-On the Shores of Lake Superior-
Jacob began to wake up early in the morning as the small antique clock that sat up on a shelf on the opposite side of the room rang for eight o'clock. The glowing red embers that sat in the hearth at the center of the room continued to smolder as the fire from the night before began to die and fade away. Jacob threw back his sheets and stood, pulling out some of his clothes from the trunk at the foot of his bed. He turned towards the window as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his Kensington Kestrels shirt and gazed at the snow drifting by outside his window. The others slowly began to wake up as Jacob got dressed. Antonio lumbered up and out of bed with a grumble and Felix just stared at the ceiling, contemplating how much he wanted to keep sleeping. Large cardboard boxes sat next to the globe by the door filled with Christmas decorations, decorations the Pukwudgies hadn't bothered to put up themselves (which apparently, they never bother to do).
It was the first day of December and the winter vacation was rapidly approaching. All of Jacob's friends had been writing to their families each day, coordinating how and when they'd get home for their own vacations, just like Jacob was. Their professors, however, had anything but the upcoming break on their minds. Instead, they all began to tackle far harder spells and topics than they ever had before, such as the Alihosty Draught in Potions and the Ozark Howler in Defense Against the Dark Arts. As a consequence of this, all of the first-year students found themselves being awoken by the reality of their time at this school. While everything to them may have been new, magical, and exciting, this was a school that held the responsibility onto themselves to mold each student into the adults that they needed to be once they graduate and leave the school.
Jacob left the room quietly and softly closed the iron-bound wooden door behind him. He had his bookbag slung over his shoulder, which was filled with all of his textbooks, pieces of parchment, ink pots, and quills. He then walked up the cold, stone, spiral staircase that wound up the Boys' Tower and to the bridge that led into Thunderbird Tower. The bridge had been cleared earlier that morning, but it was still cold and slick from the snow and after a small walk, Jacob opened another iron-bound wooden door that led onto a small landing in the center of Thunderbird Tower, with the door that led to another bridge and the Girls' Tower on the opposite side of the room. Jacob then took the staircase upwards, through a trapdoor, and into the Common Room.
The Common Room was fairly empty that morning, with only a few students lingering on plush couches and chairs at the back of the room, quietly working on various assignments while the portraits of past Thunderbird alumni were sleeping lazily in their frames. The only sounds that were heard were the scribbling of quills and the crackling of the fire in the large stone fireplace. Jacob sat down at an empty table near the back of the room and began to work on their paper on the Ozark Howler. About a half an hour later, Felix, Antonio, and Jessica had all joined him. They then promptly left the Common Room together and made their way down the tower and to the Dining Hall for breakfast.
Upon their arrival at the Thunderbird Table in the Dining Hall, they began to eat hash browns, cereal, and pieces of toast. They drank orange-juice, apple-juice, and hot goblets filled with Wakey-Up! Brew. Antonio unfurled and began to read the latest edition of The New York Ghost before spreading it out on the table in front of them. This edition (last night's Sunset Edition) was filled with the usual stories and writings, such as the latest Quidditch scores for the American Quidditch League, Horoscopes in The Celestial Update, an ad for Ebbingdales Wonders for Wizards, and coverage of The Golden Quill Awards in Copenhagen. Felix decided to break the silence and began to complain about their paper in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"I can't believe that Professor Gabbit assigned us a paper on the Ozark Howler with only four weeks left before Winter Break. If Professor Fey wasn't sick with Vanishing Sickness, we would not have been assigned a paper on something this complicated" Antonio looked up from his cereal.
"Yeah, we had been studying much simpler things up until now, like Dugbogs and Ashwinders. Jumping straight to the Ozark Howler after much easier topics like that was a pretty significant change, wasn't it"? Felix took a sip of orange juice before responding.
"Exactly! It definitely was. Hanging around you two is exciting enough" he smirked as he gestured towards Jessica and Jacob. Jacob looked up from his hash browns in confusion.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Felix shrugged his shoulders.
"Well…you two were the ones who were in the Library when the Giant attacked" Jessica pointed a finger at him.
