Runesmithing 101

Oleandra had barely made it past the Great Hall's double doors when she realised that she had left Tracey and Daphne behind. Step by step, she slowed her pace, her cheeks blushing in embarrassment as the surge of adrenaline she had got from basically telling Professor Snape to sod off gradually faded from her system.

It was probably a bit too late to return now— if she went back, Professor Snape would undoubtedly give her detention for her rudeness, and perhaps most importantly, she would look incredibly silly in front of the other sixth years.

Oleandra glanced down at the crumpled piece of parchment clutched in her fist— her timetable.

"Let's see," Oleandra muttered to herself, as she straightened out the crinkled document. "Monday…"

First period was Study of Ancient Runes with Professor Bathsheda Babbling, second period was free— then was first break— third period was Divination with Professor Sybill Patricia Trelawney… but hang on, when had she ever applied for N.E.W.T.-level Divination?

"That four-eyed, wrinkly old bag of bones and incense," Oleandra hissed. "She's put me down for Divination— again!"

Oleandra had first tried ridding herself of the class in her fourth year, but Divination had still somehow found its way onto her timetable. She would have got rid of it for good in her fifth year, but she'd missed the deadline to submit an application to change classes, because of her trip to France.

And so, this time around, Oleandra had very clearly indicated on her sixth-year preferred courses application form that she wanted nothing to do with the Divination… but there it was on her timetable again— the words embossed in golden letters, as if to taunt her!

Still seething, Oleandra continued reading her timetable.

After lunch was fourth period, Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Rubeus Hagrid. Then was fifth period, the final class of the day, which was… Potions, with Hogwarts's newest teacher, Professor Horace Slughorn.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… each day was packed tightly with classes, but oddly enough, Alchemy did not seem to have a fixed time slot…

"Alchemy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Divination, Herbology, Potions, Study of Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and I think there'll be Apparition lessons, too…" Oleandra groaned out loud. "Nine subjects— when exactly are they expecting me to sleep!?"

Even though that was one class fewer than the previous year, Oleandra had got a sneak peek of the amount of homework given to N.E.W.T. students by looking over her upperclassmen's shoulders in the Slytherin common room the previous year. Even though Apparition and Alchemy lessons would likely be few and far between, that still left seven complex magical disciplines of magic to master…

Oleandra withdrew the Book of the Stars— the personalised grimoire the Weasley twins had crafted for her— from her pouch. The specks of gold scattered across its deep royal blue cover glowed softly, as Oleandra brushed her hand lovingly over them— and once she'd finished admiring her greatest treasure, she carefully slid her creased timetable between two of the pages to flatten it, then stored the magical tome in her pouch before heading off to the Ancient Runes classroom in the Astronomy Tower.

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"Good morning, class!" Professor Babbling called out to her students as she strode into the room, pushing a trolley covered with a tarpaulin in front of her. "And welcome to—" She let out a grunt, as she brought her trolley to a full stop. "—Study of Ancient Runes! I trust you've all got a copy of Advanced Rune Translation?"

Oleandra furtively looked from side to side.

Usually, the number of students taking the class would continue dwindling year after year, as those who couldn't handle the coursework gradually dropped out— but for some reason, the Ancient Runes classroom was now full to bursting. Oleandra recognised a few familiar faces—students who had taken the course before— but for the others, she could have sworn this was the first time they were setting foot in this classroom…

And apparently, Professor Babbling seemed to be thinking the same— there was no way this many people had passed their Ancient Runes O.W.L., let alone taken it in the first place!

"Show of hands," Professor Babbling said with a sigh. "Who here has actually enrolled in my class?"

Oleandra raised her hand and glanced around to see who had done the same— her twin sister Daphne, her girlfriend Tracey, her distant cousin Mafalda, and Hermione, who was a friend of a friend… and that was about it.

"The Daily Prophet said the Greengrass sisters defeated You-Know-Who using runic magic," a boy sitting in the back of the classroom blurted out. "It's too late to take the O.W.L., but I still want to learn!"

"Hear, hear!" another boy's voice rang out, followed by a murmur of assent.

Professor Babbling was speechless— in her very short tenure as a Study of Ancient Runes professor, she had never known the subject she taught to be particularly popular— but here was a class full of hopeful students before her!

"You can't turn us away!" a Hufflepuff girl cried out anxiously. "We bought the book and everything!"

There was nothing in Hogwarts's byelaws stating that students couldn't sit in on classes they hadn't enrolled for— the school existed to teach, rather than to make money.

"Oh, very well," Professor Babbling sighed. "I suppose you might as well stay and listen in, as long as you're not too disruptive…"

Professor Babbling yanked the tarpaulin off her trolley, revealing the small pile of pebbles beneath. She then unholstered her wand and waved it, causing the pebbles to float over to those who had raised their hands earlier.

Oleandra picked up her pebble and turned it over, scrutinising it under all its angles.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like any regular old stone— in fact, it rather resembled those that could be found on the Black Lake's gravel beach. A series of rustling sounds followed, as nearby students turned in their seats, craning their necks to see what the fuss was about.

"Unlike what we've been doing before, N.E.W.T.-level Ancient Runes is no longer about simply learning to read and write," said Professor Babbling proudly. "Welcome to Runesmithing— putting what we've learned until now into practice! Now, safety first: today, we learn about the handling of carving daggers— watch out, their blades are quite keen!"