Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Ominous Signs
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Since the promotion of the Wizard Cards Club last time, more Hogwarts students became aware of this game. Some students even expressed their desire to have cards exclusive to their own houses and were willing to join the Wizard Cards Club to help Albert design new cards.
This was beneficial for the promotion of Wizard Cards, as once the game entered other houses, the number of players would undoubtedly increase. Albert believed that in no time, more and more students would fall in love with this game, which was easy to pick up, had diverse gameplay, and allowed players to design various strategies.
However, the design and production of the cards still remained a hassle. Although Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were helping as much as possible, Albert still had to do most of the work himself.
In fact, there were quite a lot of things he needed to take care of.
Designing and manufacturing Wizard Cards, magical training and homework for various courses, frequent correspondence with other wizards, borrowing books from the library every week, continuing research on perfecting the Protean Charm, researching spellcasting with ancient runes had made no progress, writing articles for "Today's Transfiguration," conducting academic research at the Spellcasting Club, and occasionally finding time to practice the Patronus Charm while searching for books related to the brain-closed curse in the Restricted Section.
Professor Filtch still held a grudge from last semester and had increased the patrols around the castle at night. Severus Snape occasionally helped with the patrols, which discouraged Albert from even thinking about wandering the Restricted Section late at night.
He didn't want to become the next unlucky person caught while exploring there, and to make matters worse, he would be at the bottom of Gryffindor, losing fifty points.
If he had to mention any recent good news, it would probably be the minor breakthrough Albert had made in ancient runes!
Professor Bathsheba Babbling was indeed an expert in this field and had a high level of achievement in ancient runes.
Every Tuesday afternoon, Albert attended Professor Babbling's advanced class in ancient runes and stayed behind after class to discuss ancient runes with her.
Not long ago, they had studied, analyzed, and discussed "Basic Rune Translations" and "Advanced Rune Studies" by MacDougal together, which significantly increased Albert's knowledge of runes.
Now, Albert's proficiency in ancient runes was already over Level 2.
Professor Babbling was the Ancient Runes professor at Hogwarts, but she didn't actually live in the castle. She only had five lessons a week. The advanced class in ancient runes had only four students, two from Ravenclaw, one from Slytherin, one from Hufflepuff, and Albert, who came to visit.
Originally, Ancient Runes was an elective course for third years, and even fewer students could pass it with a good O.W.L.S grade. Some students who met the requirements might not even want to take the advanced class, resulting in only a few students in this class.
Of course, Ancient Runes wasn't the worst; Muggle Studies didn't even have an advanced class.
As long as you could get a good O.W.L.S Muggle Studies certificate, you could work as a Muggle Liaison Officer at the Ministry of Magic.
The advanced classes in Divination, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures also had very few students, and few could truly learn something from the advanced classes and apply it after graduation.
After graduating from Hogwarts, many careers and majors didn't match up.
After the bell rang to end the class, everyone exchanged greetings and then left.
Albert didn't leave; he stayed behind to continue his discussion with Professor Babbling.
"How do you feel?" Professor Babbling asked gently. Having a good student had its benefits, and their relationship was quite good.
"It's okay, the content of the class is not difficult, and I've already grasped most of it," Albert said, flipping through his notes.
"You should already be at the N.E.W.T. level," Professor Babbling sighed softly. Although some people had a natural talent for ancient runes, like Albert, she was initially surprised by his talent.
"The difficulty is lower than I expected," Albert said.
"N.E.W.T. is indeed not that difficult," Professor Babbling explained, "The challenge lies in what you do after graduating from Hogwarts. We only scratch the surface here; those who go as deep as Mr. MacDougal are few and far between."
Albert nodded in agreement; from "Advanced Rune Studies," he couldn't tell this point.
Outside the corridor of the Ancient Runes classroom on the sixth floor, footsteps could be heard, followed by a knock on the door.
Isabel pushed the door open and walked in. She was also good at ancient runes and had a connection with MacDougal, so Professor Babbling allowed her to participate in this extra-curricular exchange.
Professor Babbling waved her wand, and a few people's favorite tea and cookies appeared on the table. This was not a formal class but a relaxed exchange.
Sitting on the comfortable sofa, after two consecutive classes, Professor Babbling was also a bit tired.
The discussion began after the three of them finished their first cup of tea.
"Our topic today is the divination with Rosmerta stones."
"I remember, there seems to be a divination class for third years, which teaches how to use Rosmerta stones for divination?" Albert looked up at Isabel and asked, "Did you take Divination class?"
However, from Albert's observations of their expressions, he had already guessed the answer. Obviously, this Ravenclaw genius was much like Professor McGonagall, thinking that choosing Divination was a waste of time.
"I don't have that kind of talent," Isabel said, lifting her teacup and taking a sip. She glanced at Albert and said casually, "Perhaps you will."
