It was quite spacious. There were two private toilet stalls, two showers with glass that was black on the outside, yet somehow clear from within, and a medium-sized stained-glass window of a Thunderbird. The floor wasn't linoleum, as Evergreen was used to, but smooth cobblestones that slightly massaged your feet whenever you stood still. He wondered if you'd get a back massage from lying down. He dismissed such an idea though, as laying down on a shared bathroom floor probably wasn't the best idea.
Jumping in the shower, he noted that the acoustics were perfect in the shower area for singing. So, as usual, he sang while he showered. Singing was one of his favorite things because it was the only time he could avoid his stutter. He was out quickly and briefly stopped at the floor-to-ceiling mirror to put a little gel in his hair.
He dressed without his sweater, as it was still summertime, pulling on just his white shirt, navy slacks, yellow tie, and navy and cranberry robe. Lastly, he carefully put his wand into the hip holster Seta had given him that he was wearing within his robe. As he did so, he saw Link just getting out of bed.
"Good morning s-starshine!" he told his friend, briefly grabbing Link's pillow to bash him about his head.
The Summerhills joined Evergreen's laughing as Link fell back into bed with a grunt.
"We d-don't want t-to be late for breakfast on our f-first day."
Grumbling still, Link stood up from his bed and rushed off toward the bathroom area. 15 minutes later, he came out all dressed and looking awake. The Summerhills had left when Link was in the bathroom, so the two boys descended from their dorm room to the Nest together. In the Nest, some older students were playing the wizarding game, exploding snap. It was getting intense.
There was also a young witch, maybe 13 or 14, sitting by the empty fireplace absently shooting tiny, yellow orbs from her short wand onto the cold, dry log laying upon the stone.
They left the Nest and flew down the stairs. They appeared in the commons in no time. Andie and Glade were already there, listening intently to some funny story that Maggie was telling them. All the teachers were already in the commons and there was an obvious air of excitement amongst the throng of witches and wizards. It wasn't yet time for breakfast, as the tables were all set with bowls and platters but were clean and empty.
When they approached the Thunderbird table, Evergreen heard the tail end of Maggie's story. Her hands were flapping about wildly and the girls on her side of the table were laughing lightly.
"—and that's when I first cast a memory charm. The only issue is, gnomes are so stupid, it's impossible to tell if it had any effect."
The girls laughed at this and even Evergreen let out a giggle. He knew enough from his magical reading to understand the implications of memory charms and that they were ineffective against creatures of lesser intelligence. The two boys took a seat there and Maggie turned to Evergreen.
"Your parents are both No-Maj, right?"
Evergreen was taken aback at the abruptness of her question. The answer was obviously no. His mother was certainly a witch. A few individuals, like Professor Woods, were aware of this, but Dad told him to be very careful about who else he revealed his mother's identity to. He hadn't known Maggie, or any of her friends at that table for very long, so it was hard to say how safe such a thing would be with them.
"Yes, I was raised in a No-Maj home."
His answer was correct, as he was raised by Dad, who had no magic. It was kind of a deflection though, he hoped that she wouldn't pry. Evergreen was never a good liar, he was an excellent secret keeper, though.
"Cool, so can you tell us about some of your weird experiences with magic before you knew anything about it?"
Before Evergreen's stuttering allowed an answer, a loud voice called from the front of the commons. Evergreen thanked no one, in particular, for the fact that he then had some time to think about that question, thus minimizing the amount of time he would spend stuttering as he told the story. The headmaster, dressed in robes of lime green, raised his hands, calling out to the students.
"Good morning, one and all!" Headmaster Washington-Frost began. "I have a few new announcements for you. Quidditch and Quodpot tryouts are the first weekend of September. These are for seventh graders and up, only. However, anyone can join the broom racing team. Thespian auditions begin weekend two, with callbacks weekend three. Classes start today, obviously, and you will all receive your schedules shortly. But before that, let us enjoy the morning flavors of Ilvermorny!"
As usual, the moment Headmaster Washington-Frost ceased speaking, their tables were covered with the largest, most ridiculous display of food. Evergreen noticed that there were scones and mini fruit pies today. Evergreen took some eggs, sausage, and a mini apple pie. It seemed that with the appearance of all the food, Maggie and her friends lost interest in whatever story Evergreen may have for them regarding his weird introduction to magic. He was actually somewhat relieved that he didn't have to be the center of attention for very long.
