Matt, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Professor McGonagall, and Harry Potter materialized in a large courtyard. It was rectangular in shape, dozens of feet across and almost as many deep. Each side was bordered by covered open-air archways, remarkably similar to the courtyard just outside the Great Hall. The only difference was the archways were all sharp ninety-degree angles, not rounded like Hogwarts. And in the middle of this courtyard stood a massive stone statue.
The statue was a three-dimensional rendering of each of the four animals associated with Ilvermorny. The Horned Serpent stood tall, its long body curved and twisting around itself, its mouth opened and tongue flaring out. To the serpent's left was the Pukwudgie. It was shorter than the Horned Serpent, it looked human although with a much larger nose, elongated ears, and lengthy fingers. Its head and back sported a large mane of hair or quills, making it look porcupine-esque. On the Serpent's other side was the Wampus Cat. Matt's own house. The large feline resembled a mountain line, albeit with an additional set of legs. It was standing on four of its six legs, the other two raised up, its mouth open in a silent roar. The side facing away from the group was the Thunderbird. The bird was held aloft, higher than the other three, on a large branch. Its immense feathered wings were outstretched, its head craned in a silent cry.
"Matt…it's amazing." Hermione whispered beside him as the others stood in awe, wandering around the memory.
"Yeah…" Matt responded; his voice strained. It was a little uncanny being inside his own memory.
"Those are the four legendary beasts. Each of our houses was represented by one. The Thunderbird, representing the soul of the witch or wizard, favored adventurers." Matt instructed as they walked around the statue. "The Pukwudgie, represented the heart and favored healers. The Horned Serpent represented the mind and favored those of high intelligence. Hermione you would likely have been in the Horned Serpent, although another might have chosen you as well…" Matt said with a grin.
"But how can that be? How are you sorted?" Neville asked.
"Inside the entrance hall, just behind me," Matt began, pointing over his shoulder as he stood looking at the Wampus Cat. "There's another set of statues like these, except they're wooden and articulated. Second years and above gathered on a balcony overlooking the entrance hall." Matt motioned with his hand in the air above, drawing a circle over his head. "First years stood on the Gordian Knot in the floor in front of the statues. And the statue would react. The Horned Serpent has a gem in the middle of the head that would glow if it wanted you. The Wampus Cat roared, the Pukwudgie would raise its arrow, and the Thunderbird would flap its wings. In exceedingly rare instances, more than one statue would react. And it would then be up to the student to decide where they wanted to go. After this, then we would go inside into what we called The Wand Hall. It's about the same size as the Great Hall at Hogwarts and there is where you got your wand. Buying one from a vendor was a little unorthodox in America."
Harry seemed to understand this, and Matt looked over at him with a smirk as he did Hermione as well.
"What house were you in, Matt?" Luna asked.
"I was in Wampus." He said and placed his hand lovingly on the cat's hand. "Wampus is said to represent the body of the witch or wizard. It also favors warriors."
"No wonder you're in Gryffindor at Hogwarts." Neville said with a grin.
There was movement behind Matt, and he quickly stepped out of the way as his memory played out. The Headmaster was striding out of the entrance doors, another man at his side. Matt blinked a few times. He had not recalled his old mentor being there that night.
"Thank you for coming, Patrick." The Headmaster said and stuck his hand out to the other man.
"Sure thing, Leon. You know I ain't been this far north in over three years. I can't say it's good to be back though. I wouldn'a come back, either, if you hadn'a asked." Patrick responded. His tall frame, lean, dark, graying hair and signature cigarette. "But are you sure this is necessary?" he asked in his gravelly southern drawl.
"Yes, I am. It's happening tonight. They're probably already here. I can't give you more than five minutes to get clear of the wards then we're shutting the door and that's that." Headmaster Morrow replied, looking grave in the dusk as twilight was dying.
"And the Wiz-Kid? What about him?" Patrick Franks said, gesturing to the entrance doors where a version of Matt stood in the shadows, looking much healthier than he currently did.
