Emma looked around for her fellow Slytherins. She was ready for class and antisipating the start of it.

srimathi looked around the class.she went in the last desk hoping to meet one of her friends

"That's the general idea of runic spells, yes. Three points. How long the spell lasts tends to depend upon what was used to make the runes, or what the runes were inscribed on--for example, runes carved into a large stone will generally last longer than runes engraved on wood. If the artifact is somehow destroyed or damaged, the spell will be broken, so many runecasters add on additional spells that will protect the runic string from damage."

"Correct, three points."

"That's a possibility as well, though that would refer to unspelled runes. Spelled runes are not commonly used as a writing system, as the runes tend to have conflicting effects and create a spell in themselves that the wizard or witch was not intending."

Professor Opteryx nodded with a smile. "That's correct, five points to the three of you. A common use of ancient runes is in creating protection spells over doorways and gateways, usually to ward off or deter Muggles from entering magical areas. Can anyone name an example of such a gateway?"

kassie thought about it for a moment then said. "This School?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backslash

Professor Opteryx nodded with a smile. "That's correct, five points to the three of you. A common use of ancient runes is in creating protection spells over doorways and gateways, usually to ward off or deter Muggles from entering magical areas. Can anyone name an example of such a gateway?"

Lia thought for a moment, thhen raised her hand. "Could a gateway be one that leads into somebody's yard? Or perhaps one surrounding place where magic is being used, like here and at Quidditch games?

Josey raised her hand. "The entrance onto Platform 9 3/4, maybe?" she guessed.

Natalie thought for a second. All the other answers were very good, and she couldn't think of anything else to add to them. Biting her lip, she started to raise her hand, but lowered it quickly when she didn't think her answer would be good enough.

Moira raised her hand a bit nervously as she answered. “St. Mungos would have a protection spell on it I believe and maybe The Leaky Cauldron? I think that it has an entrance in the Muggle world. Those are two of the buildings that should have Runes inscribed into there walls or even in the foundations themselves. If either one of them were discovered then the Ministry would have a lot of work to do to cover it up. She said the last with a little twinkle in her eye trying not to giggle.

Professor Opteryx exhaled lightly--the students had started off with one of the most complicated examples. "Excellent example, ten points. The spells and enchantments sealing and guarding Hogwarts definately include the use of ancient runes, however, it doesn't rely on the runes alone. Nobody has actually managed to take apart the enchantments around and in Hogwarts Castle and find out exactly what kinds of spells or runes were used, or has even been able to see what kind of runic sequence was used, but it's clear that the final system of spells were meant to work together, and to last for something close to eternity. As far as I know, the Founders have done a very good job of it, because I've never come across any documentation that said the enchantments of Hogwarts had to be repaired."

"Very few wizards or witches would choose to activate a runic spell in order to seal off a relatively small area such as one's yard or house. The research and effort involved in creating a runic barrier or gateway is probably not worth the while, and it would be much simplier to cast a few charms instead on a regular basis. As for Quidditch pitches, it depends on the type of pitch. If the Quidditch pitch is expected to sit in a certain area for a long time, such as the pitch at this school, it's most likely that some kind of runic spell was used to keep it operational. However, for the Quidditch World Cup, the pitch's location is temporary and it will be taken down after the last of the matches have been held. In that case, runes would not be used, due to the difficulty of deactivating the runes when the stadium is being dismantled. Ten points for bringing up those two examples."

Professor Opteryx nodded. "Another good example--ten points. The entrance to Platform 9 3/4 depends on a runic string engraved into an archway, which makes the entrance appear and feel like a solid wall to both Muggles and wizards alike unless there is a train ready for boarding on the other side. Some of you might remember an incident about four years ago when a Muggle construction crew accidentally uncovered the entrance whilst drilling around the area. They had broken the runic string by destroying the rocks it had been engraved on, and it caused a bit of a fuss as it happened a day or two before the start of term." Professor Opteryx had been part of the repair team of wizards in charge of restoring the damaged archway, so he remembered the incidence well.

"Quite right. The entrance to St. Mungos is guarded similarly to Platform 9 3/4, with the addition of a few spells to control traffic in and out of the gateway. The display models are seperate from the runic gateway and serve to open and close the gateway, which is why you have to address them before you're allowed to enter St. Mungos. The Leaky Cauldron's is more simplistic in that it acts more as a Muggle Repelling Charm--the gateway is always passible, but it will repel Muggle notice or approach completely. Ten points to you as well."

Opteryx noticed the hesitant student. "Yes, did you have an idea? Go on, none of us will bite," he joked lightly.

Kassie raised her hand again "Proffesor what about the Ministry of Magic?"

