Just as the Ravenclaw has finished getting his lecture taking materials all lined up he shifted his head towards the sound of his girlfriend's voice. He met her happy greeting with a bright beaming grin of his own-- which turned into a wince the minute she sneezed.

Awww his girl still wasnt feeling well.

He followed her with his gaze and before he could give Elijah a sorry-gotta-join-the-girlfriend-clap on the shoulder the girlfriend joined THEM. Yeahhhh boyfriend wasnt expecting that. Neither was the boyfriend's best bud from the look on his face. The Ravenerd's brows goes up and gives the Curly Puff a hapless shrug before quickly returning his happy beam to Louisa as she finally settled down into her seat. And in good time too. All that table scuffling was getting a little unnerving, even to a half-deaf like him.

Aaand the Professor opened his mouth. Vickers stared slightly agape at the man for a moment, brain trying to process the sounds that just came out of there. It was English right? He thought he recognized some of the words. His attention shifted to his seat mates when Elijah started whispering for a translation... AND cupping his hands right in front of the Head Girl. Who can HEAR him clearly.

Vickers waved his hand sharply in the air to get Elijah to drop his cupped hand. Dont insult ze ...errr THE girlfriend. "What.... are..... Runes?" he murmured, repeating it for himself for clarity as much as it was for Elijah and Louisa. "Runes.... are?.... an old way of writing..." he trailed off at the end. Because he wasnt sure if the Professor asked a question or gave a statement or what.

Nigel was amazed that people could understand what he was saying. It sounded like heavily accented broken English. He thinks he understood the question because he heard the heard runes. So what were runes. Nigel could answer that question.

"Runes were letters used to write in many languages and Professor can you write the next question or set of instructions on the board? Because i have a hard time understanding your awesome accent. "

Nigel hoped he did not lose points for say it . But he did say his accent was awesome.

Louisa was oblivious to the shrugging and horrified looks shared between the two best friends. When she did look at Elijah, saying the words with obvious forcefulness, she gave him a crooked smile. He did not like a sick girl sitting next to him? BONUS! Her purpose was merely separating the two boys, or well just be in the middle of their antics, foolish impulsiveness, friendship, however you look at it, actually. Louisa thought it was a mush of all those and more.

Soon the professor started his usual brief and gibberish introduction. She wasn't fazed by the accent, he'd taught her two terms before. However, she WAS more than fazed when Elijah pushed her back against the chair and whispered to Vickers, using his hand as a shield. HOW RUDE! It was so fortunate that Vickers waved that cupped hand away and answered openly. Louisa's eyes never left the Hufflepuff, just glaring at him.

FAIN. If he wish it. She nudged him, a bit harshly, to get away from her desk awkwardly crammed between theirs and plopped her elbows down on it. Human shield between the 'claw and the badger, "The word "rune", professor, means mystery, secret or whisper. However, Runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet, usually used for writing or divination even." She wiped at her nose in case there was any booger hanging and then added, "Each rune has esoteric meanings and properties associated with it, beyond its mundane meaning and phonetic value, and every rune has a story attached to it."

It was hard work not to be amused by the antics of Louisa and company, and Vivi caught up her bottom lip to keep from laughing at them. She could certainly commiserate with Elijah, in spite of her separate friendships with Vick and Louisa... she had cast more anti-illness charms on her bed in the past few weeks than could be considered polite behavior, but at least she hadn't moved out of the room as soon as Louisa took ill.

The professor's question was met with a number of silly or short answers, and Vivi was relieved to hear some of her classmates finally answer as if they knew anything about Runes. Was it not taught here normally? Her hand shot into the air and she wiggled her fingers to be sure the professor saw her.

"Normally, 'runes' refers to any of several alphabets that pre-date the more commonly used Latin alphabet. The one I've seen most often studied is the Elder Futhark, which is of Scandinavian origin. Runes have a specific phonetic connotation, so you could spell our a common word using a different alphabet like a code, but they are more commonly used today in spellwork or a form of divination."

