Ilvermorny, America’s Hogwarts: 4 houses revealed

MANILA, Philippines – Although we’ve only come to know Hogwarts and the wizarding community in Britain, there’s much more to know about the world of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. In new original writing from the author, she reveals more about Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogwarts’ North American counterpart.

Founded in the 17th century, the eminent magical school of Ilvermorny is located at the highest peak of Mount Greylock, Massachusetts – the state in which some of America’s finest learning institutions are located.

As the story goes, a young, orphaned witch from Ireland by the name of Isolt Sayre set off for the New World, arriving on its shores with the earliest non-magical settlers (or No-Majs, as Muggles are called in America).

Isolt is a descendant of the Irish witch Morrigan and the legendary Salazar Slytherin. After she escapes her evil aunt and adoptive mother Gormlaith Gaunt – an ancestor of Tom Riddle (aka Lord Voldemort) and his family – her adventures in America lead her to find love and set up Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the peak of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.

Fashioned after Hogwarts, Ilvermorny also has 4 houses, named after American magical creatures rather than its founders: Horned Serpent, Pukwudgie, Thunderbird and Wampus.

Rowling describes each of the creatures in her piece about Ilvermorny:

• Horned Serpent – a “great horned river serpent with a jewel set into its forehead”
• Pukwudgie – “a short, grey-faced, large-eared creature”
• Thunderbird – a creature that “can create storms as it flies”
• Wampus – “a magical, panther-like creature that is fast, strong and almost impossible to kill”

Pottermore users can now sort themselves into houses in Ilvermorny, through a series of questions that Rowling herself wrote. 

Another notable difference with Ilvermorny and American wizards is that magical students choose their wands at the school itself, rather than buy them in stores. Each student must leave his or her wand at Ilvermorny at the end of the school year until they graduate. 

JK Rowling’s stories about Ilvermorny are in anticipation for the upcoming movie Magical Beasts and Where To Find Them, which follows magizoologist Newt Scammander and his adventures in 1920s America. The movie will be in Philippine theaters on Novemer 17. (WATCH: First trailer of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ released)

In March, Rowling released A History of Magic in North America, a series released on the Pottermore website, dealing with North American magical history. – Rappler.com