The first thing Azura did when she walked into the Ancient Runes classroom was hold back a giggle as she saw the 'Good Afternoon.' She bowed her head and composed herself before looking up and smiling at Professor Sokolov.

"Hello Professor Sokolov, how are you today? " She asked as she glanced at the picture on the wall. She headed to her normal seat on the left of the classroom and settled into a desk..

She looked into the bag but all she really saw were Runes..

Okay, so....Olivia still wasn't fully confident where Ancient Runes was concerned, but through studying and all the homework assignments, she'd been able to grasp a basic understanding. It was a start, anyway.

She was trying her best.

So, sashaying into the classroom, the blonde Gryffindor threw her best smile towards the professor and grabbed a seat. Any seat. Woot! "Hello! How are you this afternoon?"

"Good evening professor," yawned Kitty as she stepped into the classroom and found a seat. She mulled over the contents of the bag with mild curiosity before turning to see which of her classmates had arrived, giving a nod and a smile Azura and Liv.

Sokolov.

Dora adored the man. She didn't do THEATRICS for him, either. Although, she had learnt over the past term that she was not so much a big ole GRYFFINDOR like she and the Runes prof had originally thought. Nope. Not at all!

Sliding into the classroom she let her eyes sweep the place a few times before landing back on the MAN OF THE HOUR! As smile slowly crept across her features as she waved at the man and kept it moving to a nearby seat. "Good day Professor," she said almost mechanically as she plucked the bag from her seat.

NOW what was in the bag???

Another day, another runes lesson.

And Cassie was making her way to the appropriate classroom in time for the latest one. She was grateful this was one subject that was later in the day so she was more awake and aware in so she had a better chance of understanding what she was learning. It made the class all so much doable. “Good day, Professor,” the Ravenclaw greeted the man as he walked further inside the room. She made her way to one of the desks, taking in the white-cloth covering each one as well as the brown bag.

Interesting…very interesting.

Sitting down, the third year took out her textbook, parchment and quills is preparation for the class. And then Cass got curious and inspected the bag only to find the obvious within. She should have known… she mused to herself as she began absently sketching the picture of Norns into her notes.

Jacob entered the classroom, adjusting his tie a bit nervously. It was his first Hogwarts class, and he wanted to make a good first impression. He wasn't really sure if the professor would even notice that he was new. There were a lot of kids at this school, after all. It was impossible to know everybody, right? "Hello, professor," he said politely to the man leaning against the blackboard before taking a seat near the front. He decided he'd speak up about his recent transfer if he were to be asked about it, but there was no reason to point himself out as the new kid. Of course, his American accent probably gave him away, anyway, but he was choosing to believe nobody would notice him. In any case, he was looking forward to this class.

If the days could just slow down just a tad Hadleigh would be ever so grateful. It was already the middle of May and she felt like just yesterday was the holiday break. Everything was moving so fast and NEWTs were already right around the corner. Time could slow down now please...even if it was only to allow her some time to breath.

Letting out a slow breath the seventh year slipped into the room her eyes roaming over the area that hadn't changed at all. At least with this room she always knew what to expect and that there wasn't going to be any surprises. "Hello, professor," Hady greeted with a small smile selecting a seat towards the middle of the room. Slipping down onto the chair she glanced into the bag on her desk only to see that it held many different runes. Well that told her nothing at all about the days lesson. Seeing as this was a RUNES class.

Setting her bag down at her feet she pulled out her materials for the lesson and set them out on her desk. Now all that was needed was for the lesson to begin.

This professor held the smallest of grudges didn't he? Jace was slightly amused with the 'Good Afternoon' written on the board, which was by the way had been there ever since his classmates confused the time. With his head slightly hung, Jace stepped inside the classroom, and greeted the professor. "Afternoon, sensei." And without looking up, he immediately claimed his usual spot, his eyes fixed on the brown paperbag on his table.

