Trixie raised her hand to answer the question with a grin. "Runes, or the Runic Alphabet, were originally a set of letters in the Germanic alphabet that were used before the Latin Alphabet was created. However there have been many other variations on these runes sets in different languages" she stated. "They're often used for interpretations and a Rune set would be made from natural resources" she continued. Did she NEED this much information or was she just going off track?

O...m...g...

It was shop stalker dude!

Yea, just as she was sitting down, she saw him. And here she thought, she'd never see him again. It was a slight shame that didn't happen. Pfft.

Whatever though. Class had begun apparently and she didn't want to get caught throwing a paper ball at the guy. However, since they were starting with the basics, she didn't feel like taking her notebook out anyways. What are runes?

"Runes...are actually letters part of an alphabet called the Runic alphabet, usually made up of nature material. Although there are a variety of alphabets." Mmhmm, yea she learned something. "Each has a different name and meaning, and they've been used for mostly writing throughout the years. Though they've been also known to be used for... predicting a future outcome I should say. Or even strengthening spells, I've been told before." Whether that last part was true or not, she didn't know. Maybe she should stop eavesdropping on conversations?

Adeline scribbled these down, then took out her chocolate ink and started sucking on it.

CLASS HAS STARTED AND INK AND QUILLS NEEDED OUT! That meant Savvy need to get out her new, sparkly and PINK glitter ink! jgfgdfhdfghzdfhdf!!!!!!!!!! She was so excited. A grin spread on the blonde's face as she got out her ink, her pink quill and GLITTER. Why did she take out glitter? Errr....incase something needed to be sparkly.

"Aren't runes like...."Pause. She had to think of an answer, one that DIDN'T make her sound silly."Like....old stuff?"

FAIL. Actually no, she was to pretty to flail. Instead of looking all flustered she smiled at the professor, knowing she was wrong. It was a good guess though, right?

Marie sat there ready to take notes. This class was not easy for her so she needed to write down everything she could if she wanted to keep up. What are runes? Marie flipped through her notes (yes, she had her notes with her from previous terms) and found what she was looking for. "Runes are an oracle from which you can seek advice. You can ask a specific question and then let the runes answer for you. They work best if you detail your current circumstances first before asking the question." or something like that. This class still confused her.

"Good answers," Davina nodded. "Put very simply, runes are an alphabet. Used prior to the integration of the Roman or Latin alphabet. In case that sounds tough, let me say that before you had the ABC, you had ancient runes - as Miss Conrad has so elegantly put it, they are 'old stuff'." She smiled, lightly.

"Some of you have mentioned that Runes are used to interpret things and seek advice. What else do you think Runes can be used for?"


OOC: Have fun with this question. ;)

Patroclus liked this new question, better than the first one, he knew what runes were, but he had found it hard to put that knowledge into a coherent sentence. But this new question, rather excited him.

"Codes!" Patroclus answered his hand shooting into the air. The Runic Alphabet, could be use as a code system!" The Hudson family were great at codes.

Was she taking all answers on this one? Because Riley had a great idea. "Professor, can you use the Runes as pieces of the muggle board game Scrabble? They are letters right?" he grinned cheekily.

Wooden peices with letters on them, those muggles weren't as oblivious as they seemed, maybe the Ministry is looking into that 'toy company' that makes those.

After quickly jotting down the definition of runes, Vashti thought about the question for a moment before an answer occurred to her. "Couldn't they be used as a code, Professor?" she asked, raising her hand. "And don't some runes, like a set that a person made themselves, kind of 'enhance' the magic of a user if used on that person's wand or...something like that?" She was pretty sure she'd learned something along those lines in a previous lesson, but the exact wording wouldn't come to her.

"To harness elemental magic." Jimmy murmured, hand half raised, and then it shot down again and he pretended like he hadn't spoke at all. Lalala.

Rhea was actually listening and taking notes in Ancient Runes class. It was a huge step up from sitting at the back and watching the clock for when the hour would be up. She raised her hand.
"Errm professor, Runes are used in Divination to interpret stuff...by stuff I mean certain symbols and so on?..." yeah so she didnt sound very brilliant right now but she was trying.
"They were also used in writing curses in times of cold because it was harder to decipher by intruders."

Salander furrowed his brow as he considered the next question "To send secret messages? You know like what the muggles used during World War II, they used the Navajo language to evade enemy code breakers because Navajo wasnt used anywhere outside the Navajo tribe. The same can be used for Runes, not everybody can read it-- or even if they can, interpret it correctly. "

Any other uses runes could be used for? Well the obvious ones were already stated. Enhancing magic, codes, messages, decoding coded messages, and...well she didn't know what a scrabble was. Something out of the box would be a good answer. Completely random! Since she was in such a good mood, she would say something like that! She just...needed to think of that something to say.

"What about like...can they used for protective jewelry or something? Like, have a certain rune as a necklace to keep you protected? Can it even work like that?" It could be possible right? She hadn't seen such a thing before, or even heard of it before, but then again, she didn't do her own shopping until a few months ago.

"Bindrunes." Jimmy supplied, the crooked smile back in place. He sat on his hands to stop himself from answering any more. No. He hated runes. And was bad at it. Obviously. Hat had made a mistake.

He was no Ravenclaw.

"Indeed," Davina said. "Of course, things can get tough if the other side has a good knowledge of the runic alphabet too, but that is a risk that is taken every time cryptography is brought into play."

Ah. This reminded her of her time as a curse-breaker.

Di nodded. "All good answers," she said. "Especially the statement about ancient spells. Runes have been part of certain rituals." She did not, however, go into details.

Di's smile widened. Forget that this child had mistaken her office for a loo - he had an imagination! "That's quite an excellent answer, Mr. Sinclair. I do believe that is possible."

Di smiled. "Indeed, Miss Lombardi."

Di beamed. "Perfectly correct, Miss..." She paused. She did not know the girl's last name. Ah, well. "The creation of a rune-set means the channelization of energies and intent. You infuse your creation with it, so to speak. Good answer."

Yes, that was it. This kid was bright.

"Excellent answer, Mr. -?"

"Runes and Divination are inter-connected at certain fronts, yes," Davina confirmed, pleasantly. "Divination-via-runes is a big aspect of the study of runes, in general."

Yes, a few people had said this. Codes. But Davina took special note of the boy, because of the little addition to his answer. "Interpretation matters," she agreed. "Good answer."

Yes, one of Davina's favourite uses. "It can work like that," Davina confirmed. "There are shops that specialize in such jewellery and artifacts, in fact. I suppose you could say people have made a business out of it."

Davina's eyebrow shot up. Not in a bad way, either. Bind runes. Impressive. "Ligatures," Di said, softly. "Used for ornamental purposes, among others. I see you have a good knowledge of Runes."

Di nodded. Dark magic, and muggles. Two new points that she had hoped someone would bring up. "Quite correct," she said. "Good answer, Miss..." Yes. Name, please.


She looked at the rest of the class. "The three most common uses of runes are divination, correspondence, and channeling magical energy. I will admit, however, that the thing I used runes most often for when a student, was to chew on them when nervous." Rune-biting. Kind of an unintentional spin on nail-biting, you know?

Right.

"So. Can someone tell me the name of a rune - one rune only, please - and what it means, or represents?"

Aaaand then they could get on to the good part.

"Isa," Aiden said. "It means ice. It also sounds like ice," Now he wanted to chew on some ice.