Term 9

jgundz

Week 1: The hike up the hill

First year student _ashhill pulled their cloak tighter as they made their way through Williamstown toward the inn. She glanced around at the snow covered town taking in the large pines surrounding the town. As they approached the inn an excited group of student aged people exited.

“Race you up the mountain!” rikkejohnsenrij called to BeeQueen2016. _ashhill watched them curiously.

“Up the mountain?” _ashhill questioned aloud. They heard a chuckle from behind them and turned around.

“That’s where Ilvermorny Castle is.” returning student ariecpotter replied.

“And we have to walk it?” Pamelyb asked.

“Well there are three courses up the mountain.” Professor Dixie stated. “There’s of course the straight path up, the longer more scenic route, you could take one of the canoes and paddle up stream, or swim up it if you’re feeling daring.”

The trek up the mountain takes a bit longer than usual with all of the snow Mt. Greylock had gotten over the past days.

“Well, it’s certainly colder here than at home.” butterchop stated.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s always colder here.” The313 replied.

“Well we can officially say winter is here.” VictoriaTuel said, joining in their conversation, hugging their cloak tighter around themself.

As they neared the castle, hippysprout and m8kitwork noticed zindroth standing on the front steps doing fluid movements.

“What are you doing?” m8kitwork asked. Zindroth looked up with a smile.

“Tai Chi, to sooth my tired muscles after that climb up the mountain.” Zindroth explained happily.

“I’ve never done tai chi.” hippysprout said, “Mind if I join you?”

“Of course! Follow my movements.” Zindroth exclaimed with joy.

After completing their tai chi they made their way into the Great Hall for some food. They noticed large jugs of water placed throughout the room.

“That’s new.” theresam68 mused. Overhearing them, DanielleFayeS spoke up.

“Grandmam’s idea. She wants to make sure we’re all well hydrated this term. You know she worries about us.”

“Who’s Grandmam?” first year elkinschristina questioned. As if summoned by her name an older pukwudgie couple came walking into the room from a side door.

“That’s Grandmam and Grandpap, they are the Ilvermorny Pukwudgies. They help out around the castle, but don’t expect them to act like house elves. They are here by choice, and will be undeniably offended if you ask them to do chores for you.” tmeadows_08 explained quietly.

As the students settled at the tables, and the ghosts settled into the rafters (we all know that’s their favorite place to hang out), they noticed the Professors handing out books to the new students. As they looked through them the students noticed they were blank inside.

“Are we continuing the lesson books this term?!” ariecpotter exclaimed loudly. HM jgundz chuckled, shaking her head.

“As many of you heard Arielle tell us, these books may look familiar to those that are returning from last term. These are our DADA supplementary lesson books. First years, if you look around, the returning students books are no longer brown. They have changed colors as the students progress through their lessons.” HM jgundz explained.

“You will be working in these throughout term.” Prof kiri explained.

Everyone enjoyed filling up on the welcome feast and were getting ready to make their way to their common rooms when HM jgundz stood up again.

“I know everyone is very tired today, please go get your rest for the start of term. Tomorrow morning we will be having an extra special Care of Magical Creatures lesson in the greenhouse.” HM jgundz said.

Everyone went to bed tired, and ready for a new term. The next morning everyone gathered in the greenhouse for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. HM jgundz directed their attention to a tree in the center of the room.

“Hello all! Like I mentioned today is a special CoMC lesson. If you don’t already know, Prof kiri’s birthday is this week! Can I get some recognition for that?” HM jgundz said. The room cheered and called their congrats to Prof Kiri. “And in honor of our illustrious Professor’s birthday we will be studying her favorite creature, the bowtruckle.”

“Bowtruckles are very shy.” Prof Kiri explained as she moved to stand next to HM jgundz. “However they quickly become protective if their tree is threatened.” Prof Yume snorted.

“They sure do.” Prof Yume stated when the group looked at her. “I was visiting a Scandanavian forest looking for wand materials over break and encountered a group of bowtruckles. Many trees they live in are wand wood trees, and they did not take too kindly to me collecting supplies from their home.” Prof Yume continued. “Those buggers’ fingers are *kitten* sharp.”

“Prof Yume is correct, they are very protective of their trees, even though they are classified as a XX level beast, which is harmless, and can be domesticated. So please be careful with these ones. Professor Yume helped Ilvermorny acquire this colony on one of her wand research expeditions.” HM jgundz finished as a few bowtruckles were seen peeking out of the tree branches.

jgundz

Week 2: Crop Circles?