Curious, he looked up at the man, and his eyes immediately shifted to the picture of...what were those again?

Yeah those...three women who were also known as the Fates.

Paige had done a bit of extra studying on the side between healing seminar things and NEWT studies so she did not feel as inept while in this classroom. Mostly the Divination aspects of each rune a a form of brush up, since it also helped her with her Divination NEWT, so when she stepped inside today she was feeling a tiny bit more confident.

She was feeling even more so when she saw the picture on the board because she DID know a thing or two about them!

Spirits a bit higher than usual, she greeted the professor with a smile and was just about to greet him proper when she noted the rune in his hand... and hello instant blush. Flustered, Paige forgot herself and made her way directly towards the nearest seat and flopped herself in it.

And here we go. Viktor bowed his head back to Azura. Before taking a couple second to answer her question.

"Good so far Azura. Ask me again once the lesson is over to see if my answer is the same"

He watched her stroll on over to a seat before turning his attention to the next one to enter.

Still even if she was not the best at Ancient Runes at least she was willing to learn and that is all Sokolov could hope for.

"Okay so far Olivia. Hoping it will get better"

Best get those yawns out of the way before class starts or there might be problems. Even if the person yawning is a Prefect. Didn't matter to him.

"Afternoon Prefect Valentine"

Evening was different than Morning at least. He would rather not get started on that again. So lets leave it there.
Not one to be waving at anyone especially to students in his own class. Viktor gave Dora a welcoming nod and watched her take her seat waiting to see if any words escaped her lips.

"Good Day to you too Dora"

Still twirling his rune in his hand he watched the ravenclaw enter the class. More ravenclaws so far than other houses. Just an observation for the few who have walked in so far.

"Good Day Miss McNally"

Well this one was nervous and Viktor had an idea why but well he had other things to worry about. The accent was a dead giveway but it hardly mattered to him since well he is not the only one with an accent in this school.

"And Hello to you too Mister Hawthorne"

He should be able to keep up.

One thing this former Slytherin will miss even though house loyalty does die out a little once you graduate is seeing a a Head Boy or Girl in Slytherin. Oh well. We will see who will be the new ones next year. Should be fun. If he still has a job.

"Hello Miss Lynch"

"Afternoon"

Well at least some where noticing the picture on the board. Which from the way Mr. Reed was looking at it he knew the answer. Good.

Now why was Miss Skeeter blushing. He was about to respond to an Hello or anything but was not expecting a sudden blush. Well okay then. He twirled the rune one more time before placing it on his desk and closing the door with his wand like usual.

"As you can all see the main topic of today's lesson will to Runecasting" He said pointing at where he wrote it on the board "We will be covering a couple different ways to cast runes and what it actually is and how it isn't Divination. All ending with you all casting your own Runes. But right now we will being dealing with the picture i have behind me which relates to a form of casting. Can anyone tell me who they are or anything about them. A story or anything"

They were in the textbook so he hoped they would at least know of The Norns. He really didn't care what was said about them he just wanted answers at this point before moving on.

OOC: I will be moving on in around 24 hours

Azura had been looking at the board studying the picture that was on it, struggling to remember anything from the textbook..Finally something leaked into her brain and she raised her hand..

"Those are the Norns, or as some people would call them, The Fates. They are three sisters who decided the fate of the entire world.. legend has it they literally spun Fate, with each mortal life a thread.. which they would cut whenever they felt like. "

Yup.. part of that she had gathered from the textbook.. the other part.. The Disney movie Hercules..

This was not a class with food, which was sad. Kaycee was almost pleasantly surprised when she saw the bags on everyone's desk.

But alas. Ruuuunes. Sad day.

She glanced at the picture on the board before turning her attention back to the runes in the bag. "They're like the Greek Fates, except they're Norse." she offered still looking into the bag.

Jacob sighed in relief. No mention of anything about his newness. He smiled vaguely at the professor, realizing he'd probably ignored it on purpose, not wanting to embarrass him. He was grateful for that.

