It was October in Washington D.C. The cold wind blew across the streets as a lone man walked through towards the Capitol Building, which rose up from the landscape like a Greek temple. He walked up the front steps and into the building. As he walked into the Great Rotunda, he slowly disappeared down a spiral staircase in the floor. The brickwork slowly turned newer as what would've been thought of as a secret basement in the Capitol building turned into the headquarters for the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
The headquarters of MACUSA was a large chamber, reaching up towards the surface. Different doors led to different discussion chambers reserved for each federal office, board, committee, and more. The resident of the President for MACUSA was on the opposite end of the chamber, with a statue of all of the original Twelve Aurors in the center of the room, all of them standing back to back with their wands pointed upwards. Owls and Paper Airplanes flew around the space, with tubes filled with origami rats delivering messages to each part of the facility being seen protruding from the ceiling, weaving in and out of each other.
The man was greeted by MACUSA employees. "Greetings, Minister. Both President Quahog and President Varitas are ready to begin. Right this way" they told him politely. They bowed slightly and led him off past a memorial dedicated to the history of Wizarding-America. One panel had a man wearing a bandana and hat holding a wizard for ransom, another showed Ilvermorny with a witch and young girl to the right of it, the Twelve Aurors, and a life-size statue of Newt Scamander in front of the Woolworth Building with his creatures.
They passed the memorial and turned right. They then entered a door and found themselves in a large discussion hall, with chairs surrounding the perimeter of the room. A Caucasian man dressed in a suit and necktie (that swirled with moving spirals) and a Latino man dressed in a similar suit (but with a green, white, and red bow-tie).
"Bienvenue Minister Gagnon" President Quahog said as he entered the room. Minister Gagnon raised a hand in greeting. He greeted President Varitas.
"Buenos días, President Varitas" he said with a slight French accent. He then sat down with President Quahog and President Varitas and began to talk. All three of these men were some of the most powerful wizards in North America, heading the governments of each of the three major superpowers of North America. The only reason they didn't have President Elfin from Iceland, Minister Erickson from Greenland, and the leaders of magic from the Carribean Islands was because they had nothing to add or contribute to the discussion that President Quahog, Minister Gagnon, and President Varitas were about to have.
"Thank you for both coming here today. How was the journey from Ottawa, Minister Gagnon?" President Quahog asked.
"Just fine" he replied.
"How was the journey from Mexico City, President Varitas?" he then asked.
"Good, good" he said, but soon enough a tinge of slight annoyance creeped into his voice. "Now that we have the formalities out of the way, maybe you can explain why it seems the United States has another group of 'Second-Salemers' on their hands?" he asked. Even though President Varitas had known President Quahog of the United States since they first took up office, Varitas was slowly getting impatient with the US.
"Yes, I'd like to know that too" Minister Gagnon added indignantly. Confused, President Quahog reassured them that there was nothing to worry about. Minister Gagnon had taken up office in Canada right after President Quahog did, which was welcomed by both the wizarding communities of Mexico and the United States.
"There is nothing for each of you to worry about. Honestly, I'm slightly confused at why what's happening in the United States has caught the attention of the magical communities of Canada and Mexico" he replied coldly. Often known to be hard and rugged, Samuel G. Quahog was the perfect man for the job as President of MACUSA.
"Ever since that Obscurus tore up New York City in 1926, both Canada and Mexico have kept their eyes on the United States to make sure they never broke the International Statue to Wizarding Secrecy" Varitas explained. "Considering how your non-magical population has a history of not liking you…." Even though Varitas was friends with both Gagnon and Quahog, he has had to deal with the recent plans made by President Trump for building a wall along the border of Mexico and the US, which would make his job harder as he now had to find a way to continue the open borders between the US and Mexican wizarding communities.
