Looking for Runes [Aeye]

Jett had yet to explore the sixth floor. It didn't appear to be a floor that was widely used. Dust had settled on the paintings and statutes lining the corridor giving the the whole area a musty hushed feeling. He found himself walking as quietly as possible in order to not disturb whatever could be sleeping hidden from view.

This was not just a exploratory jaunt. Jett had a goal. He had learned that the Ancient Runes classroom was on this floor and he wanted to make his way into it. He wasn't sure there was a Professor for the class yet and figured now would be the best time to peruse the artifacts at his leisure. He had been working on piecing together a book his father had sent him. It was all in runes and there were some he wasn't certain about. He needed to find their meaning and continue his studying. So far his translations had reveled a story of an ancient relic lost from the wizarding world for many generations. Jett could envision himself solving its mysteries and recovering the artifact to much shocked praise.

He stopped and looked around, his hand in his hair. Where was that room? Maybe he had made a wrong turn...

Aeye turned one last time to take a look at the room.  She hoped that anyone who stumbled upon it would recognize it as the Ancient Runes classroom.  She hoped it would catch people's interest and they would visit more often.  The study of ancient runes didn't seem to be ver interesting to many of the students.  On impulse, she went back to the desk and wrote a few simple runes and words on a scrap of papyrus.  She had always loved Egypt, so papyrus paper was used for a lot of her notebooks and such.  She wrote EVERYONE WELCOME in both English, French, Spanish, and a common Rune that the basic level class would be studying this year.  Then she turned and left.

She was walking through the corridor when she noticed a fifth or sixth year boy wandering around, peeking through doors and looking lost.  She wondered what he was looking for, and secretly hoped it was the Ancient Runes classroom, though that was doubtful.  Still, there were only so many rooms and hallways on this floor, and he was getting closer to her classroom.  Her curiosity was already aroused, so she decided to ask the boy where he was going and if she could be of any help.  Aeye supposed she ought to help any students if she could. She wondered as an afterthought whether anyone had heard about her, the new professor, yet.

"Hello, I'm Professor Rakasha.  Are you looking for something?  The nearest room is the Ancient Runes classroom over there," here she pointed around the corner," but if you were looking for the bathrooms, they're behind you, all the way around this corner on the far side of the castle."

As he was nearing the end of the corridor a woman emerged from farther ahead. She was an adult, but not a professor he had met. Jett was a little disappointed that someone else was on this floor, ruining his chances of studying in solitude. He waited for her to approach him and smiled warmly as she introduced herself.

Upon hearing her mention she was the new Ancient Runes professor Jett experienced a spark of hope. Perhaps he could charm her into letting him her classroom and helping him. That's what the professor were for after all. Plus this gave him the chance to make a great first impression on her. He judged she probably didn't get too many students seeking out her classroom before she even started teaching. He hoped this would put him in her good graces.

"It is nice to meet you, Professor. I'm Jett Winters, a sixth year. I was actually just looking for the Ancient Runes classroom, surprisingly enough. I'm sorry but I didn't know we had a professor for it. I planned to get some studying done for a project of mine." Jett gave her his most winning smile as he waited for her answer.

Hmm. Well, if theboy wanted to see the classroom, that was fine with her. After all, didn't she just post a sign on the door that said Welcome? "Come with me, I'll show you the Ancient Runes classroom. Mind you, it's not quite ready yet but I do have several textbooks, ancient scrolls, tablets, etc. for you to examine if you need them for your project. I was just recently working on some runes about Hogwarts itself, so tell me if you see any around here, alright? Thank you.". With that, she turned around with a swish of her robes and continued on towards the room with Jett following closely behind. "You wouldn't be in my classes, you're what, a sixth year right? However, my door is always open, so feel free to visit during your free time. Just remember to be careful, many of the things in the classroom are fragile and extremely old." When they reached the room, Aeye points towards the door. "You seem to be an advanced scholar in Runes. Can you tell me what that says and what other languages I have there?"