Retiring at the end of the week the students go to their common rooms. The first years seem anxious but quite excited to get started. Their trunks are in the common rooms now at the foot of their new beds.

Trayborn114442 and Butterchop disappear down a hall to enter the Wampus armory as the resident ghostie Paulakro flies through them and Wampii tries to wind his body underfoot almost tripping all individuals into the room.

SapanPan and bexable travel up the stairs to the Thunderbird aviary as a strange little puffy sheep resting in the fireplace...is that a sheep? Well, it has wings that seem to flutter when excited. Txmama63, an older student noting your confusion, chuckles and introduces you to the Thunderbird mascot Ember the shragon. That is a story in of itself.

_ashhill and angrygato smell the potions brewing and a few cups of tea ready to drink. In a floating bubble hovering overhead, a small cat like mermaid swims and splashes water around. “Merkitty,” Melonpaul points. “We still don’t know how that happened either. She gets along really well with Ember from Thunderbird,” tmeadows_08 laughs.

elkinschristina and AudreyL1972 fade away through the hall to be faced with a pair of bright Occamy eyes cooing in their ears and the smell of books in the air. The famed Horned Serpent’s gem gleams upon their entrance.

The next day….

The new 1st years have their wands and are excited for the duels that start for the week.

“I heard last year they worked on Meteolojinx Recanto and Rictumsempra,” TurquoiseViolet215 said to Autumnsnow786 as they moseyed to the dining area as the wafting smell of coffee and tea lifted into the air.

Several other students made their way to the dining area grabbing bits and pieces of different things to eat for breakfast.

“It looks like a good morning to drink this coffee outside,” coop925 said to westpancake as they grabbed two steaming mugs with a plate of eggs and hash.

Sitting outside, looking out over the scenic sunrise over the treetops they notice Jackson has worked his way up to the Ilvermorny castle waving a talisman allowing him entrance as The313 and JPerry84 joined West and coop925 outside.

“Jackson, what are you up this way for? Did Professor Yume run out of whisky?” coop asked chuckling.

“Sadly it’s not that. There’s been some odd going ons around down in the ‘no-maj’ fields. It looks as if someone has stomped on parts of four different crops in some circle like patterns.” Jackson replied with an concerned tone to his voice.

“What crops were hit?” The313 asked.

“There was asparagus, spinach,rhubarb, and turnips,” Jackson responded.

“Gads! Not rhubarb! The most delicious of the breakfast pies!” Grandmam cried out from the entryway.

“I suppose we should send someone down to each of those sites and interview some of the locals,” westpancake posed with a gesture down the mountain.

“We can’t exactly have our wands out and about with the no-maj, so we’ll need some paperwork and will need some paper and pencil and maybe something with colors to sketch out what these circles look like for comparisons against runes maybe or other possibilities,” The313 instructed pulling out several sheets of paper out of their robe.

The group followed Jackson inside to alert the staff of the issues in the local villages, and their plan to check things out.

“Good idea to not advertise magic, you know as well as we do that the villagers at Deerfield are not keen on magicfolk.” Prof Tahm said to The313.


“Let’s split the students into groups to visit each town.” HM jgundz said. “Heads of House please collect your students, Kiri take your group down to Williamstown to see if any locals know whats going on. Tahm, take the Puks to visit the Pokumtuck tribe and see if Chief Greylock has any ideas on what has been happening. I will take the Serps to Deerfield. Dixie, why don’t you and the Wampus students go to the forge and make sure we have everything we may need if we get into trouble, with Gaunt out there we can never be too careful.”

“Of course we get the furthest travel.” redversustheblue says quietly to wind_luver.

The groups collected their necessities then set out to the nearby towns, making sure to only fly brooms to safe places, and resuming their travels on foot. They carried clipboards, scrolls and quills in their bags.

When the Pukwudgies arrived at the Pocumtuck’s village they found them in a flurry of activity. Prof Tahm waved down one of the natives.

“What are you all doing?” Prof Tahm asked.

“We are preparing for the day by strengthening our bodies.” the native explained. “Would you like to join us?’ Many in the group exchanged glances then all nodded.

Later that night each group returned to the Castle to exchange notes on what they each learned. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted, and the staff was stressed at the possibility of another mishap led by the mysterious and evil Gormlaith Gaunt.

“Excuse me Professors?” Gutcutter500 said. The professors all looked over at him. “I have a suggestion to help ease your worries.” he continued. The staff looked at him gratefully. He stood in front of the group of staff and students and led them in some stress relieving stretching.

jgundz

Week 3: Oh Hodag!

