The Gerhardt Cup

The Gerhardt Cup has been the supreme bragging rights object that the students of Gerhardt School of Magic have possessed since the school's conception in 1579. The founders wanted to give the students of their brand new school a way to healthily compete amongst each other, and created the Trophy Cup as a reward to the victors.

In the early years, the Cup was plain and ordinary looking, not giving the students a lot of incentive to earn it. As a result, it was given a facelift by the founders, being turned silver, a golden ring around the lip with the school's motto engraved into it, and a diamond appearance to the base. The Cup then came to symbolize the superiority of the grade that earned it, giving rise to rumor among students that the Cup gave the grade a boost of luck in their pursuits. The Cup had been transformed into a proper trophy.

Although it took time to accomplish, the founder's goal of a fun competitive game among their students involving their curriculum was a success with the Gerhardt Cup. It is displayed in the winning grade's common room in a specialized case to prevent it from being charmed or cursed by others. The anti-hex wards are powerful enough to even draw energy from the excess magic that the students emit naturally in their daily lives to strengthen themselves.

The Gerhardt Cup is the only artifact aside from the school itself that is left over from the founders making it one of the magical world's most important historical objects--particularly to the United States Magical populace. As such, the United States Magical Congress has decreed that the Cup can never be removed from the school grounds for any reason.