Harry Potter is one of the largest literary and film franchises to hit the globe. The magical words of J.K. Rowling have enveloped the hearts of children and adults alike for over a decade. With the release of her new book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the movie soon to hit theaters November 18, Rowling continues to keep fans flipping frantically through the pages of fantasy.
The author's latest reveal involves the long awaited names of the houses at Ilvermorny, the American school of witchcraft and wizardry. In a series of twitter exchanges, Rowling admitted to eager fans the existence of a 200 year old magical school similar to Hogwarts located somewhere is the United States. Hints of the red, white and blue Hogwarts were dropped into reader's laps in the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and glimpses of Ilvermorny can be found in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film.
Though Rowling has decided to keep most of the details surrounding the magical American school and its location on the down-low, software engineer Ian Cervantez discovered the names of the four American Hogwarts houses after successfully hacking the Pottermore source code while taking the sorting hat quiz.
Appropriately, each wizarding house name is associated with a creature from Native American mythology. Though Rowling has yet to officially confirm, here are the names and info recently revealed about the four houses of IIvermorny:
Horned Serpent
Described as a "dragon-like serpent with horns and long teeth," the Horned Serpent is said to control the weather, specifically rain, lightning, and thunder. The creature's magical abilities include shape-shifting, invisibility, and hypnotic powers. This house is a parallel with Hogwart's Slytherin.
Wampus
As a parallel to the Gryffindor lion, the Wampus is characterized as a "cat-like" creature described as a fearsome species similar to a cougar. An essay on Pottermore stated that Wampus cat hair is the "preferred wand core" of Johannes Jonker, a Muggle-born wizard who became one of the great wand-makers of North America.Thunderbird
The Thunderbird, similar to Ravenclaw, is a powerful and legendary bird that controls and creates thunderstorms. Pottermore relates the Thunderbird closely to the Pheonix, it's tail feathers are the prime choice of Choctaw wandmaker, Shikoba Wolfe.
Pukwudgie
This odd little creature is a type of troll with glowing skin, disappearing powers, and the ability to shape-shift into a walking porcupine. It also can lure people to their tragic deaths. The Pukwudgie house is the equivalent of Hogwart's Hufflepuff house.
The wild and wondrous names of the American school of witchcraft and wizardry houses gives fans a taste of the adventure in store for them in Rowling's upcoming books. For all the American kids who are wizards at heart, fear not magical ones. Your IIvermorny letters are on their way. Owls away!
