What... was she doing? It was almost like she was trying to step on his shoes or something. When he had said to stay close, he didn't mean to literally follow at a distance in which she was constantly bumping into him or kicking his feet. Young ones. Sometimes they took instructions too literally.

He listened politely now that they were in the safety of the Hogwarts Grounds. However, a stern look never left his face. "I understand why yeh wanted ter go after yer pet, I really do. But the fact is tha' yeh're a student, an studen's aren' allowed in the Forbidden Forest." Which they all knew, so no pleading that you weren't told, girly. "Yer own life is worth more than a rat's. An' hones'ly, yeh're lucky tha' yeh didn' DIE out there tonight. Better witches an' wizards than yerself haven' survived the Forest. So no, I wouldn' have done the same if I were you, because yeh simply haven' had the proper trainin'." And did he mention the whole 'students aren't allowed' thing? "So I'll be takin' 10 points from Slytherin."

That being said, he also had a kind side to him. She had just had a traumatic experience and probably needed some help calming down. He gave her a look of concern. "I am glad yeh're alrigh', though. Bu' yer dress is another story entirely." Taking his wand from his holster, where he'd stashed it after they left the forest, he pointed it at her. "Tergeo," he muttered, siphoning off the mud from her dress. Alistaire looked her over. "An' le's clean off yer face too, eh? Scourgify."

"Now I want yeh ter head straight back ter the castle, yeh understand? An' le's avoid bringin' yer rats this close to the forest again." That last bit was also an instruction, not a request.

Ella was back again, like she had been each day. Her Gandr was in the same spot as it had been before and she was relieved to see the progress she was making. The wand was definitely smoother and taking on a nice shape...not that Ella was an expert or anything. Imagine being a Gandr expert, though? That'd be really cool. Really, really cool.

"Hello again," She greeted the tree as she had each day, taking up her Gandr and settling down on the ground. She then began the familiar task of smoothing it out, being careful as she worked with the surface.

"You're going to be the best Gandr ever." She said quietly as she worked, wondering how her classmates were doing with this project as she did. Did their wands look like hers or was that not a thing? Maybe they were all meant to be quite different, considering the trees people used were. She had lots of questions and maybe she should start writing them down. She could pick Botros' brain about them later, though. Work to do.

It hadn't taken long for Tobias to find the book he needed in the library. He supposed, now, that information on how to recognise trees might actually be in the Runes textbook, or even Herbology. But he had the book now so may as well carry on.

He'd wandered the grounds without much of a definite direction sort of vaguely glancing around for a tree. Not really focused on where he was going, Tobias wasn't slightly surprised when he found himself near the forbidden forest. He'd never been this close to it before, having been generally kept back by the whole 'forbidden' thing. But apparently his feet didn't care about that, and it DID seem like the best place to find a tree, being a forest and all.

He got right to the edge of the forest and saw did not fail to notice the signs. Well, Toby was not about to disobey a sign. He stayed at the EDGE of the forest and began to walk along its border, keeping an eye out for a very particular tree. He'd been going for a few minutes and hadn't seen one ANYWHERE and was starting to wonder if maybe he should have checked the pathways or even checked with the groundskeeper if there were Hazel trees at Hogwarts, when it caught his eye. A tree much like the one pictured in the book, straight up ahead, and luckily enough for him, still at the edge of the forest. He raced closer and looked for all of the definitive signs. The leaves had toothed edges and were hairy underneath and on the stalk, the tree itself was quite small, and the bark was peeling.

Something about that bark made Tobias feel quite... well... sad.

He tilted his head and looked at a tree, neither a smile nor a frown on his face. The neutral expression for when it was just him and nobody else around. This was definitely a hazel tree, so... what was the next step? He opened up the runes textbook again to read the parchment he'd tucked inside and read the next step out loud.

"Communicate with the tree."

Another day at the edge of the forbidden forest and another day of smoothing her Gandr. Ella was really liking the way it was coming out and she smiled to herself as she picked it up, green eyes wandering from the wand up to the Yew tree. "Hello again!" They were old friends now, Ella and Yew.

Taking a seat on the forest floor, the blonde then began the familiar task of humming and smoothing the surface to perfect the shape of her Gandr. It felt quite nice in her hands and she couldn't help but think she was nearly done. Besides, the moon cycle was nearly finished. That meant that she could start carving runes on the Gandr soon! This was exciting news. Carving the runes was Ella's favorite part and she was getting pretty good at it, the carving thing.

...

After a while, Ella decided she'd done enough smoothing and she placed her Gandr down again carefully. Was there a such thing as overworking the wood? She didn't want to do that. "Alright, that's it for today." Rest easy, Gandr.

So... communicating with the tree, was that like having a good ol' catch up with it? Should he have brought tea and scones?

Hmmmm... maybe the book would be able to shed some light on the matter.

Tobias kneeled down in front the tree and looked back at the textbook again. He was SURE it had mentioned how to do this, though Toby figured it was really as simple as sitting with the tree and chilling out with it as though it was human.

Yeah... basically, if he had to paraphrase, the book was telling him to become one with the tree.

Tobias set aside his books and shuffled closer to the tree trunk on his knees. The tree WAS a lot smaller than most of the others around, so it felt a bit like he was sitting inside a big tree hug when he was under it.

Yeah.

