After the announcement, the school became a battleground for Fila. Questions after questions about everything, most things she didn't even know. Lika what magic the other schools used, or how she was going to beat them. Even the other champions didn't know how to answer even half of the questions they got.
Most students seemed to still question how Fila who wasn't even ranked yet got a place in the team, and she said the same thing to everyone. "Ask the headmaster."
The thunderbird tower was actually the calmest place in the school for her. Most of her comrades didn't ask her questions because they knew she didn't like them. and that was the case for all thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds was a bit of a special case among the houses. Most students saw their houses as classmates or just people they lived with during school. The thunderbirds saw it differently. The tower wasn't just a place at school, it was home. And the people inside that tower was family. And family respected each other and helped.
The solidarity of the Thunderbird tower was the only thing keeping Fila sane as the week wore on. While the hallways of Ilvermorny felt like a gauntlet of pointing fingers and stage-whispers, the moment she tapped the sequence to enter the common room, the air changed. It wasn't just the altitude; it was the vibe.
In the Great Hall, she was a "Grindelwald" or a "Wild Card." In the tower, she was just Fila.
On Thursday night, she was slumped in a winged-back chair by the fire, in her lap laid a charms book. Most students had gotten started with the finals studying by now. Fila was a smart girl, not needing to study a whole lot as she listened more during lessons. But refreshing never hurt anyone.
Fila looked up to see a group of older Thunderbirds—seventh years who usually spent their time stressing over graduation, approaching her. They weren't carrying notebooks or lists of questions. Instead, one of them, a tall boy named Elias, set a steaming mug of spiced cider and a plate of extra-thick toast on the side table next to her.
"We saw the Pukwudgies cornering you near the Herbology greenhouses today," Elias said, leaning against the mantle. "You looked like you were about to turn their shoes into briar patches."
"I was considering it," Fila admitted, taking a grateful sip of the cider. "They wanted to know if I could grow 'Japanese cherry blossoms on command' to distract the Mahoutokoro team. As if I'm a firework show."
The older students chuckled, but it was a warm, protective sound.
"Ignore them," a girl named Maya said, sitting on the rug near the fire. "The rest of the school is obsessed with the rankings because that's all they understand. They think dueling is just about who can shout Stupefy the loudest. But we know why the bird picked you, Fila."
She gestured toward the massive, carved Thunderbird that arched over the fireplace, its wings spanning the width of the room.
"Thunderbirds don't just fly," Maya continued. "They represent the soul and the storm. If Fontaine chose you, it's because you've got the lightning in you, even if it's currently disguised as a rosebush. If anyone gives you trouble tomorrow, just walk away. We'll handle the 'questions' for you."
The older students of the tower were like big brothers and sisters. They helped and cared for the younger. Even if they had to fight to protect you, they gladly would.
Fila felt a genuine lump in her throat. She wasn't used to people being so... unconditionally on her side. Usually, people were on her side because of her last name (out of fear) or despite it (out of pity). But here, under the wings of the stone Thunderbird, she was just a sister who needed a bit of cover while she figured out how to grow her thorns.
"Thanks, Maya. Elias," Fila said, her voice a little softer than usual. "I might take you up on that. If one more Horned Serpent asks me about the 'botanical properties of volcanic soil,' I might actually sprout ears made of cactus just so I don't have to hear them anymore."
The day carried on, and soon she found herself in the dorm room of Theo, Millies and Elliot. The had dragged her into the room and sat her down in a chair.
"So how do I know if a girl likes me?" Theo asked.
… Filas mind already filled with annoying questions couldn't handle this right now. She looked at the trio of boys standing before her, almost looking like three little chipmunks waiting for food.
"You have to be kidding me…" she mumbled. "Who do you think like you?" she asked.
The transition from being a school champion to a relationship counselor was so jarring that Fila's brain actually felt like it might short-circuit. One second she was preparing for a multi-school tournament on a volcanic island, and the next, she was the Oracle of Thunderbird Tower for three boys who looked like they hadn't even figured out how to tie their ties properly yet.