Hey, the Norns! This was where he'd just left off back home, too. His plan to keep a low profile was overridden by his hand's natural instinct to shoot up when he knew the answer to something. "To add to what Azura said, their names are Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld: 'What once was,' 'What is,' and 'What shall be.' They live in the Well of Urd at the base of Yggdrasil." He was proud of himself for remembering those strangely-pronounced names, but he had just exhausted all the knowledge he had about them. He fidgeted a bit in his seat, starting to get excited at the idea of learning more about this.

The only thing Olivia could remember from the reading was that they were women, and in part, awesome. AWESOME because they were women, ruling the destinies of men...

LIKE IN HERCULES...

Slyly looking towards the Professor, the blonde Gryffindor tried to gauge how much trouble she'd be in if she were to burst into song....AND THAT'S THE GOSPEL TRUTH....

"There were bad Norns and good Norns, right?" Was she remembering that right? "Ones that caused tragedy and others that bestowed protection and love." So, kinda different from The Fates, as there weren't just three, but yea, there were like....three main ones?....Maybe? Eh, she couldn't recall.

That's all she had.

What did he know about Norns? Nothing really, Nordstrom he heard about -- constantly from his grandmother-- but he doubted upscale shopping mall was what Professor Socks has in mind.

Besides he's far more amused with his paperbag full of runes and making a maracas out of it. Cha cha cha cha cha cha!

"They were like Greek Fates," said Kitty, as her quick quotes quill came out of her pack and began scribbling notes. "In Greek mythology, three old ladies with a yarn and a scissors decided your fate. If they cut your thread then that means you died. I don't believe in them though, but that's the story and I heard it's very similar for Norns."

After a few seconds her hand shot into the air again. "Professor sir, do you mind if I use a quick quotes quill to quote answers? That way I can pay attention without having to worry about making notes manually. Someone told me I needed to ask permission."

Good most seemed to know who the Three Norns are and even relating them to the Three Fates. Good enough. One even knew their names. Impressive. Wasn't going to say it but it was. Viktor nodded to each answer and only having to stop when Prefect Valentine asked a question.

"You may. Just make sure its taking good notes and nothing over sensationalized."

Okay now onto the lesson.

"The Norns are the goddesses of fate. Urdh was the goddess of the past, or what has been. Verdhandi is the goddess of the present, what is. Skuld is the goddess of the future, or what shall be. Fate was a big deal to them. One way of casting is called a Norns cast. Its a simpler way of casting. You draw one at a time from the rune pouch and laid it a row. If face down, flip them over as if you are just simply turning a page. The first rune represents the past of the situation in question. The second indicates the present, the path that the querier is currently on. The third suggests the future, a likely outcome if one continues on the present path. Now i want you all to try this. Use your textbook to get the meaning of the runes." Right he should tell them how to actually do a reading. "To start you want to carefully form a question or this case it will be a situation in your mind and try not to waver in it or the meaning can get muddled or lose meaning. Once you have the situation firmly fixed in your mind begin to gently mix the runes in their bag. Continue to mix the runes until you feel compelled to take up certain rune lots. Continue doing this until you have the three ruins. Once that is all complete you can finally get a reading. It wont be perfect. But its your first try."

He did not expect a lot or even for them to do it completely right. He just hoped what he said made sense.

"If you have any question feel free to say them. Because next we will be doing a Five Rune Layout"

Viktor then motioned for them to start the Norns Cast.

OOC:

Hey Guys. Basically all you have to do is having your character form a situation in their mind and have them pick three runes. You can make up which ones and then use the textbook to get their divination meaning or however your character wishes to intercept it relating to the situation. It can all be done in one post. If you have any questions you can always PM me or message me. I will be moving on in around 24 hours again.

