Chapter 377: Integration
Chapter 377: Integration
By the time the banquet began, Byers had already become friends with Neville and had gotten to know Harry and his group of friends.
"Yes, it's very different", Byers was telling the Gryffindor students about Ilvermorny's house sorting ceremony. "The first time I saw it, I was shocked. On either side of the castle's main entrance are the statues of the founders, Isolt Sayre and James Stuart. After passing through the main door, you enter a circular hall where the sorting takes place..."
He drew a circle on the table to illustrate the shape of the hall, then marked four spots.
"See?" Byers pointed to the spots. "These represent the animal statues of the four houses. The first-year students stand in a circle against the walls, waiting to be called. I was standing on the Gordian Knot, terrified. Everyone around me was just as nervous. Looking up, you could see the older students and professors on the second-floor balcony—"
"What's the Gordian Knot?" Seamus asked, intrigued.
Byers showed them the golden knot on his robe. "It's this. It's used to fasten the school robes. It's quite complex, but it's a tradition at our school, and everyone has to learn how to use it."
"Where was I? Oh, standing on the Gordian Knot, waiting. You watch to see which magical statue reacts... I felt like it took a year, but fortunately, the Thunderbird statue responded to me." He sighed in relief.
Harry could relate. His own sorting had been long in his first year, mainly because the Sorting Hat had strongly suggested Slytherin, and he had insisted on not going there, eventually being placed in Gryffindor House.
He couldn't help but ask, "Have any first-years ever had two statues react to them at the same time?"
"It has happened", Byers recalled. "But it's rare. The most famous case was Seraphina Picquery. All four houses wanted her. It turned out she was worth it—she later became the President of the American Congress of Magic."
"Her tenure was marked by excellent work, but people remember her more for standing up to pressure and not banning Gigglewater..."
Hermione exclaimed, "For Dedalus Diggle's sake, what is that?"
Byers looked at her in surprise.
"Did I say something wrong?" Hermione asked quietly.
"No", Byers said. "Did you read about Dedalus Diggle in a book? Dedalus Diggle?"
Hermione nodded cautiously. "The book says Dedalus Diggle was one of the victims of the Salem witch trials in the 17th century. Her name later became a colloquial expression for surprise."
Byers stifled a laugh. "You're right, but that's a term my grandmother's generation used. The book you read must be quite old..."
Hermione blushed.
The surrounding Gryffindor young wizards laughed. It was rare to see the "know-it-all" Hermione make a mistake.
After the laughter died down, Ron asked curiously, "So... what exactly is Gigglewater?"
...
"Would you like some? Gigglewater, it's as old as the Magical Congress. Every sip is a taste of history", Professor Cormac Wilkinson, Ilvermorny's Dark Magic Defense teacher, asked, shaking a rugged bottle that gurgled with the liquid inside.
Felix shook his head lightly. "I can't handle strong drinks."
"Young people don't appreciate good things..." Wilkinson muttered, turning to Professor Moody. "How about you, Professor Moody? Just a sip, and you'll be laughing heartily."
Moody patted the curved flask at his waist and gruffly said, "I only drink my own."
Professor Wilkinson's eyes lit up, and he leaned in. "What do you have?"
"Cheap stuff, but I'm used to it. I used to take a sip while on stakeout as an Auror", Moody tapped his cane on the floor. "Professor Wilkinson, what do you think of my proposal?"
Mcgonagall, sitting two seats away, turned her head away, unable to bear the sight. She hadn't managed to prevent Professor Moody's "unique Dark Magic Defense teaching philosophy" from being exposed on the first day, without even a day's buffer.
"Oh, um, this..." Wilkinson's tone became vague. "I didn't expect Hogwarts' teaching style to be so... aggressive. I heard some rumors, but it seems there was some misunderstanding..."
He took a large swig of Gigglewater, his face flushing, and he laughed wildly. Then he began to loudly recount the glory of his ancestors. "Charity Wilkinson! One of the twelve Aurors of America! She's my great-great-great-grandmother, one of the two who survived to old age..."
At the end of the banquet, he was carried out of the castle by four house-elves, following the Ilvermorny delegation to the temporary camp on the Quidditch pitch.
Hogwarts students could still hear his drunken voice echoing in the black night sky— "To Charity Wilkinson!" "To Thaddeus Fontana!" "To the twelve Aurors!"