"Excuse me, President Varitas, but let me remind you that shortly after MACUSA repealed Rappaport's Law, all the Presidents of the United States, like President Barack Obama and George W. Bush, have taken the fact that magic exists in the United States very well, even going above and beyond to keep our world a secret. May I also remind you that we are a major reason why the Statue came into existence in the first place" Quahog said. "We aren't strangers to these types of things"
"Still" Gagnon interjected. "The anti-wizarding sentiment has now spread to both Canada and Mexico, which concerns us deeply"
"Should the non-magical populations of Canada and Mexico learn of the existence of magic, the United States will provide assistance in wiping the memories of whoever may need it" President Quahog answered back as 'rock-hard' as ever. All three of them were shooting replies back and forth at each other at this point.
"What if the news of magic's existence leaks out from Mexico, Canada, or the United States to the rest of the world? How are we to account for the rest of the world?" Varitas asked.
"Are you suggesting that the International Confederation of Wizards should get involved?" Quahog asked incredulously, realizing how much he underestimated the concern both Canada and Mexico had for this topic.
"Well, if this is the same magnitude as that Obscurial accident…" Gagnon started, but Quahog interrupted him.
"The International Confederation of Wizards will only summon a meeting if all of them deem it absolutely necessary! And this is nowhere near as catastrophic as the Obscurial Credence Barebone"
"They may soon enough…" Gagnon said.
"If the International Confederation of Wizards had a habit of interfering in the affairs of a single country, they would've got themselves involved when Voldemort was on the rise in the UK" Quahog interrupted again. The room fell silent for a moment, but he then sighed.
"There must be something more than anti-wizarding sentiment on your minds" he told them. "Normally, you would never have requested a meeting for something like this"
"You're right" Gagnon told him. "We're concerned about Ilvermorny" President Quahog sighed again at this.
"What about Ilvermorny?" he asked. He had attended Ilvermorny himself. Quahog had lived in a small town in New Jersery, where he one day received his letter and went straight off to Ilvermorny, which he absolutely loved. He spent all seven years there as a member of Wampus Cat house.
"You are aware that we send students there, right?" Varitas asked. "Should Ilvermorny be discovered by your funny group of Second Salemers, we may be drawn into this problem too"
"Ilvermorny is one of the safest places in the magical world, only coming second to Hogwarts in the UK, and being on par with Castelobruxo in Brazil and Mahoutokoro in Japan" Quahog replied, immediately reminding them of this important fact.
"That still doesn't change the fact that someone has bought the land from the state of Massachusetts that Ilvermorny is located on!" Varitas exclaimed, losing patience with Quahog.
Silence fell as tension and worry appeared on President Quahog's face.
"As we speak, MACUSA officials are working to buy the land that Ilvermorny is located on" President Quahog said slowly.
"Also…" Minister Gagnon asked, "Why hasn't this been done before? Why did you leave the land Ilvermorny resides on to a non-magical government?" An owl flew in through the window and out the other.
"There was never a need to buy it because it was a State Reservation" Quahog replied. "No one wanted the land Ilvermorny was located on anyways, much less wanted it so much that they would purchase it from the government!"
"This is all very concerning Quahog" President Varitas told him, preparing the final threat. "Should the need arise, Mexico will remove their students from Ilvermorny and send them to Castelobruxo. If you can't get this under control, the agreement between Mexico and the United States will be terminated until further notice"
"Even though Ilvermorny is the largest of the eleven major wizarding schools…" Minister Gagnon added, not enjoying confronting his friend, but knowing it needed to be done, "There are more than enough smaller schools to send our students to in Canada"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen" Quahog said, raising up his hands in defense. "There will be no need for that. If needed, we will use magic to obtain the property for Ilvermorny. There is no need to be worried like this!"
"It's not only us who are worried" they both told him. "We have been contacted by the families from all over our countries, who are demanding that something be done to protect them and their students"
"Also, we are concerned that the new students who have recently been sent to Ilvermorny may expose us all. They won't feel any allegiance to us yet" Minister Gagnon explained. "Who's to say that even the parents may choose to expose us, believing it's right?"