"He'll be fine. I've got a plan. You should stop leaning on him so hard. He's got a lot of skill and talent you know. More than you give him credit for." Headmaster Leon Morrow responded.
"If I start goin' easy on him, he might slack off. Can't have that. Since you always know what you're doin', I better head off." Franks said and the Headmaster handed him an envelope.
"Watch the papers, if anything happens, you know what to do." Headmaster Morrow said as Franks took the envelope.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep the women and children safe, save the world, I know, I know." Franks joked as he started walking to the entrance.
"Pat, wait." Morrow said and jogged over to the older, former professor. "Here…" the Headmaster drew his wand and gave it a wave, his Firebolt broomstick rushing to him. "Take mine. It'll be faster, safer. Remember, the entrance faces south, so your best bet is to keep low on tree line and head north-"
"Thanks for the lesson in geography, Leon. But I know how to fly." Franks said and mounted the broom kicking off. "I'll be seeing you later, Wiz-Kid." Franks said, almost looking dead at where the past version of Matt was.
Matt had forgotten all about this memory and he could feel a weight settle in his stomach. His own nerves were on end for what was about to happen. He could not recall much but he knew a battle was coming. He felt a little anxious, his chest tight, but he was not about to stop.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, having watched the exchange with curiosity.
"Not really, but we've got to keep going." Matt said, knowing Hermione might try to convince him to pull out. Not now, not when he was this close.
"Santini!" The Headmaster called out. The past version of Matt strode out of the shadows.
"You rang, Headmaster?" Matt asked as he approached the taller man.
"Yes, now listen. This is about to get extremely dangerous. I would rather you not be here. This is the last chance, you still have a few moments, you can get out of here. I'll have one of the professors take you, or hell, I'll lower the wards, and you can Apparate out yourself. You don't need to be here, please." The Headmaster begged. The past version of Matt shook his head and refused.
"No, I'm not abandoning my school, my home. Not when we've got a chance, and they don't know I'm here." Matt replied. "I'm our best bet."
Headmaster Morrow looked down at the ground and shook his head. He knew there would be no persuading the stubborn Italian teen.
"Fine, since I can't convince you to leave, you do everything I say, you understand?" Morrow said. Matt nodded his acknowledgement. "First off, get over in the far corner, behind the farthest arch and disillusion yourself, now." Matt nodded and moved over to the far column and crouched down, tapping his own head, and vanishing from sight.
The sun dipped out of sight and darkness fell over the courtyard. The other professors filed out. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Professor McGonagall, and Matt walked through the memory to an archway that was near where the past version of Matt had disillusioned himself and stood crouching. The other professors all went to separate locations around the courtyard. One witch went to the far corner opposite past Matt. Another was on the same side. One wizard stayed back by the entrance to castle proper. Another stood by the statue. As the darkness of the evening crept further still, the staff disappeared into the shadows hiding themselves. Headmaster Morrow was nowhere to be seen.
There was an eerie calm settled over the school as everyone there waited in silence, and calm. The storm was about to blow. The air around the school rippled and seemed to compress and vibrate briefly, before becoming still again.
"That will be their wards falling, but that should not have been able to happen that way, unless someone removed them from inside the school itself." McGonagall observed.
"But Professor, Hogwarts wards have been breached from the outside." Ginny replied.
"That is very true Miss Weasley, however, when those wards fell, it felt and looked much different. When I took over the school from Severus Snape, I added my own protections, but of course in order to accomplish that, I had to first bring down any wards that remained. Then, I had to cast all of the wards the previous headmasters had done. It is a lengthy and time-consuming process. It requires a lot of skill and magic to accomplish. No one could simply undo them like that from the outside. Wards cannot be removed in such a manner except from the side upon which they were cast." McGonagall explained.
"Then, Minerva, how did this happen?" Harry asked now.
"Whoever did this, must have gotten ahold of the school's Spellmaster. Every wizarding school in the world has a Spellmaster. It is a kind of magical ledger that each Headmaster writes in. It details the protections put in place around the school. There are the standard ones required by law set forth by each respective school's ministry or government. And there are also the ones each Headmaster uses as well, detailing the spells, the wand movements and any additional magical items or potions used." McGonagall replied.
