American Wizards

Chapter 1

It is firstly to be known that witches and wizards live all over the world. It started in Europe long before any of us were born, and continues there to this day. Three major schools of witchcraft and wizardry dominate the small continent- Durmstrang, somewhere in the northeast where it's cold; Beauxbatons, in a French-oriented location; and Hogwarts, high in the hills of England.

That being said, it is also to be known that wizardry spread quickly across all continents, and all seven today hold schools to teach young students of magic. There are the previously mentioned three, two in Africa (Zolavomo in the plains, and Gondasembe along the cape), one in Australia (Tangaleer in the Great Barrier Reef), three in South America (Mantaquillate in the rainforests of Brazil, Marianido along the southern coast, and Sobrieno in the mountains of Columbia), four in Asia (China hold Asinahto and Monashu, Japan has Namaekite, and there's Laenoithea in Laos) one in Antarctica (Pirrelvag, which is a specialty school for severely gifted students in certain subjects *think ten Hermiones in one student*), and two in North America (Decorno and Hothdog, both in the United States). Students do exchange between schools, although it is more common in the American and Asian schools than anywhere else.

Thirdly, it shall be known that not all countries and continents keep magic secretive. Antarctica does not, as there is hardly any need. Those muggles that have traveled there and returned do not speak of the magical culture because they had not been able to find it. African schools integrate magic into their everyday culture. Of course, African magic is more primitive-based and ceremonial, and in many cases much more powerful. There is something to be said about magic that comes from faith. America teaches its students muggle and magical culture, so the two may live in harmony. This explains why American culture is generally more accepting to magic, the unknown and "freaky people".

America is where the story begins, and thus it is those schools that shall be elaborated on. Hothdog, in the mountains of Maine, was founded in 1802 by Martin Williams and his wife Beatrice, who moved over from England to start their own magic shop. Seeing the type of people in charge of the country, the couple thought it best to build a hidden school with their inheritance from Martin's father where young witches and wizards could learn and not have to hide their talents from the dictatorial puritans. The second school, Decorno, began shortly after the great western movement on the continent. The original location of the school was supposed to be Toronto, Canada, but once Americans saw the desolate desert they had right in their own back yard, the NAWC (North American Wizards Council) thought it to be a better hiding place for a school. After all, if a small oasis in the desert can yield Las Vegas, surely a good school can have the same success there? There is talk about another school being built in Canada, as they too like want NAWC recognition, are a peaceful hiding place and the increasing population of the planet means Hothdog and Decorno are rapidly running out of space for all its students.

While an English wizard couple founded Hothdog, Decorno was created by the NAWC. Since neither school had much of a rich history, the NAWC decided it would be best to keep the school more in touch with the muggle world than their European counterparts. America, being more progressive then its European parent, found they could not lead in technological advances and still hold on to school of magic kept in windy stone building. How could American students seek new opportunities if muggle technology was never shown to them? The schools would be enchanted to look like normal buildings, changing with the times to keep recognition to a minimal. There would be magical shopping centers in the larger cities, like Diagon Alley in London. Students would be required to learn in traditional methods- using quills, writing on parchment, having cauldrons, and even wearing traditional black robes. They would also use modern conveniences as well, such as computers, telephones and electricity. By doing this, the NAWC hoped to keep the students and schools as muggle as possible. As they saw it, there was no use training students for a magical world and not give them the option of pursuing a muggle career path. It would also help in relations between muggles and wizards if the magical community understood how the muggle world worked. Muggles, however, would still be kept from the magical world. Some things are best left undisturbed.

Having technology savvy students and buildings would also help in drawing attention away from the schools in the eyes of the government. After all, the American government would surely catch wind of giant castles in the middle of Maine and Nevada, burning lamp oil by the gallons and harboring children who knew nothing of computers or light bulbs. It would seem like a cult.

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Blue pulled the covers over her face as her radio alarm went off at 8:00 am on the dot. She hated that damn alarm. It was more than the alarm, though. It was what the alarm signified. This was a very special morning. Any moment now, her brother would be-

"Blue!"

Too late. Phillip made a flying leap from the doorway, landing directly on her mostly full bladder. She sat upright, pounding on his back in the process.

"You stupid eggplant," she said, laughing and groaning for her poor bladder.

"Spaghetti face," he retorted. It was tradition with them, since their mother forbade them to be cruel to each other, to call one another tame but not complimentary names. Not only was it funnier to listen to, but there were also a wider variety of insults and puns, and puns were something Phillip loved.

