Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner

Nigel tapped the side Botros wanted tapped with his wand and clearly said "SpeRevelio" Now that was some pretty cool stuff right there. Right, question time. "Couldn't they be a cipher of sorts. Which would explain why they are concealed"

"A cipher? A code. Hmm. Close, but not really."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi listened as Professor Botros spoke. Well, he stared a great deal too, unable to believe the man had reversed his aging. He preferred the old Botros, though. This young one seemed a lot more serious. Was that how Botros really was back in the days? He now watched with interest as the spell was performed and hidden runes appeared. Woah! Cool spell!

The Puffer pondered on the next question before raising his hand. "Since the amulet can't work for you, Professor, maybe the key to getting it to work is by using those hidden runes.''

Adi eyed the amulet on his desk. Time to practice, yes? How exciting!

Botros scratched his head and made an 'you almost got it' look at the Hufflepuff. "Not really." The exact opposite, actually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

... Well this was interesting. Runes! And some he recognised off the top of his head. ... Right. Question. Shooting the runes one last look over, the Head Boy looked up and over towards Botros, his hand in the air. "Professor? Maybe they were hidden because..." ... Pause. "... because it helps the runes to work better? I mean... maybe if the runes weren't hidden, you'll be more likely to over-dramatise the outcome. Maybe you'll end up looking for clues and... and trying to change things instead of letting the rune work its magic. In that way, the runes, and ten the talismen, might not work properly." Shrug. His guesswork.

HMMMM. Interesting answer from Mr. Summers. "We could say that, yes. The runes are concealed because otherwise they'll be a distraction. More importantly, it'll be pointless having them on the amulets if they were visible to everyone." Grin. This guessing game was exciting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Lex didn't have a problem offering help but it seemed everyone had things under control for now so she would focus on the Professor's hair again the question being asked. Her hand rose slowly and it might have had something to do with the achy joint at her elbow. "Could they be what gives the amulet the power it has? Kinda like when we put runes on other things to enhance their strength or durability or something? If so I can see them being concealed to hide the fact that they've been altered. It's like, you put a curse on an object, use runes to make it more powerful but don't want the people you're setting a trap for know what's coming to 'em."

YES! Botros clapped and pointed at old Cambridge. "Exactly! They're concealed because they're not carved on the amulets for good purpose, the carver doesn't want the owner of those amulets to recognize those runes." Although no one had mentioned what were those runes for. That was more important than why they were concealed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

But wait everyone was answering a question. Oh yes the Professor had indeed asked one. So Sander listened as the others shared their thoughts and once they were done, he raised his hand.

"Professor I believe that the runes are for some kind of protection since Ehwaz and Thurisaz are runes of such a nature. Why they were hidden? Maybe because the giver didn't want someone else to steal the amulet for themselves. I mean if they can't see what it's for, they won't know what it's for, right? That way only the recipient gets to use it."

Botros clapped again at the Hufflepuff. "Yes, exactly. The carver of those runes doesn't want them to be seen, but no. They're not for protection. When you conceal something, it's usually because it's fishy business." He grinned at them again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

Lux watched Professor Botros curiously as he spoke; it really was very hard not to focus all of her attention on his hair. Fortunately, she managed to get the gist of what he was telling them, and it seemed simple enough.

Looking at the amulet on her desk, she tapped it with her wand while saying, "SpeRevelio." Seemed simple enough.

Raising her hand, she ventured a guess as to the answer to the question he had asked. "Could the Runes be what give the amulets their power so that they work properly? And... maybe they are hidden because somehow it makes the Runes even stronger if they are concealed?" Honestly, she had no idea.

"Sometimes runes are carved on amulets to give them more power and durability, yes. But other times, they're carved there for the opposite option."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

"Protection from negative ene.... en...." No more yawns. Please? "... nergy? I thought there was a runic charm for that, sir. Raidho... Isa, and Kenaz, I think. Does that have anything to do with this?" Alice refrained from actually answering Botros' question since she didn't know the answer... but this sort of still counted, right? "'Cept I can't even see those runes properly."

