Saying "Incendio" just before they moved on, Leah hurried after the group, her torch burning. Lifting her torch as high as she could but careful not to burn anybody, the second year managed to see the path in front of her.

The front doors were opened and alll Le-Leah c-could f-feel wa-was the CO-COLD. And great, her flame died. She muttered the Kenaz Galdr "Kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko.. kun kan kin ken kon.. ok ek ik ak uk… kaunnnnnnnnn" again. Eep, glow. The cold made the girl hope that her robes were burnt to and she could go back to her dormitory.

Those two poor firsties being sent back to their dorms like that. Or maybe it wasn't such a bad thing consider how cold it was. For as soon as Botros opened the double doors, Adi felt the full force of the weather. Ugh! Why did it have so be so freezing?!

Did they really have to go outside? Worst yet, it was snowing still. Would Hogwarts be buried under all this snow? O_O The third year eyed his torch. It seemed bright enough so no need to do more chanting.

As Austin left the class, with his torch held high, he realized that it was probably colder out here than it was in there. "Merlin's beard." He muttered under his breath. He tried to pull his robes tighter, but they didn't seem to do much. Instead, he burried his face in his nose and mouth in his scarf, and continued walking.

Why was the winter so cold this year? The snow seemed to have come earlier than normal, and it didn't feel like there was a small dusting at first. To Austin, it seemed as though the snow had come all at once. One day he was wearing the thinnest layers he had, and the next, he needed at least two layers at all times to keep him warm. That included the castle. His dad had told him that Hogwarts was a strange place, and anything could happen at any moment, but it seemed like this was an entirely different year. It definitely didn't seem like this happened often, or at all to be quite honest.

It was SNOWING? Ugh, great, just what they needed on top of all this cold - more snow to make it even COLDER. Holding his torch as close to himself as he could while walking to give himself some extra heat, the snowflakes were taking an obvious toll on it right away. Darn, time to get to chanting...

"Kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko.. kun kan kin ken kon.. ok ek ik ak uk… kaunnnnnnnnn.." he chanted, his flame getting brighter as he did so and making it easier to see through the snow. He should be able to keep on at this pace for at least a few minutes...

March Time. The only thing missing from this cult-ish feeling is some ominous sounding humming. They were Botros' cult. Marching down to the lake with lit torches. Nope nothing wrong with this image

Not at all.

Marching, Nigel goes. And of course it starts snowing. Nigel was going slow enough to be careful of black ice or ice in general. Though this was grass. So Black ice should not be here. But since this is Hogwarts, you never know.

Colder, Colder than just normal cold. What did he do to deserve this. Not laughing at pants that were no fire Definitely not that. It was now colder than cold and Nigel wanted to march back to the common room and starfish in front of a fire.

His little torch was just not cutting it right now.

Sophie was still a bit behind, so she quickly lit her torch. "Incendio!" she said. What was this strange feeling of actually being able to follow along in Ancient Runes? She was usually terrible at the subject. Could it be that she was actually growing brain cells that were compatible with runes? Hmm...

The flame on her torch was pretty strong, so Sophie skipped on chanting the galdr another time. She did as she was told and moved behind Botros. This was going to be coooooold, wasn't it? She raised her torch a bit higher and tried to mentall prepare herself for whatever was coming.

UGHHHH. Yes, it was cold.

Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to do the chant again for good measure. "kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko.. kun kan kin ken kon.. ok ek ik ak uk… kaunnnnnnnnn..," she said. Her flame picked up a bit, helping with the cold just a little.

“Incendio!” The Slytherin casted the Fire-Making Charm on his torch and true enough, the “runed” torch sustained the flame he made. He reckoned he needed to pay attention to it because if the glow became weak, he had to chant the Kenaz Galdr again.

Ethan breathed in and out slowly, and prepped himself to brave the dark and cold night ahead of them. The Slytherin sidled towards Simon, Cutty, and Grayson and waited for the rest to get in line. MERLIN. Something tells him that the lesson for that night is going to be an interesting one. Hopefully they’ll get back safe and sound to tell the tale.