Theo turned a shade of red that rivaled a ripe tomato. "Well... it's a girl from Wampus. She's the Seeker for their B-team. Every time I walk past her in the hall, she looks at me and then immediately hits her friend's arm. Does that mean she thinks I'm a dork or does she... you know... like me?"
Millie and Elliot nodded solemnly, leaning in as if Theo were reciting an ancient, forbidden prophecy.
Fila rubbed her temples, letting out a long, slow breath. "Theo, if she's a Wampus and she hasn't hexed you into a puddle of goo yet for standing in her way, that's a win. But hitting her friend? That's Seeker-speak for 'Look at that boy, he's a Thunderbird and he looks like a confused chipmunk.'"
"So... that's a good thing?" Theo asked, hope gleaming in his eyes.
"It means she's noticed you exist," Fila said, deciding to be merciful. "Look, if you want to know if she likes you, stop acting like you're stalking a rare herb in the forest. Just go up and ask her if she wants to practice flying drills. Worst case, she says no and you fly away. Best case, you get a date and stop cornering me in dorm rooms."
Elliot stepped forward next, looking even more nervous than Theo. "But what if she's a Horned Serpent? I heard they only like guys who can recite the 'Laws of Elemental Transfiguration' backward."
Fila stood up, reaching for the door handle before the questions could devolve into Arithmancy-based dating theories.
The door to her dorm room smacked open and before June or Calla could see she had already smacked down head first into her bed.
"did you also get pulled into the romance crisis meeting?" Calla asked.
"MHM" her muffled voice could be heard from the pillow.
"The 'Wampus Seeker' situation?" June asked, tossing her bag onto her own bed and kicking off her shoes. "Theo has been vibrating with anxiety for three days. I think he's convinced she's going to tackle him during the next house match just to get his attention."
Fila rolled over, her hair a chaotic nest of black against the pillow. "I told him to ask her to fly. If she likes him, they'll do laps. If she doesn't, she'll probably just leave him in her wake and he'll be too winded to ask me any more questions. It's a win-win."
Calla laughed, leaning against the bedpost. "You're getting a reputation, Fila. 'The Grindelwald Who Whispers to Vines and 13-year-old Boys.' It's a very niche brand."
Yeah I don't like that at all.
On that Friday she had been called to the dueling yard, the group of five had gotten the day of from normal lessons to train.
Once she arrived at the quiet ground she saw the others already assembled.
"Alright, now that we have everyone here, lets start" Professor Hale started. "Each of you will face of against each other, what we want today is not to see who is stronger. But to see how you function."
So what followed was a duel session. The teacher wanted to see who could do what. But the students, yeah for them it was a competition.
"You ready Daniel?" Aaron asked as they faced each other.
Daniel smiled and nodded. "Ready."
Daniel got his ass kicked.
The yard was soon filled with the sharp cracks of spellfire and the smell of ozone. Aaron didn't just win; he was a blur of motion, his kinetic pulses hitting with the speed of a Pukwudgie on a hunt. Daniel, for all his textbook-perfect shielding, just couldn't keep up with the sheer pace.
"Next," Hale called out, his eyes scanning the group. "Sera, Marcus. Mat two."
That one was more of a stalemate. Sera's surgical precision met Marcus's brute-force shielding. It was a battle of attrition that ended with both of them panting and leaning on their knees, neither willing to give an inch.
"Ophelia," Hale said, gesturing to the center mat. "Aaron. Since you're so warmed up, show her what Rank One looks like."
Aaron stepped up, spinning his wand with a confident grin. "Don't worry, Fila. I'll go easy on the greenery."
Fila didn't draw her wand. She just stood at the edge of the stone circle, her boots flat against the ground. She could feel the faint vibration of the mountain beneath the school—the roots of the old trees reaching deep into the granite.
"Begin!"
Aaron didn't wait. He flicked his wand, sending a triple-burst of stinging hexes. Fila didn't move her feet. She simply raised a hand, and the stone pavers at the edge of the mat groaned.
Erupting from the ground a hand stretch up and it continued to crawl out until a big tree sized golem stood between Fila and Aaron.