Touy raised her hand "Professor would pyramids be guarded by runes. How about stone henge? Touy was usally shy in classes but the professor seem really to care what everyone had to say.

Lia nodded, proud of her ten points. She scribbled down everything Professor Opteryx said, as well as the other examples students named, and eagerly awaiting the next question.

Suddenly it started to rain in the classroom, pouring down as mini tornados ran around the room knocking down shelves and scattering its belongings. Desks crashed to the floor as everything began to finally die down a bit. All returned to normal except that the door was now locked. It could not be opened by a simple alohomora for that would be to easy. To unlock this charm required more something more powerful.

Suddenly a storm started up in the classroom. Lia looked around around for the source of the storm, but couldn't find anything. What's going on? The desk beside her tipped over in the midst of the mayhem. Finally, the storm calmed down, though the room was in ruins.

"What was that?" she asked, out loud this time.

Kassie screamed in fright and pulled on the door. "Why cant i open it?" she asked

Phoebe raised her hand askimg the proffesor, "This is going back to what we were talking about, but is stone used more beacuse wood can disintegrate or brake much easier?" She asked. While she was waiting for a reply the classroom turned to chaos instantley. Rain bucketed down while tornadoes hurled causing desks to snap and papers to fly everywnere. People were running around screaming. Phoebe fell to the ground and moved just in time as a desk crashed cms where she had just been

Then as soon as it had started it all stopped. Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief looking round to see if anyone was hurt.

Professor Opteryx had been about to answer his students when what appeared to be a small storm whipped through his classroom. He ducked instinctively under his desk as something sailed past his head to collide with the blackboard behind him.

When the proverbal dust had settled, he stood up again, dusting himself off. "Everyone alright?"



Opteryx strode to the door and fiddled with the knob, which stubbornly refused to turn. He proceeded to pull out his wand and cast Alohamora, to no effect. "...Hmmm...intriguing...intriguing..."

After poking at the door a few more times with his wand, he waved any anxious students away from the path of the door and took several steps back, aiming at the door with his wand like a gun. "Stand back, I'm going to try something..."

There was a loud blast like a cannon, but the door did not budge. Professor Opteryx blinked, scratched his head, and went to open a window before returning to his desk. With a few more waves of his wand he set the desks back to their original locations, and cleared his throat.

"Alright, it seems that we're temporarily stuck in here until I'm able to send out a message for the staff to look into this matter," he said calmly. "So, while we're waiting, let's do a bit of brainstorming. If one were to use a runic string to unlock or break down a doorway, what runes might we use? First of all, what runes might be useful in creating that effect?"

"Very powerful ones." said Kassie

"I meant more as in what runic characters to use," Professor Opteryx said patiently, though he grinned slightly at the answer. "But you have a point," he continued, "we may need to use runes that hold a strong power...what kind of power are we looking for? What rune or runes represent power?"

"A rune useful for breaking down or unlocking a door? A runic string? What?" Natalie blurted, totally confused. She hadn't realized she had voiced her thoughts until after she said them. Blushing, she covered her mouth and looked around the room to see if anyone had heard her.

Touy was scared but everyone seem ok. They were stuck in the class room so back to work. Looking in her book Touy was trying to pick the runes with power. Shyly she raise her hand and said Professor how about,uruz which is streagth, thyrisaz which is chaos, ansuz which would be for communication, Hagalaz which is disruption, ihwaz which means defence,Algiz which is protection, sowilo which is energy or streagth, Tiwaz the warrior rune, and Dagaz which is the rune of transformation. Touy was still scared but talking about strong runes especially Tiwaz which was her favorite rune helped.

Professor Opteryx wrote on the board:

Quote:

Uruz--physical/mental strength
Thurisaz--chaos/magic/evil
Ansuz--knowledge/wisdom/communication
Hagalaz--weather/damaging forces/disruption/interference (hail)
Ihwaz--magic/deflection/prevention
Algiz--growth/rapid development/protection/safe refuge
Sowilo--wholeness/light/energy/discovery/disclosure
Tiwaz--courage/compassion
Dagaz--day, dawn, daylight, breakthrough, radical change

"So there are a few suggestions...which ones seem to be more apropriate if one were to try and unlock or open a doorway or a new path, literally speaking?"

Touy raised her hand and said Algiz for safe refuse and Dagaz because of breakthrough. Hopeing this was right Touy felt they might be able to by pass
MO mess.

"If we tried to brake down a door, I suppose Uruz could be helpful," answered Lia hesitantly, her arm in the air.

Prancie raised her hand,

"I should think Ihwaz, Uruz, and Dagaz..."