Magic in Canada

Because where was Canada in "Magic in North America"? We want to know! (All Canadian magic headcanons welcome)

[fandom-imagination-ss]

Canadians

Would canadian wizards / witches say no Maj or muggles? This will haunt me forever

[caramelalmonnd]

all the posts about what an american wizarding community would really be like, in light of rowling’s… attempt, what with fbawtft and ilvermony, have got me thinking a bit about what the canadian wizarding world would be like. so. here are my thoughts:

obviously a single school for the whole country is… not practical, just as it would be in america. most likely there’s one or two per province — and just like non magical education in canada, the courses/standards are provincialized to heck.

please consider: quebecois magic and acadian magic. imagine metis magic springing up just as the people did… it’d be such a cool part of magical history imo.

wizarding communities, in general, are… old fashioned, kind of out of touch. england’s wizards are practically medieval. thus i posit to you: canadian wizards hanging on deeply to being workers of the land.

so much canadian magic was created by fur traders, lumberjacks and fishermen, it’s not even funny. canadian wizarding schools have probably so many variations of classes on ‘outdoor magic’… i can’t think of what to call that… it’d be part herbology, part care of magical creatures, part boy scouts…

imagine packing up to go on your school endorsed magical camping field trip. or hikes. magical hikes. the forest is not forbidden in canada, it’s actually the location of your exam at the end of the year.

ontarian and quebecois wizards are the most modern/urban. especially ontario. quebec still incorporates lots of The Old Ways too, lots of old french magic and a strong sense of heritage going on, ontario on the other hand is all about that forward progress.

albertan wizards are basically magic cowboys. it’s the best. imagine the wizarding world side of the calgary stampede… the secret magical entrances hidden around the west edmonton mall… 

saskatchewan… prairie wizards? i guess. i’m sorry. i know so little about saskatchewan. agricultural magic? i mean probably. i’ve looked at the USask viewbook okay. why does your main university have so many courses about farming??? you can literally major in farming?? your people’s practices befuddle me.

manitoba… i know even less about manitoba, i’m sorry. do you people exist? is winnipeg really a place? i guess manitoban wizards are literally the best at the statute of secrecy. they’re so good at the statute of secrecy they’ve obliviated the very concept of their province from the public mind. what are manitoban wizards really up to? we’ll never know.

british columbian wizards are all about nature. plants. water. influences from chinese magic traditions, due to the high chinese population that’s been here for so long. what kind of potions do you think marijuana is an ingredient in?

maritime wizards have lots of water-based magic too. lots of spells made by and for fishermen, lots of spells that are just… nigh on incomprehensible to everyone else in the country. maritime magic is hard to pass on anywhere west of quebec because we just… we don’t know what you’re saying, man. as such maritime magic is rather insular. 

now the territories, they have fewer wizarding schools than anywhere else. there’s probably pretty much just one big one, in the yukon. up there is where you get a lot of old spells from the prospectors, the miners. i will 100% bet you the school colours are, like, white and gold. 100% odds.

NWT and nunavut are a lot less white, since the gold rush fell west of them, and they’re predominantly inuit and first nations. i’m white so i don’t have authority to speak on how these communities would operate but i sincerely doubt they would have these european style boarding schools.

i also can’t speak of how first nations communities in the rest of the country would operate around harry potter-style magic but it’s sure as heck not by willingly sending them to a colonialist-run white people school who-knows-how-far from their actual tribe’s land… looking @ you ilvermony. our country had enough problems with residential schools without whatever you’re doing.

[fourwatersacademy]

The School of Four Waters

The name “Four Waters” comes from the fact that Four Waters isn’t located in one single place, but is rather a collection of four main campuses which are situated at four different locations across the country now known as Canada. Each of these campuses is looked after by elders and teachers from different indigenous magical communities and, as such, each campus teaches in a somewhat different way, having its own specialties and its own responsibilities, but they all work together in order to protect the school and those who find sanctuary within its territory. Students commute between the four campuses depending on which class they have and where their interests lie. When they are still young, they will room in the campus which is closest to their family homes, but, once they’re old enough, they will move into the campus which specializes in the classes they’re most interested in taking.

