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thoughtfullyspookymentality · 6 years

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Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Part 1: Chapter 2: The Sorting Statues

As soon as Eric was off the train the crowd of students divided him and Percy from each other. Eric gripped his bag tighter as he was pushed and shoved through the train station. His arms were limp, and dead on either side of him. All and all it was an uncomfortable situation. As soon as the young wizard gained his composure he scanned the crowd for anyone he knew. Students walked passed at a brisk pace, everyone had somewhere to go, somewhere to be and Eric was just. Lost. His eyes finally settled on a girl with blue hair. She was conversing in a small group of third years, all of who were in Wampus.

“You dyed it?” One of them asked her.

“I thought you said you’d never dye your hair” Another chimed in.

“At least not in unnatural colors” A third added.

“I figured it was time for a change of pace” Mia answered confidently. Eric smirked. Turning her hair blue wasn’t something Mia did intentionally, it was because she was experimenting with her cauldron over summer break. Neither her nor their aunt could change it back. The effect was explosively hilarious. Eric shoved past the rest of the students before stopping and staring straight up at Mia.

“Hey sis”

“Hey Eric” She greeted back. The response had an air of boredom to it that Eric wasn’t used to at home. He figured it was because she wanted to appear ‘cool’ in front of her friends.

“Do you know where I’m supposed to be heading?”

“Oh! I know” One of girls cheered excitedly pushing Mia out of the way. She grabbed onto Eric’s shoulder causing him to stiffen. The girl pointed to a tall rugged man in a long flowing robe that extended past his ankles. He was holding a lantern that shined with green fire burning on the inside.

“You want to go over to Owen, he can seem a bit mean at first, but don’t feel bad, he gets better once you get to know him” Eric nodded.

“Thank you”

He ran off towards the man clutching his things as tightly as he could.

“What a cute kid” The third year noted just barely loud enough for Eric to hear it. He watched as the man raised the lantern in to the air.

“First years over here” The man’s voice was gruff and ridged like his appearance, “You don’t want to be late for the sorting now do you?” He had a permanent scowl etched on his face that made Eric wonder if the man had ever smiled before. A small group of first years were gathering around Owen’s feet.

Before Eric could push past the rest of the rabble he was bumped by a small girl that was carrying too many suitcases for her own good. She had auburn hair and mouse like features. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear then ran back towards the train.

“Sorry” The girl mouthed back to him, her meek voice lost amongst the bustling crowd. Eric wanted to respond, but before he got time to choose his words she was gone. Eventually, the brown haired boy made it to the group of first years who had crowded around the man with the lantern. Eric spotted Percy on the other side of the herd of sixth graders. He was waving his arms excitedly towards Eric. Eric smiled and rolled his eyes, amused. He flashed Percy with a thumbs up. This small gesture made Percy’s eyes brighten. Eric’s smile grew. The man cleared his throat.

“I am Owen, the grounds Keeper here at Ilvermorny, we’re going to wait for the other classes to clear out before we head up to the castle for sorting” One of the first years cheered. Owen’s brow furrowed into an even deeper scowl, which Eric couldn’t believe was possible.

“Like I was saying, you are all going to be sorted into different houses that represent a specific personal trait. The sorting is a vital tradition here at Ilvermorny. Do. Not. Disrupt. The. Ceremony. If you do the consequences will be immediate and harsh. Headmistress Mccoy will give a speech afterwards and then can you eat” Percy pulled out one of the chocolate frogs from his pocket and gave Eric a look that said, ‘that’s what he thinks’. Eric shook his head in amusement. Owen put his free hand on his side and leaned his lantern against his shoulder. He watched as the last of the stragglers trudged up the hill into the castle. Soon all the upperclassmen were out of site.

“We’re ready” He nodded to the mass of first years. The first year that cheered earlier looked like he was about to burst. Owen took the lead of the crowd and beckoned the new students to follow. The group marched up the hill to the castle. It’s imposing nature gave Eric chills down his spine. A couple of more excited sixth graders ran ahead of Owen before realizing they weren’t with the group, and turned back. Percy was one of them which made it harder for Eric to jog up to him.

“Hey” Eric smiled.

“Wassup” Percy greeted.

“Nothing... You nervous?”

“No. You?” Eric put his hands on his hip. He looked at Percy trying to put on an air of confidence.