She was going blind. Son of a garden gnome, she was turning into GRAN. Sound the alarms.

... right. He knew the lesson might boring to the general student body but they didn't have to rub it in with all the yawning and whatnot. Geez. Botros cleared his throat and answered, "There is a runic charm for that, yes. Can you see if those runes are the same used in that charm, though? I'd say not." So, nope, these had nothing to do with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosa Chispa Princessa

Soon a new question was asked about why certain runes that are often hidden are put on amulets. Oichi raised her hand and responded, "The runes convey a message which is hidden because the creator of the amulet does not want everyone to know the power a certain amulet holds".

"Yes! Exactly, you just have to specify what you mean by power and your answer would be perfect." He grinned at the Gryffindor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Ascanius was basically doing the BARE MINIMUM it took by to get through this class today. He didn't even want to put forth the effort to just sit there and be nasty. Nope, the sixth year was out of energy and, honestly, these two were boring him to almost tears. And he was a manly man, which meant that took QUITE a lot of boring.

But anyway, when the old guy started to talk again, Ascanius just did what he was told and flipped the amulet over. He admired the work that people way more artistically inclined did before he tapped his wand on the art and whispered, "SpeRevelio."

And he COULD have answered the question, but he wasn't going to. Although, he figured that the runes were probably hidden because they were magical and wizards typically didn't like muggles knowing they existed.

Then again, what did he know.

... Botros didn't expect the mute kid to talk at this point. At least he was following instructions and not snoring. That was a progress!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Hmm? Mo turned over the new amulet over and over in his hands, trying to figure out why someone would conceal the runes covering it. Was it a secret? Was it for protection in some way? Mo gently set the amulet down on his desk and pointed his wand at it. "SpeRevelio."

Hmm. Unhelpfully, Mo raised his hand. "I think the order and the layout must be significant, although I couldn't say why exactly. But it isn't normal to lay them out like that, so there must be a reason for it." Logic.

Botros clapped for Marco, gave him a light shoulder slap too because they were buddies. "Great answer, Marco, yes. You see how some runes are upside down and how they make certain angles? Those are not randomly carved on an amulet. They form a unity." SO..???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deezerz

The third year pointed at replica, tapped it, and said, "SpeRevelio." Nothing. "SpeRevelio!" It worked! Slowly, shapes began to become visible until they were finally clear.

Glancing up, she thought about Botros' question. When her thoughts were somewhat gathered, she raised her hand, though she had to use her other hand to support her dominant one. "Protecting a home? Or an important place," she said. "And I think they were concealed so intruders wouldn't be prepared for what was coming their way. Like...a surprise?"

She'd do that. Hide amulets or whatever and when an intruder stepped into her territory it wouldn't know what hit them and BAM! Roasted.

"That makes sense... though the intruders would probably destroy the amulet whether there were runes on it or not. Some amulets have magic by default, without us having to carve runes on them." Her answer was a pretty good one, though! Botros gave her an encouraging smile... and passed a hand through his hair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Well this class was turning out to be more fun than he thought it would. He still didn't really understand half the stuff the Professors were talking about but he got to use magic and that was always good.

He looked at the amulet from all angles before giving it a tap with his wand. "SpeRevelio." The runes appeared before him and while he recognised some of them,he had absolutely no idea what the runes were for and why there were hidden so he figured it was best to remain quiet on this one.

The kid had the spell done right. Botros nodded approvingly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi set the amulet down on the desk before him so that the engravings were facing him. ''SpeRevelio!" he said and giving it a tap. He waited eagerly for hidden runes to appear. But nothing happened. Bummer.

"SpeRevelio!'' Tap. Nothing still. "SpeRevelio!'' Tap! "SpeRevelio!'' Tap! Gaaah! Nothing. "SpeRevelio!'' Adi said a bit louder and giving the amulet a bit of a heavier tap. Finally! Something was happening. Runes flickered just like Botros's had. After a while the flickering stopped and he was able to examine them properly.

... this kid, too.

