J.K. Rowling unveils the secrets of Salem in second Pottermore entry

It's hard out there for a witch.

Or at least it was in 17th century North America, where the wizarding community was just settling into a country that had no form of government and an intense, Puritanical mistrust of all things magic.

In J.K. Rowling's second entry in her four-part series "The History of Magic in North America," she explored the "harsher environment" for the witches and wizards of the New World, in which they established a ramshackle school that would later become Ilvermorny, and dealt with the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials.

Not only were the witches and wizards persecuted by No-Maj's, but their own kind as well, who hunted magical people for profit and sometimes just for pleasure. Rowling writes in the entry:

The last, and probably the most dangerous problem encountered by wizards newly arrived in North America were the Scourers. As the wizarding community in America was small, scattered and secretive, it had as yet no law enforcement mechanism of its own. This left a vacuum that was filled by an unscrupulous band of wizarding mercenaries of many foreign nationalities, who formed a much-feared and brutal taskforce committed to hunting down not only known criminals, but anyone who might be worth some gold...

The famous Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93 were a tragedy for the wizarding community. Wizarding historians agree that among the so-called Puritan judges were at least two known Scourers, who were paying off feuds that had developed while in America. A number of the dead were indeed witches, though utterly innocent of the crimes for which they had been arrested. Others were merely No-Majs who had the misfortune to be caught up in the general hysteria and bloodlust.

When the Magical Congress of the United States of America -- an institution that we will see in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -- was finally established in the wake of the tragic witch hunts, many Scourers were put on trial and executed for their betrayal of the wizarding community, Rowling writes. But many more escaped trial and lived amongst the No-Maj's, where they fostered a belief and hatred of the magical community amongst their descendants.

You can read the rest of Rowling's entries on Pottermore. The third piece is expected to be released Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.