Green Waters campus is located on the Pacific coast of Canada and serves as the main hub of the school’s administration, having been the first campus to incorporate itself under the mantle of Four Waters academy. Nestled within the British Columbia temperate rain-forest, Green Waters sits on the edge of the famous Emerald Sea, a section of Canada’s Pacific Coast which has water so fertile that the algae and the microbial life make the water appear green which gives the campus its name. Being surrounded by primordial rain-forest, the campus has become known for its work with conservation, bringing communities of magical creatures which face extinction elsewhere and providing them with a safe haven where they can live safely hidden from those who would seek to harm them or restrict their movements. Currently among the varied creatures gathered to the school, the campus watches over several colonies of mermaids as well as several tribes of centaurs, both species teaching courses on their cultures and on specific skills which their peoples have mastered. The main school building is wrapped in a massive, living tree which serves as the campus’s main means of defense, its roots said to reach across the country and warning the school’s headmaster of any problem that should arise.

Red Waters campus is located in the heart of the Canadian Shield, carved from the bedrock which formed the country and earning its name from the thick forests surrounding it which are full of trees perpetually in autumn colours. The campus sits among a series of massive basalt cliffs known as the “Whispering Rocks” because of the petroglyphs which cover almost every inch of their surface, telling the stories of the indigenous peoples who lived in the area for thousands of years and who run the school, while overlooking a massive fresh water lake left over from the glaciers that covered Canada during the last Ice Age. Red Waters primarily acts as the intermediary between Four Waters Academy and the Department of Magical Affairs which is the main operating arm of the Canadian Magical Parliament.

Dark Waters campus is located on the very edge of Canada, perched precariously on a spear of rock that emerges from the rough, dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The campus is notoriously difficult to reach, students often having to canoe from one of the nearby sand bank islands to reach the rock which the school’s main building sits on, docking into a number of sea caves which are only accessible when tides are out so students who are late will be left waiting for hours until the tide goes back out. The campus maintains regular communication with Greenland magical communities and it is said that hundreds of shipwrecks surround the rock the school sits on, sitting only just beneath the waves.

White Waters campus was the last campus to incorporate into Four Waters Academy, giving the school its name. It is located in Canada’s far north, sitting among towering, white icebergs which gave the campus its name and under a sun which has been known to stay up for months at a time. This campus actually has no set location because it sits on a massive iceberg which drifts throughout Canada’s north with the arctic currents, making the campus the most autonomous of the four. White Waters is known to be very cold, but also very quiet so it often serves as a place for students to practice techniques and attempt experiments which require a great deal of quiet and concentration. White Waters also offers a subject which is taught nowhere else in the world, Auroramancy, the study of the patterns and colours in the northern lights to divine the future.

[themonsterblogofmonsters]

Devil’s Nightberry

Most notably found in Western Canada, as well as in Washington and Oregon in the USA, the Devil’s Nightberry is curious magical plant, capable of causing temporary blindness in those who eat it. For all this setback it is nonetheless a popular berry, sometimes eaten by wixes before bed, as a palate cleanser. The berry is also used by some Aurors as a test of their skills, forcing them to rely on senses other than sight for several hours to several days, depending on how many berries are eaten.

The plant generally grows fairly high up, on parasitic branches which latch onto other trees, after seeds send out feeler-vines to find suitable treetrunks to climb. The plant starts producing berries in spring, which are very hard, but they have usually ripened and softened by autumn at which point they are usually harvested. The berries are often picked by birds, which are not affected by the blindness which affects humans, and unripe berries are sometimes collected for use in potions, gaining a slightly higher price on the Apothecary market than ripe berries.

Myrsine subsessilis subsp. cryptostemon fruit by Xylopia

(Image is actually of Red Muttonwood. I hate that I have to include this but PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE IMAGE SOURCE OR MY CAPTION.)

[themonsterblogofmonsters]

Dragon, Violet Vapourwing

Among the largest of the smaller breeds of dragons the Violet Vapourwing can be found throughout forests in Canada. Usually growing to a little larger than a pony, but never more than a small horse Violet Vapourwing youngsters often nest in trees until they get too large to perch on the branches.