"They wouldn't dare" Quahog replied. "Not because we'd punish them, but because their children would be in severe danger" Quahog's secretary walked in at this and reminded him of his meeting with the Federal Office for Magical Games and their Regulation, which meant the meeting ended. They exchanged their goodbyes, and one by one, they left as President Quahog assured them that he would send a MACUSA official to Ilvermorny as soon as possible.
"Sadly, Quahog, not all the children who are sent to Ilvermorny may have parents who care more about exposing the magical world, the thing that changed their children, than finding their child a place in it" President Varitas muttered as he left and apparated back to Mexico City.
(Two Months Earlier)
Mr. Elmeran had just sold the last wand of the day to Jacob Johnson, a student going to Ilvermorny in the fall. He closed the front door to his shop and locked it, which he then protected against Alohamora. He walked up the stairs at the back of his shop to the upper level, which is where he stayed each night. He went to the fridge, grabbed a Dr. Pepper, and sat down on his couch to listen to the radio. He turned on the radio and the voice of a wizard popped out.
"Thank you for tuning in to K.20¼, the most popular wizarding radio station in the Twin Cities. This upcoming track is by 'Mick and the Medicine Men' titled, You're as Prickly as a Cactus Cat, from their new album, 'I Can Hide-Behind that!'"
Smooth jazz then filled the room. Mr. Elmeran then pointed his wand, a rugged wand, at his fireplace, saying Incendio, he lit a large fire in his fireplace. He began to look through his schedule for the upcoming week. On Monday, he was traveling to Canada to receive Agoolik hairs for wand cores. Tuesday, to Louisiana swamps for Rougarou hairs. Finally on Thursday, he would travel to the Redwoods in California for wand wood. He thought back, years and years ago, to when he met his wife. He was traveling to Mexico to look for Quetcoatzl feathers at Teotihuacan when he met his wife at the top of the tallest temple. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met and when she fell in love with him, it was the happiest days of his life. He then married her two years later, which then resulted in five happy years together, before she died. Both of them were twenty-eight years old. Mr. Elmeran, whose first name was Milten, tried not to think about it too much, but she was a wandmaker as well, which gave him an even deeper drive to provide the best wands money could buy, in honor of the happiness they shared. Mr. Elmeran didn't have anyone else, so slowly the big wandmakers of the United States, Canada, and Mexico became like a second family to him.
Shortly after he sat down, he heard a loud banging at his front door. Slowly, he stood up and held his wand at the ready as he walked to the stairs. He then heard the door crack open with a huge CRASH!
"Who's there?" he yelled. "You better leave NOW, whoever you are!" He walked down the stairs. He then made his way through the rows upon rows of shelves carrying wands. Mr. Elmeran finally reached the front of the store, after stopping and starting again. Just as he expected, he found the door in a shattered heap on the floor, almost as if a battering ram knocked it off its hinges.
He sighed, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew they must be somewhere in his store. He heard a creak that ominously sounded like a footstep.
He was about to turn around, but that's when he blacked out from a gun pommel knocking him clean unconscious.
NEXT CHAPTER: LIFE AT ILVERMORNY
Magical Creature Profile,The Side-Hill Gouger:
The Side-Hill Gouger is found as two different species in two different regions of the United States: Nebraska and Oregon. It is born with one set of legs shorter than the other, leading it to find the sides of hills for its normal habitat. This leads the sides of hills in its habitat to be gouged out in their path as they make their daily trek around their hills. Still, should they need to move from one hill to the next, their packs form pairs to lean up against each other as they travel in flat terrain. The main differences between the two species, is that the Nebraskan Species is known to have thick and shaggy hair on the side with its longer legs, while the side close to the hills is smooth and tan. There is no noticeable difference in the symmetry of the Oregon variant. The milk produced by the Side-Hill Gouger is known to be used in various potions used to cure magical maladies.