Wicked Eclipse

The chatter that filled Ilvermorny’s dining hall was a dull roar. Students sat at their respective house tables, one of the only special occasions where they were required to. The Sorting had gone smoothly for the newest set of first years. There were now about fifteen new eleven-year-olds sitting at each table talking excitedly amongst themselves. A handful of older students would put into their young conversations to give them little tips or try to intimidate them. Alex sat with her best friend, Faith and they recalled their first night in the castle.

There is a point some miles away from the school that the young wizards apparate to with their relatives. From there, the students take carriages pulled by Hippogriffs. They would trot until they couldn’t anymore, until the mountain would get too steep. They would fly the rest of the way up the Mount Greylock, a rocky ride but very fun—sort of like a no-maj roller coaster. They would land in a beautiful meadow behind the castle, just in time for the sunset. Alex would never forget the first time she came upon that scene. It made her brown eyes water and her face nearly split in two from her large smile. Her parents had always told her and Benjamin how beautiful it was, but nothing could prepare her for the way the sun seemed to kiss the grassy plain in front of her. It bathed the grounds in orange light and overhead, the skies took on different shades of pink.

The students filed inside the castle, the first hall being a round, domed room with a glass ceiling. That colorful sky could still be seen. Second through seventh years took a curved staircase that led to a balcony that wrapped around the room. They, along with all of the professors, leaned over the banister to survey the first years who stared around in awe. The walls were covered in life-like paintings—a serpent with a green jewel set in its head, a Pukwudgie, a goblin-like creature holding a shield and bow and arrow, a Wampus, panther-like in appearance with its mouth open, ready to roar, and a Thunderbird, its wings spread wide. On the floor was a Gordian Knot set into the stone. It was a symbol of the first Headmistress, Isolt Sayre-Steward, and the incoming students stood on it as they waited for one of the four house creatures to choose them.

The first sorting was a little alarming, a skinny young man named Gregory Adams. He stood on the knot, looking around with wide eyes. The other students waited with baited breath until the Wampus threw its head back and roared loudly. Alexandra had jumped back in alarm, nearly falling into another student, a dark haired boy not much taller than she who would later become one of her best friends.

She watched as student after student stepped into the middle of the room and were chosen by the creatures. The Pukwudgie raised its arrow many times, the serpent’s crystal glowed, and the Thunderbird flapped its wings tremendously.

Alex’s name was called before her brother’s as it came before his alphabetically. With a huge breath in, she made her way through the crowd and to the middle of the room. She stared around at all of the students and teachers standing above her, hoping she didn’t look as frightened as she felt.

The animals on the wall stayed still for what felt like forever and her mind raced, what if none of them choose me? What if I don’t actually belong here? And then, the sound of wings filled the hall, beating back and forth. Alex grinned widely as she watched the Thunderbird. Her heart soared. She had been chosen. She did indeed belong.

Students cheered, and she skipped to the staircase and climbed up to join the students who had already been sorted, watching as her brother paced onto the floor after his name was broadcasted. She nibbled on her bottom lip as Benjamin looked up, searching the balcony for her. She waved from where she was, catching his eye. He smiled and it only grew when the darkening room glowed emerald green. Satisfied, Ben puffed his chest out and pushed his glasses farther up his nose before ascending the spiral staircase and joining his sister.

Now fifteen, Alex sighed at the memory. She had been so young, so full of excitement. She still had that thrill, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t as new anymore. Four years at Ilvermorny and she had gotten used to magic, though it still managed to impress her from time to time. She had some hard classes and loads of homework every year, even over winter break. She had, however, met her best friends at the school—friends that helped with said classes and homework.

“So, how was Brazil?” Faith asked.

Alex shrugged her shoulders, dipping a dinner roll in some gravy. “I wrote you almost every day. You’ve already heard it all,” she said through a mouthful. “But, it was really fun. Very thankful for the translating charm, otherwise the language barrier would have made things difficult, but it was great. And the rainforest was so beautiful.”

“Rainy?”

“It’s in the name,” the brunette laughed. “So yes, very wet and kind of scary at night, but super fun to explore. I got to use a machete a few times.”

Faith’s eyes widened. “You with a sword?”

“I know, right?”

“And Ben had a good time?”

“He was a little more upset about the rain and bugs and overall forest, but I think he had a lot of fun learning the foreign studies.”

“What a big ol’ nerd,” the blonde giggled. She sipped on a spoonful of clam chowder and watched as her best friend surveyed the table.

“So, anything new here? New drama, anything… Seth related?” Alex wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and the other girl waved her off.

Faith’s eyes flicked to the Pukwudgie table at the mention of their friend and she shook her head. “I mean, we hung out some over summer break, but nothing very interesting.”

A flash of black swept by her and Alex turned to see a tall slender boy walk down the aisle between tables. The blue robes glided behind him and he stopped at their table and kicked a leg over the bench, sitting with a group of seventh years. Alex’s eyes widened and she looked at Faith. “Who is that?”

“Hi-ko-a,” Faith tried to say around a full mouth of chicken.

“What?”

She swallowed and wiped her greasy lips on a napkin. “Shikoba. Everyone calls him Koba, though. Transfer student.”

“From where?” Her eyes stayed on the boy. His hair fell passed his shoulders, framing his angular face. Coal black eyes flickered up to meet hers and Alex immediately looked away, making a face.

“Everywhere. He’s kind of, like, nomadic. Native American. He learned a lot from his family or tribe or whatever then went to a school, then traveled with some groups. He even went to Hogwarts for a year.”

“Why is he so pale?”

