Black Snakes (OPEN)

[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

Not having been on the trip to Hy-Brasil the previous year, Clarence had taken the opportunity to help chaperone it after it had been opened up to all of the students in their fourth year and above who wanted to attend. While the Druid culture wasn't the same as his own and there were elements of it that conflicted with his culture, he knew that that might be his only real opportunity to visit Hy-Brasil and understand more about life there for himself, rather than just through what other people had to say about it. It would be a learning experience for him, too, and he enjoyed the thought of being able to draw upon what the students would be learning on the island to compare and contrast those practices with what he taught in Native American Magic.

Seeing to it that the students were making it out of Tranquil Oak and over to where the tours of Hy-Brasil were set to begin at nine o'clock, he glanced back in the direction of the massive treehouse that was their accommodation for the weekend. He was almost wondering if he needed to head up there himself—or at least amplify the sound of his voice to encourage the students to hurry up, whatever they were doing up there.

OOC: OPEN!

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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It wasn’t that Fae was completely against the annual trip from Hogwarts, but she certainly didn’t think that it was a good idea for it to be held this year considering everything that was going on around Hy-Brasil. The problem with the barrier was completely unresolved and it seemed to her like the Ministry and the powers-to-be were dragging their feet when it came to it. That would have been difficult enough as it was, but then there was also the appearance of the island that she believed to be Yrisle. Her own trip there a month prior basically confirmed it for her, and there were plenty of serious ‘discussions’ with the Council following her stepping foot on it. Like Hy-Brasil, the Ministry was not exactly listening to her pleas for them to cease all of their activity on the island. Allowing people to travel to the island was a horrible idea, but they didn’t want to hear that from her. It didn’t matter if people had disappeared. She read the news and had people within the government that told her everything that was going on.

The Council was getting frustrated with her on that front, yet there really was nothing she could do. Ultimately, her hands were tied and all she could do was continue researching Merlin and why his staff held the power to the barrier. That research was almost all a dead end, and had gotten her nowhere as well. For supposedly being one of the most powerful wizards of all time, there was very little information on him and even Hy-Brasil’s records failed to mention when he may have arrived on the island for the first time. It seemed unlikely that too many knew about that, with how the ancestors used to be when it came to visitors.

But the students from Hogwarts were apparently owed this trip, and she could spare the island for a weekend, even if it had more students attending than usual. In the past it had only been their high-level students, and now it was all of them from a certain age and up, and the students from the American school. She didn’t get frustrated often about mainlanders, her constant curiosity in them winning out over her obligations, but this was more than enough students that had no idea what Hy-Brasil was all about. Then again, they were here to be taught that and she understood why it was important. She only had to deal with them for three days, and then they were gone again.

The guests were staying in the Tranquil Oak, and Fae had made sure to keep her distance so as to not draw attention away from the assigned guides. In a different life, that would have been her. She remembered fondly the one year of tours that she had been able to do before taking up her current role. As the students filtered out of their lodgings and off towards their respective tours for the morning, she wandered closer, spotting one of the professors near the back of the crowd. “I imagine they will be more active once they start seeing the creatures. That is usually what they talk about the most while they are here,” Fae commented as she stepped up alongside the professor, leaning gently against Merlin’s staff as she tried to peer at the procession of students heading out of the Tranquil Oak.

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[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

"I imagine they will be more active once they start seeing the creatures. That is usually what they talk about the most while they are here."

Upon hearing a voice he didn't recognize seemingly addressing him and his attempts to get the students to realize that they were keeping their Druid hosts waiting, Clarence turned. The sight of the woman who was standing beside him, presumably the person who had just spoken, was something to behold. It was clear that she was a Druid, but she looked and carried herself differently from the others he had come across up until that point in spite of her youth. It took another moment for it to dawn on him that he was sure he had seen her somewhere before—not in the flesh, of course, but in a photograph. As impossible as it seemed, he was sure of it at a glance: She was the High Druid.