Text Cut: aaetha

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaetha

Huh. They were moving very quickly over the History of Magic part of this lesson, something that Adrienne had actually thought she might enjoy, and were already doing runes? Not that they didn't interest her, but the culture of Ancient Egypt was definitely a much cooler prospect than a handful of dusty old runes. She frowned at the amulet that had placed itself on her desk with a look of general annoyance, but still complied with what she was supposed to be doing.

"SpeRevelio," she said, tapping it with her wand, and to her disappointment there was absolutely no change. Beginning to look even more ticked off than before, Adrienne tried again. "SpeRevelio!" Again, nothing, but after a third try the hidden runes wobbled into view. She carefully copied them down into her notes, and then transcribed them, something that oddly enough, nobody else seemed to be doing.

As for saying anything on the subject, though, she had nothing to contribute, given that they were essentially gibberish to her. Perhaps listing their names instead would bring light to the subject? Next to the letters she copied down the names of the runes separately.

Gebo - Ehwaz - Dagaz Othala - Jera - Hagalaz - Thurisaz Tiewaz - Isa - Algiz

This one seemed to be deeply in thought. No sharing? Tsk tsk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poolicious

After Messer finished with his drawing, he heard Botros explained to them more about amulets and saw the old man used a spell to the amulets. That's pretty cool. They get to try it too? Nice.

He tapped the amulets with his wand. "SpeRevelio!" The runes appeared before him. Now, about Botros question, some of his classmate already mentioned about protecting the power inside the room so he just didn't see the point by repeating it again.

Good spellwork for the Hufflepuff too. Nodnod.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Oh. There was an amulet on her table now. She stared at it curiously before picking up her wand. She muttered the spell to herself a couple of times before decided to go ahead. The girl tapped her wand against the engraved part of the amulet before she said, "SpeRevelio."

... And she could see the Runes now, yes. How interesting.. Delilah leaned back against her seat, her eye still focused on the amulet for another brief moment before raising her hand, "They are protected runes, professor." .. Yeah.

"Some of them indicate protection, yes, but their power and magic, when combined, mean something else entirely." He smiled at the Hufflepuff. Another good question from Hufflepuffs.

Deciding he'd heard enough guessing, Botros went back to stand on the dais, and he loved how gracefully and easily those back-and-forth movement felt today! He tapped his wand against the board behind the desk so that the runes on the amulets appeared on the board bigger and clearer for everyone to see.

"Those runes, as Marco mentioned, are drawn in a specific order. They're a unit, their magic is mushed up together so that it's not about what each individual rune means but it's about what this group was made for." He paused, letting this introduction sink in before he tapped the board again. "This group of runes is called a Runic Ward, if you're interested in breaking curses, then you'll want to pay close attention to today's class because the most powerful curses are those done with runic wards." He smiled, pleased.

"So, what's a runic ward? A ward is a line of power (usually a spell or a hex) anchored into a solid surface by at least three runes. So those runes over here, they hold a curse that stops the amulets from functioning.

"Of course, there are many types of curses, some of those wards can be harmful to humans as well as suppress the magic of the amulets. The runic wards you have on your amulets are not harmful, they're one of the simple kind." Botros let his wand write on the board for a moment before continuing, "There are three types of Runic Wards; Simple, they have only one line of runes, Double, they have two lines of runes that form an angle together, and then Complex Wards, they have at least three lines of runes and form many angles together."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

"[b]Wards have different countless shapes, the more complex its shape, the harder it is to break it. In order to break those curses, we need to identify a weak spot. A weak spot, in general, is the weak rune in the line, it’s our door to breaking the curse where if we apply a breaking spell or an opposite rune where it’s carved, it’ll break the power of this line of runes.

“This isn’t what we’ll be learning today, though. This is too advanced for you, today we’ll focus on identifying the weak spot in a runic ward.” He turned to the blackboard and wrote;

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

How To Identify a Weak Spot in a Curse:

• Simple Wards: The rune in the middle.
• Double Wards: The rune that forms the angle, then the double ward becomes two simple wards.
• Complex Wards: Each runic line forms a simple ward, we choose the middle rune in each line.

