The fall months continued as November approached. The green leaves of the summer-time on Mount Greylock slowly turned beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red. The pines and firs remained the same, unchanging with deep green needles. Giant feasts always littered the tables in the Feast Hall in preparation for Thanksgiving, while stone braziers throughout the hallways were lit with a calming fire, crackling into the evening. Each house slowly prepared for Thanksgiving, with large cornucopias replacing the carved centerpieces of the House Tables, while leaves that had fallen from the trees outside were enchanted to fly about the halls, dipping and swirling over everyone's heads as they bustled to their next class. Large stalks of brown corn grew up from the floor on every level, while turkeys could be sometimes seen traversing the grounds among large pumpkins, and gourds of every color. The brisk, fall air outside wasn't too cold, but nice enough to bring the nice feeling that comes with fall-time. Students wore tight-knit scarves and mittens of their house colors as they walked to Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology lessons. The only sounds that could be heard outside were the crunching of pine needles under your feet and the fall wind flowing through the trees.
In No-Maj America, they often celebrated Thanksgiving with the usual football game and lots of food. It was the same for Wizarding America, but instead of a football game, they all celebrated with a nice game of Quidditch, with the United States Quidditch League, the USQ, setting up fun festivities during the game. Ilvermorny had a similar tradition, going all the way back to the school's founding, where the houses would play a small tournament against each other, just for fun, where the results would all just be for sportsmanship and good-will, making the games fun for everyone. The first Thanksgiving in the magical world was held simultaneously alongside the No-Maj thanksgiving, with the magical people of the Native American tribes joining together with the Witches and Wizards of the Thirteen Colonies in the Appalachian Mountains. The location of this event would later be one of the many headquarters for the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Traditions for Thanksgiving from Mexico, the US, and Canada were all incorporated into Thanksgiving at Ilvermorny, to further bring everyone together. Ilvermorny also celebrated Thanksgiving a week early, allowing each student to experience Thanksgiving at Ilvermorny (known to be something not to miss), before returning home to their families on the week of Thanksgiving.
During this time, Jacob was practicing for one of the Thanksgiving games. There were two days before Thanksgiving, when Jacob made his way out to the quidditch pitch to practice early in the morning. His feet clipped and clopped on the cobblestone road that led to the Quidditch Pitch, which was hidden by the tree line. Jacob had tried out for the Thunderbird House Quidditch team around the end of October to become one of their Chasers, and much to his enthusiasm, he got in. Apparently for Jacob, riding a broom was as easy for him as riding a bike. The Captain of the Thunderbird House team, Alan, told him that apparently Thunderbird house has always been able to fly circles around their competition, making him a perfect match for the team.
The Quidditch Pitch at Ilvermorny was situated in a large, open area on the mountain side, with hardly any trees surrounding the pitch. Large stone turrets and Tudor style buildings surrounded the borders of the pitch, with enough space to allow anyone who wished to come and watch the Quidditch games at Ilvermorny to come and watch in comfort, kind of like College Football games. Each house had their own section of large rows of benches among stands, while larger, stone towers stood at the boundaries to offer the faculty a nice view of the proceedings from above.
That morning, Jacob was wearing his blue and yellow robes of the Thunderbird House team, with his Comet 290 slung over his shoulder in his gloved hands, and his backpack over the other shoulder. His Comet 290 was a relatively fast broom, nothing compared to a Firebolt Supreme, but still a good broom for Ilvermorny Quidditch. As he walked up to a wrought iron gate, pulling out a key and walking into the pitch with the gate creaking to a shut behind him. He then turned sharply left and went inside an unlocked door into the stadium and underneath the stands, making his way down a candle-lit hallway to the Thunderbird Quidditch Team's Locker Room, the third door on the left. Inside, he met up with Alan Durnbuckle, a thin, hunched over, 18-year-old. Being the captain of the team, he was aspiring to join the USQ. He was from Fitchburg, a town in Massachusetts that was big on Quidditch, which made him a big fan of the Fitchburg Finches, the team he was aiming to join after he graduated this year. They then made their way out to the Quidditch pitch to give Jacob some extra practice, per Jacob's request. Jacob then began practicing his approach to the goal posts, weaving, dipping, and diving his way on his broom towards the three, classic goal-posts, large rings on the ends of giant poles that stretched into the sky.
The brisk autumn air brushed against Jacob's face on this bright, cloudless day. He briefly glanced back at Ilvermorny, admiring how beautiful it looked in the morning sun, the spires and towers rising up into the air among the clouds, the sun gleaming off of the windows, with owls flying about, stretching their wings. As the smooth, leather-covered quaffle hit his hands again with another THUD, on another pass through, Jacob saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop suddenly.