"That was one time, you goof" she laughed. "And honestly if you'd rather go and play with the Flobberworms in Care of Magical Creatures than have any excitement in your life…then be my guest" she stuck her tongue out at him. They all laughed.
"I have more than enough excitement in my life, thank you very much" Felix stuck his tounge out back at her as he sniggered. "Half a year ago, the most impressive magic trick I could pull off was pulling a quarter out of my little sister's ear. Now, I can cause objects to levitate, unlock locks without a key, brew a potion, and more! Life is anything but boring right now. Still, am I able to brag about how two of my close friends were attacked by a giant?" he smiled. "Nope!"
"Well stop complaining then, you idiot" Antonio playfully pushed Felix. They all laughed. Just then, a large trapdoor in the Dining Hall's ceiling opened up. Jessica looked up and smiled.
"The mail's here!" she said.
Small brown blurs swooped, swerved, dived, and glided into the hall and through the large wooden rafters that held the Dining Hall's vaulted ceiling up. They were all owls and they were all various breeds native to North America. They landed all along the four long dining tables for each of the houses and dropped various parcels, packages, letters, newspapers, and more next to their owners. Jacob's owl, a grey Barred Owl named Greyson, swooped down next to him among the hustle and bustle and had a letter from his parents, addressed to Jacob in his dad's usual scrawl, grasped in his beak. Jacob gave Greyson a couple of good head scratches before grabbing the letter from his beak. He opened it up, unfolded the lined piece of notebook paper, and began to read the letter.
Dear Jacob-
Your father and I have decided that if your friends were open to it, they could come spend a week or two with us at our cabin up in Duluth. We know how much they mean to you, so we wanted to do something special for them, to show them how much that means to us. Please send Greyson back as soon as you can with their reply, so we get the cabin ready in time.
Love,
- Mom and Dad
Jacob was very surprised, to say the least. Still, he was glad he had this opportunity and was excited to tell his friends about it. He promptly told them about the letter and asked who'd be able to come to their cabin on the shores of Lake Superior. They all seemed pretty supportive of the idea. Jessica smiled as she heard about it.
"I'd love to come! I've never been to Minnesota before, or even to the Great Lakes for that matter" Felix nodded.
"I've seen Lake Superior before, but from the Canadian side in Thunder Bay. Still, I think it would be pretty fun, considering how I've never been to Duluth before" Antonio thought a bit before responding.
"Sure. I think that would be fun too. I don't want to miss out on anything that all of my friends are getting up to" They all then concluded that they'd be sending owls home to their families to let them know that they'd be spending Winter Break at Jacob's cabin in Duluth.
Days and weeks passed by. Soon enough, the week before Winter Break was upon them. They all got up early in the morning before entering Thunderbird Tower. They all walked up towards another small trapdoor, this time in the ceiling of the Common Room. After it opened, a long wooden ladder slowly slid out and down onto the floor for them to climb up and into. There, they found a large, cozy room filled with bookshelves, a large globe, and a large map of the United States on the wall behind a long and low wooden desk. The only light in the dark maroon room came from a small and quaint fireplace in the corner of the room. It was the living quarters for the Thunderbird Head of House, Professor Fey.
Professor Fey sat solemnly behind her desk, but it was hard to know for sure if she was, since her case of Vanishing Sickness had caused her arms, hands, and head to disappear, so it just looked like a ghost was wearing Professor Fey's robes while invisible. She greeted them with a wave…. with a waving sleeve.
"Good afternoon Jacob, Antonio, Felix, and Jessica!" her disembodied voice emanating from the hole in her robes where her neck was supposed to be. "Sorry for the lack of…you know…" her sleeve gestured to her lack of a head. "…this" she muttered. Antonio shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.
"It's nothing…" he laughed awkwardly. "At least you don't have to worry about your hair, right…?" she sighed.