As soon as the double doors opened, Ethan’s grip on his torch and wand tightened. He glanced over to Simon and gave him a look. Does he still remember the Cold Ones conversation they had back in the Tree House that morning? The Slytherin bit his lip and commanded his brain to focus at the task at hand. Now’s the perfect time to be paranoid and vigilant. The young boy looked up at his torch and did another chanting. The fire on his torch grew bigger in response, and gave him the assurance that everything will be a-okay.

Moments later, the whole class began to march forward. To what though? A frozen lake? Ethan had to slump a bit because of the chill. "Kenaz Kenaz Kenaz...Ku ka ki ke ko…Kun kan kin ken kon…Ok ek ik ak uk…Kaunnnnnnnnn..”

Did that kid just call him HOBO MAN? In what world did he look like a hobo and worse still that was an indirect insult to his looks, yeah? He was suggesting that Ascanius looked like he could be a hobo. He didn't know any homeless people that were nearly as attractive as Ascanius was; in fact, he didn't know any people period who looked as good as he did.

The kid got a look.

And worse still, Botros was saying he could skip out on the rest of the lesson. Ie. he wasn't enough of a man to finish it out. No way. He was going to finish this lesson and he would do it in spite of being lit on fire. That was how a manly man, Ascanius, conducted his business.

His torch was still lit when they all started marching, though, he didn't anticipate the sudden snow. It was cold enough for snow, sure, but had anyone seen snow clouds? Yeah, neither did he.

He keep his head down and just keep walking with his flickering torch.

Simon had remained silent for the majority of the class. He just took notes. "kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko.. kun kan kin ken kon.. ok ek ik ak uk... kaunnnnnnnnn" he repeated when they were allowed to practice. Even when one boy caught on fire, the Slytherin just stared with eyes as big as saucers. Someone seemed a bit too keen to move on in the lesson, thought Simon, shaking his head as he finished up note-taking. Note to self: never ever ever sit near crazy first years.

Yep. That was a fact.
- - - -
It was now time to light their torches. Lifting his wand up, he pointed it at his torch. "Incendio," he said as the torch lit up. The fire was beautiful. It contained so many different colours. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ethan making his way over towards Cutty and a couple other Snakes. Lining up behind his friend, Simon joined the class as they headed out into the freezing night. Why were they heading outside here? What was the point? Did it have something to do with all the other lessons that they had learnt about? He had no clue. He continued chanting, watching as his flame grew bigger and more colourful. Simon remained silent but felt incredibly uneasy. He returned Ethan's glance with a worried one. He wondered if his friend was thinking about the same thing he had been. The cold was biting.

As they continued further into the frigid night, Simon tightened his grip on both his wand and his torch. Focus. Focus, Simon. It's only a silly little thought. "Kenaz Kenaz Kenaz...Ku ka ki ke ko…Kun kan kin ken kon…Ok ek ik ak uk…Kaunnnnnnnnn.." The flame grew but it wasn't enough to combat the cold. It helped a little, but that was it.

It was unusually cold. Colder than it had been during previous lessons that they had experienced outside. The temperature... Perhaps it had a correlation..? No. Simon. Don't you think about it. Focus on Botros' lesson. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.

Simon tried his hardest to push back the thoughts that had emerged in his head but he couldn't and he started to become slightly distracted. His flame became weaker and it became colder. He steadied himself, chanted once again, and watched as the flame grew.

Botros was leading the line of students, the cold stinging breeze turned his wrinkly cheeks into a feminine shade of red. Such an embarrassing look had he seen it with his own eyes.

"So, the Kenaz rune is the rune of fire in general. Kenaz literally means torch, and it can relate to the torch of knowledge, the endless flame of soul and mind illumination." He spoke loudly, turning back to face the students occasionally. "What runes fit best with Kenaz if we to bind two runes together? Share your thoughts as we march." Keep them busy and distracted from this cruelly cold weather. Back when he was a boy, winter came less sudden and cruel in December.