Leaning back slowly against the peeling bark, as he was scared to disturb the tree or damage the peeling parts seeing as they already made him sad, Tobias closed his eyes and sighed. He kept a neutral expression and instead of concentrating on smiling, he instead focused on listening to the breeze pass through the leaves, breathed in the smell of the tree and noticed the way the sunlight hit his closed eyelids through the gaps in the leaves. After a few minutes of that weird meditating stuff, he slowly opened his eyes again and stared up at the green leaves with the sunlight behind them. Once he'd done that for a little while he shuffled round and touched the trunk of the tree with his fingertips, gently running his fingers down the bark, even the peely bits.

Tobias gave a small smile. "Hello Hazel," he said softly. He didn't believe Hazel was the tree's individual name. They probably had a name that only the wind could pronounce. "Nice to meet you."

C'mon Toby, let's try to NOT get emotionally attached to the tree.

It was time! It was time to actually carve runes into her Gandr and Ella was really excited! The blonde made her way down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, wand and text book in hand. She was completely focused and had runes on the brain today, that was for sure.

Settling down on the ground, the blonde held the Gandr in her hands and closed her eyes for a minute or two, getting a feel for it. She then glanced down at her text book, noting that she’d be starting with Fehu. Right, it was time to get started. Grin!

Fehu, the rune that represented luck and financial strength and success. The blonde thought about these things as she let her hand travel along the Gandr, looking for the spot that she felt would be best for this particular rune. “Fehu fehu fehu f f f f f f f f f fu fa fi fe fo of ef if af uf f f f f f f f f f!” When she was finished chanting the Galdr the blonde felt good about the spot she’d decided on and began carving. “Intaglio Fehu…Fehu…Fehu…Fehu…”

Next up was Uruz, the rune of strength and speed and energy and health. All good things and all things that made her think of Quidditch. The blonde let her hands travel along the Gandr as she chanted, ”Uruz uruz uruz u u u u u u u u u
u u u u u u r r r r r r u u u u u u u u u”! Then Ella picked up her wand and focused on her carving, working carefully. “Intaglio Uruz..Uruz..Uruz…Uruz…”

Then came Thurisaz, the rune of conflict and the force of destruction and defense. Ella focused on these things as she chanted once again, this time saying, ” Thurisaz thurisaz thurisaz th th th th th th th th th thur thar thur ther thor
thu tha thu the tho th th th th th th th th th!” When she was finished, she focused on the spot she felt was best and began to carve. ”Intaglio Thurisaz… Thurisaz… Thurisaz… Thurisaz…”

Ansuz was up next and that had lots to do with health and harmony and good fortune. ”Ansuz ansuz ansuz aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw s s s s s s aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw!” Then it was time to make sure the carving was right. Ella glanced from her textbook back to her Gandr and worked with great care. ”Intaglio Ansuz…Ansuz…Ansuz… Ansuz…”

And then came Raidho. This rune had lots to do with a journey but also can have to do with legal matters. The sixteen year old considered these things as she chanted, ”Raidho raidho raidho r r r r r r r r r ru ra ri re ro rudh radh ridh redh rodh (rut rat rit ret rot) or er ir ar ur r r r r r r r r r!” Then came the carving which was done carefully and quietly. “Intaglio Raidho…Raidho…Raidho… Raidho…”

Yup. She was definitely making some progress here.

Okay, time to check the book again.

Tobias leaned away from Hazel and stretched to grab the textbook and the library book he had out here. He flipped back to the right chapter again to find the next step.

Walk around the tree and ask permission for a branch. Well, that seemed easy enough.

Tobias didn't put the book down this time; instead he held on to it but kept his finger tucked inside of it at the chapter he was using, to save time when he needed to refer back to it again later. Right. Clockwise, that's what the book had said.

After a couple of seconds thinking hard about which way WAS clockwise, which involved excessive hand movements and pretending to be a clock face, Toby stood and made sure he wasn't going to hit a low tree branch before starting to circle.

"Uhh... Hazel? I was wondering if I could, uhh... please have permission to have a branch from you? Only a little one... for my Gandr..."

By the time he'd finished talking Toby had only rounded the tree twice, so he made sure to go round again and then stopped exactly where he'd started. He turned to look at the tree and took a step back...

... and promptly tripped backwards over the library book he'd left on the floor, landing sprawled in the grass.

Smooth.

Carvinggggg..Carvingggg…This was tiring work.

Ella was pleased with how her Gandr looked so far, though. It was already decorated with several runes and they were each carved quite neatly which made the blonde smile. Now to continue where she’d left off.

Kenaz next, the rune having to do with vision, knowledge, and creativity. ”Kenaz kenaz kenaz ku ka ki ke ko kun kan kin ken kon ok ek ik ak uk kaunnnnnnnnn!” The sixteen year old was getting better at carving the runes too. With each one, she felt like her work was neater. ”Intaglio Kenaz…Kenaz… Kenaz…Kenaz…”

Then came Gebo which had to do with balance, exchanges, and relationships. Ella liked this rune because it made her think of gifts and giving. ”Gebo gebo gebo gu ga gi ge go gub gab gib geb gob og eg ig au ur g a a a f f f f f!” Easy rune to carve too which was awesome! ”Intaglio Gebo…Gebo…Gebo…Gebo…” BEAM! Looking good, Gandr.