Shoving her brother as best she could, Blue tried to take the pressure off her abdomen before she exploded. It was the morning of September 2^nd, which meant the first day of school. This also meant the usual beginning of the day- in which her younger brother leapt onto her bed as a "friendly" wake up. For the first two years it was alright, Phillip being a thin and light child. Since he had hit fourteen, however, he sprung up seemingly overnight and now at 15 towered over her at 5'10" and weighed at least 160 lbs. His small shoulders widened, his scrawny arms rounded with muscle, and his once twiggy frame bulked out into a squarer, harder shape.

"You awake?" Phillip said sweetly, poking his sister lightly in the ribs. Although she was 10 months older then he, there was no possible way he could be her little brother. Blue was a small girl, and although nowhere near delicate was still tiny and therefore breakable. She had always been skinny, even skinnier than he. Phillip had been her 'big' brother since they were children, taking care of his sister like a brother should. Like their father should have been.

"Ten minutes!" their mother called from downstairs. Blue stuck her tongue out in the general direction of the stairway, then smiled at her brother. He had such a sweet face, loveable and popular. She envied it a little. It was the kind of face that could get away with murder, the kind people instantly liked and wanted.

"Okay," she said finally, "I'm awake. Get off me." She turned her alarm off and threw her covers over Phillips's torso.

He simply lay there, smiling brightly. "I love school," he said finally.

"I know. I can't understand why." She was only being half sarcastic. She didn't understand how anyone could like school, since it was so boring and full of ridiculous preteens who thought they were perfect. She did know why he liked it, however. Phillip was well liked by everyone, a social butterfly of epic proportions. Phillip got along with everyone and anyone, and all the prissy preteens Blue disliked so much flocked over him like buzzards on a corpse. He was always excited to go back and see everyone again.

At last Phillip rolled off Blue's bed (and her bladder as well) and spun in circles to the door. "Eight minutes." he said in a low voice, mocking his mother.

"Eight minutes!" their mother called from below. Blue smiled. She and Phillip called this the Good-Morning-Hurry-the-Hell-Up countdown. It, along with Blue's being squashed by her brother, was a part of the first day of school tradition. Once Phillip had left, Blue pulled her trunk out from under her bed and threw the top open. It was full of the same useless items she brought every year- mostly homework she hadn't bothered to do over the summer. "So that's where that shirt went," she muttered, observing it lying under a stack of parchment. She pulled out her faded mint green t-shirt. It looked two sizes smaller from all the wrinkles, a direct result of hiding under parchments and spell books for three months.

Down the hall, Phillip was rechecking his room for missed items. His trunk had been packed for a week now. Everything about school made him happy- he was good at classes (his favorite being astronomy), he had plenty of friends, the location was beautiful, and he could still be with Blue. That had been his biggest worry about going to school. It had been obvious for quite a while Blue would be accepted, she'd shown potential since she was a baby. He, however, was convinced there was no way he'd get in. He hadn't shown any special abilities, no signs he would ever qualify. Sure, there was magic in his blood. He just couldn't seem to control it, or even conjure it when he wanted to. The dreaded word "squib" had been heard whispered from his mother's lips late at night, when he and Blue were supposed to be asleep. Phillip had cried a great deal about this, until his sister consoled him by saying magic was not the be-all end-all of the world. There were plenty of non-magic jobs, even for wizards. This helped, but Phillip still knew a wizard without magic might as well be a muggle. Not that there was anything wrong with muggles, per se. They were just... ordinary. And Phillip didn't want to be so ordinary. He decided to excel in everything else that didn't involve magic, including quidditch, potions, and astronomy. He had a special knack for star charts, and would boast about how he would someday be the best astronomer the magic world had ever seen. He did not mention, however, that the only reason he would be an astronomer was so no one would ever ask him to use magic. Not many teenagers chose a career for themselves before even going to magic school, but if you were a wizard who might not even get into the school, you had to plan ahead or face merciless teenage ridicule. For his last year of public school he was terrified Blue would get to go, and he would have to stay in muggle schools. It had been a sigh of relief for the whole family when both he and his sister received acceptance letters.

"FOUR MINUTES!!" their mother yelled forcefully. This was the checkpoint where they would have to really get moving or else. Or Else . Downstairs, breakfast sat steaming on the table. Phillip sat down and heaped several piles of scrambled eggs onto his plate. "Eat fast," his mother warned him, "we're running late." This was an unnecessary warning to Phillip, though. He always ate enough to feed two horses, and consumed it very quickly.

"You say that every year, and every year we get there like, an hour early."

Blue was coming down the stairs, thumping her trunk behind her. Cynic, her charcoal grey cat, was following her with a look of disdain for the noise. Cynic was by no means a normal cat, not even to wizarding standards. He was unusually stupid, sulky, and liked to stick his tongue out at the bugs on the windowsills. Blue's theory on her idiotic cat was that he was tasting the air around the bugs to see if they were worth eating. Phillip just thought the cat was a moron trying to tease the bugs, not understanding that an idiotic ball of fuzz wouldn't intimidate them.