Ethan caught sight of Simon and gave his friend a shrug. Yep. They’re definitely thinking the same thing. The Slytherin, while chanting the Kenaz Galdr took a glance on his side to see nothing but the dark. Nothing there. The boy forced himself to focus on keeping his torch alight, and whatnot.

As they kept on going further away from the castle, leaving the gigantic doors open for literally anyone to enter, Ethan managed to flick through his rune set with his mind. What’s the best rune to pair with the Kenaz? Right now, he’d probably go with ‘Algiz’. They will be needing that one, given that it’s dark and Merlin knows what’s beyond them. “I’d go for the ‘Dagaz’, sir.” Ethan said as he watched his step, careful not to murder someone else’s foot or worse, set someone on fire with his torch. “…since the Kenaz represents knowledge, I reckon the Dagaz brings illumination that can be associated with wisdom.” Right now, they could really use some daylight…and hopefully this activity will have a positive outcome. See: survive the cold.

It was getting colder by the minute. He frowned. By the time they reached their destination, they would all certainly be icicles. Mhmmm. It was true.

At Botros' next question, Simon pursed his lips. He waited, searching for some rune to say. He could see Dagaz working. As Dagaz meant breakthrough, awakening, and awareness. Before he could reply, Ethan replied, suggesting Dagaz. Simon followed his friend's logic. It made sense to Simon. But what about Algiz or Swolio too?

Honestly, he had no clue but he'd take a guess. "I'd go for either Dagaz or Swolio, Professor," suggested Simon. "I'd guess Swolio might be able to help to give us guidance about the wisdom?" Yeah, he was pretty sure that his answer didn't make any sense. Sorry Botros! Anyway, some sunlight would be nice right now. He wished that he was back in Australia in the hot summer weather.

They were leaving and their Head of House would be notified. It still wasn't that bad. Mr. Kitridge wasn't the scary intimidating type, he was just...Mr. Kitridge. All they'd have to do is give pathetic sorry looks and they'd be in the clear. No need for sympathy from her so she could stop paying attention and get back to the class.

The sudden chill that entered when the door opened had her shiver as the fire flickered but it wasn't vanishing, just flickering. For now the Kenaz rune was doing it's job.

Lex bundled a little closer as they headed on to the grounds, wadding through the snow like she'd done every other day. It was a wonder it wasn't frozen solid with this cold. "I'd say Thurisaz Professor for the knowledge, introspection and....um...focus aspects of it. Those can tie in with knowledge and illumination, yeah?"

And whaaaaat was this flame doing. No. Stop that excessive flickering. It was cute at first but now, with this bone chilling cold, NOT SO MUCH. Any more and she'd have to start chanting again, exposing her throat to the cold.

Rude.

The little clutchling boys formed their line behind the big 6th year Hufflepuff (Cris). Cutty paused to look and see his mates behind him and gestured for them to get closer for the badger's body made quite a good shield against the elements. Cris was quite tall and strongly built.



Their runes Professor was blushing OR...Or, getting into rouge, but that would've been a long shot as he would've had to have acted fast. Faster than he'd seen the old man move since...Well, last year, actually. When the Ancient Runes Professor ha been rejuvenated by the youth of the students surrounding him.

Ancient Runes Professor. Cutty wondered what the man got up to in his youth. How'd he end up there at Hogwarts. What's your story, Abraham Botros?

He heard this fellow third year Slytherin give a response that Cutty found logical. He did not wish to contradict another member of his house. Not now. The timing was off and there were other things at stake. "Dagaz sounds like it would enhance Kenaz's potential fer mind illumination like Ethan said, but if we were going for purely the enlightening effects of Kenaz couldn't we also use þurisaz, then?" There was an association problem there. See it? To Cutty any and everything could be useful, even disharmonious things. They just didn't work the way we wanted or expected them too. Also he liked to experiment. Somewhere in Liverpool and Victoria a collective sigh of relief was exhaled from both of his parents, as Cutty Mordaunt would never have the abilities to properly use all the power that came with the solid O grade knowledge of Ancient Runes.

Maybe he would stay out of Azzie afterall?

Was Ethan Mordaunt thinking what he was thinking? This was as calm as Cutty had ever seen him.