Like other small dragon breeds, such as the Webbed Water Dragon, Violet Vapourwings mate for life, with mated dragons marking out and defending their territory fiercely from interloping magical creatures. Vapourwings are named for their breath - not fire but instead a paralytic silver vapour, which both entrances the targets and renders them unable to move. Often used to bring down prey before the dragons break its neck, some German Potioneers have been looking into its potential use in aiding the healing of cursed wounds, where muggle treatments often have to be adapted for highly magical environments. The paralysis wears off after around six hours, though this can be more depending on the quantity of vapour inhaled.

Dragonologists studying the breed have said that they are very fond of the colour orange, often flocking to ginger or auburn haired dragonologists in preference. Other Dragonologists find ways to tempt the dragons near however, with use of orange flowers such as marigolds, or autumn leaves, brightly coloured stones and the like.

The teeth of Violet Vapourwings are, unusually among dragons, shed between every five and seven years, regrowing quickly before being shed again in 5-7 years time. The teeth are used in some muscle relaxing potions, once ground down to a fine powder.

Valentine dragons by neylica

(Though the naming is mine, much of the headcanoning and details about these dragons was invented by the wonderful underwater-witchery. More dragons at the request of killingkari)

[yoel-o]

So I was playing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when suddenly I came across a character that looks very much like Thomas Mulcair.

…I had a feeling Thomas was a wizard.

[ilvermornylibrary]

- Some North American Wizarding Typography and Illustration to go with a list of North American Wizarding slang words and phrases: (One way that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter feels quirky and authentic is the way that they speak! Now for some terms heard at Ilvermorny - most are or were used by No-majs but are more popular in the Wizarding Community) - Cahoots ( collaborative scheming) - Carrying a torch/Stuck on ( having feelings for someone) - Cattywampus ( askew/ in disarray) - Copacetic ( wonderful, fine, all right. Originated from the southern states, via cajun French) - Critter ( magical beast/small animal) - Diddlysquat ( a small/worthless amount, or nothing at all) - Doohickey ( a word used for an item when you don’t know/can’t remember it’s proper name) - Doozie ( extraordinary or extreme, may also be troublesome or difficult. Often used to describe difficult and impressive spells or potions) - Druthers ( things you would rather have) - Glad Rags ( dressed up in fancy no-maj clothes for going out in public’) - Grifter ( a con man, transient swindler, or professional gambler) - Heebie-jeebies ( jitters, a creeped out feeling, often brought on by nearby Dark magic) - Hissy Fit ( a tantrum, often used to describe a temperamental wand) - Kerfuffle ( a commotion or flurry of agitation) - Lickety Split ( quickly, without delay. First attested about 1860, in the US) - Malarkey/Mumbo Jumbo (nonsense, lies, monkey-business) - Moxie ( courage, spunk, daring) - Nix ( cancel, undo a spell) - Owl ( a person who’s out late) - Peachy Keen/ Peachy (fantastic, exactly right. Often used sarcastically) - Ragamuffin ( affectionate term for a disheveled person) - Rambunctious ( boisterous, noisy, difficult to control) - Ritzy/Swanky/Spiffy ( elegant, fancy, stylish) - Skedaddle ( a hurried departure, running away) - Spifflicated, canned, corked, tanked, jazzed, zozzled, plastered, buzzed, ossified ( drunk) - Spill the Beans ( divulge information or secrets) - Squelch ( to halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force) - Topsy-Tervy ( upside down, backwards, disorderly, chaotic) - Uppity ( Haughty, arrogant, above oneself) - Whirligig ( anything that whirls or spins, or a dizzying course of events) - Zinger ( a witty, often caustic remark; something supposed to cause surprise or shock. Can also refer to an excellent counter-spell)

[urgeforgoing]

man the canadian wizarding school excites me so much, like:

- muggleborns joining quidditch because they were ‘too good at hockey’ and needed something more intense

- aboriginal wizards/witches spitting out really old spells the other kids don’t know in a language they’ve never heard because it’s been in their culture FOREVER

- older students counting down the days until they can apparate because sometimes winter just gets too much and they need to teleport somewhere there isn’t twenty feet of snow on the ground????