Next up was Wunjo, the rune relating to joy, comfort, pleasure, and harmony. Nice rune, Wunjo is. ” Wunjo wunjo wunjo wu wa wi we wo wun wan win wen won wo we wi wa wu w w w u u u n n n!” And Wunjo sort of looked like the letter ‘P’, yeah? Yeah! “Intaglio Wunjo…Wunjo…Wunjo…”

Hagalaz…That was a mouthful of a rune, huh? Sheesh. It was also a rune having to do with meditation and silence. Yup, this totally made Ella think of Yoga. ”Hagalaz hagalaz hagalaz h h h h h h h h h hu ha hi he ho hug hag hig heg hog (hul hal hil hel hol) oh eh ih ah uh h h h h h h h h h!” Hey! The word hug was in that Galdr! BEAM! ”Intaglio Hagalaz…Hagalaz…Hagalaz…Hagalaz…”

Nauthiz next, the rune having to do with endurance, survival, and internal power. ” 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!” Also, this rune kind of looked like a cross. Only kind of , though. ”Intaglio Nauthiz… Nauthiz…Nauthiz…Nauthiz…”

Glancing down at the text book again, Ells was pleased to see that she was moving along at a good pace while still maintaining good quality work. That’s just how she liked it.

Pushing up so his upper body was supported by his elbows, Tobias looked at the tree again, not wanting to miss any sign from it. He narrowed his eyes slightly but smiled as he looked at it. It kind of looked like the wind was making the branches move with slightly more enthusiasm, but the wind hadn't picked up. The tree was laughing at Toby, but Toby could tell that Hazel wasn't making fun of him. They seemed... amused.

Pushing himself back to his feet, Tobias moved a little closer. Well, there was definite jovial feeling here, it seemed like he was being granted permission to for a branch which was AWESOME... partly because he didn't want to have to go into the forest to find another hazel tree, because he was dead set on this kind of wood.

"Really? Aww, thanks Hazel. Glad to provide you with some entertainment, too." It must be peaceful, being a tree... but sometimes a little something interesting might be good too.

Tobias looked up a little into the branches. He was glad it wasn't too tall, because he didn't really want to have to climb hazel or anything. Apparently the tree would guide HIM to the right branch, so Tobias let his eyes rake over what he saw above him. He started to get a bit worried when no branch was really... you know... calling to him, and wondered if the tree had changed their mind... when his eyes were suddenly drawn to a small branch. It was quite low down and not too far away. Small, but plenty big enough to make a Gandr.

But before he took it, Toby had to make an offering. It was in the book AND it was manners, y'know.

Pulling out a small something from his robes pocket, Tobias knelt back down again and shuffled forward. He hadn't bought anything to dig with, and he didn't want to run to the greenhouses for a trowel in case he interrupted the flow of things here, so he rolled up his sleeves and just started digging at the dirt with his hands. There was actually a stick nearby that he was be able to use; it must have come from a different tree because it didn't look anything like the hazel branches. Whatever it was, Tobias reached for it and used it to aid him in digging a little hole.

Once that was done he picked up the something that he'd set on the ground while he'd dug, which turned out to be a piece of bread he'd swiped from the great hall.

"Sorry it's not much. There's not much good food at the castle, to be honest."

Was he... supposed to fill in the hole again? He did anyway, in case a bird or hungry Hogwarts student came along and nicked the bread, and then Tobias stood up and looked in his book again for the next step.

More carving to do? YUP! Ella was still going strong though her hand was getting a bit tired. This was difficult stuff! It was also really cool and the finished product was going to be awesome, she could feel it in her bones! Grin!

Isa was up next and that had to do with authority and masculinity. A real manly rune if you asked Ella. ” 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!” Isa was really easy to care too which was a big plus! ”Intaglio Isa…Isa…Isa…Isa…” Taa-daa!

Jera was up next and having to do with peace and happiness, a real good feeling rune. The blonde smiled a little as she began to chant, ” 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!” She then focused on the shape of the rune, eyeing her text book before beginning to carve. ”Intaglio Jera…Jera…Jera..Jera..”

Eihwaz! This was the rune Ella had been waiting for because it was connected to the Yew tree, the very tree Ella had used for her Gandr. It had to do with protection, enlightenment, and removal of obstacles. ” Eihwaz eihwaz eihwaz (iwaz iwaz iwaz) e e e e e e e e e iwu iwa iwi iwa iwu iwo iwe iwi iwa iwu e e e e e e e e e!” The blonde then began carving the symbol, thinking of all the things the rune represented as she did. ”Intaglio Eihwaz…Eihwaz..Eihwaz… Eihwaz…”

Perthro was next and had lots to do with time and change and secrets too. ”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!” When she was done chanting, it was time to carve. ”Intaglio Perthro…Perthro….Perthro… Perthro…”

Algiz was all about protection from danger. The sixteen year old frowned a bit at this, thinking Hogwarts could definitely need some protection these days. Frownnn. ” Elhaz elhaz elhaz z z z z z z z z z 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)!” After chanting, the blonde set to work on carving the rune into the Gandr. ”Intaglio Algiz…Algiz…Algiz…Algiz…”

Another bunch done. Thank Merlin!

Okay, so next was the chant.

Tobias read through the passage he was supposed to read, but he read it in his HEAD first, just to make sure he knew what he was doing. Didn't want to come across a word he couldn't say or stumble over his words just because he wasn't expecting them, right? He wasn't sure if, at the last part, whether he was meant to say the name of the alphabet or not. They were making neutral Gandrs, and the assignment said all the runes. Toby didn't want to do anything wrong so... maybe he should just say all of the runes. Be thorough and all that.

Finding the list of Elder Futhark runes elsewhere in the book and marking his place with his finger so that he could easily flip to that page where he needed to, Tobias stood up straight and held his book in front of him. After clearing his throat, he began speaking.

"So, uhhh... this is to the guardian of, uhh... Hazel...

"Hail to thee, wight of Hazel,
I pray to thee give this branch of your body!
Into it send thy speed,
To it bind the might of the bright runes..."