They were even being asked questions while walking in this cold?! Wasn't the walking bad enough? kevin wanted to turn back and sit in a boring classroom where it was warm , not be outside. He held his torch a little closer to him in an attempt to feel the heat of the fire. But as he did so, the wind nearly blew his torch out and he would have thrown the thing on the ground if the cold wind had succeeded. Luckily it hadn't and he marched together with the rest of the class to the Lake.

Moving closer to the Professor, his nose and cheeks bright red as he looked at the old man. "When are we going back? i'm coooooold" and to prove his point he shivered, a bit more dramatically than he normally would but eh? effects.

"And i choose Uruz because...its...uhm...something with ..." ...with what? The Gryffindor walked further for a few months, thinking of the answer and then clapped his hands when he got it. Nearly dropping his torch in the process. "to strengthen the will of the torch to not stop blazing! "..........He had tried okay?! Ancient Runes was hard!

Angel was totally lost now but her sister was pulling her closer to her. "Incendio!" Angel tried to light her torch but nothing happened, at least her sister had sense not to burn off her hair though she wondered what it would be like to be bold, though she didn't want that to happen to her ever.

"It did turn colder." Angel pouted, she just wanted to cling to her sister until this ordeal was over. "Incendio!" Angel beamed as her torch finally lit, she was shocked it had taken her forever.

Angel listed to the Professor and was confused as to what he meant fit two runes together. "Maybe the earth rune professor?" Angel wasn't sure but it was worth a guess.

Caleb moved closer to Botros, knowing that as long as he was close to the professor, he at least wouldn't get lost in the snowstorm. Unfortunately, there was nothing he was going to do to get even warmer unless he chanted, and he was pretty sure he didn't need to chant right now. If he did, he was afraid his hair would catch on fire!

But Botros was actually trying to hold a DISCUSSION as they marched. Ugh, was he CRAZY? He doubted it would make him any warmer, but he raised his voice regardless.

"What about Uruz? It means courage and perseverance, and you definitely need your torch to have endurance so it won't burn up right away. Nauthiz might be good too, since it represents hard work and urgency. Obviously you need to work hard to make your way through this STORM," he said, pulling his coat tighter to his chin.

Even as they were making their way down the lake, freezing every exposed part off their anatomy, Professor Botros decided to ask a question. Right now, the last thing Cris wanted to do was speak, because his teeth were chattering from the cold, but since answering a question involved utilizing the brain, which was almost falling asleep due to the cold, Cris decided to venture a guess.

"Professor I agree with those who mentioned Dagaz. It compliments Kenaz because it is the rune representing the element, fire. It is also the rune representating daylight, hence natural illumination via the sun, as well as self illumination through knowledgement and enlightment for the person possessing it. The rune also brings with it the power of change through self-will. I believe this what we're doing with the torch right now. Willing the flame to continue burning."

Really and truly. WHY was it so freaking COLD in this country?!

Or not even this country but all the way up here. Jeez.

Grayson was full on SHIVERING as he followed the others out of the door and towards the direction of the lake. He didn't know WHY they were going all the way THERE. Was something brilliant going to happen? Please say yes otherwise all of this was pointless.

The Slytherin tried to tighten his scarf around his neck, scowling a little at the fact that it was snowing. Actual. SNOW. He should have been used to this by now but no. Maybe what upset the boy so much was the fact that he could have been sitting inside with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and being rather lazy. And they certainly couldn't start a snowball fight out here. Not when the Professor was shooting them questions.

He looked up, even holding his torch up higher so that he could see the Professor better. Merlin knew why his torch was flickering like that but he was ignoring it for now. "I agree with Lex and Thurisaz," he piped up, "I think it mentioned something about an obstacle and maaaaaaaaaaybe Kenaz can be your torch through the difficult time. OR you could gain double the knowledge from both runes." Juuuuuuust saying.

You'd better be right, Cambridge.

And it was time to do something about the flickering torch because this was starting to annoy him. "Kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko… kun kan kin ken kon… ok ek ik ak uk… kaunnnnnnnnn..."

