In all the visions of what her future would hold, teaching had never really factored in for Teagan. Since she was a little girl, running around the tombs and caves in Egypt, she had always imagined herself with an adventurous life, exploring new places and learning new things. Now, after three years of doing just that, she'd been asked to return to the Academy, to help with a recently vacated position.

Looking around her classroom, she wasn't disappointed by the space. Runes, at least how her late professor and mentor used to teach, had mostly been a lecture based class. She'd learned a load of useful information, yes, but it had lacked the hands on application that could have helped her in the field that first year. As it was, she'd had to learn many things on the fly. Something she didn't want for her students.

For now, there were desks and chairs in the room, since this would be her first class. A combination of all years, to make sure they were all on the same page, she was curious how many would attend.

Walking up to her desk, she leaned against the front of it, her arms crossed as she waited for them to arrive. The walls were decorated with various pictures of runes and lists of names. They were all harmless pieces of paper, but Teagan smirked at the latent power held in those innocent scraps. They'll learn soon enough.

Humphrey made his way up to the seventh floor for a class on runes and symbols. This course wasn't really necessary for his major, but Humphrey chose to take it as an elective. Even if he didn't end up using them too often, he had a feeling that this course would be rather interesting. Runes and symbols were fascinating to him, the problem was that he had no clue what any of them meant. Hopefully by the time he'd graduated from here, he would have some idea. Walking into class and noticing that he was the first there, Humphrey took a seat at the front of the class. "Hello, professor." he greeted the women he assumed would be teaching them.

Looking around the room, he noticed that the walls were covered with pictures of runes and their names. It looked like he would have a lot of work to do in this class. That was all to the good though, he was here and ready to learn.

Elspeth walked to the runes and symbols class with much more enthusiasm than she had for her potions class. She had taken Ancient Runes as an elective at Hogwarts, and it was one of her favourite classes. She only hoped that she still retained the information she had learned. Failing this class would not bode well for her, as it was required for her major.

She entered the classroom and saw that she was quite early. She nodded a greeting to the professor before taking a seat somewhere in the front.

Alistair roamed around the hallways until he had about one minute left before class had begun. He looked up with a gesture towards his hoodie and thought to himself "I hope Professor Finn doesn't make me take it off" Alistair always wore his hood up on his hoodies.
              When Alistair walked in he noticed three other students already there before him. "Great." Alistair thought to himself sarcastically "I probably look like the problem student already" Alistair stated with a quick smirk and a shake of his head. He proceeded to the front of the class where Professor Finn waited at her desk for the final students to arrive.
             "Hello Professor Finn its a pleasu-", Alistair stopped speaking abruptly as the pictures on the walls mesmerized him. He sensed something in them, then none the less finished his sentence "-sure to finally meet my professor for this first year of curse breaking"
After Alistair took a bow in a respectable manner, he proceeded to sit down at a desk and get ready for the lesson of the day.

Walking around and finding finally where she was supposed to go, Thana walked in to her first class of Runes and Symbols. . Over the holidays she had done as much reading as she could so that she would be able to take the class and enjoy the most of it, she walked in and noticed four people already there. As well as the paper around the room, she finally chose to sit near the boy with the hood on and the other boy at the front of the room who had his quill and notebook already out. As Thana sat down her dark green velvet hood fell off and sat around her shoulders. "Professor" she greeted, already loving the class.

Runes was her favourite class and could not wait to see what the year ahead would bring, she pulled out her books and quills. Already seeing what runes there were, and happily she identified them mentally. Her hair done in a simple style and was swept to one side, her cloak simple but was purposeful. Long black pants and shoes covered the rest of her, Thana liked to keep her attire simple most of the time and more purposeful then anything. Turning to her empty class book she wrote on the top of it, in her messy writing Lesson One. Runes and Symbols. before turning her attention back to the class ahead.