“Nope” He bit his lower lip. Eventually, the group made it to the top of the hill. Owen stopped in front of a large iron gate the separated the first years from the school courtyard. Owen lead the group inside the iron cast door making a large creaking noise as it opened.. The enclosure was filled to the brim with statues of different witches and wizards. Some of them looked odd and misshapen while some looked pristine. In the center was a fountain with the figure of a woman standing tall and determined. She had a wand in her hand pointing to the sky and a book tucked underneath her shoulder. A plack with the name Isolt Sayre was visible just underneath her feat. Eric was mesmerized by the woman. She looked almost like a ghost guarding the castle. He was so fixated on the witch he almost didn’t notice the monsters moving amongst the statues. Hunched over wooden creatures littered the courtyard. Twigs and leaves stuck out from their backs and arms. Their faces were twisted into odd knots, and their teeth looked like someone had spread moss all over them. They were all glaring at the first years.

“Don’t worry about the Pukwudgies, they’re harmless” Owen instructed, then he stopped before adding, “Mostly”

“Harmless my ass” Eric muttered to himself. Luna hooted in agreement. As they entered the courtyard itself the first years were met by a man in jeans and a white T-shirt that seemed a size too big for him. He was taller than anyone Eric had ever met. He didn’t understand how this man didn’t hit his head on every doorway he passed through.

“‘Sup, I’m Will. I’ll be taking your bags, you don’t want them cluttering the Great hall during the sorting” He gave a cocky smile, “Just set them on the floor and let me work my magic” The students proceeded to drop their bags on the floor. Eric set down his suitcase and broom, but decided to keep Luna. He strengthened his grip on her cage. The man pulled a wand out of his back pocket and with a flick of his wrist Will the bags all floated into the air and disappeared with a flash of light and a small pop. Satisfied with his work, He tucked his wand back into his pocket.

“Now then, let’s get started, shall we?”

The inside of Ilvermorny was only partially what Eric had expected. While the stone corridors on either side of him was something that he was told about the magic gears were not. Far, far above his head the inside of a clock turned and toiled as it spun the hands of the clock tower, that Eric failed to notice outside. He was probably too worried about the Pukwudgies, or the woman. Walkways were magically attached to the gears indicating that the upper floors went up for a long while. Eric tilted head forwards along with the rest of the crowd. The Great Hall was directly in front of them. Giant tables ran vertically through the hall. Each table was lit up by a different colored lamp representing the four houses. Orange for Pukwudgie, green for Horned Serpent, gold for Wampus, and electric blue for Thunderbird. Behind the student seating was a round table where the teachers happily conversed amongst themselves. Eric noted that a goblin sat amongst their ranks cheerily sipping on a pint of beer far bigger than his head. Eric’s eyes moved to the back of the room. Four colossal statues that depicted each of the house’s animals stood resolute on their pedestals.

“Well, this is quite the light show” Luna hooted. Eric nodded in agreement. Once again, he looked over at Percy who was now nibbling on his chocolate frog. He scanned the Wampus table for Mia, who was staring at him in mild interest. Eric gave her a small wave. Mia raised an eyebrow. Well that wasn’t the response he was looking for. A professor cleared her throat breaking Eric’s concentration. He turned towards the teacher’s table to see a woman in a beige dress that extended just past her knees. She was short and stocky, but she had an air of authority to her. Her brown, faded hair was pulled back into a bun, and her high heels gave Eric the nervous feeling that he gets when he sees people standing at the edge of cliffs. She was the headmistress. Headmistress Meriam Mccoy.

“Welcome back to Ilvermorny” She greeted with a smile. The students hollered in excitement. The school year had finally started.

“I know you all had a wonderful summer break, as did I, but it’s time to get back to school, a place of friends, family, and of course, learning” The rest of the school hung off her every word. It felt unnatural.

“We are gathered here today, not only to start off the school year on the right foot, but to invite the first years into our wonderful academy. But of course they will need to go through a small initiation to see who’ll they’ll be spending the school year with” She chuckled, “It’s time for the sorting!” Eric could feel the excitement in the air. It buzzed all around him making him dizzy. Mccoy pulled a scroll out of her pocket. She opened it up to show the extensive list of sixth graders.

“You have all probably heard about the sorting here before so I won’t bore you with the details, however some insight is needed going forward. I will call each of you up in alphabetical order by last name, one or more of these statues will move sorting you into the houses here at Ilvermorny. Horned Serpent” The Horned Serpents cheered.