It was still cold and Nigel was listening to Botro's question. He had an answer. But it probably had nothing to do with them getting warmer. Disappointing right there. All that matter was getting warmer and inside as soon as possible. Even Scan was still here. Tough, he was. How much longer was this walk. A couple minutes or is there to be a next question. If there was one, he would have to cast the fire spell again. His flame was looking weak and he did not want it to die. Still in the future.

To the question.

"Kenaz and Algiz....The Fire can offer protection and both are Teaching Runes. Either mentoring or offering wisdom and insight"

Are We There Yet?

Adi was wondering if he was going to turn into a human popsicle before they even made it to the Lake. It was the Lake they were heading to, right? Ugh! The cold was distracting him! Was that Botros speaking? Trying to ignore the cold, he listened. Hmmm. Which Rune?

"I'd say Dagaz, Professor,'' Adi said loudly. Just to be sure the Professor heard him, yeah? "It means day and daylight and it's element is fire. So if we are looking purely for illumination, Dagaz could work.'' Right?

Zander tugged on his scarf to try to tighten it even more as the walked. BECAUSE UH, BRRRR it was REALLY COLD OKAY? Looking up at his torch, he scoffed a little because this thing was not really doing all too much. Maybe another chant would help? "Kenaz kenaz kenaz... ku ka ki ke ko… kun kan kin ken kon… ok ek ik ak uk… kaunnnnnnnnn..."

Now uh question? There's too much going on. AH. His head is going to explode any minute now. Marching, the FREEZING cold temperatures, and now answering questions tooo?

Zander listened to everyone else answer before he gave one of his own, "I'd have to agree with Dagaz, Professor," he said with a nod in the Slytherin's (Ethan's) direction.

Walking along, Austin realized how much he didn't know about runes. You could bind two runes together? Would that enhance both runes, or only just one? Is it possible for two runes to be bound that creates some sort of explosion? These were all questions that seemed like everyone knew, so he wasn't going to ask the professor about it. He'd have to look it up in the library or something later. He tried listening to what others answered, but they were all so different, and all had varied properties. How was one supposed to remember all of this?

Focusing back on his torch, Austin realized that the flame had dwindled. He couldn't remember the chant, so he listened to what his mates were saying, and tried to mimic their chant. "Kenaz Kenaz Kenaz...Ku ka ki ke ko…Kun kan kin ken kon…Ok ek ik ak uk…Kaunnnnnnnnn.." That was right, wasn't it? It seemed like it, because the torch's flame increased. But it didn't help his body heat. He was still colder than Merlin's trousers, and he wasn't happy about that.

Hobo man, oh, Merlin. That was... wow. Kind of brilliant, but she'd never admit it.

She still didn't know why they were going to the lake, or what the purpose of it all was, unless Botros was actually considering keeping them frozen for the rest of the evening. Granted, the fire coming from the torch helped, so she wasn't exactly complaining.

Plus, this seemed easy enough. Following him.

Until the doors opened up letting even more cold in. Thank goodness Ascanius was now entirely dry, right? Hey, was it snowing? Since when? It must've started a few minutes ago.

That wasn't going to stop them, clearly, so she got in line, close to Lex, and followed suit. Blazing torch near her, for warmth. As far as the rune goes..., "Probably Thurisaz, for the discipline," well, it would aid in getting that knowledge somewhere, and it does aid in study, "Or Sowilo, for the energy, to keep going," and make real progress. All those three combined could be the Deathly Hallows of Runes. Though, not really.

Alright it was time to march with the class. He had his torch all set. He began to walk when he felt a wave of coldness. He shivered and clutched his torch tighter. The flame didn't go out yet so he was still good. It helped keep his hands warm. He heard the professor ask a question. It was difficult to hear over the wind but he got the gist of it.

What rune would go with Kenaz. Kace thought about it and went through the runes in his head. "Professor I think Kenaz could be paired with Ehwaz because Kenaz represents skills and abilities and Ehwaz represents teamwork and I think those combined can be something?" he said spitballing here. He could be totally wrong but it was quite cold out here. He could even see his breaths come out in short puffs.