Sunday, August 28, 2011

The next morning, Brian and Merula were hanging out in their common room. Brian couldn't help but notice that the round ceiling was a perfect reflection of the sky above… and there was a storm coming. Some people would be terrified of storms. But students of House Thunderbird weren't afraid at all. In fact, they eagerly awaited it!

"Look!" Merula pointed as thunder and lightning showed on the ceiling!

The other students oohed and ahed.

"Hey Merula?" Brian began asking. "I had a weird dream last night. I saw two giant serpents; one of them had green skin and yellow eyes and the other had black skin, blue eyes, horns, and a gem on its forehead."

"You… just described a basilisk and a horned serpent."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. According to legend, Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, built a chamber of secrets and hid a murderous basilisk there. Luckily, that darn thing is dead now, but innocent students were killed because of it!" She looked worried.

"Still, they were talking to each other… and I could hear it."

"Wha?"

"I'm serious! I heard the two speak. They were arguing about… me."

Merula could only stare in disbelief before another student approached them. This boy had white skin, ebony hair, and tawny eyes.

"Why they'd let you into Ilvermorny is beyond me," said the boy, "especially considering that your mom is the descendant of Slytherin."

"Why don't you bug off, Thompson?!" Barked Merula. "Brian'll be a much better student than you if ya keep on bugging first-years!"

"I'm telling you, pure-blood supremacist, that boy's gonna be nothing but trouble." He left and Merula rolled her eyes.

"You ok?" Merula asked Brian.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brian replied. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"Any time! Hey, why don't we make a map of Ilvermorny? That way, we won't get lost!"

"Good idea." Brian got his messenger bag, placed a piece of parchment, a fountain pen, and a vial of Royal Cranberry ink into it, and followed Merula.

Brian and Merula decided to explore the castle a bit, which was fitting for a pair of Thunderbirds. Both of them currently wore their casual clothes underneath their robes, as it wasn't a school day. Using whatever table or desk he could, Brian would make a map on the parchment he brought with him. It was pretty fun, especially with Elizabeth as their guide. They weren't able to map everything in the school in a single day, but they were able to get the entrances to the Horned Serpent common room on the ground floor, next to the entrance to the dungeons, the Pukwudgie common room on the second floor, and the Wampus common room on the fifth floor. Sadly, they couldn't get in due to the fact that a student from those houses wasn't accompanying them. In fact, the Wampus statue on the fifth floor growled at them!

"Rude," muttered Brian as the two returned to the Thunderbird's common room.

Brian would sit on the couch and look at the map he and Merula had created.

"Alright, so it looks like we got the entrance hall, the wand selection hall, the Great Hall, the kitchen, the grand staircase, our common room, and the entrances to the other common rooms.

"Also, if I had to guess how many stairs there are here, I'd guess somewhere between two hundred and too many." Brian looked at all the rooms he and Merula managed to write down on their map.

"Tell me about it! I can't believe we almost got lost!" Merula exclaimed. "Well, unfortunately for us, tomorrow's first class is potions."

"Why is that?"

"Because, according to rumors, Professor Alastor Drake is quite the sadistic monster!"

"That's not true at all! I met Professor Drake myself and he's nothing like the rumors suggest. You saw him back at Pluto's Boulevard too!"

"Wait, that was him?!"

Brian nodded and said, "Tomorrow, we'll know for sure. Oh, by the way, what's your wand made out of?"

"Ebony with a thunderbird tail feather core. Why?" Merula's wand was very dark brown, almost black, in color.

"Just curious."

Monday, August 29, 2011

The next day, all of the students were wearing the same uniform, save for the fact that the sweater vests were now different colors and the robes each had different patches. The patches all appeared to be a red four-leafed clover, but each of them had one of the four House mascots. For instance, Brian and Merula wore purple vests and their patches had the Thunderbird while Rowan's was blue and his patch had the Horned Serpent. The group of Thunderbird and Horned Serpent students entered the potions lecture hall at exactly 9 o'clock AM. Sure enough, it was cold and creepy, but Brian could also sense something fascinating about this class. All kinds of ingredients lined the shelves and in the front of the room was a huge blackboard. Brian took his textbook, a parchment notebook, his pen, and a vial of ink out of his messenger bag.

A nearby door opened and many students were expecting a thin man with sallow skin, greasy black hair, a large hooked nose, and yellow teeth. They were not expecting a man as handsome as Alastor Drake. They got the black hair and body type right, sure, but everything else about him was far, FAR from the man they worried about.

