Atlantis Academy is the most elite post-NEWT schooling in the world. Classes are highly competitive and placement is decided on progress and ability. The Academy, as it's often called, is known for being dangerous and is opened to all Magical species. Only a third of the students live to graduation.
The exact location of the school is unknown to anyone not a student, professor, or alum. It is however known to be an island above the site of the original sunken Atlantis Island. The real Atlantis Island is on the ocean floor and so warded no one has been able to enter in the centuries since it was abandoned.
Two weeks before school start I received a packet detailing instructions on how to get there and a packet of class descriptions. We were to fill out a form listing all of the classes we wished to place for. Placing meant to take a test and see what level of the course we would be placed in. We had to submit our list in advance so they could start testing when we arrived. Place testing takes place one a year at the beginning so we can start new classes each year.
Looking through the packet I decided on a list of classes for my first year. The average student takes six full classes and two short classes, called Shorts. Shorts would be announced two weeks in advance throughout the year and varied in levels and prerequisites.
I chose: Blood Magic, Transfiguration, Potions, Rune Magic and Warding, Combat/weapons, Spell Creation, and Enchanting. One requirement for graduation is an animagus form so I added that to my list in order to place out. I also added wandless magic to place out of.
I sent off my forms and headed to a trunk shop in Noki Alley to pick up the trunk I had special ordered. It is a dark wooden trunk with seven compartments keyed to open only to my magic. The first compartment is for clothes, the second for books, and the third for weapons. The fourth compartment holds potions ingredients and bottles, and the fifth my ritual and potions equipment. The sixth compartment is for other personal items like toiletries. The final compartment I left empty for now.
At home I warded my trunk against spell, fire, blade, potion, poison, and weather damage. Then added security wards and a blood ward tying it to myself. I also added a return to my study rune set to the trunk with the other set by my desk to activate it remotely if lost or stolen.
The Academy provides rooms but I planned to mostly return home to live. I would use the rooms there to study and stay during the week but would return home on weekends and days off. I needed to keep coming home to keep an eye on the Sanctuary and to cultivate my own potions ingredients. Swift and Slip would be the only animals coming with me to the Academy.
The Shifter cubs had grown fast and were already independent. Slip had now grown to five feet long and discovered that in addition to spewing venom he could also produce and spew acid. Sierra and Rex, the wolf couple, moved to the Sanctuary and kept the other animals in line.
Not much is known about the Academy other than it is very dangerous and very advanced. Alumni are highly respected and feared and are highly sought after by employers. Half of the danger of the school is from learning advanced and powerful magics. The other half comes from the other students and the professors.
Because of the high competition to rank highly students fight and sabotage each other. Professors are also known to attack students who insult, challenge, or annoy them. Anything goes at the Academy, only the wards prevent out right murder. The students take it as a challenge to find ways around the wards.
I packed many weapons and carried just as many. I have a dagger I'd soaked in Basilisk Venom strapped to each ankle. I use a shrunken Katana sword as a hair pin and shrunken silver throwing stars on a chain as a necklace, that resize when removed. I also have another blade strapped to my back and a shrunken sword in my bra. I always carry an over the shoulder bag with poisons in the outside pockets.
I debated over if I should risk taking any of my rare books with me and settled on making temporary copies of the books I wanted. I packed copies of the books I've written and copies of my notes for the next set. I packed copies of all of my blood rituals and the notes from my completed and future rituals.
Then I packed copies of all of the books that looked helpful for my classes. Next I added copies of books for advanced Mind Magics, dead languages, all of the books for my creatures, rare plants, rare potions, Atlantis culture and history,
Three weeks before most schools started I learned that many of the better schools were using my first set of books as their required text and replaced all of their history texts with my series. I was happy to know that my work would be helpful and that they are good enough to be used in internationally renowned schools.
Gemdigger informed me that I was making lots of money off of the books. I had him set up a trust with a third of the profit for abused and abandoned squibs and we set up a board to create and run an orphanage for them. Another third was used to set up a fund and board for magical research into muggle technology. The rest became a fund for mixed medical research. All three funds and boards were international and consisted of members of mixed species.