Having, for the time being, steered the conversation in another direction, Malfoy strode out of the Great Hall, with Pansy close behind. The first lesson of the day was Ancient Runes. Presumably for ease of scheduling and coordination, similar elective courses seemed to be located in the same building. Thus, they found themselves back at the North Tower, though this time on a lower floor.
Nothing unexpected happened along the way. After all, they had been there once before. However, several portraits featured warhorses that jumped down to graze leisurely on the grass. The stout knight, Sir Cadogan, rambled on nonsensically, one moment wanting to charge into battle on his warhorse, the next trying to recruit the students as his squires. His short, plump frame coupled with his nonsensical words and actions made him particularly comical, reminding Malfoy of that windmill-tilting knight, Don Quixote.
After climbing a few flights of stairs, they spotted a distinct iron sign, its surface covered in strange patterns—no, rather, letters. Various types of writing constantly shifted across it. Malfoy's exceptionally sharp dynamic vision managed to catch a glimpse of English characters flashing by for a moment, which read: 'Ancient Runes Classroom is in the second classroom on the right corridor.'
"Quite the special test," Malfoy thought. He had never seen those characters in his self-study of 'A Simple Introduction to Ancient Runes'; they must be advanced.
Malfoy didn't place too much importance on Ancient Runes. Aside from his photographic memory, enhanced comprehension to a certain extent, and a maturity beyond his years, he didn't possess much further talent in magic. Compared to memory-based subjects like Potions and Herbology, Malfoy approached his studies with caution and care. Without the guidance of a professional, he lacked the confidence to master this profound subject.
Therefore, his previous self-study of Ancient Runes had mostly been superficial.
The classroom sign was quite old; the magic that held it to the wall seemed to have partially failed. A rusty iron plate drooped towards the ground, hanging limply in mid-air. As the two of them stepped into the classroom, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
"How convenient," Pansy said, feigning surprise as she patted her chest. In truth, she wasn't afraid of being late.
"Who do you think caused the delay?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, alright, I'll be more careful next time," Pansy said playfully, sticking out her tongue.
Malfoy then found a seat and sat down, looking around the classroom. The spacious room, capable of accommodating at least a hundred students, had only a scattering of a dozen or so students dispersed throughout. The professor in charge of Ancient Runes, Bathsheda Babbling, sat upright at the podium, a faint smile on her face, seemingly unconcerned by the low attendance. Perhaps she was even pleasantly surprised that so many students were willing to attend her class.
Bathsheda Babbling was a middle-aged witch, around fifty or sixty years old. Unlike the Divination professor, who was adorned with excessive jewelry and appeared somewhat flamboyant, her style was simple. A light yellow knitted cardigan and a pale blue shawl accentuated her approachable demeanor, while her wrinkled eyes were filled with depth and wisdom.
"Very good. I am delighted that you have the courage to choose this course. It may be the most profound subject you study at Hogwarts. Of course, if you are only aiming to pass the exam, it is also the simplest course; you only need to memorize the knowledge in the book," the professor's voice was gentle and magnetic, yet not lacking in seriousness.
"Ancient Runes is a rather contradictory subject," she said. "Even Professor Dumbledore cannot deny that the dueling prowess of wizards in the modern wizarding world has declined. This is an inevitability of the times, and something all wizards cannot avoid." As she spoke, Professor Babbling sighed. "Because now is the age of Standard Spells." There was regret in her tone, but also a hint of relief.
"With the progress and development of the times,
wizards have gradually abandoned the powerful but equally flawed Ancient Runes, turning instead to Standard Spells. However, they are both part of magic, and the more we understand, the deeper our understanding of magic will be."
"Even some modern spells still bear the traces of Ancient Runes. Can any student give an example?" Only one person in the classroom raised their hand.
"Ah, Miss Hermione Granger, I believe you can provide a good answer." With only a dozen or so students in the elective course, she had enough patience to remember each student's face, and she had heard of this studious student, making it easy for her to call out the girl's name.
Hermione stood up abruptly, appearing somewhat nervous. In her heart, this course held a much higher position than the so-called Divination. She needed to make a good impression on the teacher.
She smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "The most evil of the Unforgivable Curses—the Avada Kedavra Killing Curse—has traces of Ancient Runes." Then, she sat back down in her chair.