"He looks furious, that Ilvermorny Headmaster", Felix teased.
The headmaster of Ilvermorny is a very rule-abiding person, but Professor Wilkinson's behavior today was quite embarrassing. Perhaps even more embarrassing was the fact that the professor was carried away by the stone-faced goblins, completely unaware of what was happening, which was completely at odds with the subject he taught...
Professor Mcgonagall, who usually had a very stern expression, laughed.
But she quickly regained her composure and said worriedly, "I fear Professor Moody will cause trouble..."
Her fears soon came true.
In the new week, Moody didn't consider the feelings of the new Ilvermorny students and used a malevolent transference spell in the seventh-year class. Students' noses were grafted onto plants, bottles, books, and all sorts of strange objects.
He barked, "Some of you were picked and passed the test of fear... Yes, you feel pretty proud... But in my opinion, it's all an illusion! Petty stuff! We need to try something real, huh?"
His magical eye whirled around, staring at the students in the class, including the Ilvermorny transfer students.
Collins Foley covered his face, tears streaming down, and frantically waved his wand. After a moment—
"Bang!"
The spell's effect disappeared, and Collins, holding his intact nose, felt a weight lift from his heart.
"Good job!" Moody limped over, "See, this is what I want. You need to learn how to deflect curses and how to break them. Ten points to Slytherin!"
In the afternoon, Felix was flipping through the class roster in the Ancient Runes classroom.
"Two are missing?"
He looked at Byers, who stammered, "They, they're not feeling well and are lying in the camp..."
Felix understood; they were probably scared by Moody's curses, but there was no need to skip his class.
"Alright, everyone", he scanned the room, "let's start the lesson. Given the various attention-grabbing events this year, your focus will inevitably be divided... We need to step up our efforts and aim to finish the year's curriculum before the first event begins."
The young wizards below showed little reaction; their progress had always been ahead. This 'ahead' was relative to the Ministry of Magic's Wizard Examination Authority's standards, which organized the O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts exams.
Since Professor Hup's onboarding, the young wizards' Ancient Runes scores have soared. Of the students graduating at the end of June this year, all but one, who received an Exceeds Expectations (E), achieved the highest Outstanding (O) grade.
As Professor Hup put it, "The Ministry of Magic is too slow to react, but you can't rely on them being oblivious forever; after all, a string of 'Outstandings' is quite noticeable..."
"Maybe one day they'll remember this and come to Hogwarts to reassess the course difficulty and exam standards."
...
The Ilvermorny students looked around in amazement; the Hogwarts students seemed to have no objections to Professor Hup's words. This made them wonder if they had misunderstood; did he really plan to cover an entire year's content in just three months?
"Professor, do you know when the first event will take place?" a student raised a hand and asked.
"It should be between late November and early December", Felix replied, "to give the Champions enough time to prepare and to avoid disrupting the Christmas dance. The time frame I mentioned should meet these requirements."
He lightly tapped the table, drawing the students into the mind classroom.
The space was no longer confined, extending freely. Clusters of fluffy flowers and towering wand trees sprang up. Byers and the Ilvermorny students gaped in shock as they caught the magical scrolls floating down from the sky.
When their fingertips touched the ancient, shimmering scrolls, sparks of golden light flickered, and a wealth of Ancient Runes knowledge flooded their minds. Byers felt as if he were in a dream.
This was too magical...
"I'll assign the tasks", Felix said. "Reread the textbook; you'll find that the stories are quite interesting..."
...
Time passed unnoticed, and the Ilvermorny students blended in like a drop of water in the ocean. Even when there were occasional ripples, they didn't cause any significant trouble.
At the Friday evening faculty meeting, Professor Mcgonagall dropped two bombs.
"The first thing is that the Ministry of Magic has finalized the list of dark magic spells that can be 'reasonably' used during the Triwizard Tournament." As she spoke, sheets of parchment floated to the professors present.
Felix looked at the long list of spells written in black ink and fell into deep thought.
"The second thing is that the Ilvermorny delegation has asked if the reserve Champions from both schools can practice and spar with each other, including familiarizing themselves and defending against the dark magic on the list."
She said expressionlessly, "Let's discuss this."
(End of Chapter)
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