At this, Tobias took a breath and used to finger that was stuck in the pages to flip back to the page with the runes of Elder Futhark were. It took only a second, and then his eyes snapped to the runes and he said those too.

"Fehu... Uruz... Thurisaz... Ansuz... Raidho... Kenaz... Gebo... Wunjo... Hagalaz... Naudhiz... Isa... Jera... Eihwaz... Perthro... Algiz... Sowilo... Teiwaz... Berkana... Ehwaz... Mannaz... Laguz... Inguz... Dagaz... Othala..."

WHEW.

So the next step was to take the branch, if Toby remembered correctly.

Nearly done. Well, not really but sort of. Ella was just relieved she was getting towards the end of the list of runes! She needed a definite snack break or something!

Sowilo up next and this rune had to do with Success, knowledge, and strength. Another really nice rune in Ella’s opinion. ” 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!” After chanting, the blonde began the carving process yet again with a gentle hand. ”Intaglio Sowilo…Sowilo…Sowilo…Sowilo..”

Tiwaz after Sowilo and this one made Ella thirsty for tea. Just saying. It also was a rune having to do with divine protection and justice. ” Tiwaz tiwaz tiwaz t i i i i i r r r r r tu ta ti te ter tor tur tar tir ter tor ot et it at ut (Tyr Tyr) T i i i i i r r r r r!” This rune looked like an arrow and the badger carved carefully, keeping all the things the textbook said about Tiwaz in mind as she did. ”Intaglio Tiwaz… Tiwaz…Tiwaz….Tiwaz…”

Berkano next! This rune had to do with healing and good health and fertility. Ella eyed the textbook before chanting again, her voice growing a bit hoarse now after all the belting of Galdrs! ” Berkano berkano berkano bu ba bi be bo b e e e e e r r r r r (burk bark birk berk bork) ob eb ib ab ub b e e e e e r r r r r!” Then thinking about the rune and all it was associated with, the sixteen year old began to carve. ”Intaglio Berkano…Berkano…Berkano…Berkano..”

Then came Ehwaz, the rune having to do with changes and travels. ” Ehwo ehwo ehwo e e e e h w o o o ehwu ehwa ehwi ehwe ehwo ehwo ehwe ehwi ehwa ehwu e e e e h w o o o!” This particular rune looked just like the letter M so Ella didn’t have too much trouble when she carved which was good. ”Intaglio Ehwaz…Ehwaz…Ehwaz..”

And thennnn Mannaz, the rune having to do with mankind and the rational mind. Heh, that rhymed! ” Mannaz mannaz mannaz m m m a a a a a a n n n mu ma mi me mo mun man min men mon um am im em om mon men min man mun m m m a a a a a a n n n m m m m m m m m m!” That one was quite weird to chant and Ella felt like she was just saying ‘Mmmm’ a lot, a noise she made when she ate cookies and other delicious foods. Anyway, focusing again, she began to carve. Intaglio Mannaz…Mannaz…Mannaz…Mannaz…”

Meep! So close! Her Gandr was looking really great too!

Cut the branch whilst... something to do with the runes. Hm. Well... Tobias had just said all the runes, hadn't he? Was he supposed to do that again?

If he was honest, Tobias was pretty sure he wouldn't remember what he was supposed to chant, especially if he was concentrating on retrieving that branch type thing. It was probably safer to leave the chanting and maybe... think of the runes?

Also, the assignment directions told them to use magic, but Toby wasn't very good at the severing charm yet, and magic he hadn't masters had a tendency to... well... cause flames. And he really didn't want to set Hazel on fire. And the textbook said that traditionally wands were snapped off, and this branch was small enough to snap with a bit of Toby!force.

Toby set his book face down on top of the other book, the one he'd tripped over earlier, and approached the tree again. He looked for the branch he'd been directed to early and found it quickly. Tobias could only assume that the tree was still helping him out, so obviously he hadn't got anything wrong yet.

"Okay Hazel, um... I'm gonna take the branch now, and I'm going to snap it off, so... if you want to maybe look the other way 'til I'm done? Then I've got something to put on it afterwards."

He waited. There were still no negative vibes, and Toby was ACE at detecting vibes, so he assumed the tree was alright with him doing the snappy thing. He stretched up onto his tip-toes and reached up high, grabbing the branch he'd been offered. The best way to do this was with all of his body weight, so Tobias pulled hard on the branch as though he was going to do a pull-up. He wasn't that heavy but the branch wasn't that big and Toby's feet didn't even leave the ground for half a second before there was a CRACK and the branch came off in his hand.

"Did I hurt you?" Tobias asked Hazel worriedly, looking up at the fresh, wound-like mark on the tree. But the he was still feeling cheerful and even encouraging vibes so he gave a relieved smile and reached into his trouser pocket for a small brush and a small pot of what looked like black paint.

"This is bituminous paint... it basically protects you when I paint over the bit I pulled off. I borrowed it from my Quidditch Captain; she's already done this part so she said I could use it for my project. Hold still," Toby said to the stationary tree that was rooted to the ground. He reached up with the brush that he'd dipped into the pot and dabbed it on the mark of the tree that was lighter than the bark around it. When it was covered, he cae back down off his tip-toes.

Now to thank it again, which required looking back at the book because there was no way he could remember all the words to the next part.

Almost done! Almost done! Beam! Beam! Beammmmm!