The other students had either a blank look on their faces, or they had obviously heard of this notorious spell, and their faces couldn't help but change. Pansy was one of them. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, unable to accept that the course she was studying could be related to that kind of spell.
"Okay, actually my question just now set a trap." Professor Babbling laughed, her eyes narrowed into slits, obviously somewhat satisfied that this girl had fallen into her trap.
"But I still have to give Gryffindor ten points, because you weren't wrong." she added. "Please sit down."
Hermione sat down happily, not feeling depressed about her mistake. This was the kind of course that truly pleased her, not those unfounded courses where someone's learning outcome could be determined solely by some 'halo'. Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight again because she heard the female professor begin to explain the question just now.
"Rather than saying which spells have shadows of ancient runes, it's better to say which spells haven't borrowed the ideas of ancient runes." She paused, looked around the classroom, and continued, "In a sense, ancient runes are the origin of all current spells, except that current spells have been improved countless times, becoming stable and relatively efficient."
"Um, I seem to have introduced too much." Professor Babbling patted her forehead with some annoyance, put her hands away, and said, "If I keep bragging, your Professor Flitwick might be unhappy." She made a joke, then tapped the desk in front of her with the wand in her hand.
"Can anyone name a device in Hogwarts that uses ancient runes?" she asked.
"The ceiling in the Great Hall." Malfoy stood up and answered. He didn't think that the magic that could see the starry sky outside the window was maintained by a teacher on purpose. The only answer should be ancient runes. He thought that based on the level of the four founders, it would be normal to create such a spectacle.
"Keen eyes." The female professor looked at Malfoy with appreciation, "Mr. Malfoy must have previewed it, so what runes are used on it?"
"Solidification, transparency, perception." Malfoy thought for a moment and pondered. Solidification is self-explanatory. The ancient runes of perception and transparency act like a photoresistor on the ceiling. When night falls, they can sensitively perceive the change of the external light source, and then become transparent.
He had reason to believe that technology and magic are just means. If possible, with unlimited development, perhaps the two systems can eventually achieve a unified explanation.
"Wow, perfect answer, Slytherin gets twenty points because of you." Professor Babbling began to applaud spontaneously for this wonderful answer.
Hearing the familiar male voice, Hermione looked back abruptly, then immediately turned her head back.
"That's right, it's normal for him to choose this course." Hermione thought to herself. She felt that he definitely wouldn't be interested in those illusory futures either. This was her intuition.
"Should I go and thank him for Ron?" Hermione began to think. With Ron's character, he would never apologize to Malfoy. Harry is the same, so the only one who can do this should be herself. At least in terms of the rumors of the Chamber of Secrets in the second grade, she saved Malfoy herself, and he probably wouldn't speak ill of her, but she couldn't help but think of Malfoy's nasty words when eating breakfast in the Great Hall just now.
"Oh, helping him, being sentimental? I just wanted to humiliate him. By the way, you came all by yourself to thank me for him. I'm afraid that guy won't appreciate your kindness." Hermione could guess that Malfoy would say these words, and maybe even more vicious words could be said.
"No, no matter what he thinks in his heart, whether it's humiliation or really wanting to help, he helped Ron, that's a fact, I should still thank him." Hermione unconsciously clenched the white quill in her hand, already prepared to be hurt by cold words.
She could even foresee that Ron and Harry wouldn't look kindly on her if they knew, and she also remembered that the rift between her and Malfoy was also due to her being smart and not considering his feelings, so she ran to ask about the origin of the Philosopher's Stone.
But some things must be done, and cannot be retreated because of friends' accusations and annoyances.
This is her own insistence, a Gryffindor's insistence.
This may make her unpopular, but she will not regret it.
"The origin of ancient runes comes from magical creatures..." The kind and magnetic female voice rang out. After a series of introductions, Professor Babbling began her main topic for today, just like many foreign language departments in Muggle universities. For students, similar to a foreign language subject, many professors did not teach "you, me, him" in the first class, but chose to teach numbers. Of course, we currently have no way of knowing whether there are pronouns like "you, me, him" in ancient runes.
Inventions and creations in ancient times, humans, or rather intelligent creatures, may not have the concept of "reference" in their minds at all.
In short, the teacher started lecturing, and Hermione forcibly made her mind return to the state of studying, throwing away those distracting thoughts, and listening carefully to the lecture.
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