Chapter 203: Rune Club Recruitment
Chapter 203: Rune Club Recruitment
Later in the afternoon, a brand new poster was hung on the notice board. Even from a distance, the title was clearly visible—Rune Club Recruitment Announcement!
A group of young wizards gathered around the notice board. An enthusiastic student read it out loud so that those at the back could hear—
"Recruitment for the first batch of Rune Club members is now open. Requirements are as follows (meet any one of the three criteria, and the best candidates will be selected):
1: Rough mastery of thirty practical Ancient Runes (to the level of repairing a Magical Automaton), or expertise in one practical Ancient Rune (see the diagram below);
2: Independent completion of an alchemy item;
3: Completion of a seven-foot-long essay on Exploring Ancient Runes (with a list of additional reference books provided);
Selection time: The last Saturday of this month, in the morning; Location: Ancient Runes Classroom;
—Rune Club Head: Felix Hep, September 7, 1993."
Below the poster was a dynamic image and a long list of books.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione pushed their way to the front of the crowd to read the text and examine the images closely.
"I think the first requirement is the easiest to meet", Ron said, focusing on the last part of the first criterion. "You just need to be an expert in one practical Ancient Rune."
His comment was met with a chorus of agreement.
"Not at all!" Hermione sharply contradicted, pointing to the dynamic image on the left side of the poster—a young wizard holding a Runic Symbol that suddenly burst into flames. "It's the most difficult of all the requirements. In contrast, I think the third requirement is the easiest."
"Are you kidding, Hermione! That's a seven-foot-long essay, seven feet!"
"My eyesight is fine, Ron. In fact, I've written longer essays."
Many students recognized the Ancient Runes Class Assistant, especially those who had taken the subject for over a year. They were very familiar with her neat and elegant handwriting, which often appeared on assignments across five different year levels.
Privately, many students joked that the second-year Granger was the real professor of the Ancient Runes Class, given how her handwriting frequently graced the assignments, spanning five years.
"Hermione Granger, I hope you can provide a detailed explanation of the meaning and difficulty of each criterion", said Percy, a seventh-year student, who was wearing a badge symbolizing his position as the male Student Council President. His tone was formal and reserved. "Your input will be a valuable reference."
Ron whispered to Harry, "Look at him, he's like a spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic, except he's missing the protruding belly."
Harry glanced at Percy, then imagined Vernon Dursley's belly on Percy's frame, and couldn't help but laugh.
Hermione, noticing that everyone's attention was on her, said nervously, "Oh, of course. Um, cough! Professor Hep's Rune Club places a strong emphasis on practical runes, and his three criteria are designed to assess this."
"The first criterion evaluates your mastery of practical runes. From what I've seen in your assignments, many students above fifth year meet this requirement, except for the last part!"
"The second criterion is straightforward, but to meet Professor Hep's standards, you'll need to use more alchemical symbols and practical runes."
"The third criterion assesses your understanding of practical runes. Personally, I think it's the easiest way, especially for students below fifth year..."
After several minutes, Hermione finally managed to extricate herself from the crowd and found Harry and Ron waiting for her a short distance away.
"Good heavens, I've never been treated with such enthusiasm before!" Hermione said, unsure if she was delighted or exasperated.
Ron muttered on the side, "I wouldn’t mind switching places with you."
"Let's go, we should head to the Great Hall for dinner", Harry said.
At that moment, a voice cut in—
"So, you, the Muggle-born, just had your big moment in the spotlight!" Draco Malfoy appeared out of nowhere, looking pale. Beside him were Pansy Parkinson and his usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Shut up, Malfoy! You should be worrying about your father and how to explain things to your Death Eater friends", Ron said with a look of disdain.
Draco's expression darkened; Ron had hit a sore spot. Ever since he had spoken out of turn last Tuesday, after three days of brewing, his father had sent a stern letter forbidding him from mentioning anything related to the Dark Lord.
'Wipe that person from your memory, understand? Otherwise, I will bring you back,' the letter had stated.
Draco ignored Ron and looked at Harry. "If I were you, I’d keep an eye on that big oaf. Maybe you’ll only see him in Knockturn Alley from now on."
Harry retorted without hesitation, "Hagrid won’t be expelled."
"We’ll see, Potter", he sneered, then turned to Hermione. "You, the Muggle-born, only have a bit of smarts. What can you do besides memorizing facts?"
"I can do a lot more. Do you want to try?" Hermione uttered a strange syllable, and a faint glow appeared on her palm.
"Besides, she topped the Leaderboard in all subjects for second year 'Answer Parchment.' In your eyes, that means nothing... Oh, right, she might even become your examiner if you want to join the Rune Club", Ron taunted.
Draco looked as if he had swallowed a dead fly and slowly said, "What a pity. It seems your family won the Daily Prophet’s grand prize, making you much more confident..."
"Draco, don’t bother with these lowlifes. My grandfather’s servants have more money than their families. Being called a Pureblood alongside them is the greatest humiliation of my life", Pansy Parkinson said haughtily as she pulled him away.
Ron furrowed his brow, looking incredulous. "Are they sick or something? Why do they always cause trouble whenever they show up?"
Even after dinner, back in the common room, Ron was still bothered by the encounter. "They’ve ruined my whole day. Hermione, I’m serious, if you become one of the examiners... Hey! Keep your cat away from me!"
Less than three feet away, a large, ginger cat with a squashed-looking face was crouching and staring intently at his pocket.
Hermione scooped up her cat, displeased. "Crookshanks, behave." She sat down on the other side of Xiao Yuan’s table.
Harry glanced down at a piece of parchment covered in names, with lines connecting them.
Hermione glanced at the content and said worriedly, "Harry, are you still hung up on that fugitive?"
"I just can’t understand why my father would choose someone like that to be his best man!" Harry pounded the table in frustration. Even after a week, he couldn’t shake off his anger.
Hermione tried to comfort him. "People can change, Harry."
Ron asked curiously, "I remember you said on Saturday that you were going to talk to Professor Lupin. How did it go?"
Harry replied dejectedly, "I didn’t see him. Professor Lupin was sick. I knocked on the door for a while, and he only answered with a hoarse voice."
"But he didn’t explicitly refuse you, right? Try again when you have a chance, after class or next weekend", Ron suggested.
Harry nodded; that’s what he had in mind. There was a Defense Against the Dark Arts class today, but Professor Lupin looked so haggard that Harry feared he might faint during the lesson. He didn’t have the heart to make any requests.
(End of Chapter)
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