CH 15

Bathsheda Babbling, the current professor, was fortunately doing her best to live up to her name in the corridor outside the class amongst a gaggle of seventh years and Harry slipped past her to join Hermione in the front row. He would have preferred to sit a little further back, but he'd have had to spend the journey distracting his friend to accomplish that.

'Welcome back to Ancient Runes,' their professor gushed immediately upon entering. 'Happily everyone survived from third year and we even have an additional student,' she gestured at Harry, 'who needs no introduction.'

There was a rustle as all the students turned to look at him, his scar, and then back to their bubbly professor.

'I trust you've all brought your copies of Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms,' Professor Babbling said sweetly. 'As this is the first lesson I'll allow you to recap anything you feel you need to or just get started on the material for this year while I chat with Harry and start planning our year together in detail.'

'Harry,' she smiled cheerfully, 'mind joining me in my office.'

'Of course not, professor.' Harry abandoned his already finished book and followed the professor through into her office.

It was a small, cramped room the walls of which had been repeatedly covered and recovered in parchment. Harry assumed Professor Babbling used it to work on as there were runes and notes scrawled all across the parchment draped walls in different coloured inks.

'My office is my playground,' the professor explained with cheery wave at the walls. 'So why did you decide to switch to my class?'

'I find runes quite interesting,' Harry replied earnestly, 'specifically their applications in wards and, if I'm being completely honest, Professor Trelawney was a bit too fond of predicting my death.'

'How horrible,' Professor Babbling remarked. 'I'm glad you have a genuine interest in the subject, this is a small group and we tend to move quite fast, so anyone not on board gets left behind.' She was staring a particular set of runes emblazoned on the wall beside Harry's head. It was uncomfortable, but preferable to having his scar ogled.

'Back to class then,' she smiled. 'I won't pass your concerns about Professor Trelawney on, between the two of us, I've never really had time for a subject as imprecise and vague as divination.'

Hermione spent the whole session lost in the book, gazing into its pages in a manner amusingly reminiscent of her least favourite divination teacher. Harry meanwhile quietly flicked through the pages of his own copy, eager for the day to end so he could return to the Chamber of Secrets again. Enduring Salazar Slytherin's mouthy portrait was hardly a concession in return for what he might be able to learn there.

'What did Professor Babbling want?' Hermione asked when the lesson came to an end.

'She just wanted to know why I switched to Ancient Runes and to warn me about how fast the class will move.'

'We do go fast,' Hermione agreed, 'but if you're already ahead in transfiguration then you'll be able to redistribute your time and keep up.' She shot him a smile that seemed almost proud. 'Why did you switch?'

'I told you. I got a bit tired to being told how I was going to die every lesson.' It wasn't like Hermione was going to object to him leaving divination. She had quite literally walked out of their lessons.

'It's Arithmancy now,' she said, beginning to rummage through her bag. 'I've got the notes from last year. I thought you might like them if you wanted to go over what we did or anything.'

Harry accepted them with a grateful smile. He didn't need them and would much prefer her notes from Ancient Runes, which would be very useful, but it would save him buying the books if ever forgot anything.

Septima Vector, the Arithmancy teacher, reminded Harry very much of his maths teacher from muggle school. She had the same air of neat, logical action and he could imagine her stopping to think through every option of a choice before actually deciding.

It was actually quite a disappointing start. Harry had been expecting to see everything he'd read about over the summer, but it seemed that most of the subject he wanted to see was only vaguely mentioned until after OWLs. Advanced Arithmancy was the class he really wanted to take, so he settled in his seat and watched Hermione happily work her way through the exercises.

'Why aren't you working?' she asked, when she eventually looked up to see him doodling on the edge office parchment.

'This isn't the form of Arithmancy I'm particularly interested in,' he admitted. 'I read a lot in the summer, but everything I want to learn isn't covered until after OWLs.'

'Advanced Arithmancy is supposed to one of the hardest classes,' Hermione responded rather dubiously. 'Are you sure?'

'Of course. This is just the basics behind the theory to any passable enchanting or warding. After OWLs they cover all the complex, interesting stuff. Two-dimensional equations are useless to describe magical patterns when any magic we fold into planes for warding or enchanting will be done in reality, an obviously three-dimensional construct.'

Hermione paused and seemed to be going over what he had said in her head. Harry took a great deal of pride in saying something that had forced her to think for so long. Not many of their teachers often managed such a thing.

'I guess that does make sense,' she agreed, 'but you'll still need to know this.'

'I already know enough to get by until Professor Vector sets more complex assignments,' he answered. Harry leant across to fill in the answers to the very last and only incomplete question on her parchment. 'See, easy.'

Hermione shot him an angry look and scribbled out his answer to work it out herself. Harry returned to his doodling.

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