"I suppose so. Nothing can ever keep you down Antonio" she stood from her chair and walked over to the fireplace. "Now, since the Ilvermorny Railway isn't going to be arriving here at Mount Greylock for a couple of weeks, you all will be taking the Northern Floo Network to Champlin, Jacob's home" she grabbed a small flower pot off of the mantlepiece, pooled a small handful of what looked like sand into her invisible hand, and threw it into the fireplace. The fireplace then grew green and roared loudly before dying down to a small green hum. Felix turned towards her figure in confusion.
"Wait, what exactly are we doing?" the Professor's body turned towards him.
"You're taking the Northern Floo Network to Champlin. I just said that" Felix shook his head.
"No no no…I meant what are we doing with that fire" the Professor laughed.
"Oh, you're going to be stepping into the fire, shouting out where you want to go, and then you'll be brought there. That's how the Floo Network works" Jessica did a double take.
"And what if we don't say where we want to go correctly…?" the Professor huffed.
"Honestly, has anyone even mentioned the Floo Network to you four?!" they all sheepishly looked at their feet. She sighed. "Yes Jessica, saying the name wrong will send you somewhere where you didn't intend to go, but we can worry about that later. If you end up in Chicago, stand under the Cloud Gate and tap your wand three times on the ground. If you end up in Indianapolis, head to the Christopher Columbus statue at the Indiana Statehouse and tap the base with your wand and speak the incantation-" Jessica sighed in exasperation and interrupted her.
"Sorry to interrupt professor, but I think that we'll be fine" she nodded (or at least they think she did).
"Good. Now, MACUSA, The Minnesotan Council of Things, and the Federal Floo Network Bureau have been in contact with me and have established a temporary connection between my fireplace and the rest of the Northern Floo Network. So, just step into the flames, say Jacob's address (yes, the entire thing), and you'll be on your way. Felix! How about you go first?" she asked. He walked up to the fireplace, ducked down, and waddled in on his haunches before yelling.
"3206 DRAGSBURG LANE, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, 55443!" It was quite comical, seeing this Canadian boy sitting there on his haunches, surrounded by green flames, yelling out someone's address like a toddler who finally memorized his family's address for the first time. With a prompt roar, he disappeared into the flames and was gone. Soon after, Jessica and Antonio followed suit, looking just as comical and funny. Jacob had a hard time not laughing out loud when Antonio got stuck and was covered in soot. Jacob himself then climbed into the fireplace and smiled at the Professor before disappearing into the flames.
Jacob could see hundreds of chimneys flying past as he was squeezed through what felt like a chimney, before flying out of a grate and onto the floor of his family's living room, face first into the rug. His dad quickly helped him out and brought him to his feet, wiping off the soot covering his hair.
"There you go Jacob!" he smiled, "Welcome back"
Travelling by the Northern Floo Network for the first time was a bit nauseating for Felix, Antonio, and Jessica. Once they collected themselves and moved past their nausea, Jacob's parents invited them into their kitchen for some lunch. They all opened up to his parents fairly quickly. Felix found himself telling them all about his home in Quebec City and how much he enjoyed it there. Antonio opened up about his home in Zacatecas soon after, with Jessica eagerly joining in about her home in the North End of Boston. Once they had finished dinner, Jacob's father stood and looked at Jacob.
"So, now that we've all finished, we should be getting ready to make our way up to Duluth. The car is ready for the trip and filled with all of our supplies, so whenever you're all ready, we can get going" they all were ready shortly after, and they made their way to Duluth. It took them a couple of hours to reach the North Shore, but they were able to pass the time easily by telling stories to Jacob's parents about Ilvermorny. By about five o'clock in the evening, they pulled up to a large, low, and wooden house resting on rocky bluffs above Lake Superior. It was surrounded by bare, wooden trees that stuck out from the soft white snow surrounding them. It was very cold, but inside there was plenty of firewood brought up by Jacob's parents a couple of nights before they arrived.
They all settled in, unpacked their things, and then took a drive in their car into downtown Duluth for some dinner at a local brewery. When they returned to the cabin, it was late in the evening, so much so that they all settled down to sleep. Felix took the bed in the room he normally slept in, but they had also decided to give the pull-out bed to Antonio to sleep in. Jacob then took the pull-out bed in the Living Room to sleep in. He happily laid there under his sheets, glad that he was spending some time with his friends. Right as his eyes began to droop in the darkness of the cozy room, he heard what sounded like a small clicking from the window overlooking the lake.