“Thunderbird” Another cheer from the Thunderbird house.

“Wampus” A roar from the Wampus’

“And Pukwudgie” Pukwudgie followed suit, “Are the four houses that you can be sorted into” She scanned over the crowd of students to see if they understood.

“Now,” Her eyes brightened, “Let’s begin” Eric glanced over at Percy who was still gnawing on his chocolate frog. They made eye contact with each other for a brief moment. Percy shot him a look that said ‘pay attention, this is important’. Eric rolled his eyes before turning forward again. He had heard all of this before, plus his last name was in the middle of the list. He wouldn’t be going for a while. Ms. Mccoy pulled a scroll out of her pocket and placed it in her right hand. She skimmed through its contents, before her eyes settled at the top.

“When I call your name stand on the platform in the center” She instructed pointing at a spot in the middle. Eric stood on the tips of his toes craning his neck over the shoulders of first years who were much taller than him. He hated being short. The boy caught a glimpse of a small tiled crest on the floor that he had missed when he first scanned the Great Hall. The pattern was shaped into the Ilvermorny shield, it’s four corners divided into each of the houses, and all tied together with a red ribbon. There was probably some kind of symbolism there, but Eric was always bad at identifying those sort of things. Not that he would admit that though.

“Abernathy, Jedidiah” She called. The school gazed upon the first year who stepped up to the front of the crowd. He positioned himself in the middle spinning his head around to look at the crowd. His eyes were wide, and his hands didn’t want to leave the center of his chest. The crowd leaned forward in anticipation A small grinding sound came from one of the statues in the back of the room. Eric smirked knowingly. A deafening roar sounded from the maw of the Wampus statue. Some of the first years covered their ears to block out the noise, Eric included. And as if nothing had happened the statue returned to its spot against the wall. Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Only brief sigh though. The applause from the Wampus house was explosive.

“Fuck” Eric muttered under his breath.

“I hope they don’t act like animals when you get sorted” Luna hooted sarcastically.

For the next fifteen minutes the young wizards waited for their moment in the spotlight. Eric especially. He shifted in his spot the phrase ‘Please Wampus’ playing over and over in his head as if he expected sheer force of will to dictate which house he would get into. The other first years were called up one by one. Soon, covering his ears after someone got sorted was becoming a habit for Eric. He noted how each of the statues moved, Wampus roaring to the sky. Pukwudgie raising the arrow it had in its hand straight into the air. The horn on top of the Serpent glowing a sickly green. And Thunderbird’s immense wings thrashing against the wind. Eric could feel the floor vibrate whenever the Thunderbird moved as if was actually making thunder. Each of the statues were magnificent. He wanted to analyze each of them up close. He was so entranced by the statues that he almost missed his name being called.

“Makanhara, Eric” Mccoy called. Eric blinked his way to attention. He fumbled with Luna’s cage before carrying it with him. He set it down just outside the tile platform, his eyes nervously darting between the four statues. His breathing slowly became rapid, and his head started to throb. Tentatively, He stepped onto the tile positioning himself just over the Wampus on the crest. He took several deep breaths before staring resolutely at the Wampus statue. Nothing happened. That was fine, nothing happened at first for several of the students. He waited for about a minute, but still, Nothing. Another minute passed. Even Mccoy began to give sideways glances at the statues. Soon the whole school was at the edge of their seat in anticipation. What statue would give way? Would it Wampus like he wanted it to? Eric sat down his mind beginning to race. Soon thoughts of excitement about spending his year with his sister gave way to darker possibilities Eric hadn’t considered. What if he didn’t get sorted? What if he was stuck in the center waiting for the entire school year? Had he failed the initiation? Would he be sent home packing? All these questions made Eric absolutely enraged. His balled his fists until his knuckles turned white. He bit his upper lip. His eyebrows furrowed creating sharp creases against the center of his forehead. Another minute passed. Eric was now shaking. The students around him could now feel his anger. They stared at him in concern. Ms. Mccoy pulled up her sleeve revealing a watch. Eric was now well beyond infuriated.