Trees, bending back and forth up the side of Mount Greylock. It was as if something huge was forcing its way through the trees on the opposite side of the mountain, almost near the Greylock War Memorial Tower. He began to slowly hover upwards, but as quickly as Jacob noticed the commotion, it died down to nothing. The trees stood still, not moving again, almost as if what Jacob had seen was just his imagination.
"Whatcha staring at?" Alan called from below, rubbing his hands together in the cold. Jacob looked down at him through the fog of his own breath.
"I saw… something strange" he replied. Jacob slowly floated back down to where Alan was. "Are there any really large magical creatures that live here on Mount Greylock?" he asked, still trying to work out what he just saw.
Alan thought for a second, but then shook his head and blew warm air into his hands. "No… I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"I just saw something huge moving in the trees off in the distance. The trees were bending and creaking violently, almost as if something was forcing its way through the woods" Jacob stated, pointing towards the Greylock War Memorial Tower.
"You must've been seeing things" he replied. "Not to discredit you, but if anything that big was moving that close to the No-Majs, we would've heard it from here" He pulled his scarf more closely around his neck.
"Yeah…" Jacob replied. "You're right. Must've not gotten enough sleep last night" he laughed.
Jacob then returned to solid ground with Alan, thinking he had enough practice for one morning. He packed up his things and briskly returned to the castle. Pushing through the front doors, he walked into the large entryway and into the Sorting Hall. He then made his way into the main halls of the castle. They were dim, with natural light coming through the arched, glass windows and the light of the braziers offering a nice, calming atmosphere to what would be stone cold halls. His made his way past the kitchens, past the Potions Tower, and past the Library to the Western Wing of Ilvermorny Castle. He replied Buzz Aldrin to the Map, and entered Thunderbird Tower. The Kachinas were feeling lazy that morning, slowly drifting about and resting on their perches, snoring softly like little, whirring machines. When Jacob reached the top of the tower, he heard a large commotion coming from the Common Room.
"I'm telling you Antonio…I didn't take anything!" Jessica's voice emanated shrilly from the other side of the door.
"Then how come when I left the Common Room for breakfast, you were the only one here when I came back and realized that all of my books were gone?!" Antonio's voice retorted back at her.
Jacob decided to brave the oncoming storm, and see what was going on. He opened the pair of double doors leading into the lounge of the Common Room, and was greeted by an awful argument. Jessica was staring daggers at Antonio, her eyes blazing as much as her hair seemed to be. Felix stood off to the side and staring out the window, trying to look like he didn't know the two of them. Antonio looked slightly worried and timid, but held his ground. Both whirled on Jacob as he entered.
"JACOB" Jessica said, eyes widening. He breathing was heavy too, with anger. "Tell Antonio that I would never steal anything from him, and that even if I did, I would have had no place to store it before he got back!" she said as she ran up to him, grabbing his arm and fiercely pointing at Antonio.
"Don't listen to her!" Antonio retorted. "She was the only one here in the Common Room" he gestured aggressively to an open bookbag, with its contents strewn about everywhere. "And she was standing over this sorry sight, with no one else nearby"
Jacob was stunned by the sudden inclusion of himself in this argument. He slowly turned to Felix with a stunned look.
"D-d-did you see anything?" he asked him plainly. Felix shook his head.
"Non. Nothing" he replied. "I was down in the guys bathroom at the bottom of the tower when I heard Antonio yell from all the way up here. I came up here as fast as I could to see what was happening"
The other two still stared at Jacob, hoping he would help them solve this problem. Jacob, on the other hand, just wanted to divert their attention to something else, before it got ugly. Antonio apparently picked up an old Mexican Hex, and it didn't sound like fun, unless you considered your hair falling out as…fun.
"Hey…Jessica?" Jacob asked. "Didn't we have a study session planned in the Library for today?" She stopped short when he said this, a puzzled look on her face as she began to remember. She then stopped again, eying him warily, immediately realizing what he was trying to do, and kind of annoyed that it almost worked.
"Also…" Jacob continued, "We have an upcoming test in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I don't completely understand the difference on how to repel Hags…." The room fell silent for a bit. Jessica sighed.
"Fine" she muttered. She turned on Antonio one last time, glaring as if to say "Don't you dare think this is over". "I'll go get my books, one sec" she said as she turned up the staircase to the right and tramped out of sight, her footsteps creaking as she climbed up to the Girls Dormitory. Felix then saw his chance to lure Antonio away, right as Jacob gave him a subtle signal.
"Hey Antonio, how about we go down to a spare classroom and practice the charm Lumos? You and I both know you need more practice before tomorrow" he told Antonio. Soon enough, a disgruntled Antonio was leaving with Felix down the spiral staircase to the Third Floor Corridor of Ilvermorny castle. Once Jessica had come back with her books, she left with Jacob to go to the Library, the same one that Jacob had passed by that very same morning.