One by one, students filed into the classroom. Each was as unique in their approach as the last, and it served to peek Teagan's curiosity. It really wasn't all that long ago that she was in their position. After all, she wasn't that old. Judging by most of their enthusiasm, she guessed the majority were first years. Politely, she greeted each one in turn as they entered, watching their reactions closely. She'd chosen the materials decorating the room very specifically, and was glad to see different levels of recognition.

As the five students seemed to settle into their places, she noted the time and decided to begin. A quick look at her roster, she noticed she was one male more than was expected. A non-major, she assumed. Interesting. Setting the clipboard aside she stood, gathering everyone's attention.

"Good morning." Her voice was clear, but not unnecessarily loud. They were, after all, just the six of them. "As you may know from your class list, my name is Professor Finn. If you manage to pass the first year, you will be allowed to call me by my first name," she said, with a twinkle in her eyes. She believed in mutual respect, but understood that these students needed to prove themselves. It was her first year, after all, so they were starting this together.

Her steps were light, the click of her heels on the hard wood a soft rhythm as she moved around the room. "This first class will be focused on two questions: what is a rune or symbol? And, how do they pertain to the career of Cursebreaking." Stopping over by on poster in particular, her hand moved over the parchment. "Many of you probably had Ancient Runes in your previous education. That's usually the case for those that choose this major," she saw some nods of agreement. "But, unfortunately, schools like Hogwarts tend to focus very narrowly on the Elder Futhark, Nordic runes, and just Eastern Europe in general."

With a wave of her wand, a small gust of wind seemed to blow around the room. The ink on the posters appeared to blur and morph into completely different ones. Some looked Asian, others Middle Eastern. Yes, a few had kept their European appearance, but changed to ones generally not covered in the standard classes. There were pictures of artifacts with lines of script carved into them, ranging from the America's to Africa in origin.

A small smile warmed her features as Teagan turned back to the group. "Not to say we will not cover these, or that they are not important, but there is so much more to the realm of Cursebreaking than our little corner of the world. While we will look at these all in detail, let us begin with something less...intimidating, shall we?"

Another flick of her wand and a stack of blank parchments levitated off of her desk, one landing in front of each student. "If you would, I would ask that each of you draw your favorite rune. Any one you can think of, and write a little bit about it. Feel free to use your text book. Most of them are centered around those I mentioned before, Nordic and the like, but if you have another, that is fine too. You will all then be taking turns sharing with the class. For now, focus on your notes: its origin, the name, anything interesting you can think of."

(OOC: Please include in your post 1. a picture of the rune, for the class to see, 2. the name of the rune, 3. a description of what it means, 4. the origin of the rune (can be included with the name or description), 5. at least one interesting fact about it. Your first post will include your writing and drawing of the rune. We will move from there to them sharing to the class.

As stated, the text they were asked to buy is mainly focused on the Eastern European runes I mentioned: Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, Gaelic, Celtic, Elder. Unless you have an in character reason for them choosing a different kind of rune, please stick to these. We will be covering other kinds throughout other lessons, so this is mainly to get your characters started in their first lesson. Feel free to research as much as you would like on your particular rune, and tailor it to your character. This is a great opportunity for character development, and if you need help in any way, feel free to ask! Good luck!)

Moving around the room, Teagan let the quiet settle amongst the small group. The windows let in a gentle breeze, and the usual sounds of autumn could be heard from outside. Rather pleasant, all around.

As she walked past the desks, she glanced here and there, to check out the progress of each of them. Some were slower in drawing their rune than others, taking time to make it perfect. Others chose to scribble the symbol quickly, and spend more time on the informational aspect of this task. Either way, they would be given the time needed, unless they dallied.

She came to a stop near one of the boys. Remembering when he entered, and the recognition on his face at some of the posters, she was not surprised to see him finishing before the others. "May I?" she asked the boy, motioning to see his work. The drawings were spot on, that much was clear. Reading through his work, she worked to keep her expression contained. She was rather...well, impressed. It was one thing, to come into the academy having read all the texts on a subject. But intelligence would only go so far.