“I think it’s time to-” Mccoy was interrupted by a sound that felt like it should have come from the depths of hell. Eric’s yell blasted everyone to attention. The sheer amount cuss words that flew from his mouth would have been astounding to a Louisianan truck driver. Eventually Eric ran out of breath, he rested his right hand on his knee, and held up a bird to the statues with the other. The bird wasn’t Luna. Percy gazed at Eric, dumbfounded along with the rest of the school. Mccoy looked just as baffled as everyone else. There was a grinding noise that came from one of the statues. The floor vibrated underneath Eric’s feet. The Thunderbird’s wings pounded against the air. Before Mccoy could say anything the explosion of noise from the Thunderbird house permeated the room. Eric stood there for a moment as it quickly dawned on him what he had just done. Quickly, he grabbed Luna and rushed towards the Thunderbird table, but not before softly apologizing to Mrs. Mccoy. Why did he do that? Eric mentally slapped himself. I’m going to be expelled. He thought. As he made it to the end of the table a hand clapped him on the back.

“Congratulations on becoming a Thunderbird!” The Thunderbird Prefect greeted, “Good show out there”

“There was nothing ‘good’ about it, I shouldn’t have been so stupid” Eric sighed. The Prefect cracked a smile.

“Come on you made history! You are now the only kid who has a voice loud enough to cuss a statue into doing what he wants” Eric’s face flushed.

“Please stop”

“You’re going to go far” He praised.

“I’m going to be expelled” Eric groaned. The Prefect rolled his eyes.

“You’ll be fine kid, by the way, my name’s Thomas, Head of the Prefects here at Thunderbird”

“Yeah I already assumed that” Thomas nodded. Eric looked over his shoulder at Percy. His chocolate frog was now gone, and he was staring at Eric with concern in his eyes.

“What was that about?” He mouthed silently across the room. Eric couldn’t read his lips.

“What!?” He mouthed back. Percy waved his hands in the ‘never mind’ gester. Eric spun back to the Thunderbird table. Nervously, he tapped his foot underneath the table his knee banging against the wooden frame every once once in awhile. He hadn’t managed to get Wampus, but he at least wanted to be with someone he knew. That is, if he wasn’t sent home packing the next day. A few more students were sorted and with one last sound of the Pukwudgie statue the second to last student, a girl named Brittany Whitaker, had been sorted. Now, The black haired first year was standing alone in the center of the entire school and he looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Zaayer, Percy” the headmistress called. Percy head spun forward. He held his hands above his heart as he stepped forward onto the centerpiece. The colors from the crest lit up the bottom of his feet in different luminescent hues. The statues stood still. A minute passed. Eric worried that Percy was going to go through the same ordeal he did. Don’t be an idiot. Eric thought. Percy would get sorted. He had confidence. But Eric still wasn’t sure. All the anxiety he was feeling dissipated when the sound of grinding statues rang throughout the hall. The school stared, mesmerized by the two sculptures. Pukwudgie and Thunderbird. Eric almost slapped himself. Percy’s eyes darted from the two figurines, to Mrs. Mccoy, to Eric, then finally they scanned over the witches and wizards that made up the school. One by one they started to chant.

“Choice, choice, choice” The chanting grew louder and louder as more of them joined in. Percy looked dazed and confused. He spun around in his spot as if someone had put an axis on his head.

“Choice, choice, choice!” Now some of the teachers were joining in, including the one who took their bags in the courtyard. Percy looked like he was about to drop. Seeing the look on his face, Ms. Mccoy put her hand up silencing. The school stared at Percy. There was a small pause of anticipation. The students leaned in, intent on hearing whatever Percy had to say.

“I-I’d like to go with the blue one” Percy muttered pointing the Thunderbird table with his thumb. His voice carried in the echo of the room bouncing off the walls and the ceiling. The whole school heard. A couple of snickers came from the crowd. Percy looked as if he was going to break down on the spot. Eric’s heart ached for his fellow classmate. But, Eric didn’t have to feel bad much long as the laughter was soon drowned out by the sheer amount of noise that came from the Thunderbirds. Percy shuffled his way to the table his head still hung low. He sat between Eric and Thomas at the end of the table. His face was flushed red from embarrassment. It seemed as if he wanted to make himself as small as possible. He opened his mouth to say something to Eric, but was quickly interrupted by the headmistress.

“Now that the sorting is over I have a few small rules I would like to go over,” Eric perked up upon hearing this, “First off is that the Lyaberg forest is off limits until the Hidebehind problem is dealt with” The school made their stance on the subject very clear. They all groaned in unison. Again Ms. Mccoy had to put her hand up to silence them. She paused for a moment making sure that the students were prepared to go to the next point on her list.

