Wonders of Wizardry

The wizarding world is bigger than the corridors of Hogwarts, or the halls of the British Ministry for Magic. Beyond lies a vast world, filled with just as magnificent and magical wonders as those places. Little by little, this world is explained. These are the Wonders of Wizardry.

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Edwina grew up in a proud Pure-blood family hailing from Kilkenny county in Ireland. Growing up, her father used to tell her stories about their countless ancestors and their impacts on the wizarding community (“mind auld Bailintin Gibbon, an’ ‘ow yer man banished the Banshee o’ Ballybunion”), and how she had big shoes to fill. Portraits of grumbling great-grandfathers and snoozing great-great-aunts filled the walls of their stone house, and a precious Goblin-made necklace had been passed down through the generations. All in all, being Gibbon and being Pure-blood was something Edwina had been taught was the epitome of the wizarding world.

That was why, when, in her third year in her first Care of Magical Creatures class, she first lay eyes on a Gryffindor named William Whisp, her thoughts went into turmoil. Edwina fell head over heels with the Muggle-born wizard, but out of fear of being scorned by her fellow Slytherins, she never acted or told anyone about her feelings.

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.

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William was orphaned when he was only four years old, and, having no living relatives, he was sent to an orphanage in Edinburgh. But the Warden started beating him after he made one of the girl’s teddybear turn into a snake (something he couldn’t explain for the life of him), he ran away and started living on the streets. Begging for money and sleeping in stables, he was able to scrape by, taking day by day.

It was during a particularly cold December, when William was trying to steal some bread by the train station, a stranger in a heavily embroidered cloak approached him. The stranger handed William a strange, large gold coin, and asked him if he could buy William dinner. The stranger turned out be a Professor at a school called Hogwarts, teaching something called Defence Against the Dark Arts

Discovering he was a wizard changed William’s life. The Professor’s sister, a kind old witch by the name of Honeysuckle Hobday, took him in and helped him adapt. His time at Hogwarts was some of the happiest years in his life–he finally had a warm home, and access to more food than he could imagine ever eating.

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.

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Ever since the day her older sister Myrtle found out she was a witch, Mae had been longing to discover her own magic. She imagined herself as a magical princess, living in a castle with herds of unicorns frollicking on the grounds. When she finally got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, she could barely contain her excitement.

The wizarding world turned out to be different from how she imagined it though–for starters there were no magical princesses. But she still lived in a castle, and being able to fetch her slippers with a wave of her wand made her dream of having servants redundant. She embraced the wizarding world fully, just like her older sister had did, and soon got just as estranged from her Muggle parents. Though Mae did it for a different reason–she found them still doing normal chores by hand beneath her.

She took a job as a Welcome Witch at St Mungo’s after graduating, but spent most of her time at high society parties, lying about her blood purity and looking for a husband. It was at one of these were she met Ambrose Smethwyck, son of the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. The couple married, and Mae resigned from St Mungo’s, fully committed to being a housewitch.

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.

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It was Myrtle who opened the door when a strange man dressed in apricot robes and a pointy hat came to the Bedlington family’s house. Myrtle had been suspicious of the stranger, not trusting the glimmering behind his dark eyes. The stranger sat down with her parents, and introduced himself as Professor Ashit Nandigrama, Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and explained to the family that Myrtle was a witch. Myrtle didn’t believe him. Not even her acceptance letter budged her disbelief. It wasn’t until she finally visited Diagon Alley that she started believing.

The change in Myrtle was spectacular—from the moment she got her fir wand she fully embraced her life as a witch. Any book she could get her hands on she read, any legal spell she could learn she cast. She got so engrossed in the magical world, that she soon became estranged from her Muggle parents.

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.

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It’s been quiet around here for a long time now, but I thought I’d try and revive this love of mine. However, it’s going to change somewhat in layout, and we’re going to focus more on witches and wizards and their families, and I hope you’ll all like it!

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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.

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Hey everyone. Sorry for the massive hiatus. I kinda didn’t know what do to with all my headcanons after the pottermore releases and fantastic beasts, since stuff in this blog now contradicts canon (which I always try not to do). I’m gonna try and get back into things, and hopefully will post some new wonders soon. Thanks for hanging in there, and for the messages that’s been sent.

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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.

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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.

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The story of Abraham Peasegood and how he invented the popular wizarding sport of Quodpot is a story most young American witches and wizards can tell you by heart. But the story of his oldest daughter are not as popular, and, according to some historians, twice as exciting. 

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.

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Even among her coworkers in the Department of Obscurities, Nariko Wakahisa was regarded as strange. She rarely spoke to anyone, always seemed to work during the nights and sometimes went missing for days on end. After one of these excursions she returned with her right eye glowing blue, dragging a suitcase surrounded by a strange smell behind her. Her superiors felt it was time to intervene, but she was nowhere to be found. On her desk stood a potion brewing on low temperature, a hastily noted down shopping list and an irritated owl with a Daily Grimoire dated the coming friday. 

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.