Laguz next. This one had to do with water and intuition and imagination. Ella cleared her now quite sore throat and began to chant, this time a little more softly. ” Laguz laguz laguz l l l l l l l l l lu la li ke lo (lug lag lig leg log) ul al il el ol lo le li la lu l l l a a a g g g u u u l l l l l l l l l!” Then she took her wand and started in on the carving. ”Intaglio Laguz…Laguz..Laguz…Laguz…”

Then came Ingwaz which looked like a diamond and had to do with male fertility? Welp…okay, then. ” Ingwaz ingwaz ingwaz i i i i n n n n g g g g ung ang ing eng ong ong eng ing ang ung i i i i n n n n g g g g!” Now to carve the shape, not too difficult a task seeing as it was pretty familiar. ”Intaglio Ingwaz…Ingwaz… Ingwaz..Ingwaz…”

Dagaz next and thoughts were now of good luck and fresh starts as Ella began to chant. ” Dagaz dagaz dagaz dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z du da di de do dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh odh edh idh adh udh od ed ud ad ud d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z!” Yup, she was totally feeling the Dagaz energy now. ”Intaglio Dagaz…Dagaz…Dagaz…Dagaz…”

Last Rune! Meeeeeeep! Othala was next and Ella thought of property and possessions as she chanted, ” Othala othal othal o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o othul othal othil othel othol othol othel othil othal othul o o o o o o!” And did anyone else think that Othala looked like a fish? The blonde smiled a bit at the thought and then concentrated again, carving carefully. ”Intaglio Othala… Othala…Othala…Othala…”

YES! She was done carving! This meant it was definitely time for something to eat and drink. Reward time.

It was another chant where he had to say the runes, which was a bit of a pain but probably necessary. And the chants were pretty neat to say anyway, AND the two were sort of similar. And at least all the words were ones he could pronounce.

Tobias read through it again, like last time, to make sure he knew what he was doing, and prepared to flip to the chapter which listed the runes, again like last time. He stood where he stood last time and began with. "So, this is for the guardian of Hazel again. Ahem...

"Wight of Hazel, accept my thanks.
Henceforth may your might be in this branch!
Magically bound to the bright runes-"

BREATHEANDFLIPTOTHERIGHTPAGE

"Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz, Gebo, Wunjo, Hagalaz, Naudhiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Perthro, Algiz, Sowilo, Teiwaz, Berkana, Ehwaz, Mannaz, Laguz, Inguz, Dagaz, Othala...
Working my will with speed and wisdom."

Was that it for this step? Was there anything else he needed to do with the chant at all? It seemed likely that he'd missed some important step, no matter how many times he kept re-reading the instructions.

Apparently, next up was bark stripping.

Well that sounded... fun?

Time to redden the runes.

Ella was initially going to do this in the classroom but she figured it’d be nice to spend all the time by the Yew tree that she could. Besides, the Tiver and a paint brush were pretty easy to transport.

Settling down in front of the large tree again, the blonde gave it a smile and set up what she’d brought with her. She had some paper to do the painting on, her Gandr, and her Tiver and paintbrush. All the things she’d need.

The sixteen year old worked quietly, only speaking when she needed to chant the rune names as they were being reddened. It was hard work and she was sort of making a mess but her Gandr looked nice.

When the blonde was finished, she set her Gandr down and let it dry for a while. She hummed while she waited, thinking about all the work she’d done since she started this project. She’d done a lot and hopefully Professor Botros would be pleased with the end product.

…Hopefully.

Stripping the bark was going to take magic, which meant using the severing charm after all. Well... that was a pain.

Tobias bit his lip and looked around. That stick was still laying nearby, and it was quite clearly dead; a bit of it had snapped off earlier and the inside was all dry and harsh, quite unlike when he'd taken Hazel's branch.

The Hufflepuff sat down again, with his back up against Hazel, and reached for the stick. He placed the branch he'd worked for down on top of the Ancient Runes textbook, and got his wand out of his pocket. Hmmm... a bit of practicing on this and then onto the hazel branch.

"Diffindo..." Tobias cast, pointing his wand at the end of the dead stick. Nothing happened, but the end of his wand emitted a little smoke. Well, that was worrying.

Berating himself in his head and demanding that he put more focus in, Toby stared at the end of the stick, furrowed his brow and imagining the top of the stick slicing clean off as though swiped at with a sword. He kept that image in his mind and pointed his wand again. "Diffindo."

This time something did happen, and it wasn't fire (which was a relief because he was right at the edge of a FOREST filled with TREES which were WOOD which was FLAMMABLE. And Toby didn't know the water spell. Anyway, what did happen was that the end of the stick was slightly... well... it wasn't SEVERED but it had definitely splintered an inch or so from the very top. This was progress and it was enough to give Toby slightly more confidence.

He did the imagining thing again and pointed his want a little lower than the splintered part, focused super SUPER hard and- "Diffindo!"

The top came clean off.

Toby BEAMED and tossed that stick aside with nothing short of jubilation, and reached for the branch he was using for his Gandr. The Hufflepuff sat cross-legged at the base of the learn and leaned forwards, focusing caaaaaaarefully on the branch so that he made sure he didn't cut too much of it off. He closed his left eye and squinted to aim even better as he worked.

"Diffindo!" Toby cast, making sure to keep his fingers out of the way though he wasn't sure the spell cut his fingers off. Better to be safe than sorry. "Diffindo! Diffindo!"

Piece by piece the bark fell away and into his lap, caught by his robes and the folds of his trouser legs. Tobias BEAMED at a job well done as he gathered allllllllll the pieces of bark and placed them carefully into the pocket of his school robes, so that he could wrap them in a cloth or something later. Then he checked the instructions again.