I will be moving on in around 24 hours

Paige shifted her own attention to the bag of runes on her desk, gently pouring them out and...somewhat giving herself a bit of a quiz on remembering their order and to which ætt each belonged to - something she still struggled with and surely would be a problem come NEWT time were she to actually go through with her plan to sit it.

Remaining quiet at first, Paige listened to her classmates as they offered up replies and chewed on her lower lip thinking about what to offer up herself. She did know a fair bit about their mythology from reading various muggle works, but something isolated that could contribute to a grander discussion was far more appealing than simply regurgitating text.

"They were said to shape destiny by carving runes into the trunk of the great ash tree Yggdrasil," she began, echoing sentiments from a Ravenclaw boy she did not recognize. Her eyes shifted to the runes she still had half arranged on her desk - order...certainly far from being correct. "Although some poems describe them doing this differently as well...but..is there a connection to why runes are often carved in wood?" Stone was also quite common but they had been carving into their wooden desks a lot this term so...lots of wood. "The connection to Yggdrasil and the Norns?"

And she...should probably stop arranging her runes on her desk and put them back in her bag for this cast, yeah? Paige grabbed the bag off her desk and quickly swept her feeble attempt at testing herself back in it and gentle shook the bag - the sound somewhat reminding her of the sound of rain falling in London...which was quite soothing and brought a smile to her face.

Ooh, something practical already. Awesome. Jacob ran his fingers along the rune bag in front of him, feeling the rough brown cloth. Definitely different than the velvet bags they'd had back home, but kind of... Better. More authentic or something. (Man, he really needed to stop thinking of it as home, though. This was home now, he knew that. Old habits, he guessed.)

He felt pretty confident following the instructions he'd been given, so he began thinking of a situation. Well, the first one that sprang to mind was obviously moving here. Everything was so different. Should he be more specific than that? Will I be able to fit in here? he thought. No, wait. Situation, not question. Rephrase. Fitting in at Hogwarts. He nodded to himself decisively before picking up the bag and gently mixing it as he concentrated on that thought.

After about a minute, he drew his first rune, the one for the past, and placed it on the desk. It was face-down, so he flipped it over as if he were turning a page, as instructed. It looked like an R. He flipped through his textbook quickly for the right page, and there! He spotted it. Raiðo. Something about a journey or travel, relocation... Okay, that seemed right. His recent past obviously did involve a journey. He scanned down the page for the interpretation. "Hmm..." he tapped his lower lip while he read, a habit he'd had since he was a child. The book said that Raiðo typically corresponded with an actual physical journey, and it was one that the hand of fate was working in and couldn't be influenced by outside forces. Seemed like it was generally considered a positive thing, as well. That was good. He wrote all this down quickly so that he would have it for later.

Leaving Raiðo out, he began mixing the bag again. This time, he moved a little more quickly. This one was the present. He pulled out a rune face-up that looked sort of like lightning, he guessed. Hopefully that didn't mean he was about to get struck down or something. He placed it next to Raiðo and began skimming the pages again. Eihwaz. This one had to do with change -- well, there was plenty of that in his present, sure. The book urged him to see change as positive and be resilient, as change makes a person grow stronger. Hmm. That was encouraging. He guessed it wasn't so bad making a transition like the one he'd just made. Of course, he would have preferred to finish the year out at Ilvermorny, especially since it was May and school was almost out, but he guessed he understood why his parents had dragged him here. And honestly, he didn't... Hate it. So far. The classes were great, and the people he'd met so far had all been very welcoming. It seemed like Eihwaz was trying to help him see the positive in all of it. Cool. He wrote this down underneath his first notes about Raiðo.