“Moving on. Students are not to walk the halls between the hours of six o’clock and nine. Anybody who does will be given detention” Nobody reacted, this must’ve been standard rule, “There is to be no magic in the halls, even for Prefects, and thanks to last year’s ‘issue’ the practice quods can only be accessed by staff” The crowd reacted in a way Eric didn’t expect. They grinned. Their smiles were sly and mischievous, as if they knew something that Mccoy didn’t.

“The finale thing to note is that the Divination tower is still under construction and therefore off limits to everyone, thank you for listening in, Quodpot tryouts will start September twelfth, and I hope you all have a nice meal” She smiled graciously before turning her back to the crowd and sitting back down at the teachers table. Percy blinked in confusion. He turned towards Thomas.

“What’s Quodpot?” Thomas nearly choked.

“You’ve never heard of Quodpot?!” Eric rolled his eyes.

“It’ll be better for him. Quodpot sucks”

“Um… no it certainly doesn’t, it is in fact the best thing to ever exist. Period.” Thomas posed in an overly exaggerated offended stance that would have put Luna’s attitude to shame.

“There are way too many injuries for it to even be considered humane, and what does the winning team get in the end? A cheap plastic trophy, that’s what”

“It’s not about the trophy”

“Then what’s it about? Is it the about the broken bones, or is it the third degree burns?” Eric sneered.

“You don’t get it”

“Then enlighten me” Percy looked back and forth between the them as they had their bout. Soon the boys were throwing out articles they’ve read in The Wizarding Voice to prove their points. Eventually, the two Thunderbirds exhausted themselves of their conversation. They slumped back into their chairs, Thomas’s arm dangling over the backrest.

“I still have questions” Percy informed. Eric glanced up at Percy.

“Yeah?”

“What’s a Hidebehind” The black haired boy asked.

“A vicious creature you don’t want to meet in a dark alleyway, they can hide behind most anything, hence the name, you wouldn’t know if one is by you until you are already caught” Eric answered.

“So there could be a Hidebehind in here, right now” Percy looked frightened.

“Nah, they only hunt single targets” Thomas answered. Percy still didn’t look convinced, but instead of pursuing the topic further Percy decided to quickly move on.

“Do you know when the food’s supposed to get here?” As if answering his question, plates of food faded into existence on the table. Decodent smoked sausages wrapped around a decorated ham filled the center of the table. They smelled like they were fresh off the barbeque and slathered with A1 sauce. Baskets filled to the brim with different assortments of fruits, some of which Eric hadn’t seen before, landed straight in front of Thomas. And sloppily stacked hamburgers filled to the brim with different toppings appeared under Percy’s nose sporting different drinks ranging from pumpkin juice to-

“Ha ha!” Percy shouted snatching up a red can, “Dr. Pepper!” He was so obnoxiously happy that Eric couldn’t help cracking a small smile. He turned to the food, his mouth starting to water. Tiny wisps of steam rose from the meal. Eric cut off a piece of sausage from it’s link and placed it on the plate in front of him. Thomas simply plucked a pineapple from one of the fruit basket and placed it on the corner of the table next to him. Eric raised his eyebrow.

“What?” Thomas inquired.

“Nothing” He paused for a few moments considering his food. Something felt off, but he couldn’t tell what. Finally after racking his brain for the better part of a minute he found his problem.

“How is this here?”

“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.

“I mean summoning food is against Gamp’s laws of Transfiguration, it can’t just appear here”

“You really know your Transfiguration, that’s good, Mrs. Lyre tends to be hard on middle schoolers. But to answer your question its transported from another location, the kitchen”

“And where’s that?”

“Nobody knows, except Mia and her crew”

“My sister!” Eric gasped.

“Mia’s your sister!” Thomas looked just as shocked, “I mean I should have guessed, with the whole yelling at the statue thing” Eric wanted to protest, but now the Prefect was on a roll with his train of thought.

“Anyways, Mia and her entourage of Wampus third year girls have been messing with this school since they got here, there’s a reason only prefects can access the practice Quods now”

“What did she do?” Eric was now at the edge of his seat, leaning closer to hear every small detail, he knew that Mia was a bit of a prankster at home but he didn’t know that her habit had followed her to Ilvermorny.

“She set it to explode underneath Professor Haven’s desk” Thomas pointed to a man in a white beard at the teachers table. He was stabbing dejectedly at a salad.