Eventually, Professor Woods descended from the high table and handed some parchment to Victoria Snow and the sandy-haired sophomore boy. The two of them then proceeded to distribute the parchment to the Thunderbirds (with magic of course), starting with the upperclassmen. After maybe five minutes, Evergreen was able to get a hold of his schedule.
Apparently, Ilvermorny went off a block schedule. Regular classes were held Monday through Thursday and clubs and extracurricular activities were held on Fridays, leaving Saturday and Sunday as a proper weekend. Going from elementary school to this block schedule was a little different, Evergreen thought. Looking down at his schedule, Evergreen read:
Eminent Evergreen Quandary
Sixth Grade Schedule
Thunderbird House
Head of House: Prof. Tempest Woods
Day 1: Monday & Wednesday
9:00 A.M. Charms - Prof. Aurora Delacroix
10:30 A.M. Transfiguration - Prof. Azriel Graves
Noon Lunch
1:00 P.M. History of Magic - Prof. Agatha Shadowmend
3:00 P.M Defense Against the Dark Arts - Prof. Tempest Woods
Day 2: Tuesday & Thursday
9:00 A.M. Flying - Prof. Ophiar Frost
10:30 A.M. Alchemy - Doc. Raina Killian
Noon Lunch
1:00 P.M. Creature Care - Doc. Paxton Fangholder
Midnight Astronomy - Prof. Pollux Whitmore
Please see the included map to find your way to your classrooms.
Evergreen wasn't sure which class he was most excited about attending. He had spent all of the last part of his summer studying Chadwick's Charms, so he felt pretty confident about that. He was excited to share a classroom with Professor Woods as well. The implications of astronomy were also mind-boggling, as was the opportunity to learn how to fly. He and Link chittered away about their schedules all along their way to the third floor, where their maps indicated they would find Professor Delacroix's classroom.
They walked first through the school annex, up the main staircase, and reached the second landing. From there, they walked through a corridor that had no canvas paintings on any of the walls, but rather moving, painted images on the stone walls. There was an image on the wallpaper of a large red and yellow bird that Evergreen thought looked kind of like a bird of paradise. He also saw a flock of small, round, golden birds that were impossibly fast. There was also a small family of what looked like dodo birds that kept disappearing and then appearing again on a different part of the wall in that hallway. It was quite a sight. This was the sort of magic that Evergreen hoped to eventually be able to do.
Once they reached the wooden door upon which was a metal plate reading "Charms", they entered and found the other sixth graders of Thunderbird, some of whom were standing and talking, others finding their seats. There was other sixth graders there from other houses, including Beatrice Gale-Larson, but even so, the class size was less than 30. A mid-sized class meant that they might be able to get a fair amount of one-on-one time with the professor. It was hard to tell though, at this point, as it was still three minutes until class started.
The classroom was curious. There was a tall, raised platform exactly in the center of the room and curved tables that curved around it in four sections. Behind each of these sections were two large chalkboards apiece. They were easily the cleanest chalkboards Evergreen had ever seen. They looked as if they were brand new, although Evergreen had a feeling that there was some kind of enchantment at work there.
Soon enough, everyone found their seats, and suddenly they heard a creaking sound from the ceiling. Evergreen looked up to see that a metal circle had dislodged from the ceiling directly above the central platform. It was falling slowly, not rotating, or revolving, but just descending gracefully. At some point, Evergreen realized that a short, yet respectable-looking witch was standing upon the metal circle with her wand pointed straight down. Her robes were crisp and the color of pale blueberries. She was easily in her 60s and had gray hair held up in a tight bun. She turned around, as to be able to look at all the present students the moment the circle made purchase upon the platform.
"Good morning sixers!" she said, with a slight French accent. "My name is Professor Delacroix, and I would like to welcome one and all to Sixth Grade Charms! Many of your classes, such as Flying, will be entirely practical, whereas other classes, such as History of Magic, will be all about the study aspect. This class, however, will fall somewhere in between."
That made sense to Evergreen. Charms, to the best of his understanding, were the artistic endeavors one could make with magic. Like any art form, one must know the rules and the etiquette before being able to do something cool. Take the Mona Lisa, for example; it was a masterpiece only because Da Vinci knew how to layer paint, how to capture emotion, and how to shadow and lighten. It would not be what it was if the artist had not first learned the necessary techniques that made it so special.
"We will start this week learning two very important charms. One is a levitation charm. Repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa."
"Wingardium Leviosa." the class responded.
"Very good. The second will be a lighting charm. Repeat after me. Lumos."
