Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

“Rune is an ancient magical power. To fully explain its origins would probably require many class periods. I don’t want to take Professor Binns’ job.”

Amid the students' knowing smiles, Bassheda Baburin waved his book, "A Simple Introduction to Ancient Runes."

"Therefore, we should refer to the 'Simple Introduction to Ancient Runes' and simply memorize its overview. The reason for memorizing this content is that it is a required question on the exam."

Hermione seemed to wake up suddenly, instinctively straightening up and muttering in confusion, "An exam?"

“Merlin’s beard!” Anthony’s voice was filled with disbelief as he whispered to Vizzett and the others, “Hermione actually dozed off!”

……

Bassheda Bablin said, "Runic script is very ancient; it has accompanied almost the entire development of wizardry, playing various roles throughout..."

"In fact, it has been integrated into every aspect of life, but you may not have noticed... Can anyone tell me where it has played a role?"

“Those magical items?” Anthony slowly raised his hand, his tone tinged with uncertainty. “I remember they said… that making magical items often requires runes.”

“Excellent!” Bassheda Bablin affirmed. “This is the most important part! Ravenclaw, five points! Anyone else want to answer?”

Hermione raised her hand as well, “I’ve seen runes on some magical buildings… Wai… they told me that those runes are the foundation of the entire magical building.”

“Very meticulous! Extremely meticulous! Five points for Gryffindor!” Bassheda Bablin nodded. “Various magical structures also require the use of runes!”

"If you dare to do what Fred and George did, and dismantle a brick from Hogwarts to study it, you can observe the runes on it if you do it properly."

Amidst the students' laughter, she continued, "Through Mr. Goldstein and Miss Granger's descriptions, have you discovered any patterns in the application of runes?"

The laughter subsided, and the students tried flipping through their textbooks to find the answers.

“Does anyone know?” Bassheda Bablin waited for five minutes before finally seeing Vizette raise her hand. “Mr. Lovegood!”

"Usually, runes are used in all sorts of physical objects, from small magical gadgets to large magical buildings," Vizette said. "But it seems very rare for them to be used directly in magic."

"From what I understand, this situation arises because the power of runes themselves... necessitates a 'medium' to function effectively."

He noticed this because of the "Thunder" in The Wizarding Manual and the petrification spell he had acquired;

In order to study the "?" symbol that appears in the petrification incantation, he consulted many related books in the library and finally made a discovery in "Develop Yourself and Inscribe Runes in Your Internal Organs";

The original runes were difficult to control, and it was through the improvement of generations of wizards that they evolved into the version that is now widely used.

During the process of improvement, many excellent related materials were created, which was also the main goal of the ancient runic lessons—to learn how to translate these materials.

“Ravenclaw gets a perfect score!” Bassheda Bablin smiled. “Runes are mostly used for tangible things; they’re very concise summaries.”

“Mr. Lovegood is right. As Niven needs the help of a ‘medium’ to better assist the wizard and achieve the desired effect.”

"Let's open 'A Simple Introduction to Ancient Runes' to page twelve. This lesson will begin with this rune."

She wrote a rune "?" on the blackboard and explained the meaning and purpose of the symbol.

"This rune is very effective. It has protective magic and can bring you unexpected good fortune. Think about where you can use it?"

A Hufflepuff student raised his hand and tentatively asked, "Professor Barblin, when brewing potions... is it permissible to use this rune?"

“Of course!” Bassheda Bablin said. “Brewing potions does require some luck and some protection to prevent accidents from happening to the cauldron.”

"It can be used to brew magic potions!"

Upon hearing this, the students stared wide-eyed at the rune, as if trying to memorize it...

Chapter 158 Magic Circuits and Runes

In ancient times, runes were similar to arithmetic and divination, and compared to practical subjects like spellcasting, they were considered relatively dull.

There are many things to be careful about when translating runes. Even with the help of reference books such as the Rune Dictionary and the Magic Symbols Collection, it is still very easy to get confused.

According to Wizette, the process of translating ancient runes seems somewhat similar to "solving a puzzle";

Hogwarts has a vast collection of books, and these ancient books and scrolls written in ancient languages, such as Nirvana, come from diverse sources, spanning different historical periods and regions, and their writing styles vary.

The first step in translating ancient runes is to determine the writing direction of the corresponding scrolls, whether it is from left to right or from right to left.

Or it could be the “right-to-left alternating writing method”, which means writing the content alternately from left to right in one line and from right to left in the next line;

If you go in the wrong direction, you might end up spending a lot of time only to end up with a terrible translation.