Jett listened carefully to Professor Rakasha's words, taking them in and storing them for future use. Should he tell her about the runes in the Clock Tower? It may be a way to impress if she didn't know about them already. He was slightly disappointed to hear that she only taught up to fifth years. It seemed he would have to continue his education in this subject on his own. Although she mentioned he was always welcome he couldn't see himself coming to her often. If he got stuck, maybe....but Jett rarely got stuck. On those occasions he prided himself on being about to solve the problems himself and figure things out by sheer perseverance. Still, it was good to know there was someone he could go to if needed.

When they reached the classroom Jett noticed something written on a scrap posted to the door. He easily made it its meaning and the languages it had been written in. "It states that everyone is welcome. The French is easy to spot, it was my first language after all. Spanish is very close, being another romance language. And English, of course. The runes are a basic variety, something I learned my first year back at Beauxbatons." Jett looked back towards the professor, eager to see the look of acceptance in her eyes.

(Sorry I had to go to class and then make dinner) He was correct. Not exactly surprising, but Aeye was happy anyway. She also knew a few things about him now. Firstly, he was French or someplace where people spoke French. Secondly, he had gone to Beauxbatons, where apparently they had a fairly good Ancient Runes teacher and system. Aeye wasn't impressed with the boy for knowing the runes and languages, but she was a little pleased anyway. She knew about several places in the castle where runes of different cultures and languages could be found, and she wasn't sure if he had found any.

Somehow, Aeye guessed that he wouldn't be visiting very often, and wondered as an afterthought whether she should've chosen to teach 6th and 7th years instead. However, there weres mostly 4th and 5th years at Hogwarts, so that had probably been the best idea still. Aeye entered the room and swept it with her gaze before turning to the boy, was Jet his name? An interesting one, but she wasn't studying his family tree and bloodline, so she wasn't focused at all on any of that. Aeye snapped back into focus. "So, what do you think?"

Jett was lead into the room by the professor, who motioned to the space before them and asked his opinion. He carefully took in all the small details of the classroom, focusing on the little things more intently than the overall scheme. There were books and runes placed carefully around, many old and nearly falling apart. Though it had looked like Professor Rakasha had done her best to clean the room up it still exuded a neglected aura. It couldn't be helped, Jett had read that ancient runes had not been taught for many years. Still, it had potential. His eyes locked onto the pile of large tomes sitting on her desk, hungry for the knowledge held within.

"It's fantastic," Jett answered. "I have no doubt the students lucky enough to take your class will be fascinated the moment they walk in." He took a few steps into the room and examined a stone tablet on the wall. "Can this be an original from ancient Egypt?" Jett was fairly certain it was but posed it as an inquiry in order to not come off as over confident.

Aeye laughed and replied, "Actually, it is a copy of the original, which was from Egypt, yes. I made that one," she said, gesturing to the one hanging on the wall, "The other had almost fallen once and I didn't want to risk it again. I was hoping no one would notice, and it appears I did an okay enough job. Look closely. See if you can spot some errors that I made while trying to make it look old." She hoped the boy wouldn't be mad at her for not hanging the real ones on the walls. At Durmstrang, students had stolen, broken, and messed with them, however, she realized, Hogwarts was far superior to Durmstrang in the manners and cautiousness of the students. Or, at least in her experience they were.

The faint lines of a frown appeared on Jett's face as he examined the rune closer. She was correct, of course. There were signs of a modern hand on the tablet, though very faint. It was expertly done. If it was any one else it would be considered an honest mistake, something to learn from. To Jett, though, it was a failure. He fumed at himself inwardly, furious that he had not noticed the details sooner. He would have to work harder, push out more distractions. It was unacceptable to miss such things for it would only lead to further mistakes.

Realizing he had been staring intently at the rune Jett placed his customary smile back on his face and turned to Professor Rakasha. "I've never seen a copy done so well. This school has really gained a great new asset to their staff." Jett paused a minute, considering. He needed to make up for his ignorance somehow.

