Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning



Location: Scandanavia

Founded: 1038

Headmaster: Boris Barbanov

History
Founded by Bügo Bolodenka and Salazar Slytherin as a place to teach, and for proper students to learn, away from the growing, bothersome and quite disgusting muggleborn population.

The castle built, and school founded with Bolodenka's and Slytherin's partnership, once Slytherin left the pathetic Scottish Hogwarts school. The institutes exact location is a highly prized secret, made unknown to even the student body and most of the Institutes faculty. Just as Bolodenka wanted it.

Durmstrang Institute is and has always been, a privately owned - tuition funded - magical education facility, run in a much harsher militaristic manner then many of its European public counterparts. The school is famed for its prejudiced admittance policy, ridged yet quite deceptive learning structure, harsh punishments, and student conditioning practices.



In 1692, after the International Confederation of Wizards executed the International Statute of Secrecy, the sole mode of transportation to and from Durmstrang became a large ship. The ship would make a few different voyages through out the first day of school, pulling into dock in major harbor ports through out Scandinavia and Russia, where it would pick up large amounts of students at a time.

With the decline of tuition, in 1737 Durmstrang started accepting well-to-do halfblood applications. Then in 1880 Willverik Walferdange the then current Headmaster, reverted the schools admission policy, once again only accepting purebloods.

The Death Trials
Initiated in its very first year open, Durmstrang holds regular competitions during its school year. These are not only to weed out the undeserving, but also to proudly show off the best of the best with in its walls. These competitions are known as The Death Trials. The Death Trials are competitions set up to test the student, in every way possible.

Each Professor is able to nominate three students, these students are made up of either students the Professor thinks will come out on top, or students the Professor wishes to lose.

Through out the year, every few months or until 13 students have been nominated, The Death Trials take place.

The Death Trails are a mix of obstacle course, and dueling. All of the nominees are released into the arena at once. Beyond facing what ever challenges are given, one must also defeat all the other opponents. Finding loop holes, and sly cheating, are weighed favorably. Much like how the grading in the classes is done.

The winner receives a small reward, and will be put into The Challengers Trials. A special Death Trials, that takes place at the end of the year, where all the winners from the past Trials are pitted against each other. The winner of this, was for many years the select person who would be allowed to enter their name for the Tri Wizard Tournament, to represent the Institute.

Grounds
The Institute is located near a large body of water, though which one is kept a tight secret. The castle is situated amongst a number of large mountains, which happen to be near the polar circle. For this reason, students are rarely permitted outside.

Durmstrang Semey
Durmstrang has four Semey, or Families into which students are sorted according to temperament and capabilities. However, these Semey were not all founded at the same time - and they've changed over the centuries. The sorting is done through an array of challenges, trials, and blood purity testing.

Volkovio
Volkovio is the oldest of the current Durmstrang Semey, the only one that dates back to the founding of the school, and the most exclusive of the Semey. Its members exemplify what the rest of the world perceives Durmstrang graduates to be: cold, cunning, elitist, highly skilled in the Dark Arts, and perhaps having more drive for power then they should. It is all about power, control, and the Dark Arts for this Semey.

The Volkovio Semey mascot is the dire wolf, with the Semey colors being silver and black.

Korolevskiy
Korolevskiy Semey dates back to the late Renaissance period. It was founded by wizarding's equivalent of nobility, and is often perceived as the most exclusive of Semey, as it actually has the fewest numbers and has always only accepted pureblooded students. Of course, the trails know best, and now people sorted here are based on inner beauty and charm as well as the purity of their bloodlines and finances. Members of this House aren't immortal, of course, but if and when they die, they'll look good doing it. Because many of the students here come from wealthy pureblood families, they tend to think they're better than everyone else. But because of their innate charm, they tend to be excellent diplomats later in life.

Its colors are crimson and white, and its mascot is a white sphinx.

Knigav
Knigav is nearly as old as Volkavio. It was founded by a wizard who felt that a student's time at school was better filled with scholarly pursuits of esoteric subjects than duelling. These students know every corner of the Library and can probably recite the index to a copy of the, A History of Durmstrang Institute. Their minds are sharp, their grades are excellent, and they sleep with books tucked under their pillows. Sure, many of them are attractive people - but they would rather be curious and interesting people. They do have a tendency to sound like know-it-alls, though.

Many of them go on to become Healers, scholars, librarians, and intelligence agency operatives.

Their colors are violet and grey, and their mascot is the owl.

Skuchnyy
The Skuchnyy Semey is the newest Semey at Durmstrang, only a few centuries old, created in 1737 when Durmstrang started excepting Halfbloods. Its founder was a stunningly talented artist who was best known for also being slightly dotty, and much too kind for the schools reputation. Artists, poets, and the average tend to flock together at Durmstrang, and they end up here. These people tend to be a little unreliable, but if you're completely stuck on a problem, they will come up with an incredibly creative (and probably quite impractical) solution. The most frowned upon and joked about Semey, every one else who does not strictly fall into one of the other Semey, is put here. It should be noted that while Durmstrang admitted halfbloods, most of them were placed here.

The Skuchnyy colors are mauve and orange, with the Semey mascot being being the hare.

Curriculum
The Durmstrang curriculum is much like those of other magical schools, with a few small deviations : their core studies are magics in Charms, the Dark Arts, Divination, and Transfiguration. However, there are extensive programs in other subjects such as Postions, Dueling, and History, along with various others.

Students are required to take classes in the core subjects until passing their OWL level examinations, but are free to choose what other subjects they wish to pursue.

Core Classes:


 * Charms
 * Dark Arts
 * Dueling
 * History of Magic
 * Potions
 * Transfiguration

Elective classes:


 * Alchemy
 * Ancient Studies
 * Apparition
 * Arcana High and Low
 * Art History
 * Arithmancy
 * Astronomy
 * Demonology
 * Divination
 * Ghoul Studies
 * Healing Magics
 * Herbology
 * Magical Theory
 * Rituals & Curses
 * Study of Ancient Runes
 * Training of Magical Beasts
 * Toxicology
 * Voodoo
 * Wizarding Politics

Notable Former Headmasters
-- --
 * Salazar Slytherin & Bügo Bolodenka: 1038-1047
 * Álmos Volkovio: 1048-1056
 * Asbjørn Knigav: 1057-1079
 * Bal Volkovio: 1080-1092
 * Feliks Ivanov: 1093-1136
 * Berdy Bolodenka: 1137-1168
 * Kiril Korolevskiy: 1387-1421
 * Shurik Skuchnyy: 1736-1772
 * Kostya Knigav: 1773-1781
 * Bachner Bolodenka: 1782-1833
 * Blendal Barbanov: 1834-1859
 * Charles Cornett: 1860-1876
 * Willverik Walferdange: 1877-1890
 * Klaus Kopervik: 1891-1915
 * Vlad Voorhout: 1916-1930
 * Rigerio Von Battenburg: 1931-1944
 * Klaus Walferdange : 1945-1957
 * Vincent Voorhout: 1958-1969
 * Kadmen Korolevskiy: 1970-1984
 * Boris Barbonov: 1985 - present