The professors were in the staff room putting together the difference pieces they found out at each location.

“The Pokumtuck tribe didn’t have very much information on the crop circles, but they were able to tell us that it’s happened before, and seems to follow the moon cycles.” Prof tahm explained.

“Hmm, interesting.” Prof Yume said taking down some notes. “The residents of Deerfield didn’t mention that. They just said they keep showing up each morning when they wake up.”

“They told us that they plan on implementing night watches each night to find out what’s going on.” HM jgundz explained to the other staff members.

“That’s always rough. I always find it hard to stay awake on night watches.” Prof kiri mused.

“Maybe we should send some students down to keep an eye out tonight as well?” Prof Dixie suggested. HM jgundz nodded.

“Let’s each gather two students from our houses and call them here to tell them what we need them to do.” HM jgundz said. The HoH’s went their separate ways to get their students while Prof Yume studied her notes.


The HoH’s returned quickly with their students in tow.

“Alright, here’s the plan folks.” HM jgundz started. “You are all going on a research mission tonight. Please make sure you are prepared to stay up, as this is an overnight event.”

“What would have us stay up all night?” rikkejohnsenrij asked.

“You’re going to Deerfield to watch their crops overnight.” Prof kiri replied.

“Are we joining their watch group?” wind_luver asked.

“No, creating your own.” HM jgundz explained. “They have told us the crop circles have been appearing in the morning, after a full night. We want you all to find out what’s going on in case it’s of the magical variety and we need to step in.”

“Think we can get there faster this time?” talhonjik asked wind_luver.

“We can try!” wind_luver said with a twinkle in her eye.

“We should bring some food with us.” slimpossible007 suggested. The group nodded.

“Anyone have any requests or allergies?” DanielleFayeS asked, “I will run to the kitchen and ask Grandmam to put something together for us.

“Something hardy for sure!” zindroth suggested. DanielleFayeS nodded and left towards the kitchens, letting them know she’d meet them at the front entrance in a bit.


The professors explained to the remaining group to make sure to be as stealthy as possible and not to interfere in any muggle activities while they were away from the castle. The group left to get their things and meet in the entrance hall.

“Alright, while they’re gone we might as well move on with classes for the day!” Prof tahm said cheerfully, leaving to teach her next Charms class.

DanielleFayeS, 2BtheRealMe, rikkejohnsenrij, txmama63, zindroth, slimpossible007, wind_luver, and talhonjik met in the entrance hall once they had gathered everything they needed and set off. Agreeing to return the next morning.

The staff continued with studies for the rest of the students for that evening and everyone enjoyed a hearty dinner that night.

The next morning during breakfast the group returned, with extras in tow. They walked through the great hall to the staff table.

“Sooo…” wind_luver began.

“So you brought back some extra bodies I see.” HM jgundz said eying the group gathered behind wind_luver.

“Well, we figured out what is causing the crop circles!” 2BtheRealMe said happily.

“Mooncalves!” rikkejohnsenrij said with the same happy tone.

“I guess this is as good a time as any for a Care of Magical Creatures lesson, and then you can explain to the school why we now have more creatures to take care of.” HM jgundz said, standing to address the whole student/ghostly body.

“More creatures?!” they heard Grandpap exclaim from the edge of the room, causing some laughter.

“Well everyone, as you can see our traveling friends have brought us back some mooncalves. They are shy creatures that only comes out of its burrow during a full moon.” HM jgundz began gesturing to the pale grey skinned creatures with long necks hiding behind students legs.

“Oh this all makes so much more sense!” Prof yume said as she went from corporal to ghostly and back again. “The Pocumtuck tribe told our Pukwudgie students this happened every so often. Because it follows the moon cycle!” Prof yume explained as she was quickly adding to her notebook.

“Once the Mooncalf is in the moonlight, it performs complicated dance moves while standing on its hind legs. It is believed that this is part of the Mooncalf mating ritual, but also has the side effect of creating geometric patterns in wheat fields.” HM jgundz continued the lesson. “Their main predator is a hodag.”

“That’s why we brought them here!” wind_luver exclaimed.

“We saw a hodag attack the herd and sadly got two of the mooncalves.” zindroth explained.

“We decided as a group we couldn’t let them all get taken.” slimpossible007 said, the rest of the group nodding.

“You have always told us all magical creatures would be safe here.” DanielleFayeS said. HM jgundz sighed.

“Well now I can’t very well punish you since you threw my logic back at me.” HM jgundz said. “Alright you lot will lead the rest of our school in finding a suitable place on the grounds for them to build their new burrow.”

