On Sunday morning, after breakfast, two Ilvermorny students arrived to lead Harry and the other four on a campus tour.
Harry and the others walked through this North American Magical school, feeling an atmosphere distinctly different from Hogwarts.
Listening to the Ilvermorny students recount the school's history, Harry gradually became captivated by its background.
He learned that Ilvermorny's founding could be traced back to the early 17th century.
At that time, it was merely a small stone cottage, built jointly by an Irish Witch named Isolt Sayre and her Muggle husband, James Steward.
What Harry found incredible was that this now grand Magical school was initially created by Isolt for her two adopted children, Chadwick and Webster.
Isolt told the story of Hogwarts, which filled the two children with longing for the Wizarding World.
When the two children turned eleven, a school with only two teachers and two students was established.
As time went on, Ilvermorny's reputation gradually spread, and many Wizarding families began sending their children to study there.
As Ilvermorny gradually grew and developed, the original small stone cottage was continuously expanded, eventually transforming into a magnificent Castle.
Harry and his companions continued their tour of the school, finally arriving at a famous attraction outside the school: a densely growing serpentwood, meticulously protected.
"This serpentwood is extremely resilient, impossible to cut down or destroy, and its leaves have very powerful healing effects, making them excellent material for Potion making."
Harry was very curious about how magical this serpentwood truly was to be protected so strictly.
The dense protective magic patterns surrounding it made his scalp tingle just by looking.
However, Harry always felt a strange urge to communicate with the tree using Parseltongue.
To avoid trouble, Harry forcibly suppressed his absurd impulse.
What Harry didn't know was that this serpentwood actually grew from a special wand.
It was a serpentwood wand personally made by Salazar Slytherin himself, and its core was a Basilisk horn.
It had a very magical function: upon hearing commands in Parseltongue, it would enter a dormant or awakened state.
Fortunately, Harry did not act impulsively, otherwise, it could have caused a major disturbance.
As evening approached, Sebastian and Snape together led the five students to the Great Hall.
That's right, the special event Ilvermorny prepared before the banquet was to let the delegations from other schools experience their unique Sorting Ceremony.
Then, based on the Sorting results, the students from each delegation would be dispersed among the long tables of the various houses, to achieve the goal of exchange and learning.
Because Ilvermorny was established by Isolt Sayre in imitation of Hogwarts.
Therefore, like Hogwarts, it also has four different houses.
However, unlike Hogwarts, the names of the four houses here are derived from North American magical creatures, personally chosen by the school's founders.
Thunderbird House was founded by Chadwick Boot.
Thunderbird is a magical creature capable of controlling storms, symbolizing the spirit of adventure and the pursuit of freedom.
Chadwick himself was a Wizard who yearned to explore the world; he imbued this house with a brave, fearless spirit, and most of its students enjoy adventure and travel, much like the Thunderbird soaring freely in a storm.
Compared to Hogwarts, this house is similar to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
Wampus House was founded by Webster, Chadwick's younger brother.
Wampus is a magical creature of great strength and speed, symbolizing unwavering will. This house reveres warriors and focuses on students' strength and determination; this house is similar to Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Horned Serpent House was founded by Isolt Sayre.
Horned Serpent is an elegant and mysterious aquatic creature, symbolizing wisdom and insight.
Isolt hoped that through the house's education, Wizards who prioritize wisdom and learning would be cultivated. Students of this house are typically intelligent and academically enthusiastic, good at problem-solving and deep thinking.
This house is somewhat similar to Hogwarts's Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
Pukwudgie House was founded by James Steward, the Muggle, symbolizing healing and care.
Pukwudgie is a magical creature skilled in healing, and students of this house are mostly compassionate, eager to help others, and involved in healing work.
This house is similar to Hogwarts's Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
Unlike Hogwarts's Sorting Ceremony, there is no Sorting Hat here to decide which house a student goes to.
Instead, four magical statues consider whether they are willing to accept the student into their house.
When multiple statues express a desire to recruit, the choice returns to the students themselves.
When Sebastian and his group arrived at the Great Hall, the delegations from the other schools had already gathered.
Oh—
The people from other schools arrived quickly, it seems everyone is very interested in Ilvermorny's Sorting Ceremony.
Sebastian glanced at the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations, thinking secretly.
I wonder if these two schools will perform their talents later.
Logically, they shouldn't, after all, each school has a maximum of five students, not enough to form a performance lineup.
Harry continuously scanned the delegations from various schools around him; it was his first time seeing students from different Magical schools around the world.
He did not see any familiar faces in the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang groups.
However, there was a dazzling Witch in the Beauxbatons group; she had waist-length silver-white hair.
She was so beautiful that just standing there attracted the gaze of many students present.
Harry really wanted to take out his magical camera to take some pictures, to bring back to Hogwarts and let his friends broaden their horizons.
He would bet Ron had never seen such a beautiful girl.
However, thinking that such behavior would be too impolite, Harry could only obediently stand in line, waiting to participate in Ilvermorny's Sorting Ceremony.
Soon, the Sorting Ceremony ended.
Cedric was chosen by the Pukwudgie statue, Percy was favored by the Wampus statue, and Penelope and Theodore were accepted by Horned Serpent House.
Harry, on the other hand, was simultaneously recruited by Thunderbird House and Wampus House.
After a brief thought, he joined the long table of Thunderbird House.
The lavish banquet began, and the previously somewhat nervous students all relaxed, starting to chat with students from other schools.
Through conversations with students from other schools, Harry was surprised to discover that each Magical school had its unique characteristics.
Uagadou sends out Dream Messengers during admissions, who then, while children are sleeping, inform them of their acceptance in their dreams.
When the children wake up, they will find a special stone with an inscription in their hands.
Students at Mahoutokoro are recruited at the age of seven, and between seven and eleven, these children travel between home and school by riding giant storm petrels, only formally boarding after eleven.
Castelobruxo has a temple-like Castle, and its founding time is very close to Hogwarts, a thousand years ago the two schools shared the magic of hiding their schools.
So, to this day, there is ongoing debate in the Wizarding World about which school first conceived of this method.
After the banquet ended, as soon as they returned to the dorms, Sebastian called everyone to his dorm.
Looking at the smiling students, Sebastian softly said,
"The first round of competition will begin at nine AM on Monday."
"Everyone, perk up and listen carefully to tomorrow's exam questions."
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