Note: in case of even number of runes in a line, pick any of the two middle runes.
More specific rules apply, but that's for advanced studies only.

"This curse, or runic ward, on the amulet is composed of three lines of power. We need to identify the weak spot for every line before we can break the curse." He put down his amulet and continued. "If there is an even number of runes in one line, then you can choose any of the two runes in the middle to be the weak spot." He kept tapping his wand against the board. "Continue breaking those runic lines at their weak spots util you have single runes or double runes. That's the essential idea of breaking a runic ward, a runic curse. We need to break the group of runes into scattered weaker runes." Ab took a deep breath and turned to face the students. "Don't worry about that now, though. This is an advanced branch of rune study, but you need to have basic knowledge about what runic curses are, and what we have to look for when we want to break them."

Pause.

"Any questions so far?" He was sure there was a bunch. "For those of you who don't have a question, please identify all the runes carved on your amulet by writing them down on your parchment. It's good to write one of their meanings next to them, too."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Penguin

Ian tried to listen to all that was going on in class. It was rather difficult and he caught bits and pieces. He glanced at the blackboard and then at the amulet before him and tried to make out which part was the weak point. The question that came to mind was simple perhaps but he asked anyway, raising his hand as well he could his feeble voice croaked Is there.... His mind wandered for a brief moment and then he continued as the thought returned. Having cleared his throat, he spoke out a bit louder this time. IS THERE A SPECIFIC ORDER OF LINES YOU SHOULD TRY AND BREAK COMPLEX RUNES? It was odd how silently the voice sounded so quiet. He waited patiently for an answer, hoping he could hear it.

Oh. So this is how Botros sounded to the others when he had faulty ears? He tried not to wince at the shouting and shook his head at the boy, "It doesn't matter in this case, no. But if you take the advanced classes, there will be rules to that, yes." So, it didn't matter in this class today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

Sander had plenty of questions....only he couldn't quite remember what they were at the moment. So he did the next best thing. He picked up his quill and began translating each rune, writing each one of them down on a parchment.

Text Cut: Sander's parchment

First line
Gebo - the gift
Ehwaz - speed
Dagaz - change

2nd line
Othila - possession
Jera - harvest
Hagalaz - disruption
Thurisaz - defense

3rd line
Tiwaz - justice
Isa - challenge
Algiz - protection

As Sander studied the runes, he noticed that the bottom runes were facing in reverse. So to clarify matters, he raised his hand and asked, "Professor Botros, for the runes at the bottom, are we supposed to interpret them the way they are lying, in this case, reversed/or lying in opposition to?"

While Sander waited for the answer, he decided to add the meaning for those runes if the answer to his question was an affirmative.

Text Cut: Sander's parchment

First line
Gebo - the gift
Ehwaz - speed
Dagaz - change

2nd line
Othila - possession
Jera - harvest
Hagalaz - disruption
Thurisaz - defense

3rd line if not read in reverse
Tiwaz - justice
Isa - challenge
Algiz - protection

3rd line if read in reverse
Tiwaz - imbalance
Isa - illusion
Algiz - warning

Once he was done he put down his quill and waited for the Professor to check his notes.

Botros nodded with a smile, "Great question, yes, you should take into consideration that they're inverted or reversed. Every line and order of those runes are significant in the way they're carved and written--"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

stare... stare... stare...

Really it was time for not so old man to start talking. Bart wanted to just facepalm on his desk, because the minute the man started talking Bart stopped understanding. Why couldn't History Man keep talking. He couldn't really hear either of them, but still at least one spoke his language. While the other was way to long winded and confusing. "What... a spell.. what?" Why did he keep talking and just as Bart got his wand out the man was talking again so all spell thoughts and tapping a rune were forgotten.

He looked around the room where was history man? Why was he not talking. Once he found him he leaned out over his desk trying to get his attention. "Psssst... PSSSSST." Did history man hear him? Without the other one hearing him.

