Rita Skeeter's report stirred quite a commotion, but it didn't last long.
Mainly because from the second week onwards, it had been raining non-stop at Hogwarts.
The gloomy weather and incessant rain left everyone feeling unhappy, and the damp chill seeped into the castle, causing many young wizards to catch colds.
Madam Pomfrey had to brew a large batch of Stimulants ahead of time. Although this potion had immediate effects, those who drank it would have white smoke coming out of their ears for several hours.
George caught a cold too, and he joked that he now looked like an old steam engine.
Fred found it amusing, so despite not being sick, he also asked Madam Pomfrey for a bottle of the Stimulant.
Then the two of them puffed smoke together...
In this scenario, Kael finally awaited his first Ancient Runes class.
The Ancient Runes classroom was on the third floor of the West Tower. The professor for this subject, Bathilda Bagshot, was a witch with gray eyes, around forty years old.
However, rumors suggested she had been a professor at Hogwarts for over fifty years; nobody knew if it was true.
As the most challenging subject at Hogwarts, there were very few people in the Ancient Runes classroom, only sixteen.
Because so few people chose this course, these were students from all four houses.
When the class began, Professor Babbling glanced at everyone, a bit surprised.
"This many people this year?"
Her voice was peculiar, as if it came from a long tunnel.
"This is considered a lot…"
Conna, who also chose this subject, mumbled quietly, "Are there really so few people choosing this class?"
Even though she spoke softly, Professor Babbling heard her.
"Last year there were nine, the year before even fewer… only seven," she said. "This classroom rarely has more than ten students."
Professor Babbling wasn't as serious as she seemed; after addressing Conna's question, she jokingly mentioned, "Sometimes I even wonder if I could have five grades together for one class, then I'd only have to teach one session each week, leaving me time to vacation in other countries.
Unfortunately, your Headmaster Dumbledore never agrees."
Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Once everyone quieted down, Professor Babbling continued, "Alright, now who can explain what Ancient Runes is?"
Sitting next to Conna, Cho was the first to raise her hand.
"Ancient Runes, also known as the study of Ancient Magical Text or Rune script, was used in many pre-medieval texts.
Moreover, different arrangements of Rune characters into special symbols can produce specific magic power, hence it's widely applied in Alchemy."
"Completely correct, two points to Ravenclaw."
Professor Babbling said: "The application of Runes in Alchemy involves more complex knowledge, so usually, it's used for translating ancient documents.
But if you wish to learn…"
She tapped the table.
Symbols on the classroom walls suddenly illuminated, followed by a bright orb appearing in the center of the ceiling.
"…I can teach you."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
Not needing a wand to cast a charm, that's their dream skill.
"Professor, I want to learn this!" an excited Gryffindor student said.
"Do you all feel the same?" Professor Babbling asked.
Everyone nodded in unison.
"Alright then, I can teach some basic content, but be prepared." Professor Babbling smiled at all the students.
"Let's get started, I can't wait…" The student confidently patted his chest.
But half an hour later, he regretted it.
It's too hard!
The amount of magic text is enormous, and each character has at least five meanings, some even over a dozen.
Just memorizing these things already scrambled his brain into a mess.
Furthermore, if you want to correctly arrange them into those special symbols, it's even more complex.
Evidently the same magic text, yet depending on its meaning, the writing method varies significantly.
Half a class later, he felt like he remembered nothing, or what he had remembered was gone in minutes.
Sure enough, it's no wonder so few people take this class.
It's too complex...
Finally, when the class ended, he lifted his head from the "Ancient Magical Language Introduction," his face full of… who am I, where am I, what did I just read bewilderment.
Of course, everyone else pretty much felt the same.
"Regarding its application in Alchemy, that's about it."
At the podium, Professor Babbling smiled and said, "But normally, in our class, you don't need to memorize those arrangements and writing methods, just understanding the meaning of each magic text is enough.
This will be much simpler for you."
The classroom was silent; evidently, the students' understanding of "simple" differed from the professor's perspective.
Just as everyone silently packed up their belongings to leave the classroom, Professor Babbling suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing."
She said casually, "If you feel like this subject doesn't suit you, you can apply to your house dean to change courses… before October, I'll approve it."
Several people lit up, instantly showing contemplative expressions.
Leaving the classroom, Kael looked at Conna and Cho, asking, "How do you both feel, will you change courses?"
"Definitely not." Conna replied without hesitation.
"Absolutely not, why change?" Cho smiled and said, "Although it's a bit difficult, magic text is really interesting. No wonder Cedric highly recommended this course, and…"
She glanced at Kael and Conna, raised her eyebrows and said, "I am a Ravenclaw, right? Can't let Hufflepuff outscore us."
"Hey, that's house rivalry!" Kael retorted indignantly.
"Of course not," Cho chuckled, "I mean, Ravenclaw never fears knowledge; the more complex, the more we are intrigued."
"That's true…" Kael shrugged.
Among those sixteen people, half were Ravenclaw.
"But, I feel like Professor Babbling seems a bit off."
Conna pondered aloud, "For other subjects, the first class is always the easiest, yet she flipped it around.
I read the "Ancient Magical Language Introduction," the writing issues about magic text are learned last, and it's merely mentioned briefly."
"Indeed…" Cho nodded, "Normal Ancient Runes aren't this hard, and about Professor Babbling's last sentence… I feel like she really hopes students switch courses."
"But there are already few students taking this course."
"Only we think it's few."
Kael whispered, "Don't forget what she said before class… that classroom rarely has more than ten people."
"Perhaps we could ask Cedric and Fred, maybe their first Ancient Runes class was like ours too."
…