Clarence nodded his head. He understood why the trip had been opened up to so many students, but he also felt that it could have been handled differently. There was, unfortunately, a good chance that there would be troublemakers who would find a way to insult their hosts for the weekend or worse, and Clarence could only hope that the Ilvermorny students would know better than that, at least. Not only would such behavior reflect poorly on Ilvermorny, but it would reflect poorly on Hogwarts, too, and Clarence didn't really want to have to deal with correspondence from concerned parents because of it.

The High Druid was probably right, though, that the magical creatures around the island would get the students more excited about being there. The closest thing at Hogwarts to such an abundance of magical wildlife was the Forbidden Forest, which meant that students had limited interaction with most magical creatures outside of Care of Magical Creatures classes. Care of Magical Creatures also wasn't a mandatory subject; it was only an elective, so there was also the potential for trouble there. It was only a few days, so he hoped that the students would just follow what the Druids told them, remain respectful, and enjoy themselves without breaking any serious customs, school rules, or laws.

"I'm sure the creatures will be fascinating for them," Clarence acknowledged, though he didn't want to call too much attention to the presence of the High Druid now that she was standing beside him. The woman wasn't exactly a celebrity, but he doubted that she cared to be mobbed by teenagers who wanted a photograph with her. Still, he continued to converse with her casually, admittedly not knowing if he was being unintentionally offensive in any way in so doing. "They don't get much of an opportunity for that at Hogwarts, I'm afraid," he said, glancing from the High Druid and back to the students.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Fascinating. Right. Fae often forgot that the non-druid inhabitants of Hy-Brasil were not commonly viewable by mainlanders except under special circumstances. Any other year and the expectations of viewing the dragons up in the mountains would be the talk of the island already. Despite the ongoing problem with them still missing, she was sort of thankful that there wouldn’t be any foolish souls attempting to climb the craggy cliff sides just to sneak a peek at a slumbering dragon. The students could attempt it this year, they would simply be met by empty caves and grinning druid guards stationed in the area to make sure accidents didn’t happen.

During her own brief periods at Hogwarts during her last few years of ‘schooling’ – per Ministry regulations – she often found herself wandering around the grounds and into the forest there. It wasn’t nearly as dangerous for the druid children as it would be for the normal students, the so-called dark creatures lurking amongst the tall pines being nothing too crazy compared to what Hy-Brasil had. If anything, the distinct lack of magical animals at the school had made her feel uneasy. The soil had been upturned and the natural magicks displaced. Whilst Hogwarts was still an entity rife with magic, it lacked a lot at the same time.

The professor she had spoken to responded in much the way that she figured one could when comparing the school to Hy-Brasil, and she took note of the fact that he didn’t have the same accent as any of the Ministry or Hogwarts representatives she had dealt with over the years. Drifting past the students earlier and catching snippets of conversation, she put things together quickly and made the connection that he was probably one of the professors for the American students. She had never met one as far as she could recall. “There are not many places left in the world like this,” she said back. Outside of druidic settlements and places considered of high magical origin, there was almost nothing left. “The magical quality of Hy-Brasil fills newcomers at first and energizes them. I am sure none of them will have much trouble sleeping tonight once that starts to wear off.” She knew the difference between the mainland and here because one could feel it the second they stepped onto the island. And neither even compared to the recently unveiled island of Yrisle. That was something else altogether.

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[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

"There are not many places left in the world like this," the High Druid commented of Hy-Brasil, and Clarence knew that that wasn't simply her trying to position the island as being unique in the world; it very much was. Druidic culture was uncommon enough that many had never even heard of the existence of Druids. It was a shame, thought Clarence, even though some of their practices went against his own. The prevalence of Animagi, for instance, was slightly unusual to him, but the difference was that no Dark magic was permitted to be performed on Hy-Brasil whatsoever. (To some of the students' dismay, they weren't even permitted to use jinxes.)

