Pottermore today released a new story by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and a new video detailing the North American wizarding school of Ilvermorny. The story reveals the history of Ilvermorny, describes its four houses, and details a unique sorting ceremony used by the school.
You can check out the teaser video below:
Videos by PopCulture.com
According to Rowling’s writing, Ilvermorny was founded in the seventeenth century and stands atop the highest peak of Mount Greylock. The school is concealed from the No-Maj population (North American Muggles) via powerful enchantments that sometimes manifest in “a wreath of misty cloud.”
Ilvermorny was founded by a pureblood Irish wizard named Isolt Sayre, who was descendent of both Salazar Slytherin and the famous Irish witch Morrigan. She lived happily with her parents in a small Irish town until the day her mother’s estranged sister, a pureblood zealot named Gormlaith Gaunt, murdered Isolt’s parents and stole the girl away to Hag’s Glen in order to prevent her marrying a Muggle. After more than a decade of imprisonment and attempted indoctrination, Isolt stole her aunt’s wand and escaped. Masquerading as a Muggle boy, she sailed to the “New World,” where she encountered the magical creatures and fellow wizards that would help her create Ilvermorny, though she still hadn’t seen the last of Gormlaith.
The four Ilvermorny houses are named after magical creatures:
- 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’
Ilvermorny is the second installment of Rowling’s Magic in North America series. She previously wrote History of Magic in North America, detailing the magical traditions of North America from the fourteenth century through the 1920s, which is when the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will take place.
Check out when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and other movies are coming out in ComicBook.com’s Movie Release Schedule.