"Lumos!" The class repeated, in turn.
"Excellent. These are some of the most elementary charms that have techniques that you will need to aid you in your magical journeys. Please turn to chapter two of Chadwick's Charms and take some pointers and some notes from the text on how to best accomplish the levitation charm. In five minutes, I will ask for a volunteer to show us if they can do one of these. By next week, I expect you all to be able to lift at least a piece of parchment and to be able to cast enough light where you would be able to comfortably read by the light of your wand alone."
Opening his book, Evergreen scanned the chapter. He remembered this spell well, which is why he had been able to easily levitate those things at breakfast when they had first gotten to Ilvermorny. He recalled that it was important to stay focused and to understand that when levitating an object, it was not about how big the object is, but about how committed one stayed to their casting.
Five minutes later, the professor asked for a volunteer. Many hands went up. Evergreen didn't raise his, because he was afraid that he may not be able to do it again and that, in doing so, he would make something of a spectacle of himself in class. Professor Delacroix seemed to be able to sense this somehow and chose him anyway to demonstrate.
"Now, remember Mr. Quandary. It is wingardium leviosa. You accomplish this with a swift swish and flick of your wand. Please levitate the quill here at the foot of my platform."
Taking a deep breath, Evergreen looked at the feather. How hard could lifting this feather be? If he could easily lift something without magic, lifting it with magic would be just kind of a no-brainer, right? On the other hand, if he couldn't even lift it with magic, how embarrassing would that be?
"Wingardium leviosa," he said, giving his wand the necessary swish and flick.
Suddenly, the feather began to go upward. It wasn't going up alone though. The entire platform that the professor and her standing desk were resting upon began to rise into the air. There was murmuring amongst the students and the professor's face was a mixed combination of shock and amusement. Evergreen himself was quite shocked but kept his focus because he didn't want to hurt his first professor on his first day.
As easily as he lifted the platform a whole five feet from the ground, he put it back down, exactly where it had been removed. Professor Delacroix pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked directly into Evergreen's face with a humored expression.
"That wasn't exactly what I meant, but I'll give you a point of extra credit for creativity."
When 10:30 came, Evergreen and his classmates made it to Transfiguration on the second floor with Professor Azriel Graves. He was younger, perhaps fresh out of college, or at least the wizard equivalent. He was tall and very thin. It seemed that the smallest breeze could knock him down. The dark blue robes he wore made him look almost like the Grim Reaper to Evergreen – even his eyes were dark and his hair was silvery. He spent much of the class lecturing about how Transfiguration was both a transformative art and a material one. Every time one set about to transfigure something, none of the matter of the original object was lost. Rather, it was merely converted into different matter for a time. It was interesting to hear the science behind some magic.
They had the opportunity to try and turn a toothpick into a pushpin. Link managed it easily and Andie had some trouble with it. Evergreen, however, turned it into a pushpin that happened to be solid gold, instead of the iron and steel alloy his classmates managed. Transfiguring something into gold was apparently quite rare, as one would need a proper philosopher's stone to do it, typically speaking. Professor Graves asked Evergreen to try it again, and he managed it with less effort the second time. With a flick of his wand, Professor Graves transfigured the two golden thumbtacks' shapes into a small charm that he let Evergreen keep.
Lunch came and Evergreen was almost disappointed that they were headed to the commons instead of their next class. Charms and Transfiguration would be his wizard bread and butter, he felt. According to his mother's notes on wand lore that he was flipping through at the Thunderbird table, wands with unicorn hair cores had the predisposition to charm work. Perhaps the dual-core explained his spells are always being taken to the next level without his meaning to.
Professor Habatatio was walking by the Thunderbird when she stopped to greet Maggie. She looked to see Evergreen seated close by.
"Mr. Quandary. How is your first day going so far?"
"Great, ma'am. I t-turned a thumbtack into g-gold."
"I'd like to see that sometime." She said with a sly smile. "Enjoy the rest of your day." She walked off.
After their lunch hour, they headed to one of the basement lecture halls for History of Magic with Professor Agatha Shadowmend. No matter how deathly Professor Graves may have appeared, this witch was even creepier. She wore a long, black robe that clung to her figure. She appeared barely old enough to even be a teacher here. Evergreen guessed that she was 20 at the oldest. Her skin was white as snow, her lips red as rubies, and she had long, sharp teeth. For all Evergreen knew, she was a vampire. Were there vampires in America? Come to think of it, he hadn't yet seen her in the commons for breakfast or lunch, where sunlight poured into the room.