"The magical quality of Hy-Brasil fills newcomers at first and energizes them," the young woman added. "I am sure none of them will have much trouble sleeping tonight once that starts to wear off."

Clarence smiled slightly. That was probably true. Well, it was either that or the students would be so excited for the next day that they couldn't sleep, and that would mean dealing with a bunch of adolescents' sleep deprivation in the morning. "Let's hope," he nodded. If she were right, then it would be more pleasant for all involved. "And hopefully none of the oldest students cause your people any difficulties," Clarence continued. Their being on a school trip didn't give them the license to do whatever they wanted, as he and his colleagues had reiterated countless times in the lead-up to the trip. "I hope that they understand that this isn't the same as a Hogsmeade weekend."

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Energy or not, Fae knew that the food provided at dinner time would do the trick. It was specially made to calm and relax, and getting the mainland students to do just that wouldn’t be difficult after they ate. She wished there was a trick to it, but it happened to be that their food simply had that effect sometimes. For herself, it was whatever herbal tea she happened to have on her. These days, anything that could help her naturally slip off into slumber was welcome. The stress of the student visitation was bound to tire her out though, so when she mentioned their exhaustion, she was mostly referencing herself.

When it came to disturbances by the visitors, unfortunately there wasn’t much left on the island for them to truly cause harm to. In other years, this event was restricted to certain ages. Mostly as a way to minimize how many were here at once on the island. With the majority of their animals still missing and unaccounted for, Fae had sort of been fine with the request from Hogwarts and the Ministry to allow more students to come. Some Elders and Council members had difficulty with opening the port to students that weren’t of inherently human nature too. It was for a weekend. A student that happened to be a werewolf or a vampire wasn’t going to cause catastrophic damage to the druidic way of life. The earth mother and old gods weren’t going to punish them for being humanitarians (though the mere mention of that brought out the age old argument of the demi-human children actually constituting as humans, which Fae ignored and let them come anyways). The second they restored the barrier, assuming they could, they could all roundtable what the best options for the island would be moving forward. Allowing some leeway and bending their rules in a time of need would only help buy them allies if they ever needed them.

“I am sure they will behave themselves,” Fae said optimistically. “Hy-Brasil has so much that will grab their attention…they will not even think of causing trouble.” There were druids everywhere on the island, constantly watching what the students were doing. She knew how the Hogwarts students were, remembering her two brief visits when she was still studying, and little charms and pranks were virtually harmless uses of magic. It wasn’t like they were going to set fire to the island. The professor had added that he hoped they understood this wasn’t like Hogsmeade, which confused Fae slightly. She wasn’t aware of there being other places the students could go while at school. “Are they allowed out of the castle on weekends?”

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[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

The young woman was fortunately hopeful that the students wouldn't cause too much trouble for the Druids. "Hy-Brasil has so much that will grab their attention…" she said, although her voice trailed off, "they will not even think of causing trouble."

In an ideal world, that would be the case. The students would be so enthralled with everything that they were seeing and doing, and they wouldn't decide to do anything that they shouldn't. Clarence really did hope that they would have enough respect for their hosts, who he knew were being more than gracious to allow so many students from Hogwarts to travel there.

"Are they allowed out of the castle on weekends?"

Clarence paused. "They don't have classes on the weekends," he told her, so there were probably some students who would be a little bit less than thrilled that they weren't getting a "vacation" out of the trip to Hy-Brasil. "They're allowed to visit Hogsmeade, typically once a month," he explained to her, "as long as they're in the third year or above and have a signed permission slip." Hogsmeade visits were also treated as something of a privilege, and students could be kept from them for misbehavior. "So the students who are here should know that they're here to learn—and not to treat Hy-Brasil as their playground."

