Alice had paused to check and make sure the quality of her work wasn't faltering while she had been going through the first ten runes. It hadn't, right? Good, because she wasn't redoing those. And she wanted her Gandr to be Botros shoulder pat worthy, y'know?

"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." One of her favorite runes in this project, because it was so simple to carve, and because it was the rune of the Alder tree, which she'd chosen to take her wood from. Thinking about how it represented masculinity and authority and glancing up at Mr. Alder, she ran her hands down the uncarved portions of her Gandr until she found a spot acceptable for an Isa rune. "Intaglio Isa Isa Isa."

Jera was up next, and it had to do with comfort and peace and happiness.. right thoughts, effort.. it wasn't really Alice's type of rune, but she put good effort into carving it anyway. "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!" It was pretty simple to find a place to put this rune too, and then she was carving it in. "Intaglio Jera Jera Jera.." Ta-daaah!

Eihwaz was all about protection, removal of obstacles, and enlightenment. "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!" Protection of oneself and one's rights was what the textbook called it, and Alice kept that in mind as she focused on the shape of the rune. "Intaglio Eihwaz Eihwaz Eihwaz." It came out looking just as she wanted it, so the fifth year moved on to the next symbol.

"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!" This rune opened or provides a barrier to the dark forces and confronted people with weaknesses, failures, and regrets. It sounded.. kind of scary. Also, Perthro totally looked like an hourglass tipped on its side, didn't it? Maybe it had something to do with the dead.. clock ticking...

That a creepy thought.

"Intaglio Perthro Perthro Perthro."

The fifteenth rune was Algiz, which was all about protection from danger. Maybe Botros should have gone around invoking this one about the school, yeah? Hogwarts could definitely use its talents. "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)." As she finished the chant, Alice moved on to the carving it into the wood. "Intaglio Algiz Algiz Algiz.."

Her hand hurt. A lot. It was tired. Owww.

Today Tobias was nothing short of gleeful. He'd had a super good day in his lessons, impressed a professor or two and even found out he'd earned some more points. PLUS the Gandr was just about finished, and just in time, too, because Toby only had a day or two left of the moon cycle.

With a grin on his face, the small Hufflepuff reached the tree and gave a little jump as he reached the right spot, grabbing the wand straight away. Same as every day. He'd become quite well-practiced at it.

Settling so he was facing the tree again, Tobias pulled on his gloves and got to work straight away. He'd worked out the best method for smoothing out the Gandr ages ago, and that was exactly the method he employed. There really wasn't much to do... all the bumps had been smoothed out so all this was really just to get it to look as perfect as he could get it, and to get the surface as smooth as possible.

Occasionally, such as every ten minutes or so, Tobias pulled off on of the gloves and ran his fingertips over the surface of the Gandr, just to see how it felt. He used this method to check which areas needed more attention in order for the entire thing to feel even.

He didn't even find it that boring. It was a brilliant way to sort of unwind at the end of the day whilst still doing something that required energy. Some of the days he'd been too hyper and not done a good job, but most of his time spent by Hazel was productive and well utilised.

At the end of the hour, Tobias took off his gloves, put the wand back in the tree and this time he leaned against Hazel for a little while. Just the two of them. Friends.

It would be weird not having to come back down here every day for the Gandr, but Tobias thought he might still come and visit Hazel all the days he could possibly manage it, especially in the good weather. Seeing as it was getting so nice he could even sit here and do some homework.

Toby didn't say any of this out loud, but he imagined that the tree sensed what he was thinking anyway. They had a connection, see? Hazel would know.

Still, it was polite to say SOMETHING out loud.

"Be back again soon, Hazel," Tobias smiled and placed his palm against the tree for a few seconds; their usual 'goodbye' gesture.

And then he strolled back to the castle, enjoying the last day.

Maybe he'd do some of the next steps by the forest as well.

Only nine more runes to go. Alice needed fuel. Brain food and stuff.

But first more carving.

Sowilo for salvation, knowledge, strength, and success. "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!" It was probably a good one to know, because that was exactly what she'd need towards the end of this year. OWLs and stuff, you know? "Intaglio Sowilo Sowilo Sowilo.." Once the rune was deemed fit for her Gandr, she moved on to a different one.