Eliza was really interested in Ancient Runes, mainly because she knew so little about them. Anything slightly cryptic or mysterious was sure to send her curiosity flying. She even liked the professor's accent. It sort of made the whole lesson all the more interesting.

She'd taken a seat as near to Elliot as she could, since she felt a little more acquainted with her from speaking in the common room. Even if the conversation had been a bit...strained, at times. She thought the older girl was spunky and therefore was someone she wanted to talk to more. Knowing Elliot probably wasn't the type to be excited about a first year trying to chat her up in class, Eliza didn't bound up to her as she might have done to Cora. Instead she casually raised her hand, knowing she really hadn't the foggiest bit of worthwhile information about runes, but that speaking in class would let Elliot know that she was right behind her.

"Runes are a really old way of using magic. They're not commonly used anymore, but they can still be very powerful." That sounded like a good enough fluff answer for now. At least until she actually learned something about them.

Kurumi sat and somewhat squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as the lesson began. Yep, right from the start Kurumi was already lost. Understanding this man's greetings was a struggle for the Gryffindor who still struggled with British English at times...so this man...just no. NOT that she wasn't trying, because she really was. She hated not knowing what was going on in a class - and not because the subject matter was too difficult.

Sinking down in her seat juuuuuuuuuust a little, Kurumi idly traced her quill over her parchment while she listened to others answer first so she could get a general idea for what they were all talking about. Oh, okay, Kurumi could answer this...assuming the question was what are runes...which people's answers seemed to be indicating.

So, hand up it was.

"Runes, which means mystery or secret, are originally an alphabetic script used by the people of Northern Europe until around the Middle Ages when the Roman alphabet became the preferred script of most of Europe."

Cardigan had a little trouble processing what the professor had said. His accent was a little confusing! She got it in the end though. What are runes? Hmmm...good question.... She didn't have a definite answer, seeing she hadn't taken the class in years past. Was it even offered for first and second years?? She wasn't quite sure. Anyways, she decided it would be easier for her to just piggyback off of what everyone else said, and come up with one big answer.

"Professor," Cardigan said, raising her hand high. "Runes are....like the alphabet, just in a different form. Once you decipher them, they tell you something." Yeah, right.

Jayden raised her hand slowly, smiling up at her Professor when it was her turn to be called upon. "Ummm. Runes are letters of ancient alphabets. They could be used as forms of communication and also were used in Divination sometimes as well." She answered, tossing her black hair behind her shoulders.

Jory understood a bit of what the Professor was saying but it took him a while to figure it out. But when he did, he took some time to put together an answer.

He raised his hand. "Runes are symbols derived from the Greek alphabet,'' he said. "They can also be incantations.''

Runes? What were they really?

No matter how she tried thinking about it nothing came to mind. This was the point where the 11 year old stopped trying to bust her brain and instead began listening to everyone else's answer. For the most part they were actually quite good. Who said these people weren't very smart?

Now from what she got...runes were...the alphabet..?

"Neat! So then, we're gonna learn our ABC's?" Pssh, she had covered those a long time ago meaning this class would be a breeze. Why didn't anyone tell her this earlier? She would have been more enthused about this! Finally, a class that didn't require much brain power!!! Bring on the alphabet, she was soooo ready for this. GRIN.

What did Professor mean by 'runes'? The subject... or the alphabet type of runes?

HE MUST HAVE SAID IT COMPLETELY.

Arguing with herself, Kat made a decision to just say both of the meanings.
"Runes are the letters or symbols of the runic alphabet" Kat said, "But the Study of Ancient Runes helps in the study of the ancient runic scripts of magic."

For answering both, Kat expects more points awarded to her. If she doesn't get those points, Merlin knows what she'd do.

O_____________o

Good what to what? OH. Good day. He meant good day. Beezus snorted as her mind began to decode their Professor's words. Yes, it was indeed a good day. Great, even. With Ancient Runes on a peaceful Tuesday morning, and Professor Christiansen's face, yeah, it was good. All too good.

The Ravenclaw still adored his accent. Not that it helps in figuring out the words that come out of his mouth though, those were still incomprehensible to her.