They walked up a short staircase through an open doorway, flanked by two large braziers. Once they entered, they came up on a large, stone floor covered by a large red carpet. In the middle of the carpet was a large round desk, with an old wizard sitting behind it, the Librarian, Mr. Daniels. He had small, round glasses, on an old, wrinkly face. He briefly glanced up at Jacob and Jessica as they entered, muttering something that sounded like "Fiddle-Muffins" and then looked back down to his book on the Rainier Decimal System, a system used for sorting magical books in Wizarding America, founded at Mount Rainier in Washington, location of the Tahoma Library, one of the largest magical libraries in the United States.
Jacob and Jessica walked past Mr. Daniels's desk, climbing one of the two staircases that led up to the upper floors of the Library. As they started up the stairs, the painting of Isolt opened and three Horned Serpent fourth-years walked out of it, only now waking up and going to get some breakfast. Jacob and Jessica reached the fourth floor of the library, taking their usual spot by the window, which always gave them a nice view of the Berkshires. They then pulled out their books from their bags and began to study.
"Jacob…" Jessica began. "Do you really think I stole Antonio's books from him?" she asked. A tinge of sadness was in her voice, causing Jacob to perk up. He looked into her eyes.
"No, of course not" he replied softly, seeing that this was important to her. "I know that you're better than that" He quickly looked down, catching himself staring into her brown eyes deeply. He scribbled down a note on the proper procedure on how to repel a Hag. Jessica sighed.
"Thank you, Jacob…it really means a lot to me" she said. He nodded in acknowledgement. In truth, Jacob had become very attached to Jessica. He loved how her hair fell over her shoulders, how deep and beautiful her brown eyes were, and sometimes her voice made him feel all warm inside. To make it even better, he sometimes thought that she felt the same way, while other times he couldn't be too sure. This was one of those moments where he felt they had something.
"Yeah, anytime" he stopped writing and looked up at her. "Why would Antonio get so upset at the fact that some of his books were gone?" he wondered aloud. "Couldn't he just order some new ones from Margaret Jones Alley? Hamilton's Magical Bookstore is more than happy to supply Ilvermorny students with new schoolbooks" Jessica shook her head in reply.
A commotion had begun in the courtyard outside, yelling could be heard, with a loud BOOM. Maybe somebody set a Dungbomb off in front of a Pukwudgie caretaker. They always hated it when students made a mess.
"Your guess is as good as mine" she muttered, brushing her hair behind her ear. "The only book I think he cared about was A History of Magic in Mexico, since it was a gift from his parents, and I'm pretty sure that was also the only book Hamilton's wouldn't be able to replace"
"Well…" Jacob sighed. "I bet he could replace that somehow if he needed to"
"Yeah" she replied.
Everything then fell quiet for a moment, before….
BOOM! BOOM!
It was as if two battering rams hit both sides of the library. Everyone jumped up, and some people even screamed. Dust fell from the ceiling, books shot off the shelves and onto the floor, an unfortunate student was shot from the wall he was leaning on and right onto the floor, giving him a good smell and look at the carpet.
"What's happening?!" Jacob yelled as the thundering noise continued.
Soon enough, a large groan replaced the thundering booms. That was when the whole of the fourth floor began to heave and buckle under their feet. Jacob and Jessica grabbed on to the table and the wall, which they could feel straining to stay together. It was then when something huge shot past the window. They then looked down and saw they were slowly inching upwards. In panic and terror, they looked out the window again and saw Mount Greylock descending. Their view was blocked by what looked like a large object with grooves, similar to a…fingerprint.
"A Giant" Jacob whispered. His awe was cut short as they rocketed upwards, the bricks of Ilvermorny not being able to keep themselves attached anymore. Debris fell loudly onto the third floor below, as students dogged out of the way and hid under tables. Librarian Daniel slowly looked upwards, dumbfounded as the top floor of his library slowly rose up into the morning sky.
Everyone in the Library screamed as they got a good view of an old, classic, North American Giant.
Dressed in dark furs, the Giant was almost 100 feet tall. It had wrinkly hands the size of a small building, which grasped firmly grasped the fourth floor of the Library. The huge, knotted muscles in its arms and legs were covered in dark, brown hair, with long brown hair streaming down from its abnormally head to its thick shoulders. Its voice then bellowed out, causing the whole of Ilvermorny to cover their ears. It didn't yell anything distinct, instead, it sounded like it was howling in pain.
"WHAT DO WE DO?!" Jessica yelled as she hung onto a bookshelf for dear life.
"HEEEHHHH!" Jacob responded back as the Giant shook the Library back and forth. Soon enough, the yells and clamour of the faculty dragging students of the bottom three floors could be heard. Headmaster Fontaine even appeared, confronting the Giant. He stuck his wand to his throat, and his voice boomed as if his vocal cords had turned into a large pair of speakers.