"Told you," Brian whispered to Merula as Professor Drake began taking roll call.

"Now then," Professor Drake began speaking, calmly and clearly to the students in his lecture hall, "I will tell you once and only once: you are all here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class, so many of you will hardly believe that this is magic, but there's beauty in the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you all to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper on death itself. That being said, anyone messing around in my class will be disciplined. You've been warned.

"For example, Mr. Bank, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" He asked Brian.

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Brian glanced at Merula, who was just as stumped as he was; Rowan's hand shot into the air.

"I don't know sir," replied Brian.

Professor Drake frowned at Brian's answer, disappointed.

"Hmm…" He looked at Rowan. "Mr. Khanna, do you know the answer?"

"Yes sir!" Rowan spoke up. "The result is a sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death."

"Correct, Mr. Khanna," he said with a smile. "Also, I should note that the Draught of Living Death is very dangerous if not used with caution. Considering it's a H.A.R.E.-level potion, I can't teach you that. 10 points to Horned Serpent. I strongly suggest you all read the books required in this class.

"Let's try something else. Ms. Snyde, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"A goat's stomach, sir," Merula replied. Brian looked like he was gonna be sick.

"Gross, but correct. 10 points for Thunderbird. As gross as it sounds (and believe me, it is), a bezoar can save you from most poisons, with basilisk venom a notable exception."

Brian opened his notebook and began writing notes down.

"Let's see if you can't get this one right, Mr. Bank. What's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"That's a trick question, sir," Brian answered, remembering his visit to the Apothecary at Pluto's Boulevard. "Wolfsbane and monkshood are one and the same. This plant also goes by the name aconite."

"Very good," Alastor smiled. "It seems you were able to bounce back. Another 10 points for Thunderbird! Now then, for today's assignment, you will all brew a beginner level potion: the Cure for Boils. Turn your textbooks to pages 4 and 5 and collect the ingredients listed."

The students opened their textbooks and began to take ingredients from the shelves. With Merula's help, Brian collected dried nettles, six snake fangs, four horned slugs, and two porcupine quills. He almost collected a jar filled with powder before Merula and Rowan stopped him.

"Careful!" Rowan warned. "That's Bulbadox powder. If you put it in your cauldron, it'll explode."

"Wonder how that got there?" Brian asked as he and Merula returned to their desk.

As the students were preparing their potions, the classroom suddenly filled with a loud hissing and acid green smoke. Rowan somehow managed to blow up his own cauldron! He was expecting Professor Drake to yell at him. Indeed, just as he feared, Drake rushed to him… but didn't yell once.

"Are you ok?" He asked Rowan, clearly worried about the boy.

"Y-yes sir," Rowan meekly replied as boils covered his face. It seems that Rowan made a mistake.

"Looks like you added the porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the fire. Not sure why the cauldron exploded though. At any rate, Miss Bailey, please take Mr. Khanna to the hospital wing." Professor Drake cleared the spilled potion away with a wave of his wand before looking into the remains of Rowan's cauldron. "How did Bulbadox powder get into Mr. Khanna's cauldron…?" He took out his wand, gave it a wave, and said, "Reparo."

All of a sudden, the pieces of Rowan's bronze cauldron began to assemble themselves until it was a cauldron once more.

"Professor Drake," asked Thompson, "aren't you gonna take house points away?"

"For what, exactly? Mr. Khanna made an honest mistake. I'm not sure how Bulbadox powder got into his cauldron; either he mistakenly placed it there or someone tampered with his potion. Either way, there's no reason to punish honest mistakes. They just need to learn to avoid future mistakes. Learn through experience."

As Brian waved his wand over his cauldron, pink smoke started to rise from it, causing Professor Drake to smile.

"It seems that you learn quickly, Mr. Bank. Well done!" He said to Brian, with a smile on his face, before another cauldron exploded! "What the?" This time, it was Thompson's cauldron.

"Snyde did it! She put Bulbadox powder into my potion!" Thompson accused Merula!

"That's not true!" Brian exclaimed. "Merula and Rowan warned me about the powder and I never once saw her pick it up." Alastor approached Thompson.

"Is this true, Mr. Thompson?" He asked calmly, in a stern tone of voice.

"...Yes, sir," Thompson admitted. "I tampered with Rowan's potion and tried to frame Merula."

"Well," Professor Drake said calmly to Thompson, looking quite disappointed, "I'm glad you decided to come clean, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you tampered with Mr. Khanna's potion and attempted to frame Ms. Snyde by tampering with your own potion. I have no choice but to deduct 20 points from Thunderbird."