"You're never early. I'm amazed you two ever make it at all." Their mother pursed her lips, looking for a thought. "Where's Vinny?" she said finally.

"He doesn't live here, mom," said Phillip, as he chewed through bacon and sausage.

"Are you sure?" she said wryly.

As if on cue, the front door opened with a bang. "Is there bacon?" a voice called from the hall.

"Yes, dear."

"Sweet." In the doorway appeared a chunky boy with pencil straight dark hair that was cut right at his chin, framing his round, pale face. His honey gold eyes always hinted at a lighter sadness and he looked like an aspiring writer. The aura of artistic genius simply radiated from him. Vinny had a shy smile, one that hinted at greater knowledge. One almost felt upon looking at him that he were mocking them- as if he knew something they didn't, and always would.

Blue smiled widely, as she always did when she saw Vinny, then turned quickly back to her plate. She could not eat as fast as her brother and would probably hold them up, as she did every year. Phillip tossed a biscuit at Vinny.

"Hey!" Vinny yelled at him, popping the biscuit into his mouth. He seated himself down and grabbed the plate already waiting for him. Vinny lived next door, but spent more time in their house than either Blue or Phillip. He and his mother had moved to Ticonderoga eight years ago, and Phillip instantly latched to him. Quite literally- he grabbed Vinny's leg and demanded he play stick and mud army. Vinny had been a shy, silent child who never had a friend until Phillip dragged him out of his driveway and into the puddle of mud in the next yard.

Vinny smiled at the brother and sister pair. Both had silky red hair, Blue's down to her waist and Phillip's short and spiky. Both had green eyes, subtle and hardly noticed. They could have been twins, except Phillip was so much taller and stronger looking than his older sister. Each had a skinny frame, although Blue was tiny and Phillip had broadened and grown muscle.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes, kids," Phillip and Blue's mother said, pouring orange juice, "so be ready. Got it?"

"Got it!" he three said unanimously.

Half an hour later, they were dragging their trunks up the hill at the end of the street. Cynic was watching them leave from the small kitchen window, obviously annoyed that his people were leaving him home alone- again. Vinny was panting slightly from the rigorous walking. Phillip moved along quickly as water through the sewers. Blue, not wanting Vinny to feel any worse about his lack of athleticism than he usually did, stayed close to him. They finally reached a small group of people waiting on the hill, huddled together and chatting noisily.

"Oh, good. The Bergeron kids are here," someone said.

"I'm not a Bergeron... my name is Noto..." Vinny said softly.

Phillip shook his head. "You're a Bergeron, man. Accept it."

Vinny elbowed him, but said nothing. He actually had to smile. Without the Bergeron twins (as everyone affectionately called them), he would be a complete introvert. And as his therapist had once told him when he was nine, "Introversion is bad for the Id." Vinny didn't have a clue what it meant, but the term had stuck with him. He planned to write a story with that as the title. It was one of many stories Vinny planned to write, would start and probably never finish.

"Is everyone here?" a round man asked loudly. His name was Carl Sheen. It was his job as a retired teacher to round up the students for their trip to school ever year. He was always nervous someone would be left behind, probably because on his first time on the job, someone had been left behind. He had taken the student to Hothdog himself and apologized to her parents for three weeks. Since then, every school departure was like a midnight raid on an enemy encampment. "Good." he continued. "Ok students; make sure you have all your belongings checked in with Mr. Zanders there, good, good. And once you've finished that, please gather around Ms. Tanner. That's right. Headcount, Ms. Tanner, please!"

Phillip instinctively grabbed Blue's hand. She smiled. Phillip never let her be left behind. It was second nature for him to protect her.

"...Five, six, seven, eight...eight... who are we missing?" Ms. Tanner asked.

"I'm here!" someone called, panting.

All eyes turned to a thin, pretty blonde girl dragging a huge trunk up the hill. Blue frowned. Phillip smiled brightly and waved.

"Oh, good," Ms. Tanner sighed.

Carl Sheen grabbed the suitcase from the girl and heaved it up the hill to Mr. Zanders. "I'm glad you got here, Miss Callanthe. We almost left without you."

She knew this was a lie, because Mr. Sheen would have gone to her house and pulled her out of bed to make sure she wasn't left behind. But she nodded politely and joined the group.

Ms. Tanner recounted the students- all were accounted for. "Are we all ready?"

There was a nod of agreement all around. Blue held onto Phillip's hand. This part always scared her. It was something about hurling through space and not being at all in control that made her uneasy. Having her brother hold onto her made it bearable.

"Okay, everyone, grab the spoon on my mark. Ready... now!"

The group of students reached out, touched the spoon. Blue grabbed her brother's hand tighter, as the familiar pull of the portkey grabbed behind her navel.