Well the next part was a creative type thing, and he needed to go back to the common room because he had to WRITE and his writing stuff was THERE. It sucked that he had to go back inside on such a nice day. Well... he was getting thirsty anyway so Tobias figured he'd nip to the kitchen and then head to the common room. How lucky was he to be sorted in the House RIGHT BY THE KITCHENS.

"Right, I'm gonna go do some stuff, Hazel. I'll be back soon, though. With a song for you and everything."

And with that, Toby placed his hand gently on the trunk of the tree again, gave a small smile, collected his books and started making his way back towards the castle.

First walking... then jogging... then sprinting.

Of course.

She was back, Mr. Alder. Of course she was, Alice still had plenty of smoothing to do. Clutching the penknife tightly in one hand and her Gandr in the other, she took her usual seat at the base of the tree, ready for more Runes work. It didn't really feel like that yet, seeing as she hadn't even done anything to do with Runes yet. It felt like all she'd been doing was talking to trees, chopping stuff, shaving wood, and smoothing. Lo behold.

When was the actual work gonna start, hm?

It probably wasn't a good idea to do her smoothing near the tree, seeing as every time she approached the area, Alice was wondered how her jelly slugs were doing under the ground. Were they okay under there? Did they miss her? Was the packet wishing to be eaten?

This tree was so lucky she was nice enough to share her candy with it.

After another day of whittling, Alice gathered her materials again and went to go replace the penknife in Botros' classroom.

Okay, so, Tobias had gotten distracted since he'd written the song and it had taken him a few, errr... days to return. But that was TOTALLY FINE because as long as it was within 28 days of his last visit he was golden.

Still, writing a song had taken a little longer than he'd been expecting. Why had Ella not WARNED him how difficult it would be to do that part? Hmmmph.

Oh yeah, she was probably focused on, like... exams and stuff.

Well... he'd let her off this time.

Tobias reached the Forbidden Forest again and looked around for Hazel. Was she, like... out to lunch or something? He scratched his head curiously. How did he manage to misplace a TREE?

But wait... he'd walked a little bit to find it earlier, and if he recalled correctly from the base of his tree he was able to see a really particular part of the castle which was completely out of view from the spot he was standing right now. So he started skipping prancing walking his way along the border of the Forest again, giving each 'KEEP OUT' sign a BOP with his fingertips as he passed.

WAIT THERE SHE WAS.

Hazel was right THERE, and Tobias ran up to her, grinning. "Hello old friend!" New friend. Tree friend. Whatever. "I have some stuff for you."

Would they be impressed with a gift of their OWN bark and a song written by a twelve year old? Tobias hoped so because that was all he had.

After setting his other stuff down on the grass not too far away and retrieving the carefully wrapped handkerchief from his pocket, Tobias smiled at Hazel and transferred the bark shavings from the hankie to his hand. "The handkerchief was a one of the gifts from my grandfather for getting into Hogwarts," he told the tree. Weird gift. Weird thing to tell a tree.

He was supposed to sprinkle the shavings while touching the tree with the palms of his hands. Hmm. That would be tricky, especially since he had to circle the tree at the same time. Maybe one thing at a time.

Moving clockwise around the trunk, Tobias sprinkled the shavings behind him, in case stepping on them was offensive or something. He brushing his fingertips along the peeling bark as he did so... just because.

Once he was back where he started, he THEN placed his hands on the trunk of the tree and smiled. "Thanks again, Hazel. I wrote a song for you, too. Hold on, let me find it."

This was the part where he would make a COMPLETE pillock of himself.

In front of a tree.

Alice was back again, like she had been each day since she'd started smoothing. At first, she'd thought the whole process of smoothing a branch didn't make much sense, but after seeing the progress she'd made while working.. well, Botros obviously knew what he was doing. Obviously. Gramps had smart friends, did he know? And she was still expecting a summer tutoring session.

"Hi Mr. Alder," she greeted as she settled at the base of the tree's trunk. This had become routine, her smoothing, and she felt like she and the tree were bonding really well. Was that weird? Bonding with a tree? Alice thought it made sense. After all, that was how friends were made, right? Spending time together?

Mr. Alder was totally her bestie now. Save for Dora.

Settling the Gandr in her lap, she began the regular task of smoothing out the surface with Botros' borrowed penknife. "You look real pretty, you know, Gandr? I bet you look better than all the other runic wands people are making." Totally did. Which made her wonder.. how did other peoples' Gandrs look? Were they similar to hers, or did their appearance depend on the type of wood.. or were the sizes different..?

Maybe she could ask Mister Ab. Surely he'd answer all her questions, right? Once she'd finished her daily smoothing once again, and praised her Gandr a decent amount, Alice gathered up her things again. It looked more and more like a wand everyday.

Okay, he had to walk sunwise again... three times... while singing or chanting or saying the song. Sunwise was, of course, clockwise... so was anti-clockwise moonwise?

Funny how Tobias always ended up with more and more questions as he did his homework. Every time. Well... maybe the answer was in the book.

Glancing around to check that nobody was around him or at least within earshot, Toby determined that the coast was clear and began to walk around the base of the tree moderately slowly, seeing as he was focusing on the words on the parchment. He read the song as more of a poem as he went:

"Tree of Hazel, not that tall
Still the wisest of them all
Though bestowed with modest height
In wisdom you display your might

"Thank you for your gift, my friend
But now my song comes to an end
So may you never meet with strife
I wish you peace and years of life."