"Nice going, dunderhead!" Another Thunderbird student called out Thompson for his blunder.

"Just be glad I'm not discipling you any further," Professor Drake warned Thompson before turning to Merula and Biran, smiling. "As for you two, I'm impressed. You two worked together to successfully complete your first potion. 10 points will be awarded to each of you, plus a bonus 10 points will be awarded to Mr. Bank for standing up for Miss Snyde and proving her innocence. In total, House Thunderbird has been awarded 30 points.

"Oh, and just to be clear, a little harmless mischief is okay, but don't overdo it. There's a point where pranks stop being funny and start being mean." Both Horned Serpent students and Thunderbird students were not happy with Thompson. But they were happy that Brian and Merula called him out.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011-Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Brian learned pretty quickly that there was more to magic than waving your wand around and saying incantations, though he had to admit, he loved potions class. That said, he was pretty sure the homework was easy, yet also challenging. The homework for first-year potions class, for instance, was to write a short essay on the potion they had learned. Rowan and Thompson were the only exceptions; Rowan was allowed to redo his potion for his homework instead while Thompson had to redo his own potion AND write an essay on it.

The students all had to study the night sky every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of planets. Three times a week they went to the greenhouses right outside the entrance hall to study Herbology, with a pale skinned witch named Professor Harker, who Brian could swear had fangs…

The most boring class was History of Magic, which was taught by Professor Carter, a man with pale skin who droned on and on and on about wizards and witches of the past. Brian couldn't help but notice a pamphlet titled "Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose To A Peaceful Pure-Blood Society."

Beneath the title of the pamphlet was a red rose with a simpering face in the middle of its petals being strangled by a green weed with fangs and a scowl. The pink pamphlet didn't have an author.

"Professor Carter?" Brian's hand rose up. "What's that?"

"Oh, that," Professor Carter spoke. "That's just a stupid pamphlet made by the British Ministry of Magic during Voldemort's reign of terror. Just ignore it."

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Professor Triton, who Brian later learned was actually half merperson, was setting his lecture hall up for a good spell or two. Brian couldn't help but notice a page from the Texas Dragon newspaper.

"Hey Professor," Brian said to Triton, "do you mind if I take this?"

"No, go ahead," said Triton. "But take your seat. Class is about to begin. Today, we're learning about the wand-lighting charm and the wand-extinguishing charm. You should be careful with this one!"

Once the Thunderbird and Horned Serpent students were seated, Triton began his lecture, but not before taking roll call, like Professor Drake.

"The Wand-Lighting charm is simple, but it requires concentration," he warned. "This spell is quite the useful one. It's perfect for searching a shadowy room for hidden dangers…or for just finding stuff under the sofa!" He cleared his throat, took out his wand, twirled it softly, and said "Lumos."

Triton's wand hummed as a tip of white light appeared on the tip of his wand.

"Pretty cool, huh? Now, care must be taken to avoid igniting anything flammable. To extinguish it, one must wave their wand and say the incantation Nox." He demonstrated, which caused the light to dim and eventually disappear. "Now then, would anyone like to give it a shot?"

Brian raised his hand.

"Mr. Bank? Would you like to give it a shot?"

"Uh, sure," Brian said before taking his wand out and repeating the movements Triton made before saying "Lumos!"

Just like Triton's wand, Brian's wand lit up. He waved his wand again and said "Nox", causing the wandlight to extinguish.

Their Transfigurations professor, a human male called Professor Rodriguez, was just as strict as Professor Drake was. If not even more strict. The Thunderbird students shared this class with the Horned Serpent students.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Ilvermorny," he said, in a strict voice. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then he changed his desk into a pig and back again. The students were impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized that they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Rowan had made any difference to his match; Professor Rodriguez showed the class how it had turned silver and pointy and gave Rowan a rare smile.

"You don't wanna get on Rodriguez's bad side," a Horned Serpent student warned. "He's the head of Wampus House."

The class everyone had been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts. And their teacher, Professor Elizabeth Van Helsing, was certainly no exception. The Thunderbird and Wampus students watched as she taught them practical ways on how to best defend themselves while also telling the occasional tale about her ancestor: Abraham Van Helsing.

"The Abraham Van Helsing?" Brian asked.

"Yup," said Professor Van Helsing. "He was a wizard who fought dangerous vampires during the late 19th century! Now, to be clear, not all vampires are evil. In fact, most of them are quite nice in the US! Heck, our own herbology professor, Professor Harker, is half-vampire! All of their strengths and none of their weaknesses. We're also dating, but I'm not paid to talk about my relationships."

