Chapter 632: A New Beginning, the Seventeen Runic Script Laws
Chapter 632: A New Beginning, the Seventeen Runic Script Laws
When Harry stepped out, his head was still spinning, as if his consciousness remained in Professor Bashaat’s office. They had been sitting on soft, plush sofas, the red, flickering flames of the fireplace casting a warm glow, discussing their views on magic.
Professor Bashaat’s theoretical knowledge was extensive. Comprehensive yet not overly verbose, and he always managed to present his ideas clearly with some clever demonstrations. In comparison, Harry felt inarticulate and muddled.
This thought made him feel dejected, especially since he had taught many students spells at the Frontline Watchtower Club.
Harry couldn’t help but compare the professors he had encountered in this subject.
In his first and second years, he met Quirinus Quirrell and Lockhart, but he didn’t learn much useful knowledge from either of them.
Quirinus Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort at the time, likely preoccupied with plotting how to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, leaving little room for teaching. It was said that his theoretical knowledge was solid, which seemed plausible given the curse he placed on the broomstick. Of course, it was also possible that Quirrell’s mind was corrupted, evidenced by his disjointed and nervous speech.
When Harry first discovered he was a Horcrux, he spent some time fearing that a second face like Quirrell’s might sprout from the back of his head.
As for Lockhart, he was good for nothing except forgetfulness charms and was now suffering in Azkaban. However, Harry had to admit that if it came down to the liveliness of their classes, Lockhart definitely had the edge. He didn’t stutter and was enthusiastic and animated when reading from the textbook and performing pantomimes, which made him a much better speaker than the incoherent Quirrell.
Harry thought fairly that, when not using himself as a prop to play deranged characters, watching Lockhart jump around could be quite entertaining and stress-relieving.
Harry’s first proper education in Defense Against the Dark Arts, aside from the Dueling Club, began with Professor Damocles Belby.
Belby was a Potions Master who had developed the Wolfsbane Potion. In a way, his choice was the opposite of Snape’s. However, Belby himself admitted that he was only a temporary replacement, but Harry still found his series of defense courses centered around the Forbidden Forest to be very useful.
In third year, the students welcomed Professor Lupin. Whether it was due to additional subjective feelings, Harry considered him the best Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor he had encountered. Remus was gentle and kind to his students, and his hidden werewolf identity meant he had dealt with many troublesome dark creatures and evil magic. “I am one of them,” Lupin once said bitterly, a statement Harry strongly disagreed with. Many students still fondly remembered him—especially in fourth year, when they were tormented by Moody’s teaching methods, and “who knows, Professor Hup might have saved on advertising fees by inviting you!”
Harry’s feelings about Professor Moody were mixed. He knew that part of his admiration for the legendary Auror was due to the influence of Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. However, he decided not to dwell on it, as he had learned a lot of reliable knowledge about how to deal with Dark Wizards.
Last year’s professor was Sirius (who, in their most recent contact, mentioned seeing Rita Skeeter reporting on mad cow disease on Muggle television). Harry suspected that Sirius, as a professor, had a special mission—such as training students to handle emergencies and real combat under the shadow of war. His classmates generally felt well-prepared during the O.W.L. practical exams.
And Professor Bashaat—Harry’s heart sank. Perhaps because of his past as a saint, he harbored a significant hostility or, at the very least, a ‘different treatment’ towards Muggles. Harry recalled the speech he saw today, where Grindelwald clearly viewed wizards and Muggles as separate groups in a competitive relationship.
Of course there's the Secrecy Act, a voice in Harry's head asked, but what if the Secrecy Act fails? He couldn't think of a solution, and this left him feeling heavy-hearted. A sudden gust of cold wind blew snowflakes into his face, and Harry looked up to see that the window in the corridor was open.
He walked over, and some tiny ice crystals clung to the window frame. His fingers felt cold and numb, and he knew winter was coming. "What are you doing?" Filch suddenly appeared, holding a glowing wand in his hand.
"Closing the window", Harry said.
"Curfew is almost here, and you're still wandering around the castle. I'm suspicious..." Filch said in a cold, threatening tone. Mrs. Norris, his cat, was hiding in the shadows, rubbing against Filch's legs comfortably.
"So curfew hasn't started yet?" Harry said loudly. "Thanks for the heads-up!" He walked away quickly, hearing Filch's heavy breathing behind him. Then he heard Filch mutter a spell, and the window slammed shut.
Some relationships are hard to improve. As Harry climbed the stairs, he thought of Draco Malfoy. They were destined to never be friends, with too many grudges standing between them. Unless some unavoidable circumstances forced them together, like the group exercises in class.
Thinking about how, in two years, they might never see each other again after graduation, Harry felt a twinge of melancholy. Hogwarts was the first place he felt like home.