Again, he hadn't quite finished three circles, but it didn't take that long to speed up and finish the last go around the tree. Then he stopped and stared at Hazel and shrugged one shoulder. "Well... I tried, and therefore no-one can criticise me."

Okay, now to find somewhere to leave the potential gandr... somewhere that the sunlight and moonlight could hit it, but not anywhere that an animal or student might take it or knock it away or something. Hmmm... well, there seemed to be a gap in the leaves where a decent amount of sun and moon light could get through. Tobias remembered it playing on his eyelids when he first communicated with the tree.

Well, either way, he was leaving the branch with Hazel, and he was leaving it up high. The Hufflepuff stretched up onto his tip-toes again and poked it up into a nook between the branch and the trunk. It would be hit by the light between the leaves and also the lake was nearby and light reflected off water, right? Yeah, it was perfect. And safe. Yeah.

"Okay Hazel," Toby said as he stepped back again and brushed his hands together. "I gotta go again but I'll be back tomorrow and... well pretty much every day for the next... uh... moon cycle. I'll see you soon then, okay?"

Tobias you just asked a tree a question.

"... Okay. Well... bye!"

WAVEWAVEWAVE AT THE TREEEEEE... and Toby bounced away again.

Her Gandr was SUPER SMOOTH. Like Gran's skin after she put on all that anti-wrinkle cream. That meant it was time to move on to carving, wasn't it? Alice bounced down to the edge of the forest with her wand, Gandr and magical both, and textbook in hand, excited to get to the actual runes part of the assignment.

Sliding down the trunk of the Alder and coming to a rest at the base, she held the Gandr in her hands and tried to sense it like her textbook said. Getting a feel for it, y'know? And then it was time to get started with carving, yusss.

Fehu was first, the rune that provided success, advancement in career, a turnabout in luck for those in difficulty, according to her textbook. She let those words bounce around in her mind as she ran her hand down the wood, looking for the best spot to carve it in. "Fehu Fehu Fehu f f f f f f f f f fu fa fi fe fo of ef if af uf f f f f f f f f f!" Once the Galdr song had been chanted, Alice's hand relaxed on a spot and she decided it was a good one to carve in.

"Intaglio Fehu Fehu Fehu." Ta-daaah.

Next was Uruz, which was useful for using primal power to release creativity and create sudden change. Her favorite! "Uruz Uruz Uruz u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u r r r r r r u u u u u u u u u!" And definitely the easiest chant to memorize, that was for sure. She ran her hand along the Gandr again before picking a place to carve this rune. "Intaglio Uruz Uruz Uruz.." Thurisaz was up.

"Thurisaz Thurisaz Thurisaz th th th th th th th th th thur thar thur ther thor thu tha thu the tho th th th th th th th th th!" Alice knew this one was for destruction and defense, even conflict, so she didn't bother to look at the textbook. When she was finished, she focused on the area of her Gandr that seemed to be the best choice for this rune. "Intaglio Thurisaz Thurisaz Thurisaz."

The textbook was telling her that Ansuz, the rune of luck, good fortune, good fortune, immortality, divine impulse of human beings, and the invocation of divine power or help, was the one to carve after Thurisaz. She considered the representation as she chanted. "Ansuz ansuz ansuz aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw s s s s s s aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw!" Then came the carving, which was done quickly and easily. "Intaglio Ansuz Ansuz Ansuz.." And then Raidho.

Alice didn't have to look in the textbook for this one either, Botros had taught them about it last term. "Raidho raidho raidho r r r r r r r r r ru ra ri re ro rudh radh ridh redh rodh (rut rat rit ret rot) or er ir ar ur r r r r r r r r r!" The rune for travelers and journeying, but also sometimes legal matters, and she didn't have an issue finding a place for it on her wand. "Intaglio Raidho Raidho Raidho."

This was SO FUN.

Toby had been visiting Hazel every day for a week now, and every day after classes he would stroll to the edge of the forest and make his way along the border to the tree. Today he managed to judge the direction perfectly and could run in a STRAIGHT line from one of the entrances to the castle STRAIGHT to Hazel. It was a talent and he was blessed with it.

Kinda.

When deciding how to smooth the surface of the branch, which was now starting to actually look like a wand, Tobias had considered sandpaper or something. In the end he'd decided it didn't really feel right... like, it didn't feel MAGICAL or anything. He'd been pretty stumped then, because he had no idea what else he could use, but then Toby had been in an Ancient Runes class and they'd had to wear their dragonhide gloves whilst doing some carving. It was there that the Hufflepuff had realised that the gloves had an almost ideal texture. Sure, it would take a long time to smooth the wand out perfectly, but he didn't know any other way he could do it. There were no spells, at least that were manageable at his level of ability, that he could do, and he had no tools. Maybe he could have borrowed one... but he wanted to do the rest of this with as little help as possible.

After Toby had arrived at and greeted Hazel, he stretched up onto his tip-toes and retrieved the wand from its awesome little hiding place. He had been right; the sun DID hit it where it rested, and Tobias could only assume that the moon did, too, but it got dark wayyyyyy after the first years' curfew so he couldn't be sure.

Tobias sat in front of the tree, facing it like he was sitting across from a friend, donned his dragonhide gloves and started brushing his fingers over the wood. He applied some pressure, but not too much. He'd learnt that this was more about time, and he had LOADS of that. The Hufflepuff had a habit of spending an hour every single day out here in silence, working at the Gandr and smoothing down its surface and protecting its shape.

He'd tried speaking to the tree the first couple of days, but it really didn't work out well because he got distracted by his own and the only side of the conversation, and he was MEANT to be out here for a reason. Instead he sat and Hazel swayed in the breeze, both in silence and both apparently enjoying each other's company.

