Durmstrang

Durmstrang Institute is a school mentioned in the Harry Potter series. For canon information about this school, please visit the Harry Potter Lexicon.

This information provides a more specific look at life at Durmstrang and is considered Absit Omen canon.

The discussion thread can be found here.

Three Magical Disciplines

Spellworks

The study of cast magic, either by wand, hand, word or mind. This includes charms, some enchantments, transfigurations, hexes, curses and jinxes. Also things like Occlumency and Legilimency, Animagus Magic, and Apparition.

Spellworks students go on to be Aurors, Enchanters, Curse-breakers, etc.

Tangibles

The study of naturally-occurring, or nature-based magic. Herbology, potion-making, Alchemy, Healing, Magizoology, Astronomy, Astrology, Divination.

Possible careers for this discipline include Alchemists, Healers, Diviners and the like.

Intangibles

The study of intellectual magic, or observational topics. History, Mythology, Magical Politics, Magical Culture, Arithmancy, Runish Studies, Muggle Studies.

These students usually find careers in magoarchaeology, business, politics, and academia.

Naturally, some of these topics are inter-disciplinary, and don't readily fall into one of the three categories. This tends to happen when you categorize things.

Professors

There are no Charms professors or Runes professors, instead Professors teach many topics within one of the three disciplines. A Spellworks professor, or an Intangibles Professor, for example. As the students grow older, classes are taught with increasing specificity. There are also General Magics Professors who work with the younger students before the students choose their discipline.

Ignan Storm taught at Dumstrang for five years before moving to Hogwarts. His father, Merik Storm, was a revered Headmaster of the school, though had now retired.

Course of Study

The students attend Durmstrang Institute for 6 years with the goal of achieving an apprenticeship. For the first two years, they study General Magic. In their third year, they must select which discipline(s) to study. It is possible to study 2, but intensely grueling to take work in all three.

The Strata

There are no Houses at Durmstrang. Older students do gain a sense of community from their selected discipline. But the biggest division between students is the Strata.

When students arrive at Durmstrang for their first year, they are tested by the Professors and placed in one of the three Strata.

Dregs

These are the lowest performing of the students. Placement in this group is a wake-up call, because the professors are not confident they will land an apprenticeship. Dregs are required to attend extra study sessions. After the initial placement, the Professors have the ability to elevate a student who has improved her performance.

The Zufrieden

This is the largest strata that makes up the majority of the student body. These students are performing at level without impressing anyone. It is very likely they will find an adequate apprenticeship. If they begin to slip in any major way, they may be moved down to the Dregs. If they begin to impress, the Oberteils may choose to elevate them.

The Oberteils

These are the elite; the best, brightest and most impressive students. These students are given access to special coursework (like Animagus training, or that kind of thing) and are nearly guaranteed to land a very prestigious apprenticeship upon leaving school. The Oberteils are responsible for promoting and demoting from their ranks.

Your position was always precarious, and students rose and fell all the time depending on their skills, but also on the politics. Dregs had to impress Professors and Oberteils and the average Zufreiden had to make nice with the current group of Oberteils.

A constant struggle to remain at the top.

Notes

As you can probably tell, Durmstrang is very focused on career preparation. Getting young witches and wizards into productive areas of wizarding society. Some critics of the system say the students may not be as well rounded, but time and time again Drumstrang alumni are successful and influential members of the international Wizarding community. There is of course the shadow over all of it. For a long time the Spellworks discipline seemed to be training criminals and dark artists. And many Dregs are never able to pull out of that Strata and leave school aimless and jobless.

Absit Omen Durmstrang Alumni

• Vladislaus Dragulia, accomplished Oberteil often
• Maeve Whitman's mother Eloise and uncle Orfeo were graduates and both studied Spellworks and both achieved Oberteil strata.
• James Forrester, alumnus. Struggled in the dregs but managed Zufreiden. Likely worked in Tangibles.
• Ignan Storm, went on to work for the German Ministry, then after some time teach at Durmstrang, and now Hogwarts.
• Johann Storm, became an accomplished linguist.
• Melanthe Grumman, socialite and criminal. Former Oberteil
• Vasily Volkov, picked plenty of fights as a student, now living in Hogsmeade

NPCs

• The Strelnikovs, family of Demitria Strelnikov of Hogwarts. [1]
  • Darya Strelnikov (mother)
  • Maxim Strelnikov (brother)
  • Katrin Kovskya (future sister-in-law)