
Moments later the Hogwarts Express pulled to its final stop. Hermione and Ron excused themselves to find Harry, so Leah hopped in a carriage with Luna, a kind boy called Neville, and another littered with freckles named Seamus. In the first leg of the journey Luna was more than happy to tell Leah all about the thestrals pulling the carriages along and why she couldn't see them. For the watercraft portion she excitedly told stories of the Triwizard Tournament two years previous, the Merpeople that lived in the Black Lake, and praised Neville's excellence in herbology and helping Harry with that challenge. Neville's ears flushed a bashful shade of red.
When they finally reached the castle a crooked man named Filch ushered them up to the front gate. From there Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and Gryffindor Head of House as Neville had told her, directed returning students to the Great Hall and requested all others stay back with her. Leah bid farewell to her new friends, promising to meet up with them later. While they waited for the Sorting Ceremony to begin, Leah approached McGonagall and pulled her to the side.
"Ah yes, Ms. –"
"Leah, just Leah please."
"Of course dear, what can I do for you?"
"Is all of this fanfare really necessary? I know your Hat lets you choose if you want. I already know where I want to go I just –"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Leah, I truly am, but this is just the way things work here. You must be properly Sorted."
"You know the protective records on my family have been removed, right? You''l have to call me by my proper name and I just...don't want to deal with how everyone is going to respond to that."
The older woman's lips turned to hardened line. "I understand that, Ms. Leah, but there's really nothing I can do. Rest assured you won't be any worse off than Mr. Potter was when he first started here."
Leah huffed in defeat and returned to the back of the line. When the ceremony began they would call each first year alphabetically by last name, and since she wasn't a first year she was doomed to be Sorted last. That alone was enough to unnerve her, and the feeling only amplified when the large doors to the Hall finally creaked open and she felt her knees knock under every gaze directed at her. She stuck out like a sore thumb among the sea of measly eleven year olds. Her only reprieve was the waved greetings from the friends she'd made on the train. Nearly everyone sat at the Gryffindor table with the exception of Luna, who could be found amongst the Ravenclaws.
Slowly the herd in front of her thinned, until just one first year stood before her. Without much thought and a brief mention of family ties, he was promptly sorted into Slytherin. If every eye in the Hall hadn't already been on her, they were now.
McGonagall continued, "This year we have a special case, a sixth year transfer from Ilvermony."
Her breath hitched in her throat.
"Aurelia Ravenclaw."
A/N: I told you there was a lot of information, didn't I? I hope it wasn't too boring, but with all of this new information out there I just had to do something with it. Nearly everything involving Ilvermorny and the NAWC in this chapter is pulled from the pages of Pottermore. There are, of course, a few exceptions that I've included for plot device.
1. Tis true, a lot of the Wizarding World doesn't seem to care nearly as much/to be nearly as strict about blood purity.
2. Wand permits and tracking magic back to the wand is very much real, however I embellished it by adding the extension of tracking a strong enough trail straight to
the wizard.
3. I've always imagined that the Spectrespecs would be able to see Harry's Invisibility Cloak. For my personal head canon, I think she couldn't see him because he was
laying still, unlike the Wrackspurts who were moving about. That's why I chose to have Leah see an odd shape moving around the hall.
4. Fairygnats! Nope, those aren't real. I like coming up with funny little creatures, these ones are the worst when it rains because they hide in your house!
5. Redwood and wampus cat hair are both components in American wand making. For Leah's wand I chose for it to be flexible because Redwood is naturally very soft so
I would expect it to have some give. Redwood is now a protected species in America, so the wand she has is quite old which is why she'd hate to have it confiscated.
6. Aurelia-lia-Leah, just in case it wasn't clear where that came from!
I'm pretty sure that's it for this chapter, but let me know if there's something that sticks out or anything you'd like me to elaborate on! I'd love to hear what you guys think, and I promise, that git of a Slytherin will be in the next chapter :)