“Well at least we can say we taught our school to be kind to others.” Prof tahm said with a satisfied smile as the staff watched the school wander the grounds looking for a suitable burrow space.

“And we have certainly taught them to test our flexibility.” Prof kiri said with a laugh. The group all laughed in agreement.

jgundz

Week 4: OBLIVIATE!

The mooncalves are happy in their new burrow on the opposite side of the grounds than the dragons. They have been dancing in the moonlight in the fields nearby on a nightly basis, and curling up in their burrow holes during the day.

After a few days William makes another appearance at the castle.

“William, is everything alright?” Prof Kiri asked seeing him approaching the main doors as she sat outside with her favorite bowtruckle. William shook his head.

“There are rumors of witchcraft in Deerfield after last week’s incident. Did you lot find anything when you traveled there?” William said.

“We did, but we took care of it.” Prof kiri said, “or at least we thought we did. I will bring this to the rest of the staff.” Kiri added standing up and bidding goodbye to William. She rushed into the castle and sent her fox patronus to gather the different staff members. Then she began tracking down the students who had returned with the mooncalves. She brought the students with her to the staff room, where she found the rest of the staff waiting.

“So what happened kiri?” HM jgundz asked.

“William stopped by and said that there are whispers of witchcraft in Deerfield after the mooncalf incident.” Prof kiri explained.

“Well this seems oddly familiar.” muttered talhonjik reminiscing on their previous trip to Salem years before.

“Same beast, different name.” stated DanielleFayeS.

“Ok, what happened when you found the mooncalves in Deerfield. Were you spotted?” Prof tahm asked the group of students before them.

“We didn’t think so.” wind_luver states.

“But we were pretty focused on saving the mooncalves from the hodag.” zindroth said.

“We thought the villagers had all fallen asleep.” rikkejohnsenrij said.

“Well it appears they are suspicious now. We will need to move quickly to resolve this.” Prof Dixie stated.

The staff gathered all students and ghosts in the Great Hall to announce their new mission.
“As some of you may remember, Deerfield is an anti-magic colony. They do not view us as allies when they find out we are witches and wizards. So we must work quickly and quietly.” HM jgundz. “As a school we will be traveling to Deerfield to obliviate anyone who has seen anything to do with the mooncalves. Grandmam and Grandpap Pukwudgie will be staying here to safeguard the castle in our absence. They have called their family for help.” HM jgundz continued gesturing to the now opening main doors as a group of short grey creatures entered carrying baskets of fresh produce.

“And it appears they’ve brought their own food?” ghostie puffbrat questioned from above one of the tables.

“We need to make sure our strength is up to defending your home.” one of the Pukwudgies in the group said. “These items give us the necessary sustenance to battle when necessary.”

“They certainly take their nutrition seriously.” pamelyb muttered to kmasz quietly.

After speaking to the Pukwudgie’s about their plans the staff gathered the students outside to travel by portkey to the forest outside Deerfield. After the familiar pull at their navels they found themselves in a dense forest.

“Now everyone, please pair off into groups of two or three.” Prof Tahm said.

“And pay attention. There are pogrebins in these forests. As some of you may already know, they are about a foot tall demon with a hairy body and large head. They have a habit of trailing humans and giving us a sense of despair and futility. If you start to feel this way alert someone immediately so we can handle the pogrebin before anyone falls truly victim to them.” HM jgundz explained.

The group safely made their way to Deerfield and split into groups to find anyone with any knowledge of the mooncalves or their rescue attempt. It turned out they needed to obliviate a majority of the town.

“There are so many of them.” abowersgirl said exasperatedly.

“It’s either we handle this or MACUSA visits again, and finds an excuse to stick around.” VictoriaTuel says.

“Alright we have a lot of work to do. As anyone with practice at this knows, obliviating can take a lot of energy. So we will be splitting the task up into smaller time frames. Everyone find your group to work with and spend a solid 15 minutes each obliviating and then switch off and let another of your group take a turn.” Prof Yume explained.

After a full day the group found they were finally done removing the memories from the townspeople and started their trek back to Ilvermorny. Once they returned they found the group of Pukwudgies on the front lawn stretching and doing yoga poses.

“What are you lot doing?” coop925 asked loudly.

“After a hearty meal we like to regain our concentration and mental strength of the days and nights ahead of us.” Grandpap Pukwudgie explained.

“Ya know, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for us to regain some mental strength after the day we’ve had.” katsheare thought aloud.

“Good thought Kat.” Prof kiri agreed.