Later in the afternoon, Brian, Merula, and Rowan decided to use their free time during lunch to hang in the central courtyard. While they were there, Brian couldn't help but notice the snakewood tree in the center of the grounds.

"Huh," Brian said. "Nice tree."

"According to Ilvermorny: A Mysterious History," Rowan began, "the snakewood tree was kept because Isolt and James discovered that the leaves of the tree had powerful healing properties."

"That's pretty cool!" Merula replied before noticing Brian's newspaper. "See you finally got to reading the Texas Dragon, huh?"

"Watch out!" A third-year was flying on their broom, causing the trio to duck!

"Hey, watch it!"

"Hey, look at this!" Brian said, as he showed Merula and Rowan the newspaper. "It's talking about the Lunar Bank."

Lunar Bank Break-In Latest

Investigations continue into the break-in at Lunar First National Bank at Pluto's Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas on June 13, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.

Lunar Bank employees today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Lunar Bank spokes-pukwudgie this afternoon.

"No way," Merula said in shock.

"This happened on the exact same day Professor Drake, Mom and I were shopping! Merula, your dad has to know something about this!"

"He probably does," Merula replied. "But, it's likely classified information. Did you and Professor Drake take anything from that vault?"

"Well, yeah. Professor Drake took out a small bag on the floor, but he said it was for Ilvermorny business, so I don't know what's in it."

"It's more than likely that whoever broke into the vault was trying to get something that Professor Drake got first."

"That would mean Professor Drake might be in danger!" Rowan interjected.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Friday was an important day for Brian and Merula. They got to test their map out today, and it worked! Well, kind of. At least it got them to the Great Hall safely. Though Brian couldn't help but wonder what was in the forbidden corridor.

As the two ate breakfast in the Great Hall, the mail arrived. Brian was used to this by now, but it gave him a bit of a shock on the first few mornings, when about a thousand owls, ravens, and crows had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

Athena hadn't brought Brian anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before flying off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down and dropped a note onto Brian's plate. Brian tore it open at once. It said:

Dear Brian,

I know you get Friday afternoons and weekends off, so why don't you come around my office at around 3? I want to hear all about your first week so far.

Send me an answer back with Athena.

-Professor Alastor Drake, Potions Master and Deputy Headmaster

Brian used his pen and wrote Sure! But I have something urgent we need to talk about. See you later on the back of the note, and sent Athena off again.

At five to three they made their way back to the potions classroom and entered Professor Drake's office.

"Please, sit," he said warmly. The trio sat down in seats in front of his desk. "Don't worry; none of you are in trouble." He was able to put the group at ease.

"Nice to see you again, Professor," said Rowan. "Oh, did you get my report?"

"Yes I did, Mr. Khanna. And I also got your potion sample. And your timing couldn't be more perfect; one of our fifth-years had a bad case of acne. Really bad."

The trio talked to Alastor about their week so far as Alastor lit his office's fireplace by using his wand before returning to his desk.

"Those pukwudgies are a weird bunch; always saying they have no wish to be here, yet they willingly show up every single year."

"Professor," Brian said, "What's a Mudblood?"

"Who taught you that word?" Professor Drake looked upset.

"We just saw a pink pamphlet in Professor Drake's office."

"Oh, that. Professor Carter has that for historical context… but the word itself is an ugly word."

"It's a DISGUSTING thing to call someone… the m-word," Merula explained to Brian. "Lots of wizard families in the UK think they're all that because they're pure-blood, but that kind of blood purity nonsense is all but nonexistent in the US."

"Heh. Remind me to ask Professor Carter to have it removed."

"Uh, professor? Sorry to change the subject," Brian said, "but I think you might be in trouble." Brian showed him the newspaper.

"Well, of course nobody stole anything from the vault; I already emptied it out and gave the…package to Professor Fontaine."

"What's in it?"

"Can't tell you. Classified information," he said, with a serious face before smiling warmly. "Anyway, students have weekends off, as I'm sure you've noticed already. Perfect for clubs like the dueling club, the chess club, and so on! Oh, I forgot to mention this, but you and Rowan can sit next to each other during mealtimes, except for the start-of-term feast and the end-of-term feast. Ilvermorny actively encourages friendly relationships between houses. Friendly rivalries, sure, but still friendly nonetheless. Ilvermorny's one big family, after all, and the Houses are like branches of that family!"