Hana Dow and the Dreamcatcher's Bow

Chapter Seven: The Gordian Knot

The crowd of anxious first-years strolled past a huddle of coniferous trees. Hana could still swear as though there whispers all around them - as though the trees were talking.

"The kids these years," one said.

"I know I say it every year, but they keep getting smaller and smaller," said another.

"And skinnier, most of them look like they're famished."

"Skinny, you think? I say this country's obesity levels are through the roof!"

A sound that could only be described as a collective groan seemed to come from the surrounding trees. She also heard a distant voice hiss "Not this again, Gerald."

As the ape-man led the pack of thoroughly confused children forward, they came to a limestone staircase that led up to a set of tall double doors, flanked on both ends by ornate, glittering granite statues - one of a man and the other of a woman. Another hairy creature like the one at the train station knelt at the base of the woman's statue, polishing it with a soapy rag. The creature sneered at the children as they walked up the staircase toward the double doors.

At the doors was Miss West in a long, flowing black robe with a magenta shawl wrapped around her. She wore a pointed black hat with a peacock feather sticking out of it. She seemed to notice Hana immediately, and her smile grew bigger that well-defined her laughter lines. The students stopped just at the landing and their own hushed whispers slowly came to a halt.

A girl with bouncing blonde curls nearly pushed into Hana as she stopped. She briefly glanced at Hana, huffed, then rolled her eyes. Hana furrowed her brow, and then rolled her own eyes, but returned her attention front.

"Welcome, boys and girls, to Ilvermorny," Miss West said. "Thank you for taking them this far, Barnabas!" She waved behind them to the large ape-man that guided them up the mountain. "I'll see later tonight."

"Yes, yes, Mrs. West!" The big thing shouted back. "And bring pie!"

"It's just 'Miss' and..." She laughed. "Yes, of course I'll bring pie."

He laughed, a sound which shook the nearby trees, and he bounce-skipped away back the way they came.

"I always bring pie," she said, shrugging. She cleared her throat. "Now, I trust you all found yourselves well?"

Everybody nodded, muttering and whatnot.

"Good. Now, before we go inside, I will tell you a bit about our history. A long time ago, when the English came to the New World, a woman, a witch, named Isolt Sayre came. She came to escape another life, a terrible life. And when she did escape it, she found a new one. One made with love, and friendship, and community. With her new family, she made a school for magic, and over the years this school grew and grew, until it became a castle, and the most well known school for witchcraft and wizardry in the Americas."

Hana noticed that the hairy creature polishing the statue of what she now could only assume was Isolt Sayre, he stopped polishing and had his full attention on Miss West.

"Today, we carry on her tradition of teaching magic, and family. Here you will each be represented by four houses, and while you're here your houses will be like your family. Good deeds and remarkable feats will win you points, and any rule-breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year the house with the most points is awarded the house cup.

"Doubtless there are many of you who already know what the houses are, but for those of you without the privilege - they are Thunderbird, Horned Serpent, Pukwudgie, and Wampus." She seemed to glance at Ronan when she mentioned Wampus. "Emblems of the natural magical order in the Americas. Chosen by the founders of Ilvermorny themselves - Isolt Sayre, who chose the Horned Serpent, James Steward who chose the Pukwudgie, Chadwick Boot who chose the Thunderbird, and Webster Boot who chose the Wampus. The four creatures are sacred on these grounds--"