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Yes, Hogsmeade. Fae knew the town well enough as that was where she and her peers had stayed during their OWL and NEWT examination period. She remembered her time there being fun, though the pretense of having to take tests certainly cut out a lot of the shenanigans that she and the others could get up to. And then there was the difference in what druid children and mainlander children found funny. Her peoples’ idea of a joke or prank was almost harmless to the point of it being relatively pitiful to anyone that happened to witness it. Very few druids had the chance of committing a malicious act during their lifespan, and if they did, it was almost always on accident. Jokes that could cause someone pain or distress simply didn’t exist. But she wasn’t worried in the slightest about the Hogwarts students causing issues, despite their professor thinking there was a chance.

As for the rules of visiting Hogsmeade, those she hadn’t known about prior to this. Obviously the reason behind attending Hogwarts was for education but Fae could already tell that being restricted from the wizarding town would have felt extremely restrictive to her. Freedom was an essential part of being a druid and being confined to just the grounds of the school was incredibly dull. The edge of the Forbidden Forest and shores of the Black Lake could only keep her attention for so long before the interest started to wane. Wouldn’t containing the energy and excitement of hundreds of teenagers inside the walls of Hogwarts make them want to act out more whenever they were given the chance? There had been very few problems during her years as High Druid when students were brought here, so she was sure the children knew how to behave themselves.

“You are from the American school, correct?” she asked the professor, finding that her interest was really in what his story was. A few Americans had come to Hy-Brasil to research, though the majority usually consisted of European mainlanders. “I once wanted to travel over there, though such a thing is not viewed highly considering my current position.” For being worldly and connected to nature, the druids were incredibly insular in certain regards. She viewed herself as being more progressive and open-minded compared to the deeply religious and conservative older crowd that still existed on the island. Then again, some of the younger ones looked at her like she had two heads and was already lost to time despite only being in her mid-twenties. Apparently that was a generational thing.

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[Deleted]

February 13, 2026

"You are from the American school, correct?" the High Druid asked him. She said that she had once wanted to travel there, although it didn't seem as though her desire to do so had actually faded. Rather, it sounded like she didn't have much choice but to put that on hold because of the fact that she was the High Druid. It was unfortunate for her, Clarence felt, because there was so much to be seen outside of the Ministry of Magic or possibly Hogwarts, if she even really got the opportunity to go there. The rest of the world was even more different in various ways.

"I am from Ilvermorny, yes," Clarence answered her. "I'm teaching at Hogwarts temporarily," he added, "until Ilvermorny is able to reopen." The chances of its reopening in time for the next school year seemed slim, at that rate, though. He was in his second year of "temporarily" teaching Native American Magic at Hogwarts, and that was starting to feel a little less than temporary.

"Clarence Corntassel," Clarence introduced himself to the High Druid with a slight nod of his head after realizing that he hadn't done so. "I teach Native American Magic."

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Her two separate trips to Hogwarts for exams had definitely left her longing for more outside exposure. The mainland was fascinating on so many different levels and yet her only interaction with it so far had been limited to London, Hogwarts, and a few other discrete locations. And could she actually call that the mainland? It was also an island nation, so her entire life had been spent hopping from one to the next. This Ilvermorny school sounded fun in that regard; a part of a broad country that supposedly had varying climates and people. Not that she disliked her years on Hy-Brasil, but there were certainly points where things felt stale and with her people committing to the same things over and over again. Repetition bred so many bad habits and the constant feeling of being caged hadn’t gotten better when she was named the High Druid. Ruminating on what could have been was the worst thing for her, especially with everything that had been going on for the past month or so.

“I am Fae Cloudbreaker, High Druid of Hy-Brasil,” Fae returned with her own introduction, though she supposed the professor already knew who she was. Compared to the rest of the druids, she definitely stuck out like a sore thumb at times. Having a guardian or two always lurking behind her didn’t help in the slightest either. “That is fascinating!” she exclaimed when Clarence stated that he taught Native American magic. “I would like to know how that differs from the conventional magic of mainlanders. It probably comes closer to how we druids view magic, I presume?” With the very, very little knowledge she had on magic in America to begin with, she assumed that this was a more ancient, natural version similar to how the druids looked to everything around them. There was definitely something there to learn from.