“Yes, everyone sometime tonight or tomorrow morning please do an exercise in mental focus.” HM jgundz stated to the whole school. Everyone then made their way into the castle to rest up.

jgundz

Week 5: My mini sword got in the way

After the excitement in the previous week the whole school was outside relaxing on one surprisingly warm day when an owl came flying in from over the forest headed straight for HM jgundz. She stuck out her arm for the owl to perch on and untied the message on it’s leg once it had. Before she could give the owl a treat it flew away. HM jgunds unrolled the letter and read.

“Who sends owls anymore?” questioned The313 to her fellow classmates, who chuckled.

“Everything alright Headmistress?” Prof kiri asked.

“It’s just a reply to Prof Yume’s informational letter that was sent to the Ministry about the mooncalf incident.” HM jgundz explained. “It appears they require some further information from us to conclude everything has been sorted out.” A number of people rolled their eyes, knowing the ministry was always nosing around the goings on at Ilvermorny.

“Shall we gather a few of the older students and pay the ministry a visit?” Prof tahm asked.

“Yes that would probably be best.” HM jgundz agreed. “Any volunteers?” A number of students raised their hands.

“Ariecpotter, murdog3t, 2BTheRealMe, and fourathomej come with me and Prof Yume to the ministry. Tahm can you take over my Care of Magical Creatures lesson this week?” HM jgundz said. Prof Tahm nodded with a smile.

HM jgundz and Prof Yume gathered the students with them and decided on a plan of action. In the meantime the rest of the school followed Prof Tahm to the back lawns to conduct their CoMC class.

“Alright, gather round everyone!” Prof Tahm called as they made it to the back lawn. She whistled loudly. The group heard a barking sound in response which was growing louder. Suddenly they saw an animal running towards them up the lawn.

“Is that a terrier?” MamaMaryPants asked. The dog came up and sat at Prof Tahm’s feet happily.

“No it is not, but they are known to appear similar to Jack Russell Terriers.” Prof Tahm said lovingly patting the dog’s head.

“That’s a Crup!” usedmemories called pointing to the wagging forked tail.

“Very good usedmemories.” Prof Tahm said. “This is a crup indeed. They are a wizard bred animal, and are fiercely loyal to wizards, however they are ferocious towards muggles, which is why this one does not leave Ilvermorny grounds unless under strict supervision. Many times across the pond their forked tails are severed painlessly when they are young to not draw the attention of muggles.” Prof Tahm motioned to the crup with her hand and it wandered through the class allowing everyone to pet it.

“The Crup is a level XXX beast, which means a capable wizard should be able to cope.” Prof kiri added as the class enjoyed playing with the dog-like creature.

On the other side of the castle the group was using the HM’s fireplace to floo to MACUSA. Once everyone had made their way through the fireplace they made their way up to the correct floor to meet with the minister. They were asked to wait in a waiting area near the secretary's desk . As they sat they were looking around when ariecpotter noted something odd.

“Yume, do you see the odd aura around that desk?” she whispered to the ghostly professor. Prof Yume nodded. “I have a bad feeling about it.” ariecpotter continued softly.

“It reminds me of how the mirror made me feel.” murdog3t mused. HM jgundz overheard them.

“You don’t think Gaunt has another horcrux around MACUSA do you?” she whispered. The group shrugged. “Well we will have to get a closer look when we get called into the minister’s office. Let’s come up with a plan in case it is a horcrux.”

Suddenly 2BTheRealMe got up out of her chair and walked up to the secretary’s desk.

“Pardon me, can I borrow a quill? I realized I never finished filling out this one form.” she said. The secretary smiled and handed a quill over. 2BTheRealMe returned and gestured for everyone to lean in like they were filling out paperwork. “It’s coming from an odd snake purse on the back corner of her desk.” she said as she faked writing something down.

“Welp, a snake purse sounds suspiciously like something Gaunt would disguise into another horcrux.” Prof Yume said, “we need to destroy it.”

“How do you supposed we do that?” HM jgundz asked incredulously. They were already on thin ice with MACUSA breathing down their necks all the time.

“I brought this.” fourathomej said pulling a miniaturized sword from their pocket. “We made it in the forge while you all went to Deerfield. It’s made with the basilisk venom that Prof Yume brought back from her wand materials gathering expedition.”

“Knew it was a good idea to bring a Wampus along.” Prof Yume said with a smirk as they hatched their plan quietly.

As the group got called into the minister’s office 2BTheRealMe returned the secretary’s quill with a polite “thank you”. They went into their meeting and quickly explained all that had happened in Deerfield, and explained that anyone affected had been obliviated and there was no cause for further concern. On their way out of the office fourathomej tripped and bumped into the secretary’s desk, getting up apologetically. As they walked towards the exit they heard the secretary upset, they turned.