Okay, last one. With Raiðo and Eihwaz on the desk, he picked up the bag one last time and prepared to see what his future had in store. He mixed it gently, mulling the situation over and biting his lip in concentration. He wanted to make sure he got this right. He needed to know if things were going to turn out okay! Finally, he reached in the bag and pulled out his last rune. It looked kind of like a crooked diamond or something. He didn't really know how to describe it, but he guessed he didn't really have to... He flipped the page until he saw the symbol: Jera. He breathed a sigh of relief as he kept reading. It seemed like Jera was the positive resolution of change and hard work. So it seemed like if he just kept working hard at making friends and fitting in, things would work out how they were supposed to.

Jacob felt almost silly being comforted by all of this -- he was pretty logical, and none of this was really concrete evidence, after all -- but he couldn't deny that he was. Things seemed like they were looking up. And... It all added up too well to not be real, right?!

Azura suddenly felt like she was in Divination all over again, though at least she wasn't asking some snail how her life was going to go. Runes were supposedly a little more... grounded then Divination was. But still.. How was thinking of a situation and then picking three Runes supposed to tell her anything?

Was telling the future even possible? And if it was, would any of this actually help? Azura put her hand into the rune bag in her desk and idly started to mix it up. Her purple eyes were staring out into nothingness as she attempted to think of a situation.. All she could think up were questions! Would she get into Music school? Was Chris her person? Was her mother going to be okay? She sighed softly as she kept moving the Runes around in her fingers..

Situation.. Right..

Fwoopers this was hard. Her eyes closed as she struggled to find a situation. Finally she managed to place one in her head, albeit a highly general one. Music school and leaving Hogwarts.. It could happen. And that's what she focused on as she kept her eyes closed and moved her hand around the bag blindly. Her small fingers closed in on one and she pulled it out and looked at it carefully..

It looked like some sort of R thingy..

Azura scanned through her textbook and found the Rune that matched the one sitting on the cloth right now. Raidho

All right, so that meant journey, change and life lessons.. and this was supposed to represent the past? Okay.. she could use that. She was on a journey to possibly make a big change in her life and learning lessons in the meantime.

Right.

Next?

Her hand went back into bag as she closed her eyes and she swirled the Runes around again. She waited for a few moments before her digits closed in around another Rune.. Ohh! Upside down backwards 7 thingy!! She knew this one! Laguz! She scanned through the text book before finding its meaning..emotions, fears, things hidden.

Fwoopers! That was.. scarily accurate. She was scared and had emotions about thr results of her getting into music school! She blinked her purple eyes down at the Runes for a moment.. perhaps this stuff was right after all?

She put her hand back into the bag and grabbed the first Rune her fingers touched. She pulled it out and looked at it.. an H with a crooked thing in the middle.. Hagalaz

She found the Rune in her textbook and then her fingers paused as she looked at what it said. Destruction, ordeal, drastic change..

That was her future if she left Hogwarts early to go to Music School?

Azura stared.. and finally blinked... the fourteen year old rather shaken at what she saw.

Oh so they be doing a Rune reading? Cool. So it aint divinatory if they just be thinking of a situation? The Gryffindor Ace wasnt quite sure how that could be so different but eh, they were just given the go signal to make like a maracas while he thinks of the situation....

............
........
..

Hobbling Hinkypunks who wouldve thought thinking a situation to do a rune casting on is tough? Well perhaps for one who doesnt have much worries thats weighing in on the mind. He kept shaking his runes bag as his thoughts drifted-- mostly it was on food, sometimes it was on his cruiser, sometimes it was on his piles of homework and projects, sometimes it was on his friends....

...Hogwarts life. He was thinking about Hogwarts life.

Well that was as good a situation as any. Keep it present, keep it simple. He gave his paperbag full of runes another shake before slipping his hand in and drawing out a piece... another shake, another grab, and another piece. And then the same for the third one. He peered over his desk the the Runes all in a row..

SPOILER!!: The Norns

So the first one was Berkano, on the spot that represented the past. Ok so past is about fertility and good health and .... huh, so basically good beginnings? Yeah sounded spot on.