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February 13, 2026

As he had assumed from her appearance and how much it seemed to make her stand out from the other Druids—and certainly from the students and staff who had come to the island from Hogwarts—the young woman introduced herself as Fae Cloudbreaker, the High Druid of Hy-Brasil. Despite her rank, she remained pleasant to converse with, saying that it was fascinating that he taught Native American Magic. "I would like to know how that differs from the conventional magic of mainlanders," she told him, saying that she presumed that it would be closer to how Druids viewed magic.

"To be honest with you, Miss Cloudbreaker, I don't know as much about Druid magic as I should," admitted Clarence. From what he knew about it, though, there were a lot of similarities—and some stark differences. "Not all magical Native American groups"—an easier word to use than going into the terminology around tribes, bands, and nations, which would be confusing—"practice magic in the same ways, nor are all peoples who are Indigenous to what is now more commonly known as the Americas 'Native Americans', technically speaking." It was more complicated than he could explain in a brief conversation, anyway. "But yes," Clarence continued, "I suppose there's a parallel that could be drawn to your people here on Hy-Brasil. There are No-Maj—non-magical, sorry—Native Americans, too, just as there are non-magical people in, say, England." It was a simplification, the sort of thing that he might have started out with when teaching first-years, but he hoped that it would be clear enough for Fae to understand without centuries of historical context.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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The lack of knowledge surrounding Druidic magic practices wasn’t exactly the fault of the professor or anyone else from the mainland. Her predecessors had done an astounding job at trying to keep everything as secret as possible. While she knew there were parts that needed to remain that way, such as rituals, exchanging information was a key component in being neighborly. Hiding away on their island and being self-sufficient was too difficult without the barrier. It was time that the druids expanded their horizons a bit and cross-pollinated their culture with other ones.

Listening to Clarence explain how the indigenous peoples of the Americas had varying magical practices was fascinating yet made her even more excited. Such a thing happened between the smaller druid communities and Hy-Brasil too! Older ways were maintained by those that isolated in locations harder to find than the island, while others were more liberal than the people here were. She didn’t know how big the Americas actually were, as that was one of the things she was still learning about the mainland, but it made sense that there were numerous groups instead of one homogenous community. Basically like all of humankind, they were simply there first.

“Would you say that your magic is more in line with nature as opposed to what others use?” Fae inquired. She had started to lean in closer to the professor, using Merlin’s Staff as a balance. “Druids have a proclivity towards the natural world, as you can see,” she added. Anyone that thought otherwise would have to be fairly dense. “I have always wondered if magic of this sort connects various cultures like ours together more than we know. Like an older, ancient presence that has long since been forgotten.” There were theories held by the more spiritual druids on Hy-Brasil concerning the Otherworld and the origin of magic, though her own views on it had been skewed slightly since the arrival of Yrisle. Placing all faith in one corner when there were unlimited possibilities yet known seemed silly.

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February 13, 2026

"Would you say that your magic is more in line with nature as opposed to what others use?" Fae asked him. She then added that Druids had what she called a "proclivity" towards the natural world, which was evident from what he had seen of Hy-Brasil—from the little that he had seen of the island already. "have always wondered if magic of this sort connects various cultures like ours together more than we know. Like an older, ancient presence that has long since been forgotten."

Clarence nodded his head. In some ways, he imagined, that was probably true. Every magical culture was connected in some way, or else magic might have remained confined only to one area of the world. Occasionally, it seemed that those in the British wizarding community were oblivious to what went on outside of it, even in relation to somewhere as close as Ireland, but that was another matter. "Traditionally," he explained to Fae, "I would say that most Indigenous peoples' magic is more in line with nature. Nowadays, though, I don't know of anywhere in the world that is similar to Hy-Brasil. There are still communities that are fully magical, of course, but I've never seen anything quite like this." The vast majority of the magical communities of which he knew were very close to non-magical communities, and none had anywhere near the same level of autonomy.

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