"This is Bob, Aaron be nice to him." Fila called out from behind the tree guardian.
The training yard, which had just been a stage for flashing lights and standard shield charms, suddenly felt very small. Aaron's "triple-burst" of stinging hexes didn't even make it to Fila; they vanished into the mossy, thick-barked chest of the golem with the sound of pebbles hitting a mattress.
Aaron froze, his wand still mid-twirl. "You named it Bob?"
"He's very sensitive about it," Fila teased.
Bob didn't look sensitive. He looked like an ancient oak tree had decided to grow limbs and a bad attitude.
Bob let out a low hum in response. Fila had made Bob a couple of times and gotten really good at controlling him now. It was much easier to control a thick wooden beast instead of her first attempt of a small flower which was fragile and weak.
Bob didn't wait around and swung his stump sized hand towards Aaron.
"Is this allowed Professor!?" Aaron asked as he ducked under the giant incoming fist.
Professor Hale didn't even look up from his clipboard. "The rule is 'magical combat,' Aaron. If you can't handle a moving target that happens to be made of cellulose, you're going to have a very short trip to Japan."
Aaron didn't have time to complain further. Bob's massive wooden fist slammed into the stone where Aaron had been standing a second prior, sending a spiderweb of cracks through the pavers. The sound was a heavy thud that vibrated in the chests of everyone watching.
"Okay, Bob, you want to play?" Aaron shouted, his competitive streak finally overriding his confusion. He began to circle the golem at high speed, his boots skidding on the stone. "Let's see how you like a little heat!"
Aaron flicked his wand, sending a localized Incendio toward Bob's legs.
Fila didn't even blink. She felt the heat through her connection to the golem and reacted instantly. Instead of putting the fire out, she commanded the moisture from the deep roots beneath the yard to surge upward. Bob's bark didn't burn; it hissed, releasing a thick, blinding screen of steam that swallowed the center of the mat.
In the fog, Aaron lost his visual on Fila. He fired a blind concussive blast, but it hit a decoy wall of rapid-growth briars she had sprouted just to misdirect him.
Suddenly, a massive wooden hand emerged from the steam, not to punch, but to gently, yet firmly, scoop Aaron off his feet. Bob held him aloft like a disgruntled kitten.
"I think he wants a hug, Aaron," Fila laughed, walking out of the steam cloud as it began to dissipate.
"Put me down!" Aaron squawked, dangling three meters in the air.
"Yeah as funny as this is to watch, match is over." The professor called out, but he didn't just stand he walked up to the tree giant. And knocked with his knuckles on the hard bark. "Can I try something Ophelia?"
She shrugged as a yes.
The professor aimed his wand towards one of the joints at the arms. "Confringo maxima" the spell shot out and hit the joint with a loud bang. and one of bob's arm fell of.
Bob looked visually upset and so did Fila feel. "You hurt his feeling" she said.
"As you all witnessed, this is why the headmaster calls her the wildcard. And now you understand why she is here." Professor Hale explained.
The air in the dueling yard was thick with the scent of damp mulch and the lingering heat from the explosion. The other champions were silent, their previous skepticism replaced by a wary, newfound respect. Aaron, finally back on his feet and dusting off his robes, looked at the severed wooden arm on the ground and then back at Fila.
"I think I'd rather take my chances with a Horned Serpent's hexes than a hug from your 'friend' ever again," Aaron muttered, though his eyes lacked their earlier arrogance.
As the group dispersed, the tension that had been coiled in Fila's chest for a week finally began to loosen. She had proven, at least to the people who mattered, that she wasn't just a name on a piece of paper.
The whole day had been filled with information, rules, tactics and other useful things about the other schools. Fila however didn't feel like this mattered. The tricks and spells of the schools would appear on the dueling day, it didn't really matter right now if there only was an "if" they use this spell. Sure being prepared never hurt anyone. But learning to adapt would be even better.
But even she needed to adapt, what if there were no plants she could use.
This question has to be solved, if she doesn't have any of that she would need to use her other magic. Like crushing or throwing away the opponent. Alright maybe crushing the body of another student wouldn't be very popular.