Faith shrugged. “Some people gossip and say he’s a werewolf, but that’s never been proven. He misses school sometimes, but we figure it’s just him flaking out.” The blonde smiled slyly as Alex took another tentative look at him. “Cute, right?”

The girl tried to be nonchalant about it but still nodded, “I mean, a little, I guess.”

Faith rolled her eyes.

The feast came to a close. Headmaster Pickrell told them how glad he was to have them all back and welcomed the first years once more before wishing them a good night and dismissing them. Alex and Faith made their way out of the hall, seeing Sunny Moretti’s pink hair in front of them. They quickened their pace to catch up with her, both girls slinging arms around her.

Sunny, contrary to her name, was the token goth girl at Ilvermorny. Her hair changed colors often as she was born a Metamorphmagus, but she was very partial to the pink and kept it most of the time. She was dark and cynical, but she was also probably the funniest person Alex knew.

“How was your break?” Faith asked as they all stepped outside. The student dormitories were separate from the rest of the building. They weren’t far, still on the grounds, but it gave students a sense of independence.

“Bright. I went camping way too many times.”

The girls on either side of her both showed looks of confusion. Camping was definitely not her style. Sipping black coffee on a rainy day with a journal in front of her was more Sunny’s aesthetic.

“Who got you to go camping?”

“My whole dumb family! When my cousins came into town, they wanted to go. My dad wanted to go. My sister wanted to go. It was awful.”

“Did you at least go to, like, real camp grounds—with little bathrooms and cabins with outlets?”

The petite girl leveled a look at Faith that told her no, they definitely did not go to established campgrounds. “I sat in a boat with my dad on a lake for seven hours one day, you guys. Do you know how much sunscreen I had to put on? I think I went through a whole bottle in a day.”

The trio joked and laughed as they walked through the darkness to their separate dorms.

“Hey, we’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Alex called as they split up. Sunny threw a peace sign up into the air before disappearing into the Pukwudgie building.

The remaining two sauntered into Thunderbird housing. They buildings were old, made of granite just like the castle. Two stories high, the girls of the house remained on the bottom level while all of the males stayed upstairs. There were strict rules about girls and boys going into one another’s rooms and at least once every year, those rules were broken. If couples were caught, it usually resulted in suspension, but years ago, a sixth year female was actually caught performing fellatio on a seventh year boy in his bed and the two were expelled. Ilvermorny did not have time for teen pregnancy and STDs.

Faith and Alex talked to a few of their housemates who they hadn’t gotten the chance to see at dinner then retreated to the fifth year pod. They shared a very large room with six other girls, all of whom were extremely friendly.

There was Calliope Sanchez who was known for coming from a long line of powerful brujas.

Scotti Graves was a rather pudgy redhead who received care packages full of snacks from her mother every Monday. She kept them in her chest of drawers and welcomed all of her roommates to them. It was very handy when the girls were stressed out from their classes or hormonal due to their time of the month.

Lucy Skye was the school hippy. She had extremely long brown hair that she kept braided and was probably the most laid back person at Ilvermorny.

Travelling from Middle of Nowhere, Texas, Georgia Bates blessed the students with a drawling accent and southern hospitality. One of the cooks kept fresh sweet tea at all times just for her and it seemed like that was all the girl drank.

Last but not least, Louise Thibodeaux (who was called only by her last name by just about everybody) came from the swamps of Louisiana. Her family had roots in voodoo magic and though she tried to keep it on the down low, every one sort of knew.

These girls may not have been Alex’s absolute best friends, but they all had a special bond from rooming together for four years. They knew some of each other’s deepest secrets and had spent many a night sitting in a circle on the floor laughing and crying together.

Everyone’s luggage was already unpacked for them, clothes sitting in drawers, knick-knacks on shelves and dressers. Their plush beds were decorated in the school colors—blue and cranberry. Alex hadn’t much liked the combination when she had originally come to the school, having been picked out centuries ago by the first headmistress and headmaster, but upon living at the school for the better part of each year, she grew to love the colors. Each bed was decorated with four pillows and a heavy duvet that should have only been necessary during the winter, but the stone walls kept the dorms fairly chilly, leaving Alex to stay cuddled up deeply under her blankets every night.

A slip of paper lay on each of the girls’ beds—their class schedules for the semester. Alex grabbed it and hopped onto her mattress, reading over the list carefully. She had signed up for a couple of extra courses despite both of her parents pleading with her not to, afraid that she would get overwhelmed.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she had Remedial Potions (she had always been terrible at the subject), Alchemy, , Advanced Transfiguration, Defense Against Dark Magics, and Astronomy. Tuesdays and Thursdays would have been less hectic except for the fact that each class was longer. She started those days with Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Botany, then tied the day up with History of Magic in North America. She was looking forward to the term, especially Transfiguration, but she knew that she would be extremely busy.

“You’re never gonna have time to hang out,” Faith whined. “Why did you pick up Alchemy and Astronomy?”

“’Cause Alchemy is cool and stars are calming,” Alex answered easily, not looking up from the paper.

“Well, don’t come to me when you’re having a mental breakdown studying for nine exams that all fall in the same week because I will be too busy having fun with our friends.”

The brunette rolled her eyes at her friend before getting up and moving to her dresser where she pulled out some comfortable pajamas. It was unfortunate that Alex would be sacrificing several hours that would usually be spent with their tight-knit group of friends, but she genuinely enjoyed school and learning. Her parents used to compare her to a sponge all the time. She just wanted to know everything.

All of the girls got ready for bed and crawled under their covers. Thibodeaux spelled the lights off as the fifth years fell into an easy quiet chat, each of them drifting off to sleep one by one.