Next was Tiwaz, for divine protection, justice, honor, and victory. Alice eyed the representation inside the textbook curiously for a moment before going on to chant the Galdr song as she ran her hand up and down the runic wand again. "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!" Her tongue was getting kind of parched too, and along with her bottomless pit of a stomach, she was getting distracted.

Concentrate, Fischer. "Intaglio Tiwaz Tiwaz Tiwaz."

After Tiwaz came Berkana, which had magical effects all about healing and fertility and good health. Mo could definitely use this one, what with Mumblemups and all. "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!" That Galdr song had the word bark in it, did Mr. Alder hear? Alice gave her buddy the tree a friendly pat on the trunk before turning her attention back to the spot she'd chosen to carve Berkana. "Intaglio Berkana Berkana Berkana."

Six more runes wasn't too much work, the next of which was Ehwaz. It had a lot to do with changes and travels and bold new ventures. "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!" It looked just like the letter M, or like the rune Mannaz (save for the little crosses), so Alice didn't have any trouble carving it into her wand. "Intaglio Ehwaz Ehwaz Ehwaz." Wait.

Waaaait.

The fifth year needed to flex her fingers, okay? They were cramping as badly as they had the first time she'd ever held a beater's bat.

Fingers all flexed, she moved onto Mannaz. "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!" It had to do with mankind, dreaming, and the rational mind. It wouldn't be all that hard to carve, either, as it was the same symbol as Ehwaz but with little crosses in the middle of the M. "Intaglio Mannaz Mannaz Mannaz..."

Four more, and then her fingers were going to fall off.

Tobias was SO PREPARED.

The last day of the moon cycle had been a couple of days ago, but Toby had left his gandr out (and had visited to smooth it down and stuff) for an extra couple of days, just to be sure. He figured leaving it too long was better than leaving it for not long enough.

Settling down at the base of Hazel, after he'd done his usual little leap to retrieve the wand, Tobias pulled his general use wand out of his pocket and took a steadying breath. He'd been practicing the Intaglio spell for the last few days, wanting to make sure he was well prepared for this moment and not about to ruin the Gandr. Toby shifted where he was sitting and leaned forwards so his back was off the tree trunk and he was eagerly focused on what he was doing. There was something in his pocket that was making his leg uncomfortable, so he took out the Tiver and brush he had asked his grandfather to send (the man had been only too eager to do so when Tobias told him he was DOING his HOMEWORK). Setting those by his side, Tobias opened his textbook in front of him.

The tome was now pretty well-thumbed, because Tobias had read and re-read parts of it, especially about the Gandr. Now he'd spent so much time and devotion on the project he was making sure he did it right. So... Fehu first.

"Right, so... this first rune is Fehu, which is basically for success, good fortune... that sort of thing. Wealth and stuff," Tobias said out loud, and he kind of... LOOKED at the wand. Wait... was he forgetting something? OH. "Right, yeah... 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..."

He definitely didn't feel quite so much like an idiot when it was just him around and he was doing the chanting.

The perfect place for the rune made itself apparent, and Toby took another deep breath, focused. And began the spell. He had every confidence in himself that he could do this.

"Intaglio Fehu Fehu Fehu Fehu Fehu..." As he said the incantation, Tobias moved his wand like he was tracing the rune. One horizontal like and two upward diagonal strokes from that. Always thinking if Fehu, always giving his full concentration to the rune and how it meant success and good fortune or a stroke of luck if you were having a lot of misfortunes... and then he'd done it. Granted, it probably didn't take long because the runes were quite small, 'cause they all had to fit. And it was fiddly but he'd DONE ONE.

"Next up is Uruz, which is for energy and strengthening the will and creativity and all that fun stuff. Apparently clearing obstacles too." Tobias wasn't sure... the book said different things in different places and he wasn't sure which one he was meant to be going by BUT they were sort of the same so he didn't worry about it. "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..."

That one was a difficult Galdr to keep track of.

Finding himself drawn to a particular spot, right by where the handle was meant to be, Tobias started to carve.

"Intaglio Uruz Uruz Uruz Uruz..." A line up, diagonally down right a bit, a line down from there. Seeing as Tobias remembered what most of the runes looked like it was easy to focus on the rune rather than worry about the shape he was carving, and Tobias kept his mind on Uruz and the energy and creativity stuff and YES.

