Ruler of the Harry Potter universe (and social media powerhouse) J.K. Rowling has published new writings on the official Pottermore website, describing of the Hogwarts equivalents in North America, South America, Japan, and Africa. The new schools (if thousand-year-old institutions can be called new) are named Ilvermorny, Castelobruxo, Mahoutokoro, and Uagadou, respectively. Fans of the Potterverse will get to see Ilvermorny in upcoming film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which will take place in the United States in 1926. Until viewers can visit Ilvermorny, however, this new description is the closest they can get—and that goes double for Castelobruxo, Mahuotokoro, and Uagadou. Here's what you need to know:
1. Ilvermorny
https://twitter.com/pottermore/status/693248531541397504Because there will be a movie set there soon, Rowling published the fewest details about Ilvermorny. The North American school of witchcraft and wizardry is located somewhere either in the northeast of the United States or eastern Canada. Founded not long after the arrival of European settlers on the continent, Ilvermorny nevertheless relied on "indigenous magic" in the beginning, perhaps in the way Europeans relied on Native American farming knowledge to gain a foothold in America.
https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/607458078427082752The fact that Rowling referenced multiple tribes could indicate upstate New York—the home of the Iroquois Confederacy of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. Also, they definitely take a trip to New York City in the new movie. Others have speculated that the name might be an Anglicization of a French name, "Île Vert Morne, "Green Hill Island." Given Hogwart's location, an island school in Lake Erie or Lake Ontario might be a good neutral ground between the French, the English, and the Iroquois.
2. Castelobruxo
https://twitter.com/pottermore/status/693252309397192704Castelobruxo is "an imposing square edifice of golden rock, often compared to a temple" located "deep within the rainforest" of Brazil. Like Hogwarts, Rowling writes, the building appears to be an ancient ruin to any Muggle lucky enough to stumble upon it by accident. Instead of centaurs, giant spiders and whatever Hagrid happens to bring home, the woods around Castelobruxo are protected by Caipora, "small and furry spirit-beings who are extraordinarily mischievous and tricky." The school excels in Herbology, Magizoology, and Quidditch, and is a popular exchange destination for foreign students (although Rowling takes time out of her day to note that the ever-suffering Weaselys are too poor for this).
3. Ougadou
https://twitter.com/pottermore/status/693256091833122816Carved into a misty cliff to look like it's floating, Ougadou is over one thousand years old, the largest of the eleven major wizarding schools, and the alma mater of Babajide Akingbade, the successor to Albus Dumbledore as the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. As problematic as it may be that the gigantic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural but often lumped-together continent of Africa gets only one school to Europe's three (in England, France, and Scandinavia), Rowling does note that there are multiple schools in Africa, of which Ougadou is the most renowned. Many of the magical teachings pre-date the invention of wands (requiring only hand gestures), and in addition to Astronomy and Alchemy, Ougado students are best known for their mastery of transformation. Prof. McGonagall's ability to become a cat, for example, looks a lot less cool compared to the potential to suddenly become an elephant. Perhaps the most daydream-inspiring part of the school is how it delivers acceptance letters to students—Dream Messengers. "The Dream Messenger will appear to the children as they sleep and will leave a token, usually an inscribed stone, which is found in the child’s hand on waking."
4. Mahoutokoro
https://twitter.com/pottermore/status/693260337085284352Although it has the fewest students, Mahoutokoro pupils start at just seven years old (as opposed to 11 for Hogwarts), but spend their first few years flying back home every day on the backs of giant seabirds. The school sits atop the tiny and (supposedly) uninhabited island of South Iwo Jima (not the main Iwo Jima), and the fact that Quidditch players have to practice at extremely low altitude over choppy waves to avoid detection by American aircraft from nearby bases means their players are some of the best in the world. Mahoutokoro students receive a magical kimono when they begin their studies that grows with them over time and changes color as their attain knowledge—unless they turn evil or break the wizard code of secrecy, in which case it will become bright white. Anyone who has "turned white" is instantly expelled and put on trial. Rowling added that the school is made of "mutton-fat jade," a pale, translucent stone.
Related: J.K. Rowling saw Neville Longbottom in his underwear, and it got awkward on Twitter.
Read more about Castelobruxo, Ougadou, and Mahoutokoro at Pottermore.