-Norway - Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-

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The motto for Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry means ‘Cherish Sea Magic’

Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is located in North Western Norway and is located in a small fjord. The notable thing about this school is that it is entirely carved into the cliff wall and the only access to outside is via a port or going up a huge spiralling staircase to reach the cliff tops. It is a very new school and smaller than others, but accepts Students from all over, notably Finland, Norway and Sweden. It is a Multilanguage school but the main language is surprisingly English, as it is a common ground language that people of many nationalities learn. Fjormagis is known for its teaching of mermish and course in underwater science and magical water spells, as they are very close to the sea and mer there and pride themselves to be able to communicate and help the creatures. The current head of school, or heads, are Eline Dashnell, a Norwegian witch, and her husband James Dashnell, an Englishman.

Founding:

Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded in 1894, quite recent compared to other main Wizarding schools. Three American wizards by the names of Daniel Armstice, Carl Dannemort and Frederic Shayne were journeying in Norway to explore the land and meet different Wizarding families. On their travels they discovered that many Wizarding families of the country were unschooled in magic because other schools were to far to travel in that era. Determined to conquer this problem, Armstice, Dannermort and Shayne decided to open a Wizarding school to teach the national witches and wizards without them having to venture outside of their country.

All three being skilled sailors and see lovers, Armstice, Dannermort and Shayne wished to build their school close to the Northern Norwegian sea and school students to appreciate the magic of the ocean. It was Dannermort who had the idea of building in the fjord cliffs, and from there the school blossomed as the three wizards received many funds from the Norwegian ministry of magic, their own rich pure-blood families and the magical folk of the country. It took seven years to construct even using magic, but the result was incredible and the school became a gem of the magical world.

The three founders all lived to ripe old ages running the school and died one after another in the 1970s and 80s, Dannermort being the first to go and Shayne the last. They handed it over to Mitchell and Rauvin Clintz in the 60s, telling them that there must always be more than one person running the school so it was as strong as possible. From the Clintz brothers it went to the Dashnells in 1995, who tried to help in the second Wizarding war but were forbidden to by the Norwegian Ministry of Magic.

Armstice, Dannermort and Shayne do not have paintings in the school and did not come back as ghosts, but there are three underwater shrines of wrecked ships that were planted for them after their consecutive deaths. These shrines are often visited by mer, who were very close to the brothers, and sometimes by braver swimming students.

Further History:

Being quite a young school in historical terms there isn’t as much history to Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry compared with older Wizarding schools. However, the school does get involved in many muggle issues of it’s state and did supply the British ministry of magic with as many new recruits as possible when Lord Voldemort was at his highest power in the 1970s. In the Second World War it had to make itself unplottable because of invading Germans and formed a squad of staff and older students to protect the residents of nearby settlements. The staff and students also sabotaged many oil and gas refineries to stop sea pollution when more began to be built in 1960s.

The most well known of all post-Fjormagis students would have to be Knut Rockne, a well-known athlete during the early 20^th century and one of the first students to be accepted to Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although Fjormagis does not host Quidditch as a sport, Rockne became athletic due to extensive sailing and swimming in the school facilities, and although he went on to enter a muggle profession, Rockne donated many galleons to the school to reaper sea defences and buy new boats before he died in 1931.

Fjormagis is close to many other schools and very sociable and well known. It was invited to participate in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament but declined, saying Durmstrang were a better option and that they were not for competitive tournaments such as these.

Education:

Students at Fjormagis are not separated in any way unless you count the boys and girls dormitories. At the school students study core basics for three years from the age of eleven, and then at fourteen choose their own classes they wish to study. They take exams like advanced versions of O.W.L.s of their subjects in their seventh year. The education system is very free and pressure is kept to minimum level. Fjormagis offers all core classes and the syllabus from the third year is very similar to that of Hogwarts.

Setting:

Fjormagis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is set into the cliff of a deep Fjord, as mentioned before. Because of this, only a few rooms have windows look out onto the fjord, but other rooms have enchanted openings to look like they are gazing upon the sea or a lake.

The fjord is said to be extremely beautiful (not many non-students and teachers have visited the school as it is unplottable but in north-western Norway) and also is very deep, leading out to sea. The sides are to steep to climb without special gear and make it a secluded sailing and swimming area loved by all students and staff.

The honeycomb of rooms in the cliff that make up the school is extensive, with one floor for boys dormitories, one for girls, classrooms, a great hall, common rooms, store rooms, class quarters, dungeons leading below the seabed and much more. There is a caved part of the cliff at the bottom that is separated from the outside water by metal gates that can be hoisted up and down. The cave acts as a protected port with a high ceiling and wooden decking all the way round leading into rooms and access points to the rest of the school. Many students sail from here, and when wishing to access the outside, row, swim or sail out. Students and staff are also permitted to fish with provided equipment, but must give all their catches to the mer or release them back into the ocean.

The floors of the honeycomb of rooms are all squares round a central column of stairs. These stairs go right from the dungeons to the top cliff access point. On the top of the cliff where the top ground is accessible, there is a small compound and keep where the Magical Creature and Herbology features are located. This is also where students exit to walk to the nearby village of Shekan, an all-wizarding settlement a little like Hogsmeade. Trips to the village are run every month.

Inside the castle is said to be furnished very comfortably and in a Victorian style with Norse and gothic touches, such as classic paintings of Viking gods, thick carpets, basic electric chandeliers themed with leaping fish and thrust tridents. There are many fires but most are enchanted to give blue flames, and the kitchens, run by house elves that are paid fair wages (apparently the late Albus Dumbledore suggested this to Mitchell and Rauvin Clintz, the heads of the school at that time), are open to all students deemed polite by the workers. There are many water fountains and sea-themed decorations, apparently, and also many ship and sea paintings, from which you way get doused in sea spray from time to time. There is also an option for salt water in the baths as it is believed to heal many skin problems.

In terms of ghosts, many magical fishermen haunt the halls with cheery tunes or mournful tales, notably a Russian by the name of Sergei Arsinev, who was pushed off his boat by a rampaging crew because he had claimed to be a wizard in a fit of drunkenness but then failed to perform a simple wand-lighting charm because of his intoxications. His equally drunk crew then threw him overboard for his boasting and he drowned. Unfortunately he haunts with a large hermit crab stuck in his right ear as when he was lying on the seabed and just about to die, the crab decided he liked the look of the drowned drunkard and crawled into his ear to have a look around. Apparently from Arsinev the hermit crab’s name is Donald and he’s of English decent. Arsinev also says all the tall tales of the sea he tells to students come from Donald and are all true because of this.