Matt looked pained and bowed his head. Hermione looked concerned; her hand took his arm to comfort him.
"I know who betrayed Ilvermorny then…" Matt replied. He felt a weight in his chest, his breathing was getting harder to control. Watching his past-self make horrible mistakes made him wish he were actually there, so he could change the course of events. Hermione noticed and was right at his side, holding his hand, comforting him.
"Who was it?" Luna asked.
"Alan Robertson. John Roberston's older brother. John was a classmate of mine, in the same year as me and everything. He came from a pure blood family. He wasn't exactly a school bully per se, but he was more like the one you didn't cross. You knew he was into dark stuff but nothing that ever hurt anyone. Not that he couldn't if he wanted to. He was really close friends with another student, Joseph Pachi. They were thick as thieves and Pachi was into some weird stuff with potions. He wasn't as good as Cassidy, but he was still good. And he liked to experiment. Everyone knew, you didn't take anything to eat or drink from Joe Pachi." Matt said and sighed, catching his breath. His stomach was clenched tightly, and he felt a little queasy, but pressed on.
"Alan Robertson was a year ahead of us. Whip smart and talented. John took after him and worshipped the ground Alan walked on. Alan had the trust of the school staff too, just like I did. While I was the Headmaster's right hand, Alan was something of the left. He was kind of the reverse of my position. While I helped represent the student body to the Headmaster, Alan represented the staff to the students and often acted a bit like Head Boy and Head Girl do at Hogwarts. He was extremely strict with his classmates, but anything that crossed the line, no teachers ever saw. And he worked in the library. He had personal access to everything, there were no restrictions on Alan Robertson like there was for the rest of us." Matt explained. "I even saw him looking over the Spellmaster one day. When I asked, he told me it was none of my business, and ordered me out of the library. But I saw the cover of the book when he shut it. Ilvermorny Spellmaster. He must have copied it."
"That would be impossible. All school Spellmaster's are charmed to be uncopiable. They've numerous protections on them that prevent them from being destroyed by normal means." Professor McGonagall replied.
"Then he stole it." Matt confirmed, the feeling of the weight in his chest intensified and his breathing became rapid.
"Without the school's Spellmaster, there is no hope of ever restoring it, should anyone wish to rebuild it. The Spellmaster holds even the very designs and architecture of the school. It is one of the most important objects of any magical school. Their value is priceless."
It felt like a long time had passed since the teachers of Ilvermorny had hidden themselves in shadows. Only a few moments had passed in reality and suddenly a group of people walked into the courtyard. All were wearing long black hooded cloaks; masks covered their faces. The group was manning a large flatbed cart with a giant cloth covering something that took up almost the entire back of the cart. The only person who was unmasked was a young boy no older than seventeen. He stood in the middle of the courtyard and was tall with short cropped black hair and stormy gray eyes.
"Death Eaters…" Harry whispered to the others.
"Robertson!" Headmaster Morrow's voice rang out as he strode out of the castle. "What is the meaning of this?" the Headmaster was feigning ignorance.
"Hello, Leon." Alan Robertson said, his voice smooth, calm, and full of anger.
"That's Headmaster Morrow to you. Why are you back here at school? I sent you and all the other students home. You know there's a threat." Morrow looked over Alan's shoulder, as if seeing his cohorts for the first time and the cart they brought with them, presumably pulled by a Thestral.
"That you did. But I think you know why I'm here, don't play games with me, Morrow. I'm here to destroy this filthy No-Maj founded school. And in its ashes, HE will build a new school. One for the Dark Arts, one where even us Americans can be a part of the greatest wizard ever known's plan!" Robertson said, holding his arms out. At that moment, one of the Death Eaters yanked away the cloth covering the cart.
