Wonders of Wizardry

The years went on, but Edwina’s feelings for William never waned. After finding out that he had taken a job at the Three Broomsticks, she started to visit the pub as often as she could. It took almost a year before she mustered up the courage to introduce herself, but as soon as she did William professed his love for her in return. She made a decision then and there and left her family's values behind for the man she loved. The couple moved into a cottage in the village and had three children together. Edwina worked as a landlady at the Three Broomsticks until she retired.

Hogwarts had been his first proper home, and the first time he had truly felt safe, so after working at the Three Broomsticks for a couple of years, he became the Caretaker of the school. He loved his job, and settled down in a cottage in Hogsmeade with his wife Edwina, and their three children. After his passing, a small portrait of William was hung on the first floor corridor at Hogwarts.

Mae spent the rest of her days in the family home, religiously reading and writing in letters to Witch Weekly, embroidering beautiful curtains, and breeding smooth-coated Crups. She didn’t want more in life, and got all of her excitement from the occasional socialite party. Her sister Myrtle was so frustrated with Mae’s lack of ambition, that not before long the two sisters stopped speaking entirely.

Myrtle graduated from Hogwarts with top grades in all her N.E.W.T.s and was offered a position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was hard-working, and she managed to get a seat in the Wizengamot. Myrtle was known to be strict and law-abiding in her rulings, never wavering from her moral standpoints. When she died at the old age of one hundred and five, she was still unmarried.

The Octowriter is a strange thing, created by a strange mind. It once belonged to a warlock who went by the name of Raymond Craken. Craken had many ideas, too many for him to have time to write down. Yes, his mind was brilliant, but his thoughts always seemed to run away from him. Frustrated, he turned to scouring the libraries for ways to help his need. Finally, he found a spell which he cast on his trusted typewriter, which instantly grew arms of jet-black iron, and he was happy that he had finally found a way to get his ideas down on paper fast enough. Unfortunately for him, Craken had been so absorbed in finding a solution that he hadn’t noticed that the spell he had found was deep in a book about dark arts. A month later he was found in his house, the tentacles of the Octowriter, having sought to get as close as they could to his ideas, penetrating the back of his skull. Nowadays the Octowriter resides on a dusty shelf in Borgin & Burkes, its tentacles twitching slightly when someone walks by.

xx

Nobody's exactly sure where the winged cats residing at Salem came from. They are rumoured to originally be a failed Transfiguration homework that fled from its creator and multiplied. At first the staff tried to get rid of the cats, setting up traps and trying to lure them into closed rooms, but after a while both they and the students grew too fond of them and decided to let them be. Nowadays they can be seen lazily soaking up the sun on the rooftops or gliding through the corridors, chasing mice. Some alumni has adopted specimen of the felines to keep them as pets after graduation, but other than that the winged cats can’t be found anywhere else than at the Institute.

Somewhere in the outer parts of the Stockholm archipelago is the unplottable island of Blåkulla (Swedish for “Blue Hill”). On it is Sweden’s only all-wizarding village with the same name situated, a popular gathering place for witches and wizards from all over the country. The exact year of the settlement is somewhat disputed, but the village is first mentioned in records of the Swedish Ministry for Magic from 1527, regarding a “Toke on Blåkulla, requesting permission to transfigure neighbour fisherman into seal”. Every spring the small village hosts the immensely popular Night of Loge, and witches and wizards from all over Scandinavia come to celebrate.

Abigail was a pioneer in magizoology, and from an early age took an interest in the water-dwelling creatures of North America. She led many expeditions along the coast and the rivers of North America, and is credited with the discovery and classification of many American amphibian beasts - including the Ogopogo (a green-scaled Canadian lake monster who is extremely playful), the Champ (known for its love of emitting singing sounds), and the Mishipeshu (a horned panther native to the shores of the Great Lakes). Her grandson, Conway Crum, founded the Abigail Institute for Under-Water Magic in her honor.

Some of the Unspeakables still talk about Wakahisa, saying they see her from time to time, lurking around the office. The rumours haven’t been confirmed and she still hasn’t been located, but it’s older Unspeakables usually mention the story to new recruits to scare them - don’t get in too deep, or you’ll end up like Wakahisa.

It started with the intern Aleesha. Small daisies started popping up between her dark thick locks. A week later Fiorella turned up to work with lilacs hanging from her ponytails. But it wasn’t until the owner, Crisanto, opened the doors to the shop on the following Monday morning with a beard full of fresh flowers that people started realise that something might be wrong. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes got involved, but quickly realised that this wasn’t a case for them, and since then Unspeakables have been known to frequent Chinampa’s Home for Herbalists on 7½ Street. Their sales seems to have increased, much to Mr. Chinampa’s surprise.

Warlocks and magical researchers alike have all been perplexed by Chad Lambert and his shadow. No one is quite sure what happened, but after an incident during a transfiguration class in Lambert’s last year at Hemlock School of Magic, the shadow seemed to take a life of its own. Still always attached to Lambert, and still only visible when there’s enough light, the shadow seem to do everything in its power not to follow his movements. The Department of Obscurities have stated that they’re looking in to the matter, but after ten years no-one is closer to solving the case. Lambert has named his shadow Ray, and describes him as a merrier version of himself.

The Asharee Ring has a long and complex history, filled with claims and stories about its amazing powers. No-one is quite sure when it was made, but it generally thought of as hailing from India and has passed between hands so many times it is impossible to track. Thought to give the wearer immense power in divination, few owners ever told of their prized possession. Baianai the Beneficial, a medieval witch hailing from Turkey, was thought to be one of its former owner - it is said that she used its powers to predict the outcome of the Ottoman-Hungarian War, making her choose the winning side and ending up insanely wealthy. The ring can now be seen in the Wizarding Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.

In northern Maine, nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, lays the imposing castle of the Arcendam Academy for Aspiring Wizards. It is the oldest wizarding schools in the US, and is often thought of as the counter-school to Salem Witches Institute. This boys boarding school, with its rich history, are known for producing some of the most consistently advanced alumni. The school was founded in 1713 by Amphion and Zethus Arcendam, two brothers and English settlers who thought that the journey the young wizards had to take to attend Hogwarts was too much to undertake each year. Some argue that the school is elitist, and though it has a tendency to favour boys from pureblood families, its gates are open to any young wizard who wants to attend ― and who can pay the tuition.

Melissa Stark, of the pureblood Stark family of North Dakota, can best be described as intimidating. Captain of the popular Quodpot team the Bemidji Boomers, she has lead her team to victory for the third year in a row. Best known for her ruthless, but lawful play she has been on the radar of Quodpot enthusiasts since her first game in 1997, and quickly rose in ranks. The Stark Attack, a formation perfected in the final against the Reno Ravens two years ago, was named after her. It involves the players flying in an hexagonal shape, warding of the opposite teams players as they head for the pot. Stark was last week awarded with the Sports Witch of the Year by the Annual American Broom Sports Awards.

The Green Fairy Theatre is one of the most impressive buildings of wizarding America. Located down a back alley off Broadway, behind a steel door with a small green fairy graffitied over the handle, the theatre itself is of grand design with green emerald mirrors covering many of its walls and sets that make the audience gasp in bewilderment. Because of its fame, tickets (who are ordered via owl or bought at their small stand in 7½ Street) are quite expensive and many witches and wizards save up to indulge in the enjoyment the theatre provides. The musical Warlock (based on the famous Beedle the Bard story The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, told from the warlock’s perspective) has been running for six years now, and tickets are still hard to come by. Lead actor Lyman Oscars is currently the best paid wizard in the business and has won Spelle Magazine's Wonderful-Wizard Award twice in a row.