Only 22 more to go.

He shifted a bit where he said. "Heeeeeeeeeere's Thurisaz! Right, so this one is all about, uhhh... well it's good for use in study and tests... also for protection and defense. So... 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..."

Without thinking consciously about it, Toby rolled the wand in his fingers and found the perfect place for this rune. He fixed the rune name and uses in his mind and started carving. "Intaglio Thurisaz Thurisaz Thurisaz..." This was an easy one; it kind of looked like a flag. Plus it was a bit of a pain to say and not muddle the words, so Tobias had spoken to incantation slowly and deliberately and was now done with that one. Niiiiiice.

He checked the book to see what was next on his list.

"Now it's Ansuz... I like this one. It's for things like good luck and good fortune, success and leadership... gaining wisdom. Hmm..." Tobias was noticing a THEME here. A THEME in which he tended to be drawn to things for when their uses related to wisdom. "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..."

Where should he put it? C'monnnn, little help here?

Ahh, near Uruz seemed like the perfect position. Tobias easily remembered this rune - a vertical line and then two diagonal lines going down and right from the top and a little lower than that. He paused briefly to really FOCUS on the rune and all its uses, and got to work. "Intaglio Ansuz Ansuz Ansuz Ansuz Ansuz..."

The wand was really coming along; Tobias was super proud of himself.

"The next one is Raidho... the book keeps going on about journeys and paths for this, and it says it's for a safe journey, so I suppose that means short journeys or... super long ones. Like life." Life was a pretty long journey, right? "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..."

Once again, he could a perfect position for it almost instantly. Smiling to himself, Tobias thought hard about Raidho and it's uses for safe journeys and focused on how that was what the rune was intended for, and started carving. "Intaglio Raidho Raidho Raidho Raidho Raidho..."

It was another easy one, because it literally looked like a captial R, and soon he'd done it.

So that was like five runes done already? Neat!

Before he moved on to the next one, Tobias blew away the teeny wood shavings from his robes and trousers and also from the carvings on the Gandr. It was lookin' gooooooood.

She was SO CLOSE to quitting and running up to the castle and finding some Murtlap Essence to stick her hands in. This hurt, you know? Her hands hurt. And even though she didn't have any cuts or abrasions, they hurt, so Murtlap would obviously help.

But no. No quitting now. Keeping the thought of getting Botros shoulder pats in mind, okay?

"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." Lug was in this Galdr song, too, and the rune had to do with water. It reminded her of the aquatic creatures, Lobalugs, which in turn made her think of that one potion lesson where- CONCENTRATE, Fischer. She needed to FOCUS on this work. Right. Laguz. Water. Imagination. Intuition. "Intaglio Laguz Laguz Laguz."

This was STILL tedious.

Next was Ingwaz, which had to do with.. male fertility? ... was that even a thing? She made note to ask Botros about it later and continued with her work. "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!" And Ingwaz looked like a diamond! What did male fertility have to do with diamonds? But right, carving. "Intaglio Ingwaz Ingwaz Ingwaz." Male fertility FTW and stuff.

Then came Dagaz, and Alice's mind was filled with things about good luck and and fresh starts as she 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." The perfect spot to place this rune was revealed to her, and she started on the carving immediately. "Intaglio Dagaz Dagaz Dagaz.."

Last rune! Othala was it, representing possessions and property and things like that.. and it also looked kinda like a fish. Did that need to be thought about while she chanted, too? "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!" Now to carve the fishy shape, which she did with a careful hand. "Intaglio Othala Othala Othala.."

Finally! Done! She gathered her things up immediately before taking a look at her carved Gandr. Would it have pained her hands any less if Botros had let them use a ristir? Hmm. Maybe next term. With that, she stood and made her way back to the castle.

Murtlap Essence was next on her list.

All the stray sawdust now blown away, Tobias got right back to carving. Right... he'd just finished Raidho SO next was-

"Kenaz... this one says stuff about creative inspiration, wisdom again, insight, stuff to do with learning... errr, what else, oh... restoring self confidence and strengthening will-power," Tobias read from the book. Restoring self confidence... hmmmm, that made him wonder. Was HE self confident? Did he have strong will-power?

Probably not the time to be asking these questions.

"Kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko... kun kan kin ken kon... ok ek ik ak uk... kaunnnnnnnnn." Toby focused on the wand and found that his eyes were drawn to once specific area near the tip of the wand, so he guessed that was where it should go.

With Kenaz and its properties in mind Tobias started carving. It was a short and easy one, because Kenaz was also the rune for the hard C sound, and it LOOKED like a C soooooo... yeah, simple. "Intaglio Kenaz Kenaz Kenaz..." Just two lines and it was finished. Toby smiled to himself.

ON WITH THE RUNES.

"Now it's Gebo, which is like... love, relationships, gifts... and harmony in personal relationships. That's pretty sweet," Tobias added. Well it WAS. "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..."

Hmmm... where to put it? Tobias wasn't really getting much of clue of the best place to put it, and he was going to say the galdr again when he realised that probably the best place to put it was where he was drawn to most... maybe sometimes it wasn't instantly obvious.

Right, yes.

"Intaglio Gebo Gebo Gebo Gebo Gebo..." Toby had had to check this one to make sure he was doing the right rune, but it was the cross, so once he'd looked it was easy to remember. And easy to remember what to focus on. Love and all that stuff, y'know.

And that was Gebo done. Tobias didn't even check to see how many others he had left to do; he knew it was a fair few.

"Hmmm, let's see... ah, okay, now I have to do Wunjo, which is for, like, happiness and success and... motivation? And also to bring spiritual transformation. So, uhhh... 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..."

Aaaaaaand wait...

Tobias rolled the Gandr between his fingers carefully. As it turned he spotted a clear space on the wood that seemed and FELT ideal, so he got started straight away. He didn't need to check what the rune looked like, because he remembered finding it weird that it looked like a P when it didn't translate to one when they wrote things. So... "Intaglio Wunjo Wunjo Wunjo Wunjo..." This was, once again, accompanied by focusing on what the rune was FOR. YEP. SO MUCH FOCUS.

Tobias glanced up at the book again and saw that he'd already reached the end of the first aett... which was pretty freaking awesome. Only two to go, and he wasn't getting bored or anything. This was super fun to focus his energy on and productive and YEP.

Okay, so on to the second aett...

"Here we go, Hagalaz... okay, that's gonna be a pain to saw with the spell." Hmm. "But yeah, Hagalaz... this says... destruction. Oh. Uhh... oh, apparently the good kind. The necessary kind. Also, to attract positive influences... you ready?" Tobias, again with the talking to parts of trees. "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..."

He trailed off and stared at the Gandr. THERE. Right THERE. PERFECT. It was near the tip again, so Tobias shuffled it around in his hand. Hagalaz kinda looked like an H, right? Toby wasn't positive, so he checked the book just in case. Yeah... like a capital H crossed with a capital N. Go Toby, you Runes expert, you.

Well... maybe not expert.

MOVING ON.

"Intaglio Hagalaz Hagalaz Hagalaz..." The most difficult thing was SAYING the spell here rather than anything else. Toby tried super hard to focus on the run but it was a difficult one to say so his mind was partly on that so he didn't mess it up. But he reckoned he did alright. The rune was carved, in any case.

Once again, Tobias took a moment to blow on the Gandr to get rid of the wood shavings that were starting to accumulate in all the carvings.

Reddening the runes was a step that was probably best done in the classroom, but a bit of pigment and a brush weren't that difficult to transport outside. Besides, she'd done so much of her project with Mr. Alder and couldn't bear to leave him hanging now, you know? Maybe for the bits of the assignment that she was absolutely required to do in the castle, but for now, Alice and the tree were still going on strong.

"Hi Mr. Alder." Settling down at the base of the trunk, she beamed up at the tree before spreading out her work materials. The Tiver, a fine-tipped paintbrush, a towel from the dorms to do her painting on (not hers, obviously), and, of course, her Gandr. She didn't have any linseed oil to grind the pigment with, but she chanted "Laukaz, Laukaz, Laukaz," before she began.

The fifth year worked quietly, speaking only when she needed to chant the runes. "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. 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! 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. 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."

Merlin, was she glad no one was around to hear this.

"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! Kenaz kenaz kenaz ku ka ki ke ko kun kan kin ken kon ok ek ik ak uk kaunnnnnnnnn. 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!" Dipping her brush into the Tiver again, Alice wiped off the excess and began painting again with a careful hand. It had to be perfect. Botros shoulder pats, okay?