Every now and then, Tobias checked his watch. Not that he was bored or counting the minutes, but he was on a tight schedule today; there was a quidditch practice on really soon and he didn't want to miss it, and then Toby was planning on some solo flying practice.

Soon enough the minutes ticked by and Tobias ended the shaping session for the day. He tucked the Gandr back up in its hiding place and gave the tree an affectionate pat.

"Until tomorrow, Hazel."

And then Toby skipped away.

Her Gandr felt a little less like Gran's wrinkly skin and more like Gramps' hands, what with the smoothness but random notches everywhere. These were odd connections to make, but still, it was fun comparing wood to her grandparents.

The fact that there were so many similarities probably should have scared her.

"Kenaz kenaz kenaz ku ka ki ke ko kun kan kin ken kon ok ek ik ak uk kaunnnnnnnnn." Her textbook said it stood for spiritual understanding, initiation, the harnessing of power, and guardianship. Okay, she could roll with that. "Intaglio Kenaz Kenaz.." She paused here to ensure that her work was still looking neat and not getting sloppy. The last thing Alice wanted was a messy looking Gandr, okay? Botros would be so disappointed, she thought.

Next was Gebo, which had to do with relationships and exchanges and balance. She was getting progressively more fond of this one, seeingas she still had a paper heart in a box under her bet with the rune drawn and invoked on it. "Gebo gebo gebo gu ga gi ge go gub gab gib geb gob og eg ig au ur g a a a f f f f f!" The fifth year found a spot for this one right way, not hesitating as she carved it into the Alder wood. "Intaglio Gebo Gebo Gebo."

This, she thought, was much more educational than writing a song to a tree.

"Wunjo wunjo wunjo wu wa wi we wo wun wan win wen won wo we wi wa wu w w w u u u n n n!" Something to do with gaining the favor or untapped power of superiors, whether mortal or immortal and obtaining promotion or passing tests. Right, textbook? That was on a paper heart too. "Intaglio Wunjo Wunjo Wunjo.." Focus, Fischer. No thinking about hearts and boxes right now, she had work to do.

Hagalaz, that was a tongue twister. Alice couldn't say that ten times fast, she bet. "Hagalaz hagalaz hagalaz h h h h h h h h h hu ha hi he ho hug hag hig heg hog (hul hal hil hel hol) oh eh ih ah uh h h h h h h h h h!" It stood for meditation and silence.. oh hey, was this maybe a rune Romanos would enjoy? She could invoke it around her classroom or something. Awesome idea. "Intaglio Hagalaz Hagalaz Hagalaz.."

And she didn't even trip over the name, look at her.

"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!" Nauthiz, clearly, was next according to her book, and it had to do with all forms of success and all types of achievement. Locating a place to carve it on her Gandr, Alice began adding it on to the wood. "Intaglio Nauthiz Nauthiz Nauthiz."

Carving.. carvinnng... this was tedious, okay?

Tobias RACED to the his special Hazel tree as quickly as he possibly could. He was a lot later than usual today, because... well... the day had been an odd one.

Sometimes Toby had Quiet Days, where he had very little energy, but his thoughts still raced like usual. This meant he was distracted much more easily and had to focus DOUBLY hard on his classes. When the last bell had rang, Tobias had returned to the common room and planned to sit down for five minutes before doing some Gandr smoothing. But the sofas in the Hufflepuff common room were ridiculously comfortable and as soon as he'd sunk into one Tobias had fallen straight to sleep. It was only when a kind fifth year woke him up, saying something about how he needed to make sure he ate and then stayed awake so he could get to sleep that night, that Toby realised what he'd done.

As soon as he'd gathered his gloved and a knut so he could get back inside when he was done, Tobias had come straight to Hazel. They were nearing dusk, and the sun was starting to set later as the seasons wore on, so there wasn't very long until dusk.

"Sorry Hazel, weird day," Toby murmured to the tree, retrieving the Gandr that was now coming along quite nicely. He was still feeling tired and sat with has back up against the trunk of Hazel before starting the work at the surface with his gloved hands. Every now and then Tobias glanced up to make sure nobody was storming towards him all angry, because he didn't put it past himself not to fall asleep again.

Still, he was committed to spending his regular hour at the tree, and though he yawned an awful lot, and his eyes stung, Tobias worked and worked at the Gandr. He was about two thirds of the way in the the moon cycle, and though there were still parts of the wand that needed attention in order to get them to their smoothest, Tobias had every confidence in his ability to get it done on time. He started paying special attention to the parts that needed more smoothing down and kneading out in that sitting, resolving to start making sure he was about done other the coming days.

The Gandr was now pretty much straight from each angle when Tobias rolled it between his fingers in front of his eyes; all the bumps and stuff had gone and it felt like a super super basic wand. It was actually starting to look like a wand that had been untreated with whatever magic was on them, and Toby felt proud of himself.

After a particularly long yawn, Tobias checked his watch and noted that he should be getting back to the castle. Dinner was nearly over, but having a common room by the kitchens was a MAJOR plus, so he'd be able to make a sandwich or something, or maybe there were some left over treats from home in his trunk.

His mind now straying towards food, Tobias stood again and put the Gandr back up in its temporary home, before pulling off his gloves, tucking them in his pocket, and giving Hazel their usual palm-to-bark moment of communication.

"See you tomorrow, Hazel. I'll actually be on time, too."

Hopefully.

This evening, Tobias strolled back to the castle, rather than anything too exhausting.