And, yes! She's been well since he left. Not entirely but if he was asking if she was still breathing normally, then yes. "It's marvelous to have you here again with us Professor." GRIIIIIIN. "..You do still remember me, don't you?" Under her desk, she crossed her fingers, hoping that the man at least could remember her family name. It'll definitely make her day!

Okay, on to the lesson. Runes.

Hand in the air, the brunette answered, "Professor Tristan, runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet, used for writing, divination and magic. The word "rune" actually means mystery, secret or whisper. Each rune has esoteric meanings and properties associated with it, beyond its mundane meaning and phonetic value." Slight pause.. "Oh, and each rune has a story attached to it, a relationship to a Norse God."

So Professor, what's got you busy nowadays?

Accent guy! He was back.

With a pout on her face, Renesmee listened carefully trying to understand what the Professor was saying. It took her a tiny bit longer than usual, but she got it at the end. Or at least she understood his question, which ws the important part, no?

What were runes? More pouting.

Runes were...well they confusing in Nessie's opinion. The red head decided giving a complicated answer was not something she could do in a lesson like this and so instead she raised her hand with a simple answer in mind. "Proffesor, Runes are alphabetic letters that make up a very hard-to-talk-in language." You know because the pronounciation of most of the words were hard.

As Elektra sat in class she then was taken off guard by the Professor's accent. It was definately something she didn't see coming. Her eyes widened and she looked at Professor Christiansen with a bit of shock on her face. Oh, bloody hell...how am I going to understand this now?! She thought to herself. But...she was going to tough it out and try to understand what he was saying through his accent. She then heard the question and raised her said and said, "Runes are a similar mark of mysterious or magic significance...I think..."

Orr picked up her hand and answered the Professor's question: "Well. Runes were used as the alphabet before Latin came along. Now I think that Runes is used mostly in magic in order to better understand magic and its uses?"

She thought that she was right but she couldn't know for sure. Honestly she had no clue about what Runes were really.

Cora saw that she recognized a few people in the classroom. She saw Elliot across the room, and Eliza close to her. Maybe they'll be friends? Cora chuckled. Probably not.

Cora blushed as she saw Ethan.

Then Cora noticed the professor. Her mouth fell open. Now of course Cora was easily intimidated, but Cora thought even if she wasn't, she would be taken aback by him. His accent made every word he said sharp, but at least he smiled. Still, Cora was quite frightened. Cora loved the idea of learning essentially a new language to expand her reading and knowledge. "R-Runes are a series of symbols forming an alphabet used an extremely long time ago. By learning them, one could be able to read and translate things written in the past." Cora said very quietly.

Maybe if the professor proved kind she could warm up to him. Maybe.

Sarah put her hand up. "Runes are an alphabet. Each Rune symbol means something. Last year we engraved with red runes on the fence by the vegetable patch to keep bad things away. In that way they are not merely symbols... just like in Arithmancy numbers can be used as curse breakers, so too in Ancient runes..." She remembered what she had written on the wal. Igex or something like that.

Elijah did a small eyeroll, as Vickers waved his hand away from his face, forcing him to involve his girlfriend. Ugh. Elijah was starting to regret ever getting these two together. After all, it was ALL down to him that they were now seeing each other, right? He totalllly set it up at the start of term feast.

After Vickers had explained what it was the Professor had said, he couldn't help but feel the NUDGE that Lady Voldemort sent his way, almost making him topple off his seat.

HOW RUDE.

Resting back as the Head Girl literally COUGHED out her answer, Elijah began to mimic her by moving his lips silently and pulling faces right to the back of her HEAD.

When she was done, Elijah said aloud, "I wonder if there is a rune that translates as intruder?" A quick glance to the Head Girl and then to the man in charge, "Professor?" Even if the man did answer him, there was very little chance he'd probably even know what he was saying to him.

Blink...blink...

Huh?

Penelope wasn't sure what the professor had just said. Or asked. So...she just sort of sat there, glancing at a few of the students who had managed to answer, including Kurumi. She knew what was going on? Well, she probably shouldn't be surprised since Kurumi seemed to know everything...but at least now she knew who to go to for help in this class...once it was over? Why didn't she sit by Kurumi before class had started? Not the brightest move on her part.

