The Pottermore website has undergone something of a magical change itself over the past few days–gone is the site we’re all familiar with, but we still have the opportunity to find out which Hogwarts House we’d be Sorted into. After today, though, we now know we don’t have to restrict our magical education to simply Hogwarts–there are several more wizarding schools we could travel to in order to become the witch or wizard we’ve always wanted to be (including one in the States!).
On Pottermore yesterday, Rowling released several short writings about the wizarding schools around the world (which you can read for yourself up on the site now).
In addition to the schools that competed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament once upon a time–Beauxbatons (rumored to be located somewhere in the Pyrenees) and Durmstrang (which is described as being “one of the most secretive of all schools about its whereabouts”), there are also others! Mahoutokoro, the Japanese wizarding school, sits on top of the island of Minami Iwo Jima, and has earned a legendary reputation not only for magic amongst its students but for its Quidditch prowess. Uagadou is the wizarding school in Africa, where students actually don’t practice magic through wand-waving (according to Pottermore, “the wand is a European invention”). Castelobruxo, in Brazil in South America, is hidden deep within a rainforest–and if you thought Peeves the Poltergeist was bad, these students have way more spirits and tricky beings to deal with.
And as for the North American wizarding students? Well, what we can share so far is its name only–Ilvermorny–as well as the fact that it appears to be located somewhere in the Northeast.
Per Rowling and Pottermore, more will be revealed in time about this wizarding school–as well as perhaps some others!–so until then, we’ll just have to keep poring over the site for more clues.
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Published: Jan 31, 2016 02:00 pm