At first, he had assumed that it was his imagination, but the clicking noise continued in successive intervals, as if something outside was trying to get his attention. As he drew back his sheets and stood, he grabbed his Dragot off of the coffee table besides him. It lit up in his hand on command and illuminated the face of a Barred Owl holding a letter. Jacob unlocked the clasp on the window and took the letter from the owl's beak. The letter was addressed to him, but he had no idea who had sent it. The owl flew off before he could thank it, so he shut the window, pulled on a lamp, and set the envelope down on the table before breaking the wax seal and unfolding the parchment that was inside.
This Official Document/Letter has been issued under the awareness and approval of The Minnesotan Council of Things
Jacob Johnson-
My name is Richard Fylgia, and I am the head of the Minnesotan Council of Things, the governing body for Minnesotan Witches and Wizards. The Council has sent this letter to you because your presence is needed tomorrow at our headquarters here in Duluth, Minnesota. We wish to discuss with you the recent events that have been occurring in here in the United States and what information we have concerning these events.
Please make your way to Leif Erickson statue in Leif Erickson Park by Noon tomorrow.
Best Wishes,
Richard Fylgia, Head of the Minnesotan Council of Things
Jacob took the letter up in his hands and reread it multiple times, just to make sure he understood what he had been reading. He kept rereading it the following morning and shared it with his family and friends over breakfast the following morning. They were all very supportive and even excited to hear what it was like, The Minnesotan Council of Things. Jacob, on the other hand, was slightly nervous. He had no idea what they would possibly be telling him or what the council would even be like. Still, soon enough, he found himself standing in front of the large Leif Erickson statue that stood in Leif Erickson Park, a park that rested on the shores of Lake Superior.
He approached the large, iron fence surrounding the statue. He glanced at his watch, waiting for it to hit noon. As soon as it did, Leif Erickson glanced down at him and knocked his metal fist down onto his stone pedestal four times. Jacob glanced down at the pedestal and read: "Leif Erickson, Discoverer of America". Just then, the pedestal slid backwards, and the fence opened up before him, revealing a wooden staircase that led down into a stone, torchlit chamber.
Magical Creature Profile, Fighting Bumblebees:
The Fighting Bumblebees are a species of magical creature native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, specifically Washington and Oregon (even though they have been seen migrating to northern regions of California, they're native to these regions exclusively). The giant Paul Bunyan had ordered a shipment of them from some relations who lived and harvested their honey, simply to help his logging companions be freed from the Giant Mosquitos (another breed of magical creature native to North Dakota), who had been eating their livestock. Sadly, this only resulted in the creation of the Mosquitobee, a giant bee-mosquito hybrid that now lives in the most remote regions of the Badlands. The Fighting Bumblebees had passed on their aggressive behaviors to their Mosquitobee descendants, leaving North Dakota with two large sets of highly dangerous magical creatures.
Answers to Guest Reviews:
Will you continue the story? (From Schmittiz)
Yep. It just takes some time to keep forging ahead. I'm like a Runespoor, with the right head (the critic) being the loudest while I'm writing.
This is very, very cool :-) (From Vincent FGS91)
Thanks :) I appreciate it.
Normally, people like Fontaine and even Dumbledore would take Divination with a shrug. However, desperate times, desperate measures as they say. (From Vincent FGS91)
Well, yes, and no. Xylomancy is a form of Divination taught as a class on its own at Ilvermorny. While I do agree that Divination is a very faulty branch of magic, it can be correct on certain occasions, just as Professor Trelawny was during the events of Harry Potter. Headmaster Fontaine happens to be a very lucky man, so much so that you'd think he starts every morning by drinking Wakey-Up! Brew laced with Felix Felicis (which of course he doesn't do).
MOREMOREMOREMOREMOREEEEEE! (From Vincent FGS91)
Here you go :)
Thanks for leaving reviews and thanks for the large amount of support for this story! It means a lot to me.
-JT