Ancient Runes and Professor Babbling

Rita Skeeter's report generated considerable buzz, but it didn't last long.

It started raining at Hogwarts from the second week onwards.

The gloomy weather and incessant rain dampened everyone's spirits, and the chilly dampness seeped into the castle, causing many of the young wizards to catch colds.

Madam Pomfrey had to prepare a large amount of Pepperup Potion in advance. Although the potion had an immediate effect, those who drank it would have white smoke coming out of their ears for several hours.

George also fell victim, jokingly saying he now felt like an old steam train.

Fred found it amusing; despite not having a cold, he also asked Madam Pomfrey for a bottle of Pepperup Potion.

Then the two of them started smoking together...

In this situation, Kyle finally received his first lesson in Ancient Runes.

The Ancient Runes classroom was on the third floor of the West Tower. The professor in charge of the course Bathsheda Babbling, was a witch with gray eyes who was about forty years old.

However, there are rumors that she has been a professor at Hogwarts for over fifty years, but it's unclear whether this is true or not.

As the most difficult subject at Hogwarts, the Ancient Runes had very few people, only sixteen.

Because so few people chose this course, this already included all students from all four colleges.

When class started, Babbling glanced at everyone, somewhat surprised.

Are there this many people this year?

Her voice was strange, as if it came from a long tunnel.

"There's still a lot...?"

Kanna had also chosen this course, muttered to herself, "Are there so few people taking this course?"

Although her voice was very soft, Babbling heard it.

"Last year there were nine, and the year before even fewer... only seven," she said. "It's rare for this classroom to have ten people."

Babbling wasn't as serious as she seemed. After answering Kanna's question, she jokingly added, "Sometimes I even think about whether I could have all five grades in one class, so I would only need to teach one class a week, and the rest of the time I could go on vacation to other countries."

Unfortunately, your Headmaster Dumbledore always disagrees."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

After everyone quieted down, Babbling said, "Alright, now who can tell me what Ancient Runes are?"

Qiu, who was sitting next to Kanna, was the first to raise her hand.

"Ancient Runes, also known as Ancient Runes or runic script, were used in many books before the Middle Ages."

Furthermore, different runes, when arranged into special symbols, can generate specific magical powers, thus they are also widely used in alchemy.

"Absolutely correct, Ravenclaw two points."

Babbling stated, "The application of Runes in alchemy involved more complex knowledge, so in most cases, it was usually used to translate ancient texts."

But if you want to learn...

She tapped on the table.

Several symbols on the classroom walls suddenly lit up, followed by a bright sphere of light appearing in the center of the ceiling.

"... I can teach you too."

Everyone's eyes lit up immediately.

The ability to cast spells without a wand was a skill they had always dreamed of.

"Professor, I want to learn this!" a Gryffindor student exclaimed excitedly.

"Is that what you all think too?" Babbling asked.

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Alright then, I can teach you some basics, but you need to be prepared." Babbling smiled and glanced at all the students.

"Let's get started, I can't wait..." The other person confidently patted their chest.

But half an hour later, he regretted it.

This is too difficult!

There were numerous Ancient Runes, and each Ancient Runes represented at least five different meanings, with some even having more than a dozen.

Simply memorizing these things had already turned his mind into a complete mess.

Furthermore, arranging them correctly into those special symbols is even more complex.

Although it's the same Ancient Runes, the way it's written varies greatly depending on its meaning.

Halfway through the class, he felt like he hadn't remembered anything, or rather, he had completely forgotten what he had remembered a few minutes later.

Sure enough, there's a reason why this course has so few students.

It's too complicated...

When class finally ended, he looked up from his book, "Ancient Runes Made Easy," with a completely bewildered expression on his face, as if asking, "Who am I? Where am I? What did I just read?"

Of course, the same is true for everyone else.

That's about it regarding its application in alchemy.

On the podium, Babbling said with a smile, "However, normally in our classes, we don't need to memorize the order or the way it's written. We only need to understand the meaning of each Ancient Runes."

This is much simpler for you."

The classroom was silent; clearly, the students' understanding of "simplicity" differed somewhat from the professor's.

Just as everyone was quietly packing up and preparing to leave the classroom, Babbling suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

She casually remarked, "If you feel this course isn't quite right for you, you can apply to your respective deans to change courses... I'll approve them all before October."

Some people's expressions brightened, but then they immediately became thoughtful.

After leaving the classroom, Kyle looked at Kanna and Cho and asked, "How are you feeling? Do you want to change classes?"

"Of course not," Kanna said without hesitation.

"That's right, why change courses?" Qiu said with a smile. "Although it's a bit difficult, Ancient Runes are really interesting. No wonder Cedric strongly recommended this course to me, and..."

She looked at Kyle and Kanna, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I'm a Ravenclaw, you know. I can't possibly lose to you Hufflepuff."

"Hey, it's an academy attack, huh!" Kyle said irritably.

"Of course not," Cho said with a smile. "What I mean is that Ravenclaw are never afraid of knowledge; the more complex the subject matter, the more interested we become."

"That's true..." Kyle shrugged.

Of those sixteen people, half were Ravenclaw.

"However, I have a feeling that Babbling is acting a little strange."

Kanna said thoughtfully, "In other courses, the first lesson is always the easiest, but she did it the other way around."

I've read "Ancient Runes Made Easy" before, and the issue of Ancient Runes writing is something you only need to learn last, and it's only mentioned briefly.

"That's right..." Qiu nodded. "Normal Ancient Runes aren't this difficult at all, and Babbling's last sentence... I have a feeling that she really wants students to switch courses."

"But very few people are choosing this course anymore."

"It's just that we feel it's not enough."

Kyle whispered, "Don't forget what she said before class... there are rarely more than ten people in that classroom."

"Perhaps we can ask Cedric and Fred; maybe they had the same experience when they first took their Ancient Runes lessons as we did."

Thank you to Black Cat Detective for the Qidian Coin donation.