“He’s the Potions teacher”

“That’s horrible!” Percy exclaimed. Eric leaned back in his chair. Mia hadn’t told him any of this.

“She’s been lying to me for two years now” Eric sighed. As frustrating as it was, he had known for a while that Mia was hiding something. He could tell. She bit her lower lip everytime she lied.

“Don’t feel bad about it, I can see why, imagine what would happen if your parents found out” Thomas pointed out.

“They wouldn’t” Eric replied rubbing his face. Mia. An exploding Quod. He would have to confront her about that later. He focused on his plate full of sausage links. They looked good. Sighing one last time Eric began to eat. Luna hooted softly beside him. Eric rolled his eyes once more and fed her one of the links through the bars in her cage. Soon everyone was chowing down. Percy, in particular, ate like a pig. He scarfed down a chunk of the steamed ham before filling his plate with the mash potatoes that were just out of Eric’s reach.

“You wanna slow down there kid?” Thomas asked. Percy shook his head from side to side.

“Hamh Hoofd” A sentence Eric roughly translated into ‘I’m good’. Now it was Eric’s turn to shake his head.

After awhile, students started to get up. At first one by one, then in herds. Percy slouched in his chair as Eric tapped Thomas on the shoulder breaking him from his cheeseburger filled concentration.

“Where are we supposed to go?” Eric asked.

“I’ll be taking the Thunderbird first years up to the common room, so just hold tight for a second” Thomas answered. The Prefect pondered something for a moment then turned until his shoulders were squared with Eric.

“So why’d you bring the owl with you?”

“Oh! Luna? She hasn’t left my side since I was six, I don’t trust anyone with her”

“I’m not your property” Luna hissed. Eric ignored her.

“I guess you have a pretty tight relationship” Thomas said stuffing the last piece of a hamburger in his mouth.

“Yeah” Eric stared at the upperclassmen who were now leaving. They seemed so big compared to him. He counted each of them as they walked through the doorway. Soon the first years were the only one left. The Thunderbird house had four new students. Percy, Eric, the girl who bumped into Eric at the train station, and a blonde haired boy that looked like he would pick fights with just about anyone. They all stared at each other sizing one another up. Eric shoved his last piece of bratwurst into his mouth. Thomas stood up taking his pineapple as he did so. He counted each of the students.

“Definitely smaller than the rest of the houses, but it seems like one house gets the short end of the stick every year. It’s what happens when you sort by personal traits.” He shrugged. He scanned the rest of the houses first years and gave thumbs up to the Wampus Prefect, who nodded back signalling the start of their climb to the common rooms.

“Yup, I guess we should head up” Thomas suggested. Percy scanned over the group. He made sure that everyone was prepared before departing.

“Alright, let’s go then”

#Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Part 1 #Passion Project #Eric Makanahra #Percy Zaayer #Mia Makanahra #Thomas Burg #Merriam Mccoy #William Pots #Owen Raven #This was nine pages on Google Docs #Chapter 2 #The Sorting Statues #Thunderbird #Harry Potter #Potterhead #JK Rowling #Fanfiction

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thoughtfullyspookymentality · 6 years

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Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Part 1: Chapter One: A Wizz Pop and A Train Ride

Eric hated trains. Trains were just small boxes handcrafted so he couldn’t stretch his legs out. The overhead compartments couldn’t fit the large bags Eric had collected from Oaken Alley. And worst of all, the brown haired, scowling, scarf wearing first year often felt like he was going to throw up on locomotives. So of course, Eric found himself hunched over, clutching his stomach, and sitting on the cushioned seat of an emerald steam engine.

The scene would have been a rather sad one, with the young wizard sitting in the back of the train arms wrapped around his chest, but Eric felt comfortable knowing that nobody could see him in this sorry state. It was only him and his things. Across from the boy was an assortment of carry ons. Suitcase, prestenely packed with his name last name, Makanahra, labeled on the front, An oddly lumped package, which held the broom that Eric would never ride, and a cage with a large, black owl sitting, precariously on a ledge, on the inside. The owl stared directly at Eric, it’s eyes shining with a mixture of intelligence and annoyance.

“I told you that drinking Wizz Pop would make you sick,” Luna hooted smugly. Eric groaned in response.

“Shut up, you know I can’t function in the morning without those things”

“The morning, afternoon, evening, basically every point in the day really” Eric didn’t say anything, which the owl took as an opportunity to keep antagonizing him.