The onlookers gasped, as there in the middle of the cart was an enormous glass egg. It was nearly identical to the one Hermione had received at the beginning of the school year, except it was a thousand times larger. Inside it, flames pulsated, spun, and glowed. Shapes of animals were running rampant around the egg, attempting to break free.
"No…Fiendfyre." Hermione gasped. Matt's breathing next to her had grown increasingly rapidly. He felt like he could not catch his breath. There was a well of anxiety in him that was bubbling over. He felt fully nauseous now, and he swayed on his feet, fighting his symptoms.
"I can't let you do this." Morrow said and drew his wand. Suddenly, the other teachers started to materialize out of the shadows. "We've got you beat, surrender now and we'll work this out." Morrow said.
"I'm afraid not." Alan Robertson said and cried "Stupefy!" Morrow dodged the attack but just barely. Spells were flying everywhere. Professors were immediately dueling with Death Eaters. From the corner, Matt's past version had stunned several of them, but there were a few more stragglers coming in. They must have covered the exit to ensure no one from outside had doubled back to attack from the rear.
The battle was in full swing, Death Eaters against the staff, red, blue, green, and white-hot spells soared over the courtyard. The teachers pressed their advantage in their duels, the witch in the corner opposite Matt had taken on two at once, but she was overpowered and took two stunners to the chest, collapsing in a heap.
The great statue in the middle of the battle was blasted by one of the spells from Robertson himself. Morrow attempted to transfigure the remains to help him and the other teachers but was stunned and fell to the ground. Several more Death Eaters collapsed and, despite the Headmaster being stunned, the battle was not going the Death Eaters' way. Matt, having ambushed them from behind had managed to knock down half a dozen with stunning spells or other jinxes. He did not see the man approaching him from behind. There was a flash of red light, and the past Matt crumpled to the ground. Instantly he was bound in ropes by his attacker.
"Naughty boy!" said the man and kicked Matt in the stomach while he was down. Hermione flinched and turned away. Matt was locked though, he could not help but stare at his past self, tears were streaming down his cheeks now. His chest was tight, he could not breathe right, he was sick to his stomach, and he was shaking. Panic had settled over him and there was no place to run.
Harry looked stunned as he watched the scene unfold. There had been more than one survivor to Ilvermorny after all. Antonin Dolohov, freed from Azkaban, walked through the courtyard, nearly victorious. Suddenly one teacher lunged from the shadows and Dolohov leveled a killing curse at him. The professor fell directly in front of the past Matt and present Matt and Hermione both gasped. The dead man was the perfect likeness to Professor Fabrisham Sharp.
"P-professor C-C-Candy?" Matt asked, shocked he had not recalled his favorite Charms professor looking like his current Transfiguration professor. He shook harder as he cried, the panic and anxiety bubbling over entirely inside him.
"It's over Morrow, your school and all your little teachers and your little pet will be dead." Dolohov cackled in victory. "Filthy Mudblood school." He spat and strode out of the courtyard. Robertson made to follow him but with a flick of Dolohov's wrist the walkway collapsed, sealing him inside with the few Death Eaters still standing.
Matt was stunned and unable to move, but the Headmaster was coming around as Robertson attempted to clear the rubble of archways to escape. Morrow was injured badly, bleeding from wounds and gasping for breath. Matt could see Fiendfyre in the glass egg was building to a crescendo and would escape soon. There were long cracks in the glass, and it was nearly shattering. The explosion would destroy everything.
With one look at Matt, Morrow lifted his wand, struggling to speak the spell. Suddenly, the past version of Matt was lifted off the ground and he was fired out of the courtyard. A moment later there was a blinding light and Ilvermorny was consumed in a massive explosion.
Matt, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Professor McGonagall all pulled out of the Pensieve and were shocked. Matt gave a strangled cry and collapsed onto the floor of the Headmistress's office.
"Matt!" Hermione was instantly at his side as he curled into a ball in the fetal position, shaking and crying.
"Hospital wing, now. He needs a calming draught." McGonagall said and she conjured a stretcher to lift Matt while Hermione held his hand, the group rushing through the castle to Madam Pomfrey.