Right, moving on then... it was starting to get a bit chilly and Tobias was eager to finish up out here and get back inside. Not that he minded being cold, but he was starting to associate it with those stupid dementors and he didn't want to see any dementors. NOPE.

But still, he wanted to do as much carving under the tree as he possibly could.

"Naudhiz next," said Tobias, after he bent over the book again to try and remember where he was. "This is for achieving long term goals or helping lost causes... lovely. Oh, and also it says about success and achievement again. And... filling a need? Yeah, I dunno... Anyway... naudhiz naudhiz naudhiz... n n n n n n n n n... nu na nu ne no... nudh nadh hudh nedh niodh... (nut nat nit net not)... un an in en on... n n n n n n n n n..."

Now to find a spot for it. Hmmm, here seemed good.

Tobias rubbed his thumb right at the place on the wand that he was drawn to, and prepared to cast. Naudhiz was a weird looking one if he remembered correctly, and Tobias glaced at the book really quickly to check.

Yeah, like a weird wonky cross. Nothing like an N... but it was a RUNE so, ya know.

He focused on the rune and what he was pretty sure were the meanings for it, before starting. "Intaglio Naudhiz Naudhiz Naudhiz..." An easy one to carve, he had to admit it.

Next up... Isa! Well, this should be simple, it was literally just a line after all. Although obviously the focus was on the runes rather than the shape when carving.

"Isa's next, and Isa is like... grounding and calming and basically getting stuff to chill way out and stop or slow right down, right..." The galdr now. "Isa isa isa... i i i i i i i i i... i i i i i i s s s s s s... (s s s s s s i i i i i i)... i i i i i i i i i..."

It was instantly clear where he was supposed to care this one, and Tobias started immediately, thinking hard about the rune and its uses. "Intaglio Isa Isa..." And like he figured, it didn't take long. Tobias smiled and carefully brushed his thumb over the rune. This was fuuuuuun.

He looked up at the book again and flipped to the next page. "Jera. That's next... and, uhhh... 'to bring change, fertility and growth'... also comfort and harmoney..." Well... those were completely different. Tobias looked uncertain for a moment; he wished he'd found out exactly what part of the rune he was supposed to be focused on, but it was too late now, so his current method would have to do. "Jera jera jera... j j j e e e r r r a a a... j j j j j j j j j... ju ja ji je jo... (jur jar jir jer jor)... j j j e e e r r r a a a..."

Again, Toby's eyes roved over the wand for a couple of seconds before he was drawn to a particular spot. He raised his wand and started carving the rune after checking to see what it looked like. Basically it was like Kenaz and then another, backwards, Kenaz. Like they were linking arms. "Intaglio Jera Jera Jera Jera Jera..." Tobias cast, focusing as hard as he could on the rune and the carving. It was supposed to be super magic in and of itself, right?

There, another one done. Toby gave a small shiver. Yeah, it was definitely getting colder... but maybe that was just because the day was wearing on a bit, and nights were always slightly cooler... right?

... better hurry up anyway.

"Eihwaz now... Eihwaz is for protecting yourself and your rights and solving problems and stuff. And it's about change." Well that was easy enough to remember. Tobias didn't stop to muse on anything; he was in a bit of a hurry. "Eihwaz eihwaz eihwaz... (iwaz iwaz iwaz)... e e e e e e e e e..." this was the part where Toby had to do the closed vowel sound, so he made a vague noise like when he'd done the carving in Ancient Runes class and continued anyway "... iwu iwa iwi iwa iwu... iwo iwe iwi iwa iwu... e e e e e e e e e..."

Right yes THERE WAS A PERFECT PLACE. Tobias wasted absolutely no time at all in raising his wand and starting the carving. Eihwaz was that one which was like Sowilo except that the diagonal line from the top of the vertical line went diagonally down, and the other one matched it all parallel like. It was hard to explain but he knew what he meant. "Intaglio Eihwaz Eihwaz Eihwaz Eihwaz..."

BOOM! Another one bites the dust.

"Perthro... opens OR provides a barrier to dark forces..." Uhh, those were like two very different things. Confusing rune. It Tobias' mind this was one of those 'use with caution' runes. Unless he was getting it all wrong, which was likely. "Perthro perthro perthro... pu pa pi pe po... purdh pardh pirdh perdh pordh... po pe pi pa pu... p p p e e e r r r th th th r r r o o o..."

Same routine as all the others, Tobias found the perfect spot for the rune and began carving it straight away. He was getting super good at all this magic lark.

"Intaglio Perthro Perthro Perthro Perthro..." It was weird that the rune that translated to P actually looked like a dodgy C. Or at least Tobias THOUGHT it translated to P. He couldn't remember, he was too busy FOCUSING YO.

Another look at the book told him Algiz was next.

"Now we have Algiz... definitely for protection..." Both chapters of the book agreed on that. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz... z z z z z z z z z..." here Tobias squinted at the book and huffed slightly before trying his utmost to do the weird whirring whistle it was asking for "... uz az iz ez uz... oz ez iz az uz... z z z z z z z z z... (m m m m m m m m m)..."

And then the same routine... Tobias looked all over the Gandr which was fast becoming covered with runes, and looked for a place that really SPOKE to him.

The wood didn't speak but Toby definitely found the best place for the rune, so he carved again.

"Intaglio Algiz Algiz Algiz Algiz..." PROTECTION PROTECTION PROTECTION. It was another easy one to remember how to carve because it kinda looked like a person holding their arms up in victory.

Tobias checked the book again and found that he was already at the end of the second aett... not bad! A broad grin appeared on his face and he looked up Sowilo, which was his next rune.

"Right, Gandr... now it's Sowilo, and this one is energy, strength, healing, good health. You know... the good stuff." Especially energy. Energy was AWESOME. "Sowilo sowilo sowilo... s s s s s s s s s... s s s o o o l l l... su sa si se so... (sul sal sil sel sol)... us as is es os... si se su sa su... s s s s s s s s s..."

Alright Gandr... tell me where you want it.

And, once again, Tobias was somehow directed to the right spot. He raised his wand and started carving the S-like shaped rune. "Intaglio Sowilo Sowilo Sowilo Sowilo..."

He'd stayed focused on it as he carved, but as soon as he was done he felt another shiver again. From behind him, in the forest, he distinctly head bushes move, and his eyes widened in alarm.

He was SO out of here.

Toby gathered up his books and Gandr and wand and made to run off, but at the last second he gave Hazel a hand-to-bark goodbye gesture. "I'll come back and see you," he promised in a frantic whisper. "Real soon. Tomorrow." But he'd been outside too long for that day; chances of being attacked by a dementor were growing.

So then the first year Hufflepuff sprinted away, straight back to the castle.

And, just beyond Hazel, a rabbit continued hopping through the forest.

Silly Toby.