“How many Wizz Pops did you pack?”

“Twelve.”

“God you’re a slob.” Eric turned away from his owl, gritting his teeth.

“Stop talking, I can’t think!” The train hit a bump causing Eric’s stomach to lurch.

“Aruk!” The first year tightened his grip on his stomach with one hand and steadied himself on the green cushioned seat with the other. Luckily, no previous meals were ejected from Eric’s stomach. The wizard scanned over his trunk. He leaned forward. Fingers shaking, He fumbled with his suitcase unzipping it to reveal an array of potions carefully arranged in its mesh pouch. His mother would have killed him if he left for Ilvermorny without them. Groggily, and with his head spinning around him, Eric carefully read over the labels of each bottle until he gingerly picked up a scarlet potion with tiny pink flakes inside. The potion label, Cure Motion Sickness, wrapped around the bottle. The writing was black, and the letters looped together in cursive. The sweet smell of pine was strong enough to waft out of the bottle, even though the cork was securely seal on. Everything about the potion was perfectly brewed to the specifications of the recipe. The door to the tram slammed open. Eric watched in horror as the perfectly brewed potion flew out of his hand and onto the floor.

“Fuck!”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to slam the door” The boy was tall, a lot taller than Eric. His hair was black and matted to one side, and his eyes were grey to match his pale skin. He hurriedly picked up the bottle and handed it back to Eric.

“I’m Percy, Percy Zaayer” Percy had a higher voice than Eric would have expected for someone his height.“Thanks” Eric forced. He tentatively grasped the bottle and looked over the contents. Like with Wizz Pops, Eric learned never to trust potions that had been shaken up past the point of discoloration. The liquid was still scarlet with pink flakes. He popped the cork and chugged down the contents. It felt cold and sticky, like drinking a bottle of maple syrup that had been put into the fridge. Satisfied, Eric breathed out. He noticed the newcomer staring in amazement at the potion. Eric scanned over the boy. Under his robes he had a bright yellow t-shirt with a smiley face on it, completely opposite of his dark exterior. His eyes were quick to dart around the room, and he had this excitable energy to him that Eric had never seen before.

“I’m Eric Makanahra”

“Nice” Percy said plopping himself down on the seat across for Eric right next to Luna. There was a moment of pause as the two boys stared at each other for a few moments waiting for the other to pick up the conversation.

“So, why aren’t you sitting with members of your class?” Eric asked. Percy shuffled his feet.

“I don’t actually know who’s in my class, I’m just a first year”

“Really? You look older than that, like an eighth grader or something” Eric waved his hand around in a circular motion, brushing off his mistake. Percy chuckled a bit. It wasn’t because the comment was funny, it was just so he could get the awkwardness out of the air.

“Yeah, I’m a first year too” Eric continued, “I’m hoping to get into my sister’s house, she’s in Wampus”

“House, what do you mean by house?” Percy puzzled.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“You mean to tell me that you don’t know about the house system?”

“No, not really,” Eric narrowed his eyes at the first year before shrugging his shoulders and answering.

“Well, at Ilvermorny there are four houses, at the beginning of school each first year is sorted into their houses by statues..”

“mhm?”

“The statues are all different and accept certain witches and wizards. My sister’s in Wampus, it favours physical strength.”

“What about the others?”

“Well let’s see, there’s Pukwudgie that favors the heart, Horned Serpent the favors the mind, and Thunderbird which favors the spirit.” Eric counted each of the houses off on his fingers making sure he didn’t forget them, or give them the wrong definition. At the end he stared directly in to Percy’s grey eyes making sure he understood.

“What’s the difference between heart and spirit?” The black haired boy asked.

“I don’t ‘effing know” Percy laughed, still small, but this time it was genuine. Eric smiled. Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. A middle aged man who looked somewhat bored was leaning against a cart filled with an assortment of candies. Chocolate Frogs, to Star Streamers, to Fizz Wailers all stood tall and proud under the watchful eye of a disinterested cart driver.

“Ya’ want any candy from the trolley?” He spoke with a New Jersey accent which complimented his boredom quite nicely. Luna perked up.

“Eric no, you just got over being sick we are not going to have you chugging down every single potion your mom packed you because you’re a dumbass.”

“I’ll take two Wizz Pops, please.”

Luna gave an exasperated hoot, shaking her tiny head back and forth. Eric handed the candy man several knuts in exchange for two unopened bottles of Wizz Pop. The trolley man turned towards Percy.