“MY PURSE!! NO!! WHAT HAPPENED?!” she screeched picking up a shredded green cloth in her hands. She sobbed as she collected her things that had fallen to the floor, and noticed her letter opened among them. “How did this get over here?” she questioned through sobs.

“Oh dear, I am very sorry about your gorgeous purse.” ariecpotter said consoling the poor woman. “The letter opener must had caught on your purse and shredded the fabric.” The secretary nodded sadly. They bid her goodbye and took their leave. In the elevator down to the lobby they conversed.

“Well done fourathomej.” HM jgundz said with a proud smile. “However did anyone else notice the aura didn’t disperse as the one from the mirror had?” The group nodded.

“I guess we need to study up on auras.” murdog3t said.

Once they returned to the castle they found the whole school waiting in the Great Hall playing a game.

“What are you up to?” HM jgundz asked Prof Dixie once she reached the front of the room.

“Well JPerry84 and mallaidhnme were doing some curling as endurance practice for quidditch, and it looked like a good opportunity for some whole castle fun.” Prof Dixie explained pointing to the floor that was now ice in the middle of the hall.

“Great idea.” HM jgundz said. “I have a feeling fun will be needed around here.”

jgundz

Week 6: Helping again...

A group of students were gathered around Sheep and Magellan in the dragon enclosure, taking turns throwing strawberries into the enclosure and watching Sheep chase them.

“Why are we tossing strawberries again?” puffbrat asked floating above the crowd.

“It’s National Strawberry Day!” murdgo3t said excitedly throwing a strawberry high in the air. Suddenly a fuzzy blur came from zooming in from behind the group to catch the strawberry.

“Yea! Good catch Ember!” Pamelyb called out to the Shragon who had landed happily next to Magellan and chewed his treat.

As the group of students and ghosts returned to the castle they found a few people paired off and staring at sheets of parchment.

“Hey Kat what’s going on?” BeeQueen2016 asked.

“The staff set up a scavenger hunt for us!” katsheare responded before returning to her partner to look over the hunt list. BeeQueen2016 smiled and led the group hurriedly into the castle to get their assignments.

As HM jgundz and Prof Tahm watched the students and ghosts excitedly pair off for the scavenger hunt they saw an owl flying over the forest.

“Well that’s never good, if it’s an owl that means the Ministry.” Prof Tahm said with a shake of her head. HM jgundz nodded in response as the owl made it’s way over to her and landed on her shoulder. It held out its leg to allow her to untie the note on it. She untied it, chuckled and passed the note to tahm who read it and chuckled as well.

“It never ends with them needing our help.” HM jgundz said. “Let’s gather the staff before addressing the students.” Tahm nodded and they each sent their patronuses to alert the other staff members before making their way to the staff room. Once everyone had arrived they passed the note around to everyone.

“The minister is retiring?” Prof kiri asked.

“Has retired, already happened, and now everything at the ministry is going haywire.” HM jgundz said. “It appears they are asking for Ilvermorny students to intern there.”


“Good excuse to try and get to the bottom of that aura we saw.” Prof Yume said floating above her chair as her corporealization wore off. HM jgundz nodded.

“I have a bad feeling this is going to be quite the week.” Prof Dixie said.

“I have a feeling you’re right, we should get some good feelings spreading around the castle before anyone goes to the ministry in case this aura is related to the mirror.” HM jgundz said.

After their Transfiguration class, the school gathered in the Great Hall.

“Alright settle down everyone!” Prof Dixie called out, the hall quieted.

“We received an owl from MACUSA this morning.” HM jgundz announced. “They are having some issues with owls getting lost, items going missing, and overall havoc.”

“Any idea what’s causing it?” ariecpotter asked.

“Not yet. All we know is they are asking for our help...again.” HM jgundz continued. “They are asking for some students to head over to the ministry to intern and help out.”

“Are there any electronics being fussy?” Sylviazspirit asked.

“Not that we’ve been made aware of.” Prof kiri said. “Why do you ask?”

“If there are, they could have an infestation of Chizpurfles.” Sylviazspirit responded.

“That is true, Chizpurfles attack electronics in the absence of magic. So they could indeed have an infestation. Great thought Sylviazspirit.” Prof Yume said.