The next day, at the Great Hall during breakfast.
"So, Professor Bashaat didn't punish you and even discussed magic with you?" Ron's tone was tinged with jealousy.
"Yep", Harry said, taking the opportunity to tell Ron and Hermione about his experience the night before (omitting the part about the saint).
"He's not as unreasonable as I thought", Ron mused, his attitude toward Professor Bashaat improving. Even Hermione looked slightly surprised. "But why did he keep you after class?"
"My essay did have a lot of issues", Harry shrugged.
He couldn't believe he was defending Professor Bashaat, but he didn't want to reveal that the professor had once been a saint. That was in the past, right? Spreading it around would only make Professor Bashaat uncomfortable. He thought of Remus and his werewolf condition. After Remus confessed to them, he soon submitted his resignation.
"By the way, Hermione", Harry asked casually, "how much do you know about Grindelwald?"
Despite his attempt to downplay it, Hermione still drew in a sharp breath. "Why are you suddenly asking about him?" "Well, because... I was eating a Chocolate Frog in Professor Bashaat's office yesterday—"
"He offered you snacks?" Ron interrupted.
"—Yeah, and I got a Dumbledore card. You know, we know about Nicolas Flamel, but we know very little about Grindelwald's past."
Hermione frowned slightly, as if deep in thought.
"Harry, there's not much research material on Grindelwald available. Oh, not that he's not mentioned, but there's very little about his personal life—his childhood, his upbringing... It's as if he suddenly became a prominent figure, stirring up trouble, disrupting local order, and causing all sorts of shocking violent incidents. These are recorded in books like Modern History of Magic, The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic, and Important Magical Events of the 20th Century..."
Hermione spoke fluently, but she stopped when she saw Harry's expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking uneasy.
"Are there any records of his speeches?" Harry asked softly, trying to make his question seem casual, as if it was just a passing curiosity. "I think he must have been a charismatic person, after all, he managed to gather a large Wizard army..."
Hermione shook her head and whispered, "I don't know."
"So we only know that he was a powerful Dark Wizard, a strong agitator, and that he used the Deathly Hallows symbol as his mark", Ron summarized. "Sounds like a tough opponent, but thankfully, Dumbledore defeated him."
After saying that, he continued to tackle the fried eggs and sausage on his plate, clearly not giving the matter a second thought. Harry didn’t want to draw attention, so over the next two days, he used the opportunity to browse through the reference books in the library, quickly skimming the few books Hermione had mentioned.
From the perspective of the books, Grindelwald was a thoroughly bad person, a major threat to the stability of the wizarding world.
On Thursday evening, Harry accidentally saw Luna crossing the grounds, dressed in a trendy outfit. He suddenly realized that the weekend was fast approaching, and he hadn’t given Luna a response yet. Ron and Hermione had opposing views on the matter.
“Why would we want to go into the stinky sewers?” Ron’s face crumpled. “And we have to go into the girls' bathroom—no way I want to deal with Moaning Myrtle again.”
“You don’t have to go,” Hermione said.
“Leave Ginny alone? Mum would kill me if she found out,” Ron exclaimed.
Indeed, the discussion had shifted from whether to teach Luna the Parseltongue incantation to whether they should spare the time to accompany them in searching the Chamber. Harry really didn’t want to go, as this adventure was bound to be fruitless. The real Resurrection Stone was in Dumbledore’s possession, after all!
“… You don’t know how much training we’ve been doing lately. Perks and Gut call you a tyrant behind your back,” Ron told Harry, who was taken aback. “Yeah,” Ron nodded understandingly, “but at least you’re better than Wood. Katie Bell told them how he used to torture the players.”
“Maybe I should increase the training even more, so they won’t have time to complain,” Harry said through gritted teeth.
Ron shrank back.
“Let’s find a night to go and get it over with,” Harry decided, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. “If I’m not mistaken, you want to go sneaking around at night—” “Yes,” Harry replied with a look that said, ‘Finally, you get it.’ “It’s not the first time, so one more won’t hurt. I can’t afford to miss two days of Quidditch training this weekend,” he emphasized.
“I’m fine with that,” Ron said. “I don’t want to sneak into the girls' bathroom during the day either. I’m a prefect now. If something goes wrong, it’ll be a big mess.”
Harry also thought about the possibility of being caught by Mafalda and her bees (what some people called the young wizards who worked part-time for the Quibbler). A sensational headline flashed through his mind: ‘Gryffindor Prefect and Team Captain’s Strange Hobby.’ He shivered, his resolve growing stronger.
“Let’s do it tomorrow night!”
Harry informed Ginny of the plan later that evening. The next morning, during breakfast, Luna came over, beaming with gratitude, and almost let something slip. Harry quickly cast the Tongue-Tying Curse, and Luna, with her mouth puffed up, was led away by Ginny.