After determining the writing direction, it is also necessary to consider the "et" to which the rune belongs, in order to "set the tone" for the corresponding content;

The runic alphabet is usually divided into three parts, each called an "et", and the runic content in the corresponding "et" usually has a similar meaning;

By identifying the "et" to which the information belongs, we can better understand the information and clarify the specific meaning of runes in a particular context;

This is why Wizette believes translation is the key to solving the mystery; once the right clues are found, the answer will become clear.

……

“……… ...

"Focus and courage are the key to casting the levitation spell..." He let out a long breath, transcribed the contents onto parchment, and thus completed the translation.

He strongly agreed with the translated passage.

He also understood why Bassheda Bablin said at the beginning: "Through the study of runes, we can reveal secrets that have been buried by time."

Casting the Levitation Charm with focus and courage is "a secret sealed by time." Understanding this little trick can be very helpful in improving one's magical abilities.

However, Wizette must also admit that this is a time-consuming and laborious task;

Even though he had some skill in making magical items and some knowledge of runes, it still took him a lot of time to translate them.

After finishing the translation, Wizette took out another notebook, which contained all sorts of diagrams;

These diagrams are all magic circuits, which he observed from various magical creatures using "Ancient Magic: Soul-Controlling Spells" and the Magic Eye.

There are some similarities between magic circuits and runes, but compared to magic circuits, runes are obviously simpler, just like what Vizet understands as "hieroglyphics".

……

Indeed, this is the case, and it is also the reason why runes have multiple meanings;

The most typical example should be those runic numbers;

These numbers are not the original runes, but they are the best runes to understand today because they are simple enough to be understood from their representations, yet they can also be interpreted to reveal deeper meanings.

The prototypes of these runic numbers are all magical creatures, such as the magical creature represented by "0", which is the invisible beast.

On the surface, the Invisible Beast is invisible when it is invisible; it simply disappears or vanishes, hence the value of "0".

However, considering that the Invisible Beast possesses the magical ability of "invisibility," the runic number "0" actually represents the meaning of "invisibility."

Another typical example is the runic number "4", whose prototype is the harbinger bird;

On the surface, this number can be interpreted as representing the runic number "4" because the wrathful bird has four colors of feathers.

However, it was able to evolve into the deeper meaning of the runic number "4" because its "high-pitched, chirping sound can drive people who hear it crazy."

The Forbidden Forest is inhabited by the Evil Witch, which Vizette and Luna studied during their visit there.

Different colored monstrous birds exert different negative influences on people;

The evil bird with lime-green feathers can instill fear in people, gradually causing them to lose their minds.

The orange-feathered harlequin, on the other hand, can induce tension and unease, ultimately leading to a loss of reason.

Vizette looked at the magic circuits and then at the runes, and suddenly understood something.

"Transfiguration magic can be like a pair of hands, changing from the outside in to mold into the corresponding shape. This is the method Professor McGonagall taught us..."

“And Runevan and the magic circuits tell me… that it can actually be transformed from the inside out, which is somewhat similar to the so-called ‘putting on a layer of clothing’…”

"The difference between the two methods is... one gradually achieves the final result, while the other, knowing the final result, deduces the entire process from the end backwards..."

He finally realized, "This is the effect of the Magic Eye! I had already realized that I could deduce the process from the result, but I didn't make any further connections!"

"And it doesn't stop there... techniques for casting spells and brewing potions can also be understood from this perspective!"

"I really do need to learn and observe more!" He slapped his forehead. "There's clearly such a method, but I haven't fully utilized it! There's still so much I need to learn!"

Seeing Vizette's actions, Bassheda Bablin, who happened to be patrolling nearby, stepped forward and asked with concern, "Mr. Lovegood, is there a problem with the translation?"

“No! No!” Vizet waved his hands repeatedly. “I’ve already finished the translation.”

"Oh? The translation is already finished?" Bassheda Bablin looked at the parchment placed to the side.

The parchment contained not only neatly written runes, but also fluently written translations.

The translation is very detailed and well-organized, indicating that Wizette did not know the sentence in advance and simply apply it directly to complete the translation.

“Focus and courage are the keys to casting the Levitation Charm,” Bassheda Bablin read aloud. “I really didn’t expect… you actually translated the whole sentence.”

According to her original plan, being able to translate half of the sentence "focus and courage" would already be considered an overachievement.

She simply wrote down the entire sentence because of her writing habits;

The untranslated content can be used as homework for students to complete, which is a win-win situation.

Vizette drew a relatively simple magic circuit. "Professor Bablin, actually I still have some questions I'd like to ask..."

Chapter 159 An Unexpected Incident in the Magical Creatures Protection Class

Based on his magical circuits and his own thoughts on runes, Vizette shared his general ideas with Bassheda Bablin.

“Hmm…” Bassheda Bablin stared at the magic circuit, a thoughtful expression on her face. “A very interesting idea… Where did you get this from?”