Meh.

Maybe if there was an activity she could partner with her? Or at least get closer and ask what was going on.

Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

So until then, the second year continued to sit there and kept quiet.

"YA YA!" He said excited... "Ya... Correct!" He said rolling his Rs. "You are all correct!" He said.

"No..." He said "Ze Runes aren't ze stones, ze runes are ze symbols" He corrected.



"... no. Zose are RUINS" He said shaking his head.



"Not greek at all..." He said.

Tristan was shocked! How dare he! Not understand him. His English was perfect!!! "You vill have to cope."



"Zey are not Greek, zey are Norse and zey are not incantations. You may do ze incantations viss zem." He told the boy.



"Sort off." He said.

"I am not sure vat you mean," He said confused.



"Zere is not somesink zat means intruder... but vy vould you vant that?" He said confused.

"So, who knows vat zis alphabet is called, und vy it is called zat?" He asked.

Ethan had graced each of the girls that had greeted him with a charming smile. No time to talk now.. that could come later as class was beginning. He looked up vaguely to the front of the class as the professor started speaking. The accent struck him somewhat.. but only as different to this part of the world. He didn't have too much trouble understanding him as he spent time in other countries, but that didn't mean he was paying much attention.. because runes were still just that.. boring.

The boy didn't say anything in answer to the first question as everyone else seemed so eager to answer. Shrug. But he thought about the next one.. and thought he remembered the name. "Is it Futhark, Professor?" he asked after raising his hand. He wasn't completely sure he remembered it correctly. "It's from the first few letters of the alphabet.. I think." Eh.. maybe he should have payed more attention in class last term.

YES! She was right! Cardigan hadn't fully understood what the professor had said, but she did catch a little bit. It wasn't THAT hard to understand though, cause that's how her mum sounded like, when she spoke English. She was better with Russian and German.

They needed to have a language class at Hogwarts or something! Maybe it could be a muggle studies topic one year... She'd have to ask Professor Cerulean about it.

Who knows what the alphabet is called and why?! Psssshhh, that's easy! It's called ancient runes, because they're OLD. DUH! Why else would they be called that?! "Professor, they're called.............Furthark?, because they're old," Cardigan said in a quiet and serious, raising her hand. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to be funny, and lose house points. That's SERIOUSLY what she knew. She'd never taken the course before, remember?? Her mum made her take it this year...

Minerva frowned.. Where did she get Greek from. She hated being wrong, it just made her mood bad. She tried to shake it off and turn to the next question. Listening to the other students she heard more of the answers. Then it came to the next question. Now this one she did know. She might not be able to pronounce it completely correct, but she did know it. "Professor, it is called the Elder Futhark" she hoped she pronounced it correctly.

Sort of? Why did she NOT like that response? How could she be sort of right about something as simply as the alphabet? It was either they were learning their ABC's or they weren't--really she hoped it was the first one because she didn't like where this was going so far.

Yuuuuuuuup.

Nice going Professor. Alexa Cambridge was officially discouraged. Hadn't he just sort of confirmed that they would be learning the alphabet? What was he even asking? She didn't know the alphabet had another name. When was anyone planning to tell her this?

She sunk down in her seat, quite clearly convinced that there would be no pre-school lesson. She felt so lied to and now to make matters worse the older children were saying words she didn't know and wasn't even sure she'd ever be able to pronounce.

Futhark?

Was that even a word?! This called for a question but it was best to hold it for a bit...you know...see how the class progressed first. In the meantime she would keep her mouth shut and look pretty until something popped up that she actually knew the answer to. Yup.

He did not take points off. Well Nigel was relieved. He even was beginning to understand him better. His accent was awesome and it was growing on Nigel. But Nigel could understand how Laura heard Ruins instead of Runes. With his accent you can easily hear Ruins. Well back to the question.

"The Alphabet is called Elder Futhark. And it is called that because it is the oldest."

Nigel could cope with his awesome accent. It this lesson that nigel might not be able to cope with.