"As you can see." Professor Babbling turned around to face the astonished young wizards:
"Complete runes, written without any errors and with full understanding, possess magic in their own right once finished. This is not limited to writing. Speaking runes aloud can also produce an effect. And that is what a spell is..."
Hermione gazed at the glowing writing on the blackboard, her eyes shining.
Harry, however, looked thoughtful. He vaguely seemed to have thought of something, but could not quite grasp it.
"There is something here that requires particular care." Seeing the astonishment and excitement on all the young wizards' faces, Professor Babbling made her tone a little more serious:
"Runes accommodate both complete knowledge and complete ignorance. In other words, when you write runes or pronounce them perfectly, without the slightest deviation.
"Whether you fully understand their meaning or know absolutely nothing of it, you will trigger the effect behind the runes. With only a partial understanding, however, you are less likely to trigger an effect.
"This is also one reason wizards often experience accidental magic before studying magic, but stop doing so after a period of study. However, this raises a problem..."
Babbling looked around the room. "Can anyone tell me what that problem is?"
Harry immediately looked at Hermione, but to his surprise, she looked utterly blank. Clearly, she did not know the answer to Professor Babbling's question.
Instead, Padma Patil slowly raised her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Miss Patil." Professor Babbling looked at Padma and gave a slight nod.
Padma sounded a little hesitant, but spoke nonetheless. "Wizards or Muggles could easily pronounce runic syllables they know absolutely nothing about by accident, triggering magic?"
"Correct. One point to Ravenclaw." Professor Babbling nodded in satisfaction. "It seems Miss Patil has read quite a