He leaned over more when the desk started going forward and he crashed on his face. "OWWWWW" Did he break something, it sure felt like his face or shoulder or something, but it hurt and now he was face down on the ground stuck with his bum in the air as the desk was turned upside down as well.

... Botros' eyes widened for a second before he jogged over to the boy with the desk almost on top of him. Oh dear. "Mr. Maroon." He knelt by the boy, not moving him by force in case he had broken something, Merlin forbid. But Ab rushed to slowly lift the desk off the boy's body. He could do that now without any knee or back problems!

"Is there pain anywhere? Can you move, son?" He shouted in the boy's ear in case he went deaf like his friend...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braith McCormack

But before he could get there, Ab sprinted past him. Wow. Who knew the old guy could move so fast? Trying not to chuckle to himself as this was something serious, Braith took a few more steps down the aisle to where Ab was tending to the boy. "Everything alright?" Might have hurt a bit, or even be quite embarrassing, but he was sure the boy was fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

SPOILER!!: Professors

So he had face planted smack on the floor. Feet and bum in the air when he heard a voice, but it wasn't the voice of History man. No it was the voice of Runes old dude. Then he was moving. He felt the desk lifting and lifting with it. A very loud groan. He hurt, but he still wasn't sure where. Sitting and staring a little spacey for a moment he blinked as the professor screamed in his ear. "MY HEAD HURTS A BIT, BUT I THINK I'M ALRIGHT." He touched his face. Nothing seemed broken but honestly he was hurting.

Looking at the class embarrassment set in for his little stumble. That's when he heard another voice. Looking up he saw History Man standing over him. About time he showed up after he was trying to get the man's attention. "Everything is fine." He grumped a bit as he tried to get himself back in order, but cringed in pain as he moved his shoulder. Everywhere hurt. He definitely broke or tore something in his arm. He grabbed it with the other hand, but didn't want to be a baby in front of the class.

Leaning closer he tried to whisper, but without hearing correctly it came out as normal speech. "I just don't get this.. I mean Runes, they are confusing and make no sense. You speak a different language talking about them." There he admitted it. Now could he go back to pretending not caring about the class.

Botros eyed the way the boy held one arm with the other, there was visible pain signs on his face too. "You're not alright. We need to get him to the Hospital Wing." The boy had those aging effects on him, who knew if he'd broken something or had a concussion out of this frail body? Ab looked at professor McCormack meaningfully.

Forget runes, now, Merlin. "Not everyone are graced with the understanding of runes and how they work. You need extra tutoring if you feel like you can't keep up with us in class." The professor could tutor him even, it wasn't a problem. The problem was how healthy the boy felt, how much the pain was right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Penguin

Ian listened as hard as he could for the answer. He caught the idea that there really wasn't any special order. Great! he thought to himself. And then suddenly his mind had wandered and he was thinking of being on his father's fishing boat, hauling in nets of great fish. The sea air against his face and his father shouting orders to the crew. It was a great feeling. He shivered as the air cut through his bright yellow rain gear. Suddenly, he looked and saw a fully loaded net coming for his mate, Pietro (a fisherman on his father's crew) He shouted a warning WATCH OUT, PIETRO! NEEEEET! and he lunged to grab him and pull him to safety.

After the shout, he was back in the classroom wondering what he was doing. He looked at the blackboard and the amulet before him and heard a crash and looked over to see Bart on the floor and the teachers talking over him. He wondered what had happened and if Bart was alright.

... right. Botros watched the boy who just shouted, wondering whether this was an act of disrespect or it was unintentional. He seemed to be absent-minded and old, though. "Calm down, son, we're almost over." Well, they weren't over really, but most kids were distracted or losing it, and this was an intense and important class.

---

Leaving Mr. Maroon to professor McCormack to deal with, Ab returned to the dais and pointed at the runes written on the blackboard behind him. "We need to find the weak spots in this Curse. Like I explained before, the middle rune is the weak spot in a line of runes. This is a complex curse here, so you should consider each line as a separate ward. There are three or four weak spots in this curse, go ahead and write them down on your parchment as so." He turned and wrote what they should do for them.