"Please everyone find your seats. We really do have so much to go over." She said in an almost sweet southern drawl.
Everyone eventually sat down. All the other students seemed to be looking at the professor in the same way that Evergreen was. Eventually, the professor stood at the front of the lecture hall.
"Good afternoon y'all," she began, "My name is Professor Agatha Shadowmend. Y'all can call me Professor Shadowmend or Miss Agatha. I ain't partial. Welcome to History of Magic where we will talk about the history of magic here in the good ol' U S of A. In later years, y'all can get some learnin about world history, but we start here. My hope is that as we learn the mistakes of our kin, that we may be able to be better than they."
Evergreen raised his hand.
"Like Rappaport's law, Miss?"
"Why yes Evergreen Quandary. That law came from a time of fear. Racism and intolerance come from the like. I want y'all to understand that in my class, there is no room for intolerance. We got anyone raised in a No-Maj home?" she asked the class.
A few hands went up, including Evergreen's and Andie's, and Miss Agatha gave a pleasant grin that revealed the very tips of her two very sharp upper cuspids.
"In the past, there have been certain 'pure blood' sentiments that have made a mighty prejudice against y'all's kin. Things are better now, although not yet perfect. When I was a cub, no one wanted to help me make a livin, so I had to work odd jobs just to make ends meet. At the same time, I wished to one day find love, but that is not in my stars as it would appear. When our dear headmaster offered me this job, I was quite grateful, as would any vampire with half an ounce of sense."
So, she was a vampire, then! Evergreen knew it. There appeared to be some unease amongst the rest of the class and Miss Agatha certainly knew this. She followed up her words with a small declaration.
"No one should have any reason to fear me as I have a special potion that I take every day prepared by your alchemy professor and her husband, the school healer. It counters much of the vampire curse, although I still sunburn somethin' fierce, but at least I'm not hungry for anything but the red meat of four legged beasts like any healthy American."
She continued the lesson and began by laying out their syllabus. They were to begin in the 1600s when European witches and wizards began to travel to America with their No-Maj, or 'muggle' counterparts. Apparently 'muggle' was the European term for someone who didn't practice magic. The class would then cover the founding of Ilvermorny, which was in part founded by a descendant of one of the founders of a magical school in Scotland. They would then study the wizarding world's role in the American Revolution and the eventual founding of the MACUSA.
Then they would cover the westward exodus of wizards and No-Majes alike, finally discussing the end of Rappaport's law in the 1960s and the social state of the nation today. Evergreen bet that this would be a difficult class. He knew of most of these events through the eyes of a No-Maj, but something told him that it would be a bit more of a hindrance than a help when he studied these things through the eyes of a magical person.
Their last class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. This was actually on the way to the Nest, at the base of the spiral staircase that led up to their floor. There was an indoor arboretum that separated that wing of the school from the back hallways of the annex behind the main staircase quite a way. Evergreen and others walked through the arboretum. One of the trees had already started to lose their leaves. Instead of falling to the ground, the leaves piled on the part of the glass ceiling just above the tree. At the far end of the room, two small willow trees swatted at each other in the way Evergreen had seen siblings do. In the center of the arboretum though, was a large tree with silver leaves and small, golden apples. He wondered if it was silver and gold.
Once they entered the classroom, Professor Woods was there already waiting for them. She was seated on her desk. Not her desk chair, but the desk itself. She had her wand out and Evergreen and Link ducked as a large, silver shark came flying through the air at them. The shark flew over to Professor Woods and stopped just in front of her, but a single touch of her wand to the shark seemed to suck the apparition right into the tip of the wand. It was amazing. She let out a pleasant laugh at their collective surprise.
"That," she started as she got to her feet "was called a patronus. It's a useful charm that helps dispel dark non-beings like dementors and beasts like lethifolds. In my class, you are to learn about all of the dark beasts and dark curses that you may encounter."
The scar on her neck creased when she cracked the bones in her neck and Evergreen wondered again where the scars had come from. She was wearing a blue dress beneath her dark robes that exposed her legs below her knees and he saw a scar going down her leg that was parallel to the one on her neck. Whatever had gotten her must have been massive. Evergreen looked at her with newfound respect. Anyone who could face off with a beast that could do something like that, and win, was quite formidable.
A/N: Thanks for the comment and the likes! If you read something you like, let me know through those ways! Another chapter (or maybe two) is coming next week!
Till then!
-E.Q.