After breakfast, they headed to their Ancient Runes class, which had entered a new phase.
“The progress is a bit faster than I expected,” Felix said. “It might have something to do with the several detentions we’ve had…” The students glared at the professor. “… Today, we’ll learn new content.”
He suddenly paused, his gaze sweeping the room. “Who’s not here?”
The students started looking around, and Pansy Parkinson raised her hand.
“Professor, Daphne is on leave. She’s in the Hospital Wing.”
“Why?”
“Apparently, she mistook bloodroot powder for parsley powder and added it to her food, causing mild encephalitis,” Pansy said, sitting close to Blaise Zabini.
“So, a headache and mild cognitive impairment…” Felix said, and Pansy looked a bit dazed. Why was he describing the symptoms again?
“Right?”
“Y-Yes.”
But those symptoms could be caused by more than just ingesting bloodroot. Felix thought it might also be due to a Confundus Charm or a forgetfulness charm.
What a coincidence.
Generally, the aftereffects of a Confundus Charm are mild. If it only interferes with a person’s rationality for a few seconds, there might be no reaction at all. However, if someone is under the spell’s control for a longer period—like old Crouch, who was affected by both the Confundus Charm and the Imperius Curse for a long time, leading to confusion and requiring professional treatment.
An image flashed in Felix’s mind: the saint who followed Grindelwald’s trail, Nicole Nore. Felix had previously suspected that she might be the true owner of the house-elf Bandy, so he hadn’t questioned how she managed to contact Grindelwald. But now, it seemed she had used Daphne Greengrass to relay the message.
We'll find out after class by visiting the Hospital Wing.
This also reminded Felix that the Saints were not harmless little rabbits. They were once a well-organized, clearly divided group, far beyond what could be measured by mere "force." The same thought crossed Harry's mind, and he knew even more than Felix. He had once seen Daphne meet with a strange woman and receive a gift box, which later appeared in Professor Bashaat's office.
At the time, Harry thought the old woman in the Windcloak might be one of Daphne's relatives. He looked at Professor Hup, who must know something, but the professor had already started the lecture.
"... I'm pleased to see that most of you have mastered the technique of making practical Runic Script manifest without a wand, which gives you some flexible casting options, but that's not the main point", Felix said. "Individually, Ancient Runes are not particularly powerful or versatile, and there are better spells to replace them."
"Next, you will learn a highly practical application of Ancient Runes, a technique derived from Runic Script circuits. Who would like to demonstrate? There are bonus points—"
Several arms shot up.
"Anthony Goldstein." Felix called out the name of a Ravenclaw boy.
Goldstein stood up, somewhat nervously.
Felix waved his hand, and a dozen Runic Symbols appeared in the air, tightly interlocked. "Try to grab it", Felix encouraged. Goldstein extended his hand—students held their breath and watched intently—as his fingertips touched the interconnected Runic Script circuit.
The Runic Script seemed to be drawn to Goldstein, merging with his skin and traveling up his arm. Goldstein was startled and rolled up his sleeve, only to find the Runic Script had imprinted itself on his wrist like a brand.
Goldstein blinked.
"Professor, what is this...?"
He was worried that the mark on his wrist wouldn't go away, but the next second, he felt his body become weightless. With a slight jump, he flew toward Professor Hup, who dodged, and he headed straight for the window.
"Don't use too much force", Felix reminded him.
"What?" Goldstein asked hurriedly, extending his hand to stop himself against the wall. He bounced back with incredible speed, and as he passed Professor Hup, the professor caught him mid-air.
Goldstein's feet touched the ground again.
"Try it again", the professor said.
Goldstein took a deep, excited breath. "I think I'm getting the hang of it." His current state was somewhat like being under a Levitation Charm, but he still had some control over his movements.
He stood still and jumped lightly. The next second, he found himself floating in mid-air, his head brushing the ceiling. The students below looked up at him, and he couldn't help but laugh.
He floated down gently, like a feather, and had time to greet his friends one by one.
Felix grabbed his wrist to steady him. When he let go, Goldstein noticed the Runic Script on his wrist had vanished, and he felt much heavier, almost sitting down.
"You can go back to your seat, Mr. Goldstein. Ten points to Ravenclaw."
"A Runic Script circuit that reduces the weight of an object", Felix said, satisfied. "It's usually used in Runic Script creations, but why not on a human body? You should have covered human transfiguration, right?" Some students nodded.
"You can think of Runic Script circuits as solidified spells—of course, everything you will learn next is carefully selected and created by me. You'll find that they can be applied not only to objects but also to daily casting, as long as you follow the seventeen Runic Script Laws."
"Moreover, they have unique advantages, such as long-lasting effects, difficulty in being countered or detected, and a higher degree of concealment."
(End of Chapter)
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