"Sibyll is good at this, and I specifically invited her," Professor Babbling chimed in, noticing that both Albert and Isabel didn't seem very interested in Rosmerta stone divination. "Rosmerta stone divination is an ancient British form of divination. It is said to be very accurate, but there are very few wizards who truly understand how to interpret it. Luckily, Sibyll has some research in this area."
Albert couldn't help rolling his eyes after hearing this and said casually, "I heard... that divination requires talent, and only a small fraction of people have that kind of talent."
As far as he knew, most students chose Divination just to pass the time, without much concern about whether they would get good grades on their O.W.L.S.
After graduating, the number of wizards who pursued a career in Divination was close to zero. After all, Divination without true predictive ability was no different from being a charlatan, and no one welcomed such a charlatan.
Sibyll Trelawney indeed had the ability to make prophecies, but her gift was uncontrollable and not like other diviners who could use crystal balls to see specific prophecy fragments.
"Sibyll should have such an ability," Professor Babbling said, not entirely sure. She knew that her friend did have the gift of prophecy; after all, she was the great-granddaughter of the famous diviner Cassandra Trelawney, and the gift of prophecy was often passed down through bloodlines.
As the three chatted about ancient runes, Rosmerta stones, and magical runic symbols, the door to the Ancient Runes classroom was knocked again, and the person they were discussing earlier appeared outside the door.
This was the first time Albert had a close encounter with Sibyll Trelawney.
She was a very thin woman wearing a large pair of glasses. She had a bunch of chains and beads hanging around her neck, making her look a bit eccentric. Perhaps she just didn't want people to figure her out.
"Oh, Bathsheba, I hope I'm not late," Trelawney poked her head into the classroom, her gaze falling on Albert and Isabel.
"I mentioned it to you," Professor Babbling smiled, inviting Professor Trelawney into the classroom. Their relationship was indeed quite good. "We are studying Rosmerta stone divination, and I thought you could be a great help in this area, considering you're an expert."
"Oh, Rosmerta stone divination, this is a very ancient discipline. Very few wizards are good at this kind of divination now," Trelawney walked in and sat next to Professor Babbling. She took out an exquisite bag from her pocket, saying, "... Now, in my Divination class, I only briefly mention how to predict the future from tea leaves and crystal balls, which is simpler for most students, as they can find answers in books. Of course, for students without the 'inner eye' talent, this is as far as they can go in this subject."
Trelawney's words were not wrong; divination required talent, and without it, one could only be seen as a charlatan and receive no respect.
Trelawney opened the exquisite bag and poured out the Rosmerta stones. She gently touched the symbols on them and said to Professor Babbling, who had brought her a cup of tea, "Thank you. Each symbol on the Rosmerta stone tells a story and contains a profound meaning of ancient runes... they can also be used to seek desired outcomes."
Albert took a bite of a cookie and listened quietly to Trelawney's ramblings. He looked at Isabel, who seemed a bit impatient, not believing Trelawney's nonsense.
"Take the bag with the Rosmerta stones in your hand, silently think of your question, and meditate quietly," Trelawney continued her monologue, putting the Rosmerta stones back into the bag. "Remember to keep your mind open, follow your instincts to feel the natural power, and then take a Rosmerta stone from the bag and place it in your hand."
Albert and Isabel glanced at each other, both seeing a twitch at the corners of the other's mouth, but they didn't say anything.
"Why not give it a try? Who wants to go first?" Professor Babbling suggested.
"Ladies first!" Albert gestured to Isabel.
"No, you go first," Isabel said, not really believing in this form of divination.
"Alright!" Albert took the bag of Rosmerta stones, silently thought of his question, and meditated, trying to keep his mind as clear as possible.
He reached into the bag and took out a Rosmerta stone, placing it in his palm.
"What's your question?" Trelawney asked.
"Future fortune," Albert answered without hesitation.
"I think you have a talent for divination," Trelawney walked to Albert and suddenly said.
"Thank you," Albert politely replied.
"It's the upright Fehu," Trelawney glanced at the Rosmerta stone in Albert's hand with a strange expression. "Fehu itself represents wealth and symbolizes material gains. This means that your fortune is good, and it represents some form of success. As long as you grasp the matter at hand, you will be successful and overcome any difficulties during the process."
"My fortune has indeed been pretty good," Albert said with a hint of uncertainty. He put the Rosmerta stone back into the bag and handed it to Isabel.
"I want to know if I'll encounter trouble in the near future," Isabel said calmly, stating her question before taking a Rosmerta stone from the bag.
"Upside-down Eihwaz," Trelawney glanced at the Rosmerta stone in Isabel's hand. "This is a clear warning, warning you to be careful... this is not a good omen."
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