“How ‘bout you?” He asked not really caring.

“I’ll take one of,” He put his finger to his chin before pointing at one of the Chocolate Frogs, “whatever those are”

“That’ll be eigh’ knuts” Percy fished for the coins out of his pocket, showed several bronze coins to Eric.

“These right?”

“Yup” Percy handed eight of the bronze coins to the candy man, who handed him the Chocolate Frogs and promptly flung the door shut. Percy stuffed the candy into his robe pocket before turning to Eric.

“What’s a Wizz Pop?” Eric stopped. He slowly stared at Percy dumbfounded.

“Not knowing the houses is one thing, but it is a crime to not have at least tried a Wizz Pop.”

“Then can I have a drink?” Percy asked. Eric considered the bottle, then Percy. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Here” The brown haired boy tossed the the drink over to Percy, who happily screwed off the top and chugged it until only half the liquid remained.

“Did you even taste it?”

“Yeah, it was good. I still prefer Dr. Pepper though.”

“The hell’s a Dr. Pepper?” Now it was Percy’s turn to be shocked.

“You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Dr. Pepper?”

“Nope” Percy shook his head. Obviously, he found Eric’s lack of soda knowledge astonishing. Eric ran his fingers through his hair making what previously looked like a bush, into something that more resembled a tangled mop. Luna took this pause in the conversation to interject her opinion.

“Oh my God, I don’t care!” She screeched. Eric rolled his eyes.

“Would you be quiet, I’m trying to have a conversation!” Eric snapped. Percy nearly dropped his Wizz Pop.

“You can speak owl!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s a rarer ability, but most Dyrlingualists can” Eric answered leaning back. “What’s a Dyrlingualist?”

“Man have you been living under an ‘effing rock?” Percy put his hands up in the air defensively

“Sorry, I’m not good with this magic stuff, I only recently discovered I was wizard like a couple weeks ago, you don’t have to be rude about it” Suddenly, Eric felt extremely sheepish. He shuffled his feet back and forth across the carpeted floors.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were no maj born”

“What’s a no maj”

“A no maj is a muggle” Percy looked even more confused.

“Well what’s a muggle?” Eric didn’t know how to answer that, usually, ‘like muggles’ was his go two answer.

“Well.. um, a muggle is like a wizard, no, it’s not like a wizard. It’s...um, you see, it’s a guy who can’t-”

“It’s a someone who can’t use magic” Percy finished.

“Yeah, that’s it” Eric exclaimed shouting snapping his fingers.

Their conversation lasted for the better part of an hour before Luna shifted on her perch.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but; Ilvermorny dead ahead”

“Huh?” Eric looked over to the window, outside was a castle just above the treeline. It’s stone towers scraped against the night sky as several clouds covered around the tallest. Around the entire building was a cobblestone wall that was clearly built to intimidate as well as defend. Vines crept up across the entire exterior of the castle, and tall, frail figures with extended limbs could just barely be seen within the gates of the castle.

“Well, we should get ready then” Eric suggested making sure that his ink colored robes were in order.

“Probably” Percy agreed moving to grab his suitcase. Eric noted that his suit case was sloppily packed. Tiny pieces of fabric were sticking out of the edges, and the top of the case seemed to warped ever so slightly, making it evident that the clothing was thrown inside, rather than the carefully fold and organized trunk Eric had. The brown haired wizard shook his head. Refocusing he grabbed Luna’s cage, much to the annoyance of the owl inside, and slid the glass door open.

The train walkways were jam packed with different students of different shapes and sizes. One small girl was getting thrown around in the crowd, her tiny squeaks lost in the bustle of wizards and witches. Eric stepped outside and was immediately thrown against the wall. He scanned over the crowd for Percy who was ever so carefully maneuvered his way through the crowd. Eric stood up and straightened his bags. He waited for the mob to thin out before continuing on. A slight amount of steam had made it onto the steps leading out of the emerald engine. Ever so carefully, Eric descend onto the platform. His shoes barely fit the tiny steps of the train. Finally, Eric stood on the platform, his back to the train, facing the castle. The air was warm, and the smell of cedar trees made him feel like he was at home. Finally, he was at Ilvermorny.

#Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Part 1 #I've decided to start posting my stories here #Harry Potter #Fanfiction truly is the highest form of art #jk rowling #Eric Makanahra #Percy Zaayer

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