“So are there any students interested in heading over to MACUSA to intern and help out?” HM jgundz asked. A number of students raised their hands. “Ok Heads of House will you each select three students to send over?” The HoH’s nodded and began selecting students. “For Horned Serpent let’s have it be redversustheblue, westpancake, and abowersgirl.”

“Thunderbird will send crawforda3465, Lonnijay, and sue_01.” Prof kiri said.

“Puk will send angrygato, Fitkacs, and TurquioseViolet215.” Prf tahm announced.

"And Wampus will be sending Butterchop, coop925, and mallaidhnme.” Prof Dixie finished. The 12 students stepped forward.

“Listen up.” Prof Yume said. “We saw an odd aura last time we were at the ministry. We are unsure what is causing it, whether it has anything to do with the oddities happening. Please keep your wits about you, and watch each other’s backs.”

“Take note of anything you see or hear that is out of the ordinary.” HM jgundz continued. “We are only a raven away if anything goes awry.” The students nodded.

“Go pack up and you can head over the ministry in the morning. We have arranged housing for while you are there this week.” Prof tahm said. The students dispersed to prepare themselves for their week away from the castle.

“Meanwhile everyone else will be doing some office work here at Ilvermorny, so no one needs to feel left out.” Prof Dixie said with a smile.

Classes and activities continued as normal throughout the week, with the group of student interns returning to Ilvermorny at the end of the week. Once they had time to decompress and unpack they met with the faculty to share what they had seen at MACUSA.

“So how was your week?” Prof kiri asked.

“They were not exaggerating saying things were hectic.” westpancake said. “They were so unorganized.”

“We basically took over, and made new procedures while we were there.” coop925 explained. This caused the staff to chuckle.

“But we also felt and saw a weird aura all week.” Fitkacs disclosed.

“Do you all think it’s causing the issues?” Prof kiri asked.

“Yes and no. It did seem more hectic at the times the aura was around. But I think people were also panicking since the minister resigned.” redversustheblue explained. The group nodded in agreement.

“Alright, so it seems some more action by Ilvermorny may be necessary.” HM jgundz said. “Thank you all for volunteering and being our reconnaissance. Anything else we need to know?”

“There are so many stairs as MACUSA!” sue_01 expressed. “Our legs and calves are ridiculously sore.”

“Well this seems like a good time for the next Herbology lesson then.” Prof Dixie said with a enthusiastic smile.

jgundz

Week 7: Finals

The staff gathered the students and ghosts in the Great Hall once again for a series of announcements.

“Hello all! Sadly the first of my announcements is that we are nearing the end of another term. This saddens me as I will miss you all very much during the break, but I must say, even with our various mishaps, it was a successful term.” HM jgundz said.

“As you all know, the staff is always here to listen to your ideas, suggestions, problems, but throughout this week we will be having a series of office hours to hear your thoughts on this term overall.” Prof Tahm said, “Please come see us at some point this week.”

“Next on the list of announcements is that is time to turn in your Defense Against the Dark Arts supplementary books for the term so we can measure your progress.” Prof kiri said. “Remember this is not to pressure you, or compare you to others. We just want to be able to praise you for your hard work!”

“Lastly, at least for now, is that we will be taking another trip to MACUSA this week.” HM jgundz said. “Grandmam and Grandpap have agreed to look after the castle while we are gone because we are going to need all the manpower we have to complete this task.”

“What’s wrong Headmistress?” Pamelyb asked.

“As anyone who was around last term will be familiar with, our old nemesis Gormaith Gaunt is still alive.” HM jgundz. A number of students shuttered.

“We believe this is due to her having what are called horcruxes.” Prof Yume explained. “The mirror placed in the welcoming area last term was the first one we were made aware of. They are a very dark magic, and can help an injured and dying person become nearly immortal while these items exist.”

“We are under the assumption there is a second horcrux at MACUSA currently, after seeing a strange aura reminiscent of the mirror during our last visit.” HM jgundz continued.

“So the whole school will be going to MACUSA to find this horcrux, should it exist, and destroy it.” Prof tahm said calmly. “Tonight you will need to pack up some supplies, as well as easily hidden weapons.”

“The ministry is not aware that this is why we will be there. They think we are there to help sort out the chaos while they find a new minister. Please be sure everything you bring is concealable.” HM jgundz explained. Before she could dismiss everyone, Grandmam and Grandpap came to the front of the hall.

“Headmistress, Grandpap and I have put together some food stores for you to bring with you.” the elder Pukwudgie said holding up a basket.

“Thank you Grandmam.” Prof DIxie said taking the basket and opening it to examine what was inside. “This should make some interesting meals.” she added after closing the basket again.

