The So-Called Treasure

Professor Babbling wrote down a long list of terms on a piece of paper and handed it to William to translate.

This woman had no intention of teaching him properly at all.

It takes a year just to get started with Ancient Runes. Even in the fifth-grade OWLS exam, most of the questions are on vocabulary, and grammar is only covered in the advanced classes.

She's impatient during class and has no interest in teaching outside of class.

She wrote a whole bunch of words, just to discourage people from leaving.

She didn't believe a second-grade wizard could translate it.

Unless the other person is like her, appearing young on the outside but possessing a mature soul.

Babbling pulled out eggplant-flavored potato chips from somewhere and happily started eating them.

She seemed to be a drag queen; the long court dress she had just worn had disappeared, replaced by tight jeans.

She asked Hermione if she wanted some, but the girl refused, which disappointed Hermione.

In less than ten minutes, William had translated all five pages she had written.

Ancient Runes tend to be a combination of hieroglyphics and Old Germanic languages, with varied and complex word formations, and their meanings are closely related to ancient times.

For example, the abstract characters representing the Demiguise symbolize "0" for its invisibility ability.

In Ancient Runes, all spells related to invisibility contain the core word "0".

For example, the Unicorn's horn symbolizes "1"; the Graphorn symbolizes "2"; and a three-headed creature Runespoor symbolizes "3"...

The basic vocabulary of Ancient Runes is extremely complex, and it took William a long period of hard study to master even the basics.

However, he cannot understand sentences yet; knowing only words without understanding grammar is insufficient.

Babbling was surprised that William translated the words so quickly.

She carefully read through everything William had written before re-examining William.

Is he really a genius?

The woman seemed to have discovered something interesting, and she smiled, "I can teach you, but you have to promise me one thing, um... not right now."

William laughed. What did it matter if he agreed to one thing or a hundred? Professor Babbling had no memory of it anyway.

Do you think everyone Dumbledore?

William replied without hesitation, "Okay."

Babbling looked smug, stroking the amulet on her collar and smiling slightly. "Don't get any funny ideas. When I taught Dumbledore Ancient Runes, he tried to cheat me, but in the end, he had to help me."

William remained silent, but his mind was in turmoil.

Dumbledore over a hundred years old. William doesn't believe the headmaster only learned Ancient Runes in the last ten years or so. He must have been exposed to them when he was in school.

Babbling, in a sense, actually Goblin has lived for hundreds of years?

But he still has the face of an eighteen-year-old?

Holy crap, what a treasure of an old lady! William is determined to squeeze every last drop out of her!

Babbling cleared her throat, snapped her fingers, and changed into a dark green robe.

This must be what she wore to class, but the color is too old-fashioned; even Professor McGonagall would look fine in it.

Her white hair was all sticking up and forming a bun, and her hairstyle... was the same as Professor McGonagall's.

However, when the two stand together, Babbling is more than qualified to be Professor McGonagall's granddaughter.

Babbling said seriously, "Since I said I would teach you, let's understand one thing first."

Why do we rarely translate Ancient Runes into languages we know, but instead go to great lengths to understand its meaning?

William shook his head.

"Have you seen the Slytherin statue?"

William looked up at the corner of the table, where a famous Slytherin Statue stood.

"Yes."

"Did you see what he looks like?"

William nodded. He had an old, monkey-like face with a sparse, long beard that stretched almost to the hem of his stone-carved wizard's robe. His two large, gray Padfoot stood on the smooth floor of the room.

Do you know why Slytherin is depicted this way?

William shook his head; he really didn't know.

"Because this is a mistranslation, a misinterpretation of Slytherin's character."

The earliest records of Slytherin's appearance are only found in the Slytherin family, but these are all in the form of Ancient Runes.

Later, Corvinus Gaunt —a direct descendant of Slytherin —translated this part into Latin.

However, he incorrectly translated the Ancient Runes "Slytherin's face seemed to glow" as "His face looked like a monkey's."

From then on, artists and sculptors began to depict Slytherin as a monkey.

"Wait, I think I've heard the name Corvinus Gaunt before."

William squinted and thought for a moment.

"I remember, Corvinus Gaunt once repaired Hogwarts ' plumbing system."

When William was in his first year of high school, he wanted to make a map, Professor Dumbledore recommended that he look at the structure of Hogwarts Castle.

This passage is recorded there.

"That's right," Babbling said meaningfully. "That's right, he completely renovated Hogwarts ' pipes, and the renovation was particularly complex."

"Okay, let's not talk about him for now. It was just a simple mistranslation, and what was the result?"

The great Slytherin have since become the strange creatures they are today.

"I mentioned the example of Slytherin," Babbling said, "To illustrate that a single word, a mistranslation, can rewrite history."

The meaning of Ancient Runes is often misunderstood and cannot be accurately expressed.

We usually don't translate it; instead, we treat it as our native language and try to understand its meaning repeatedly.

"Young man, this is the first piece of knowledge I've taught you: language can also be excellent at keeping secrets."

And Ancient Runes are just like that... a treasure trove!

Five hours later, William left the office of the Ancient Runes.

He learned a lot today and decided to go back and digest it properly.

Hermione had never encountered this kind of content before, and it was like listening to gibberish to her. She fell asleep after lunch.

Babbling suggested Hermione sleep there, but William immediately refused.

These days, girls need to protect themselves when they go out. Professor Babbling doesn't look like a decent person.

William carried the girl on his back and walked toward the Gryffindor common room.

But Hermione woke up when they reached the fourth floor.

The girl, still drowsy, leaned against William's back and asked, "Is it over?"

"Um."

"Professor Babbling is acting strangely..."

"So, you absolutely mustn't choose Ancient Runes in third grade," William said with concern.

Hermione secretly made a face at William, rested her head on his warm shoulder, and asked softly, "Then you'll teach me?"

"OK..."

William continued walking with the girl on his back, the setting sun casting long shadows on them.

(Thanks to "Fengling Shiwu" for the donation)