"EXCUSE ME" he boomed towards the Giant. "MY NAME IS AGILBERT FONTAINE, ORDER OF MERLIN, MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT'S MAGICAL CABINET, AND CONGRESSMAN OF THE MAGICAL CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I ORDER YOU TO RETURN THE TOP FLOOR OF THE LIBRARY SAFELY BACK TO THE GROUND, OR WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE, BUT TO FORCE YOU TO". Headmaster Fontaine was surprisingly threatening, especially considering how he wasn't just a teacher, but so much more. It was in this chaotic moment that Jacob caught a glimpse of Headmaster Fontaine's power and influence.
The Giant looked around absently, roaring again.
"WE DO NOT WISH TO DO YOU HARM. PLEASE, RETURN OUR STUDENTS TO US" Fontaine continued. Tension filled the air as the room stopped shaking. Jacob and Jessica breathed heavily, thinking it to be over, and that the Giant decided to listen to Headmaster Fontaine. They looked to the ruins of the library, over 50 feet below them. They saw that all of the students had been evacuated from the library and now the teachers had arranged themselves around the Giant, wands out at the ready and prepared to engage if needed. They looked at each other, concentrated, but slightly worried.
That was when the Giant dropped fourth floor of the Library.
The students screamed, some even slipping over the balcony into thin air. Jacob fell onto the now horizontal balcony, screaming along with the others as the ground seemed to approach faster, and faster…
"ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" the teachers bellowed simultaneously. Everything then came to a stand-still. Students, books, tables, chairs, even the building itself came to a standstill. Absentmindedly floating in midair, one sad student lost his lunch, while another was still clinging to his chair as he floated over 50 ft above the ground, as pale as a Ghost.
Everything then faded to black as Jacob blacked-out.
Jacob woke in the hospital wing, with all the other students unlucky enough to study on the Fourth Floor that evening. It was the middle of the afternoon, about 3:00, but Headmaster Fontaine had sat still in the corner of the room on a wooden chair, watching them closely since their traumatic experience. He was worried about them dearly, but even more about the 'No-Maj-turned-magic' students. Jacob looked and caught the Headmaster's eye, but before he could act like he was sleeping, Fontaine noticed and approached his bed.
"Hey" he said to Jacob softly. "Are you awake?"
Opening one eye, Jacob saw Jessica on the bed directly to his left, looking very pale. He slowly began to panic. Following his eyes, Fontaine saw Jessica.
"Don't worry. She will be fine. All of you were brought here, whether you fell unconscious or not. I wouldn't have allowed you to continue your coursework without making sure you all were alright" Fontaine smiled. "She was one of the strongest students, only accepting a Sleeping Draught after a lot of arguing". Jacob slowly sat up.
"Wh-what happened to the Giant?" he asked groggily.
"He was shrunk back down to his normal size" Fontaine replied. "Giants aren't normally that large, contrary to what No-Maj culture teaches you. That being said, they aren't that small either, being about 30 ft tall on average for a normal North American Giant"
"Then could it have been that tall?" Jacob asked. Fontaine sighed.
"Well…we know how, but we don't know why" Fontaine stated. "It was made that height through the Engorio Charm. Surprisingly, it managed to stay alive as it grew all the way up to that height, but it came with a cost. The Giant's brain swelled to such a large size that it developed a tumor" Fontaine's voice turned sad. "We couldn't save it before it died, only shrink it back down to its normal size. We told the local Giant tribes in the area, and we are working on learning which tribe this giant came from, maybe learn who cast the Charm"
Jacob remained silent, not sure what to say next.
"Well" Fontaine began, "You should be able to return to the Thunderbird Common Room now if you'd like. All you suffered from this was some bruised ribs and shock, which can be cured within minutes in the Wizarding world. If you somehow lost all of your bones, well, that would take a little bit longer, approximately 24 hours" he laughed at the look of suprise on Jacob's face, then patted his back.
"Whenever you're ready to head back, go ahead" he then got up from the bed and began to walk away.
"Headmaster?" Jacob quickly asked. Fontaine turned back around to look at Jacob. "Are you really going to stay here and watch over everyone else?" he finished asking. Fontaine adjusted his glasses, and replied.
"Of course. Being the Headmaster, it is my duty to ensure the well-being of everyone at this school, like a father to all of you, just as Isolt and James did. Still, I did bring a book to read. It's called Transformation through the Ages, the 1990s and Beyond. I've always been interested in how the original Axe-Handle Hound used to be a real axe…" he said as he sat back down in his chair, picking up a hard-cover book and turning to his bookmark.
Jacob, seeing that the Headmaster gave him permission to leave, was still hesitant about leaving. He didn't want to leave Jessica by herself. It was only when Nurse Annie came into the Hospital Wing with a student tied up like a balloon, floating upside down as he entered, did Jacob decide to give his bed up and leave.