The second one was Othala... and it was upside down? Uhoh. Tenacius looked up what that meant-- Poverty and loss? Chaos? The Gryffindor's eyes grew large and sat back for a bit. Supposedly thats the second spot and that is whats happening now. Errr..... well there was some weird chaos happening around the school, apparently their poltergeist problem wasnt quite done so... did that fit? He hoped so, because he really doesnt want to think theres problems at home

The last rune was Gebo in the spot of the future... and its about gifts? About partnerships and good fortune? Well he hopes that will happen because gifts and good fortune! Who wouldnt want some of that eh?

A situation.

Well that was amazingly vague. It could be ANYTHING. Poo.

Dora sat with her eyes closed for several minutes trying to clear her thoughts... she was finding it difficult to think of anything other than this one boy at the moment. And why exactly did her mind keep wandering to Casper?! He was her BEST FRIEND. And she was certainly not going to ask the runes about her love life...

Maybe travel?

Hogwarts seemed too vague.

Maybe her sexuality? No that was too... something...

Clearly she was having a hard time forming a thought. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the professor with a frown. Raising her hand she asked,"What if we are having trouble thinking of something worth asking about?"

The three fates.

Not exactly a unique concept to the Norse mythos but no less interesting from the perspective if runes. Now if she could just think of a situation to work with them with. Cass always had that trouble with anything divination…trying to think of what she needed or wanted to know about. So it was the Ravenclaw’s turn to fiddle absently with her runes as she thought. It wasn’t like third year was a big year to deal with so she wasn’t stressing out about exams. Nor quidditch or gobstone matches since one wasn’t held and her house was finished with the other for the term.

Think…think…think.

Finally, she closed her eyes as an idea came to mind, Cassie focusing as well as she could on her question. Will I ever figure out the way I am to go? As in future, favorite subjects, something that truly interested her. With that clearly in mind, she scrambled up the bag of runes on her desk before laying out three one by one face done. She then opened her eyes as slowly flipped them over in turn.

Mannaz.
Eihwaz.
Uruz.

Oh soooo many meanings those three could give.

This was all deeply fascinating stuff, to be honest. The Nords. Or Fates... depending on which discipline you chose to believe in. Either way, to her, it sounded a lot like fortune telling and...the equivalent to tarot cards. The practice seemed exactly the same. Mirror accuracy.

Anyway.

Digging her hand down into her bag, she began working the runes around, shifting and moving her fingers around against the small rune stones. Olivia had a question in mind, but for the sake of her own privacy, she chose to keep that vague. It hadn't been instructed to do so, but she continued to repeat the question in her mind, until she'd finally selected her first rune. The one that was meant to represent the PAST. Not looking at it right away, she flipped the rune into the first position. Readying her quill, the blonde finally took a look. It was the rune Lagaz, or water, to be more mundane. Also, she was only recognizing these runes thanks to her extensive study sessions with Rooney. So, thank you, favorite.

Repeating the question a few more times she produced the next rune, which Liv vaguely recalled to be Berkano. Mainly because it was shaped like a "B". So, that one was less frustrating (and confusing)... What it represented, she didn't rightfully remember off hte top of her head... but she still felt some pride at remembering the rune's actual name. Anyway, adding that to her parchment, she went for the final rune. The one that would represent the future, and a culmination of the first two.

....Ehwaz? Horses?......... That was right, wasn't it?

Flipping some pages in her book, because she'd not gotten that skilled yet to just instantly know all these runes and their meanings, Olivia first landed on Lagaz...which according to her book, represented the revelation of emotions and the "changing of moods". In regards to the question she'd asked, that sounded about right. So, yes.... Now for Berkano. The BIRCH TREE... Ha, how could she have forgotten that one? She loved birch tress. Especially the one out by the black lake... The description mentioned "new beginnings" and "a fresh start"... and that also, sounded insanely accurate, given the question.

Lastly.... the "Ideal partnership" for Ehwaz....

"Sir, do you think rune casting is accurate?"