Our Sorting Ceremony
"There were four houses at Ilvermorny: Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird, and Pukwudgie. When a student started their education at Ilvermorny, they would step onto a Gordian Knot on the floor in the center of the entrance hall, with large wooden statues of the mascots of the four houses facing them. The carved statues would react if they wanted the student in their house. The older students watched in silence from a circular balcony on a floor above them as the new students were sorted. The carvings reacted in different ways: the crystal in the Horned Serpent carving's forehead glowed, the Wampus carving roared, the Thunderbird carving beat its wings, and the Pukwudgie carving raised its arrow.
However, sometimes more than one carving would try to select the same student. If this happened, the student would be able to choose the house they preferred. This happened very rarely. Sometimes — as rare as once a decade or even a generation as in the case of one student — a student would be selected by every house. Seraphina Picquery, who was President of MACUSA from 1920 to 1928, was known to have had this honor. She chose Horned Serpent.
After the sorting, the student would be brought to a large hall where they were chosen once more, this time by a wand. Prior to the end of Rappaport's Law, children could not have a wand prior to schooling and had to leave their wand at school during school breaks, and could only take the wand out of school when they reached seventeen years of age." (Ilvermorny, Sorting Ceremony)
Pukwudgie
Represents the heart
Favors healers
"Pukwudgie house is the only house not within the walls of Ilvermorny. The cabin-like building is actually the original shack that was where Ilvermorny started before the student body outgrew the original school building. The cabin itself is actually located on the opposite side of the school's owlry. There are two entrances to the common room. One within the school, near the kitchen and the other being the front door of the building.
To enter into the Pukwudgie common room the students must knock out a pattern three times on either the front door of the cottage itself or on the door next to the kitchen gaining access to the additional tunnel that leads to the Pukwudgie common room. There is an additional cabin attached to the Pukwudgie house for the Head of House. The Head of House must use the front door of the Pukwudgie house in order to enter the common room since there is no door attached directly from the living quarters to the common room.
The interior design of the common room matches the outside look of the house. It looks like the inside of a no-maj cabin. It has a very cozy feel to it. With a large fireplace in the center of the back wall with couches and chairs near it. There is a side room that has tables and chairs where Pukwudgie students can gather to do homework. There is an additional side room that has magic safe technology for students to use in their downtime. There are many windows around the Pukwudgie house allowing a view of a number of different locations on the school's campus.
The common room is a hot spot for students from all four houses since Pukwudgie tends to throw the most parties out of all the houses. Like the other houses, some of the parties include victory parties for the house sports teams, the welcome back party at the start of the year, and a party on just about every holiday that the students celebrate at the school." (The New Era, Pukwudgie)
Wampus
Represents the body
Favors warriors
"The basement of Ilvermorny is where the Wampus common room and dorms are found. The Head of House living quarters is at the top of the basement right before the stair. Taking the stairs into the basement leads to an open area where the entrance to Wampus house is located. To enter the common room, students must say the password at the door. This password is changed weekly and the new password is posted in the common room the morning of the change.
Like Thunderbird house, the decor in Wampus house matches the habitat in which the Wampus cat lives in. There are a number of chairs and couches around the common room with lamps in intervals. The mural paintings along all the walls not only add to the rainforest feel but as all portraits in the wizarding community move, so do these murals allowing the common room to be filled with the natural sounds of the rainforest. Since the common room is located in the basement of the school there is no way to get natural light into the common room or the dorms, so the ceiling has been enchanted to look like the rainforest as well, allowing some "natural" light which is a reason behind the lamps set about in the common room as well.
The common room on occasion is filled with the sights and sounds of parties. These parties, like the other houses, include the welcome back party, victory parties primarily for the house Quidditch and Quadpot teams, and end of the year party as well as some holiday parties, however, those vary depending on the student body each year." (The New Era, Wampus)
Thunderbird
Represents the soul
Favors adventurers
"Near the entrance of the Thunderbird House, there is a second door. This leads to the Head of House living quarters. This allows the Head of House to be near the students in the event of an emergency but, it also allows the students a little more freedom within the common room since they do not share the space with their Head of House. The Head of House, however, is able to enter the Common Room at any time.
Thunderbird house is located in the tallest tower of the school. To enter the common room, students must name a landmark, magical or non-magical. This can be a landmark anywhere across the globe and can be man-made or natural, however, the same landmark is the student's password for a month and can not be reused during the same year by that student.
The color scheme, decor, and furniture inside the Thunderbird common room mimic the desert lands that the Thunderbird calls home. This does not suggest though, that the Thunderbird doesn't have a welcoming homey feel to it. There are various suede and leather recliners, chairs, benches, and reclining sofas, along with one or two ottomans, in the Thunderbird common room near the small fireplace. On the opposite side of the common room from the fireplace, there is a Bay window that allows for an amazing view of the student gardens and the Quidditch/Quadpot field. This gives many options for the students to sit and relax after or in between classes.
The common room is usually where parties are held by the Thunderbird students. Most often the parties are to celebrate victories of the house sports teams, primarily Quidditch and Quadpot. Other various parties that are thrown throughout the school year are the welcome back party at the start of the year, a Christmas party held on Christmas day, and a farewell party held the week before 7th years graduate as their final party in the house. In early spring there are sometimes some bonfire parties held on the school campus hosted by the Thunderbird house." (The New Era, Thunderbird)
Horned Serpent
Represents the mind
Favors scholars
"Due to the fact that the Horned Serpent common room and dorms are located within the Library, the Head of House living quarters is not as close to the common room as it is with the other houses. Instead, the Head of House living quarters is located across from the Library itself. To enter into the common room students must walk to the correct bookshelf and pull on the correct book to open the door. The book title is posted in the common room on the morning of the change.
The Horned Serpent common room has a Victorian-era feel to it. There are plenty of chairs and sofas around the expansive common room for students to spread out and relax in their downtime. There are bookshelves that line most of the walls. Some are empty, some have trinkets on them, and others have books donated by former students or are personal journals left behind by Horned Serpent Alumni. Among these are also some personal journals from the one and only Isolt Sarye.
Because the common room is located inside of the Library there are no windows looking out onto any part of the school campus, there are, however, a few skylights in the ceiling of the common room to let in some natural light during the day. There is a fireplace in the common room with four large comfortable chairs around it. Near the fireplace, there are the stairs to the girls' dorms while the stairs to the boys' dorms are located along the same wall but on the opposite end of the room.
Of the four houses, Horned Serpent throws the least number of parties. The ones they do throw are the welcome back party, some victory parties for their house teams, and the end of the year party. For the most part any other time, the Horned Serpent students that want to attend any other party will just attend one of the parties being thrown by one of the other three houses." (The New Era, Horned Serpent)