(I'm drawing so many blanks on how to describe runes or make Jett look like he knows what he's talking about, I know nothing about these things haha)

(No, you're fine, I could barely tell)  The boy leaned forward to examine the tablet more closely.  Sure enough, she bet he could see her modern cultural hand and the newer stone.  He stepped away and frowned.  Obviously, he was disappointed and angry with himself for making the mistake.   He tried to paste a polite smile on his face, but Aeye could see right through that. Either way, she was proud of the copy. She had worked for about two weeks on that stone, making the surface rough and ancient looking and inscribing it with a practiced hand.  She had been almost certain no one would mind that she had hung the copies up, because it wasn't like she was planning to sell the originals or anything.  Aeye had collected them from all around the world, and wasn't about to give them up.  She wanted to change the subject; the Ravenclaw boy looked uncomfortable.  She walked over to a stone table and chairs in the corner.  

They were from South America, found in the rainforest.  They had been made by an ancient tribe that was famous for developing a system of reading and writing at such a crude age.  Their language was harsh while speaking, but beautiful on paper and in stone.  The chairs were made for royalty and high ranking members of the tribe.  The runes were more complicated than the ones she taught in her classes, but since he was a Sixth Year and seemed to know a lot about runes, she figured he would get the general idea of what they were saying.  Aeye pointed to the table and chairs.

"Can you tell me where those are from, what they were used for, and a general idea of what the runes say?"  She looked back to the boy.  She hoped he would get it, she really didn't want him to become even more angry with himself.  He shouldn't have been, either way.  He was here to learn, and you couldn't exactly learn properly without making a few mistakes.  Some people had their pride, she supposed.

Following Professor Rakasha over to the far corner of the room Jett listened as she asked about a set of chairs and a table. This time he wouldn't jump to a conclusion and speak without first carefully considering the objects. It wouldn't do to have the only professor he had met that seemed likely to teach him anything thinking he didn't focus before answering.

The set looked old and worn, weathered in some way. He ran his hands over the back of the chair, feeling for grooves and bumps. Water damage maybe? These had been stored in a humid climate for sure. With his hand on the hard surface he could feel the years slip away and almost see the chairs arranged in an elaborate room adorned with tropical plants, hear the rain patter on the roof. The runes spanning the table were delicately done, every ounce of care and concentration that writer had was poured into them. These must have been made for someone very important if such detail was used.

Jett brought his eyes back to the professor. "These were from somewhere in the jungle...South American rainforest most likely. They once were used for the leaders of some tribe, a place to hold court and meetings, judging from their detail. The runes on it..." Jett paused again. He wasn't quite sure. He knew he had seen them somewhere before, some book now laying in the bottom of his trunk or strewn about his home in London. "I think they say something about being just and loyal in their ruling."

Aee nodded slowly. The boy was mostly correct. As for te runes, he had gotten the general idea okay. They talked about giving your best to the tribe, and how each member must be loyal to the tribe. Without that, it said there would be a blood curse upon any who dared leave or abandon the tribe. Betrayal was the worst crime possible to commit. She was pleased that he could tell they were from South America rainforests, and that they were for high ranking members. However, she thought his technique could use a bit of work. Touching was an excellent way to understand and learn more about runes on stone or other material, but a lots of times touching might ruin them. The oils in your fingers would do it. That had been one of the things that had happened in Durmstrang. Aeye tried not to thunk about it. Either way, the boy, was Jett his name?, had interpreted the runes fairly well.

"Excellent job," she told him, "although you do have to be cautious touching runes carved in stone or wood, the oils in your hands may damage them. Fortunately, Thai table has a charm cast upon it that protects it from that.". She ran her fingertips lightly over the runes on one chair. "The runes on the chairs are slightly different than the ones on the table because the table applied to all the members while each chair focused on one. This way, the fabled curse would only be unleashed upon one member. In reality, there was a magical trap that would trigger a spell if a person siting near or on the chair said certain words in a certain order. A quite clever spell, it's really too bad that the formula was lost. Even so, it is now considered too extreme, although it is a very interesting piece of magic to watch in action." She wondered if the boy was even still paying attention. She knew she sounded boring sometimes, talking about the old magics and curses placed on and triggered by runes.