The students in front of the classroom display case didn't notice that someone had entered through the doorway. They were too busy curiously examining the items on display.
For example, on the third shelf lay a gemstone necklace. A golden willow leaf chain held a pendant as large as an eye, encircled by diamonds, with a brilliant ruby at its center. Despite the passage of time, the gem remained dazzling and radiant.
Unfortunately, the necklace was enclosed in a glass case, making it impossible to take.
Lower down, there was a curved white staff inscribed with delicate magic runes, exuding an air of mystery.
Strangely, the staff was placed there openly, without any protective measures.
Malfoy recalled that his father also owned a staff, and instinctively reached out to take a closer look.
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that."
A cold voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling Malfoy. He quickly turned around.
Behind him stood a woman. Her fiery red hairs were loosely tied up behind her head, and she wore a brown Homburg hat. Her skin was strikingly white, and a thin golden chain hung from the side of her brown wizard's robe, connected to a gold pocket watch.
It was difficult to determine her age. She appeared to be in her early twenties, yet her gaze and demeanor carried the wisdom of someone as experienced as Professor McGonagall.
The woman looked down at Malfoy with a detached expression and said, "This bone is engraved with runes that signify 'malice.' Anyone who possesses it will fall gravely ill in a short time. Class is starting—go sit down."
Malfoy turned his head and saw that the other students had already scattered to their seats. Hastily, he found an empty seat and sat down.
"I am Bathsheda Babbling, your professor for Ancient Runes."
The red-haired woman glanced at her pocket watch and said:
"It took you all seven minutes and fifty-three seconds to enter the classroom. The one who solved the riddle was the last to arrive—Wade Grey. You took thirty-seven seconds to answer my question."
Professor Babbling looked at Wade and asked, "Do you know the origin of that quote?"
"Yes, Professor," Wade replied. "It is said that Odin discovered runes upon the World Tree. A poet recorded his words—
[Upon the tree, so tall and wide,
Nine long nights I hung with pride.
No drink, no bread to ease my pain,
Yet wisdom's gift I sought to gain.
Deep in the dark, the runes I found,
Their whispers sang, their magic bound.
I reached, I grasped with weary hand,
And claimed their power, bold and grand.
Runes hold ancient magic, true,
Revealing secrets to the few—
To those who seek, to those who dare,
Their hidden wisdom laid out bare.
From pain and trial, knowledge grew,
A secret lore both old and new.
Now runes I give to those who stand—
The strong, the wise, the brave, the grand.]"
"Very good."
Professor Babbling nodded in satisfaction. The corners of her mouth seemed to lift slightly, but she was clearly very stingy with her smiles, so her expression didn't change much in the end.
"Wade Grey."
"Yes."
"From now on, you are forbidden from solving the entrance riddle—that is the task of the other students."
Professor Babbling's words made the rest of the students groan in frustration, while Hermione looked eager and excited.
"The ancient magical scripts that have survived to this day primarily fall into a few categories—"
Professor Babbling continued, "The Oracle Bone Script of the East, the Indus Valley Script, the Cuneiform of Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Hieroglyphs, and the Runes of this land—these are what we call Ancient Runes."
"In my class, you will learn to write, read, and translate runes. As Wade just mentioned, these symbols represent magic and divine revelation, possessing mysterious power."
"A wizard who can interpret and master runes will attain greater magical ability and wisdom."
"But if you find this subject too obscure and difficult, or if you are unwilling to put in the effort to memorize the fundamental phonetic charts and symbol sets, I advise you to drop this course now and save us both the time."
"I only accept the smartest and most diligent students!"
To be fair, this year's students were different from those in previous years, who had blindly chosen the subject without understanding its difficulty. Before enrolling, they already knew how challenging Ancient Runes would be.
Since they dared to take it, they naturally had great confidence in their intelligence. Hearing the professor's words, the students looked eager to prove themselves.
Professor Babbling tapped her wand, and a palm-sized wooden tablet from the display case flipped through the air to the center of the room, and it instantly enlarged to half a person's height.
A black symbol was carved onto it.
The symbol then began to glow, its color shifting into a fiery red, as if it were burning. The temperature in the classroom seemed to rise slightly.
"This is Kenaz," Professor Babbling said. "It symbolizes light, fire, and sacred wisdom."
"At the same time, it can also represent kindness, strength, healing, and warmth—why are you not writing this down yet?"
The classroom was instantly filled with the sounds of books flipping and frantic note-taking.
"Individual runes have complex meanings. We must determine their exact significance based on their placement and surrounding symbols. Now, let's look at a few examples..."
After a brief introduction, Professor Babbling wasted no time and dove straight into the lesson—no unnecessary words, just a dense flood of pure knowledge.
The students were practically drowning in information.
At first, some students were still curious enough to glance at the wooden tablet displaying the runes. But as the lesson went on, everyone was too busy furiously scribbling notes, filling their pages at an incredible speed.
Among them, only Wade remained relatively calm.
After all, he had already memorized the entire Rune Dictionary. Most of what Professor Babbling was teaching, he already knew—and he had applied it countless times in practice, so comprehension was no issue for him.
Of course, that didn't mean the Ancient Runes class was useless to him.
Most of Wade's rune studies had been self-taught. Professor Murray had also taught him some runes while instructing him in alchemy, but only when they were relevant to a specific lesson.
There had never been a structured, systematic overview, which naturally left gaps and biases in his knowledge.
Professor Babbling not only explained the textbook material in depth but also expanded on knowledge beyond the books. Wade found her insights invaluable, and it even sparked new ideas for both alchemy and spellwork.
However, the rest of the class was not faring as well. Many students were starting to sweat, and their faces were turning pale. The longer they listened, the more their eyes took on a mix of clarity and utter confusion.
At long last, the lesson ended. With a wave of her wand, Professor Babbling made several lines of ancient runes appear on the blackboard.
"This is an excerpt from an ancient text. Your homework is to translate it when you get back—don't worry, it's all simple words, nothing beyond what we covered today."
She waved her hand, sending the wooden tablet back to its display case, then she tucked away her wand and walked out of the classroom with a light, with effortless stride.
A long silence followed.
Then, somewhere in the classroom, a student suddenly burst into tears.
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