Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry

Ilvermorny Castle

This castle houses Ilvermorny, one of the greatest wizarding schools in the world. It stands at the highest peak of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where it is concealed from a non-magic gaze by a variety of powerful enchantments, which sometimes manifest in a wreath of misty clouds. Occasionally, people who are not magical (No-Majs) and are hiking the Appalachian Trail, a 2,180-mile footpath stretching from Georgia to Maine, have reported seeing a castle through the mist on their way to Mount Greylock. This path also runs through Mount Greylock, and students are allowed to hike a portion of it for exercise. If you're looking to access the trail, you can find a path at either the Lake Gate or the Main Gate (look for the white blaze). The castle has been given several names by those who have seen it, including "The Castle Hidden in the Mist", "The Castle Above the Clouds", "Mount Greylock Castle", and "The Castle in the Sky". Only one student has ever attempted to hike the entire trail to get to school. Originally, it was a granite house built by Isolt Sayre and James Steward to be their home. Over time, it turned into a school and the cottage kept expanding until it became the magnificent castle it is today, While Hogwarts has remained mostly unchanged, Ilvermorny went in the direction of becoming the most ethnically diverse, modern, progressive Wizarding school in the world. And, also, one of the wealthiest.

The granite castle has marble statues of the founders Isolt Sayre and James Steward that flank the front doors of the castle and a flagpole bearing the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Inside, there is an entrance hall, a circular room, with four large wooden statues of the four houses: Horned Serpent, Pukwudgie, Thunderbird, and Wampus. There is a wooden circular balcony where the older students watch in silence as the new students are sorted and are topped by a glass cupola. The Entrance hall is made of stone (granite) and has the Gordian Knot in the middle of the floor. There is also a large room where students select or are selected by a wand, known as Warlock's Hall. Over the 20th and 21st centuries, the school began to modernize with new additions being added usually every year. The most recent addition is a lounge made just for the students to relax, study, and hang out, located within the library. To the northeast, lies the famed and mysterious Shrouded Lake, so named because of the thick mist it generates every morning. It is impossible to see before dawn, but once the sun breaks over the horizon, the fog starts to clear. Usually, by 9:00 a.m. (10 in the winter), the air is completely clear, and on its shores is the Willow Of Petonowit. The Greenhouses are located close to the Clock Tower. To the east of the school is the Massachusetts War Veterans Memorial Tower, which also serves as a generator for the spell that conceals the castle from the rest of the world. The Aviary is located to the southeast of the castle, next to the Pukwudgie Sanctuary and Ilvermorny is very proud of its Aviary, with a collection of not just magical birds but also the birds that are native to Mount Greylock, home to the only breeding population of the Blackpoll Warbler in Massachusetts.