Her tongue was sticking out in concentration. That's how much focus was there. "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. 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! 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."

Alice's voice was starting to get hoarse from the constant belting of the Galdr songs, too. Water bottles have been a good idea, yeah?

"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. 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! 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. 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! 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)." Her Gandr was lookin' good so far, if she did say so herself.

Wait, was that a A DROP OF PAINT right there? Alice frantically rubbed at it with a corner of the towel positioned under the Gandr she was painting. It had to be PERFECT. No room for mistakes and stray bits of Tiver ruining her runic wand.

Hmph.

"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! 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!" That last bit of the Galdr song reminded her of Tiver, which she quickly took another blob of on her paintbrush before resuming her work. "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. 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! 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!"

Four more. FOCUS, Fischer. Focus. "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. 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! 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."

And Othala, the last rune of them all. Alice was really beginning to appreciate seeing it, y'know? Because it always meant that she was finished, or it did in these class cases. "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!"

Finally finished, the fifth year set her Gandr down and let it dry while she turned to the tree. "Thanks, Mr. Alder, for keeping me company while I did this project. It meant a lot to me." She nodded seriously and.. well, she'd already given it an offering, but this tree was important, and so Alice slowly pulled out another packet of jelly slugs from her pocket and dug another hole at the base of the tree with her foot and set the candy inside of it.

"For you, Mr. Alder. I'll come visit you sometime next year, okay?"

She gave the trunk a big hug, and then turned back to her Gandr. So much work for such a funny looking thing.

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.

Dylan kept returning to the tree...working with the wood of his galdr to make the surface smooth and unmarked by indents and jagged edges. Sometimes he'd wear his textured gloves...Other times he'd just use his bare hands to touch and feel the galdr out. He never used a tool on it...Not to shape it, anyway. If he was supposed to, the rules hadn't been too clear on the matter. So, he'd opted to just go with his gut on what to do.

He'd gotten quite a scare on one of the nights when he'd returned. Dylan had walked out there and nearly couldn't find the galdr. He'd legit thought that someone had snatched it up...The panic that the Slytherin felt had been numbing and almost vomit-inducing. He'd finally spied it, though...and he'd been able to continue on with things.

It was always the same motions, mind. Dylan would rub at the wood, squeezing it's surface with the the special gloves, and then rub his fingers across the really bumpy parts.

Rubbing....Rubbing....Rubbing....Rubbing....

Toby was back at Hazel once again. But this wasn't a social call; he usually did those at the end of the day after lessons, and right now it was so early he wasn't even sure if breakfast had started.

No, Toby was here super early because he'd forgotten something super important and valuable that he really needed. The Hufflepuff wasn't sure whether or not leaving it outside would be bad for it but it was too late now.

He reached the tree and stared frantically around at the grass. C'moooooooon, he needed to find it. It was the WORST thing he could possible lose in this place.

Suddenly he dove for something on the floor triumphantly, but... no, it was only a stick he'd used ages ago to dig the hole for the tree offering. Ugh.

But then he really DID see it. Tobias lunged over the the object, SUPER HAPPY look on his face. BRILLIANT. WHEW. He thought he was done for.

Reunited with his magic wand, Tobias skipped merrily back to the castle.

Everyday for the rest of the twenty-eight day cycle, Dylan returned to the tree...first touching at it bark with his bare hands...and then working with his galdr. It was always the same thing, too. He'd have trouble initially locating it and then it would pop up...and rubbing and meddling would commence.

For the last couple of days, he'd brought along special flowers to offer up to his tree. Dylan had no particular reasons for doing this...but it'd felt right to do so. The type of flower varied...but there was usually always flowers. It was legit because the Slytherin Captain was seeing the yew tree more than he was his own girlfriend even. So...flowers seemed about right.

Those textured gloves had been an awesome investment, too. He'd used them everyday...Just constantly rubbing at the wood...and then there would be the portion with him removing the gloves and just infusing his natural magic into it...Dylan figured Professor Botros would appreciate that approach, too...because of the amount of touching he'd done to the tree trunk.

Molding and meddling...

Rubbing...

Finally, he'd completed the process and carried the runic wand back to the castle. There was carving to do...