As she walked through the hallways, ignoring the stupid questions from curious serpents. she thought that maybe she could bring something that would grow.
"Seeds…" she mumbled as she sharply turned right in the corridor, heading towards the herbology house.
The Herbology greenhouses were always warmer than the rest of the school, smelling of damp moss, fertilizing dragon dung, and the sweet, heavy scent of Flutterby Bushes. To Fila, it was the only place that didn't feel like a high-altitude fortress.
Professor Naya was there of course and she didn't even look surprised when fila stormed into the greenhouse, rummaging around in the cabinets and pots.
"Looking for something specific, or just planning to turn the Great Hall into a jungle before graduation?" Professor Naya asked, not looking up from her tray of Mandrake seedlings. She had a dry wit that Fila appreciated—mostly because it wasn't a question about her lineage.
Fila stopped her frantic searching near a shelf of terra cotta pots. "I need something portable. Something that doesn't care if the ground is made of volcanic rock, marble, or thin air."
Naya finally stood up, wiping her soil-stained hands on her apron. "A pocket-sized forest? Bold."
Professor Naya walked over to the teacher cabinet. "Here are some tree seeds, flowers and all. they are mixed but you probably know what each of them are." She gave a little leather pouch filled with random seeds of everything.
"You don't happened to have a womping will…"
"Don't even start, you just think I have a womping willow seed laying around?" Naya said in a annoyed tone, but it wasn't angry it was playful.
Worth a shot she thought.
Fila spent a better part of two hours helping Naya repot and take care of plants in the greenhouse. Mostly to dodge the students outside waiting to ask more stupid questions. But the feeling of the greenhouse was hard beaten. Warm, smelling like flower and soil, perfect.
Eventually, the sun began to dip behind the jagged peaks of Mount Greylock, casting long, amber shadows across the greenhouse glass. Fila wiped a smudge of dirt from her forehead, her fingers still tingling from the residual magic of the plants she'd handled.
"Thanks for the help Ophelia. You are welcome here anytime." Naya said as Fila turned to leave.
Fila nodded, tucking the leather pouch of seeds into her pocket. It felt comforting, a heavy, rattling weight that promised a portable forest whenever she might need one. "Thanks, Professor. For the seeds and the... quiet."
The walk back to the Thunderbird Tower was less of a gauntlet this time. Maybe the news of "Bob" had finally filtered through the school, or maybe people were just exhausted by the end-of-term rush. And she had told the champions to not say anything about Bob, so there was hope that no one knew.
The next training wouldn't be held until that next weekend, Professor Hale thought we should study on owls and finals. But did mention something about training by ourselves.
As she entered the Thunderbird tower, she got a bit of a surprise waiting for her.
In one of the window seats sat two people, one of which she didn't think she would actually see. The wampus girl and Theo. Fila looked over at the couch group with a chocked expression. Stella and some other thunderbirds sat there, also witnessing the spectacle. She walked over to the group.
"Did Aaron hit my head with stupefy or his Theo actually talking to her?" Fila asked.
Stella let out a low, conspiratorial whistle, not taking her eyes off the pair by the window. "No hexes, Fila. He actually did it. Walked right up to her in the Great Hall, looking like he was about to faint, and asked if she wanted to go over 'high-velocity diving maneuvers.' Apparently, that's Wampus for 'I think you're cute.'"
Fila leaned against the back of the sofa, watching them. Theo was gesturing wildly with his hands, probably explaining a Broom-Twist, while the Wampus seeker, a girl with a sharp jawline and an even sharper smirk, was actually leaning in, listening.
"I'll be damned," Fila murmured. "The confused chipmunk actually found a nut."
"Give yourself some credit, 'Oracle,'" Elias joked, tossing a small pillow at her. "You're the one who told him to stop stalking her like a rare herb. Now he's a house hero. If he actually gets a date out of this, we might have to officially put you in charge of the Thunderbird 'Romance Crisis' desk."
"Don't you dare," Fila warned, though she couldn't hide the small, rare tug of a smile at the corner of her mouth. "And did Theo tell everyone about every single word I said to him?"
They nodded.