The next morning the school gathered on the front steps having shrunken their belongings to make them easier to carry.

“Alright, we will be traveling by portkey.” Prof kiri said. “Please stay holding onto one another until we have arrived at MACUSA.”

After a familiar tug at your navel you find yourself opening your eyes to find yourself in a welcoming room with the MACUSA emblem on the wall. The group left the welcome chamber and made their way through a crowded hallway. Every few steps each person needed to duck and bend to avoid wayward owls, or frantic employees.

“Is it me or do you feel like Mario and Luigi right now?” coop925 said as they jumped over a random box on the floor. Westpancake and talhonjik laughed and nodded as they each avoided an owl flying by their heads.

Once they found their way to the floor of the minister’s office they found an empty conference room to begin planning their search of the ministry.

“Professors, why are the owls so turned around?” elkinschristina asked.

“That’s what I was wondering as well.” puffbrat agreed.

“We have been trying to figure that out since we first heard about the issues here at MACUSA.” Prof tahm explained.

“As many of you who came over from Europe know owls are used in the wizard world due to their innate tact for tracing and tracking people.” HM jgundz explained.

“We believe the issue with the owls may be caused by the aura we witnessed, which could be another horcrux as we explained at the castle.” Prof Yume said. “We will be splitting up throughout the ministry to search as fast as possible. Every group will include at least one person who has proven to be able to conjure a patronus as if you find anything you will be sending a patronus to find your Head of House so we may help you investigate.”

Once the groups were all assigned everyone split up making their way through the ministry by floor. After running a number of staircases BeeQueen2016 and katsheare stopped to catch their breath.

“This is exhausting.” katsheare said.

“At least it’s training for Quiddith finals.” BeeQueen2016 said with a smirk. Katsheare smirked back and the two took off running again.

As SapanPan, bexable, kdv12 and DanielleFayeS made their way past the minister’s secretary bexable pulled at SapanPan’s arm.

“Is that the aura?” bexable whispered pointing to the secretary who was looking overly worried. SapanPan gestured to kdv12 and DanielleFayeS to lean in close. Once they decided this must be close to what they were searching for, DanielleFayeS sent their patronus to find Prof Tahm. Shortly after all the staff had come to meet with the group. Prof Yume floated over the secretary’s desk to get a better look at what she seemed to be rubbing between her fingers, finding it to be a worry stone. She rejoined the rest of the staff.

“She is rubbing a worry stone and muttering something. All I caught was ‘take me away from here’.” Prof Yume explained. The staff walked over to her desk together. She looked up fearfully.

“Hi there. Do you remember us?” Prof kiri asked sweetly. The secretary nodded and continued to rub the stone in her hand. “Are you alright?” kiri asked. The secretary looked near tears as she shook her head slowly.

“Here, why don’t you give me that?” Prof Dixie said stretching out her hand. The secretary pulled her hand close to her body and looked terrified. “Come now, we can help you.” Dixie added as she stretched further over the desk, with Prof tahm going around behind the desk to help. They got the stone from the girl’s hand and her eyes cleared almost instantly.

“What’s going on?” she asked blinking furiously.

“Can we ask where you got that stone?” HM jgundz asked.

“A friend in the artifacts division gave it to me. She brought it back from Scotland for me.” the woman said tearfully and then scurried down the hallway away from them.

“This isn’t a normal stone.” Prof Dixie said. “It’s making me very worried.” She added holding it out to Prof tahm. Tahm took it and looked to HM jgundz with fear in her eyes.

“What’s wrong Tahm?” HM jgundz asked. Tahm shook her head and dropped the stone, blinking afterward.

“That is definitely not a true worry stone, it makes you more worried.” Prof Tahm explained. “Don’t touch it, we need to destroy it.”

“How does one destroy this sort of horcrux?” SapanPan asked as more Ilvermornians joined them around the stone after receiving patronus messages to meet on this floor.

“What about conquering your fear or worry?” ariecpotter asked. Prof Yume nodded. Ariecpotter stepped forward and picked up the stone. Sylviazspirit VanVanDiane slimpossible007 stepped forward as well and joined hands for strength, before Sylviazspirit stepped foward and took ariecpotter’s hand. They focused their energy on strengthening ariecpotter as she closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly there was a crack of pink lightning as the stone cracked in half and let out pink smoke. Ariecpotter jumped and dropped the stone again.

“That was definitely another horcrux of Gaunts.” Prof kiri said grimly.

“Well that settles it. Seems a trip back to where we came from is in order.” HM jgundz said. “We need to sort this out and handle Gaunt immediately.