- the provinces holding on to their “rivalries” and “stereotypes” about each other when they’re on the way (newfies are drunks who talk weird, albertans?? cowboys??? those kids from ontario think they’re better than anyone else!!!!) but then arriving at the school and realizing everyone’s pretty cool and stereotyping’s lame

- muggleborns fighting over hockey with things like “the leafs haven’t one the cup in FOREVER, what makes you think THIS is their year???? GO HABS GO” and the pure-bloods are like what the fuck is a Hab?¿ and figuring out ways to sneak in electronics to not miss out on how the seasons going

- muggleborns being decked out in canada goose jackets and pure-bloods being jealous because they’re warmer than their own AND more trendy

- the french kids being a little intimidated because they don’t want to be outnumbered but once they get there they found out taking french is mandatory for only-english speakers and vice versa so nobody feels left out and just because like you should speak both????

- the students from different provinces being a bit put off by the way each other talk but then picking up on the slang naturally so when they go home for the summer their parents are kinda confused “what does yes b'y even mean???” “tim we do not use tabernac in this house!! this is a catholic family!!!”

 - they have “winter robes” and “lighter robes” because it gets cold af during winter 

- each kid having the resources to look up and learn up powerful witches and wizards of their own culture and different cultures being celebrated for what they have brought to magic 

- it being stationed somewhere in the territories away from many muggles and the students from “warmer” provinces being shocked that yes, it is indeed, -60C today 

 - being able to see the northern lights quite frequently and it never ceases to amaze anyone 

 - the train travel being underground in an ice cave because that’s cool and the weathers too bitter up top in some areas 

- the school people a castle like hogwarts but keeping with the aesthetic it appears to be made of ice from the outside, though only an illusion

- muggles see the school as just a huge mountain of snow because of the way its charmed

- students being SO passionate about the moose jaw meteorites, haileybury hammers, and stonewall stormers and picking their sides respectively 

- students obsessed with quidditch never shutting up about canada beating scotland in the world cup though it was 25 years ago in 1990

[rainbowr0se]

Hufflepuffs are kinda like the Canadians of Hogwarts

[hogwartshousehabits]

Do you think there are any magic schools in Canada? I live in BC so it would really suck to have to go all the way to Massachusetts to hone my magic skills, I would miss my family.

As an American, I am not nuanced in the geography or cultural history of Canada, but based on Canada’s size alone, I feel like there HAS to be AT LEAST one, not counting Native schools, schools that came up from the descendants of Beauxbaton, schools that cane up from the descendants of Hogwarts, and the combination of all of those schools as each learned from the other and made something new.

-Amy (Hufflepuff)

[loveforallbears]

[ilvermornylibrary]

Spirit Bear “Kermode” Hair Core The wands come from a family of wandmakers in British Columbia, started by a wizard named Rosswood - to which a (mostly) wizarding town was named. Today that carefully hidden wizarding community is working hard to protect them from the over-fishing done by No-majs which has endangered these magical beasts. These wands are easily recognizable for being thicker than most, with intricate carvings. They never have any non-wood embellishments, and are rustic but beautiful. Spirit Bear core generally makes for a wand with very potent magical strength. They are capable of impressive spells, but can take a very long time to master. They always bond strongly with their owner, but over a long amount of time as they do not form or change allegiance easily. It can also be prone to accidents, being somewhat temperamental and stubborn. They take to Healing, Divination and Defense against the Dark Arts magic very easily.

[mjwatson]

my sister wanted to write a little description on what the canadian wizarding school would be like, and this is what she came up with and i love it so much.

The Canadian School of Magical Arts is nestled high up in the Rockies, built partially inside of a mountain face. It is shrouded from muggles by veils of fog and mist, and the thick forests that surround the mountain.

Every year, first years gather at the base of the mountain. It is there they are picked up my pega-moose (moose with large Canadian geese wings). They fly up to the large balcony at the entrance of the school, and drop the children off. In the Great Hall, it t always seems to have a faint waft of maple syrup. Children choose their own houses rather than get sorted, as the Canadian Ministry of Magic doesn’t want kids to feel pigeon-holed or deal with any life deciding choices at such a young age. One of the professors is a mountain goat. We are not sure what he teaches, but he’s been at the school for centuries.

 written by my sister @campingnymph

[thunderbird-house]

How can one school house all the Wizards in the entirety of the US? Does JK know how big and populated US is? Does she know how many people are in Rhode Island alone?

all of the states in the US, and provinces in mexico and Canada all have their own cliques which eventually evolved into them each claiming different dorms in each house. 

They’ve taken to naming themselves different things in each house, for the cryptids from their home state/province.

Students from Maine call themselves Mist People, and etcetera

and Ilvermorny is enchanted to be way bigger on the inside 

WAAAY bigger. 

The teaching staff alone could outweigh the entire population of California, and it is so easy to get lost in there, but it’s OK, because the founding fathers’ portraits are very very helpful with directions.  

[deluxetoaster]

okay, listen for a sec. We all know the “”“"American”“”“” Harry Potter universe houses are trash for many, many reasons. One of the reasons is that America is too big to have just one wizarding school where there are only 4 houses, right? so I propose that we in MA instead start sorting ourselves into these exclusive New England houses I made up as I wrote this post:

-Dunked Donut (those who are loyal to their ideals, strong-willed and hardworking but susceptible to black-and-white thinking)

-Duck Boat (those with a hunger for life experience, sharp and analytical but also impulsive and desperate for thrills)

-Lobster (those who are blue-blood types with a taste for power and the intelligence to lead effectively but tend to be overzealous and can’t appreciate the subtleties of teamwork)

-Murphy, they’re literally just the Dropkick Murphys we made a whole house for them and none of them even attend the school it’s just in case one of them shows up one day

[lufthexe]

Florida Houses:

-Sunburn

-Gator

-Pub sub

-Gun

[wittyandcharming]

California Houses: -In n Out

-Chili Peppers -Redwood

-Drought 

[caitcorrain]

Georgia: -Peach -Y'all -110% Humidity -Gone With the Wind

[dragginage]

can i submit a formal request to add “dawgs” or “waffle house” to the georgia houses please

[caitcorrain]

Oh my god you’re right. Okay Gone With the Wind is now Waffle House and the school sport is arguing about whether Georgia Tech or UGA has the better football team.

[drarrytrash]

Wisconsin: - Empty Spotted Cow Bottle - 15 Cheese Curds - Kalahari Waterpark - Tasteful Camo Illinois: - Corn - Corn - Abraham Lincoln Himself - Corruption

[actuallykeiren-deactivated20230]

Okay but like, it’s not just America. The whole continent has to go to one school. Including Canada and Mexico.

Canada: -Sorry -Maple Syrup -Sorry -Eh?

[mr-spinch]

English-Speaking Countries as Hogwarts Houses

Okay, so I’ve been think about this a lot lately and Canada is obviously Hufflepuff, England is either Ravenclaw or Slytherin, Australia is either Slytherin or Gryffindor, and the USA has to be Gryffindor, because honestly, what else would we be? (Not aiming for the brave-hearted, Hermione type of Gryffindor, more like the Cormac McLaggen). We try for Slytherin sometimes when it comes to politics but we end up Gryffindor. So that means Australia is Slytherin because I am 1000% sure they’re messing with us at this point and they’re freaking awesome and England is Ravenclaw because tea. I could be all wrong though, someone please help me, I need to know.

[sarahpaulscns]

if there’s one thing i’m 100% sure of, it’s that if i were a wizard, i’d say thanks everytime i use the accio spell

[buzzcutmedusa]

Thank you!!! Mount Alberta would be awesome! It is gorgeous there, it even feels magical! Though just a tiny side note-very few people in western Canada speak French, New Brunswick is the only bilingual province and Quebec is the only French province. It's actually pretty rare to find provincial stuff in French in Alberta. When people do speak French farther west there are varied dialects as its typically a second language, mostly Acadian or Persian, not even close to Quebec French.

oh, i didn’t know that, thanks for the clarification!!  (wikipedia said 95% of canadians speak french, so i lowkey jumped to conclusions.  probably bc Quebec and stuff is way more densely populated, right?)  the school’s probably mostly English, then, but offers classes in local First Nation languages (it looks like Alberta is mostly Beaver and Blackfoot, correct me if I’m wrong though, I’ll look up what they speak) since it was originally founded by First Nations people.