Pursing her lips, Teagan, returned the paper to the boy's desk with a curt, neutral nod. They would be sharing their decisions soon enough, so she continued walking the room.

Listening as the woman spoke she smiled softly to herself as she listened. Runes were amazing and held a personal interest to her, especially Gaelic ones as they were a part of her heritage. Listening she thought about what rune she could pick, there were so man to choose from and a lot of Gaelic runes were adaptations from other runes. Her earliest knowledge was Goidelic runes, and decided to go with one of them. But what one? There were so many still, finslly she decided to go with something from the Elder Futhark runes. " Perthro." She thought to herself, the mystery rune.


Smiling as she drew the rune in red ink, not for anything other then to make it clear she wrote what she knew of it , but kept it factual rather then personal. Her culture had beliefs of everything, but she wanted to keep to the facts.

Rune
Name of rune,  Perthro
The Perthro rune has several meanings, even meaning a gambling cup, doom, and in most Gealic and Celtic usage it is known to mean " mystery" and "the unknown "
The exact origin of the rune is unclear, both Germanic, Norse, Gealic , Anglo Saxon and similar European countries used this rune, especially as it is part of the Elder Futhark alphabet. Quickly adopted into the Goidelic languages in around the 4th century.

Apart  from Gaelic beliefs the earliest proven and witnessed use if this rune is on the Kylver Stone as well as the rest of the Elder Futhark alphabet.  My personal choice for choosing this rune is because to me it represents a mystery and gives one the sense of adventure. There are many other arguable meanings for it, which makes it an interesting rune especially as in later generations it was removed from the Elder Futhark alphabet. The sense of mystery it gives off in itself is magnificent, as the rune in itself is a mystery it excited and if seen in places makes one think of what the placer meant it to mean.


Re reading over what she had written Thana smiled, she had kept it simple and factual. And hopefully she hadn't made it too wordy, but she had written her thoughts and that was enough for her. The rune meant a personal thing to her, and in her travels over Ireland had come across it several times in ancient hidden buildings. Enjoying that it gave mystery, which was what Thana loved. Mysteries.

Continuing around the room, Teagan paused at the brunette's desk. Seeing that she was finished, the older witch turned the paper towards her to read. Her eyes scanned the paper. The thoughts were clear, and showed detail and a good deal of knowledge.

Taking in the girl as well, she had to wonder what the short two paragraphs really showed about her. With a job like Cursebreaking, every day brought new experiences. Many of those experiences would prove to test the individual, in body, mind, and soul. The smartest mind in the world would bulk in the face of danger, if only to analyse and deduce. But those few seconds could mean their doom. Figuring that the girl was a first year, Teagan had to assume that she would learn that along the way. This was only the first lesson, after all.

"Thank you," she said. Raising her head to the whole class, she stayed at the girl's desk. "You should all be done with your rune by now. Let's move on to the sharing part." Motioning to the girl in front of her, she continued, "Would you mind starting us off? Begin with your name, please, since we all need to get to know each other, since we'll be working together for the next few years."

Moving away to stand by her desk, she gave the students room to share amongst themselves.

As the minutes ticked by, with no word from the girl, Teagan's lips pursed. She wouldn't begin to guess the reasoning, but she decided not to press her just now. This was the first lesson, after all, and beginning students had to learn to find their way.

She looked over at the others in the small group, curious how the rest of them would react. "Alright, let's go ahead and move on to someone else. Do I have a brave volunteer to start us out?"

A glance at her watch showed that they didn't have much time left in class. That was okay, since this was more of an introduction, really, than a full jump into the pond. But she hoped they'd have a little bit of time for one or two of them to share, at least.

Teagan motioned for another student to stand. She'd been decidedly vacant in her reaction to his paper, not wanting to sway his presentation in any way. Part of is was something she'd learned from her own mentor, when he'd taught. Another reason was...well, she just wanted to see how they all did. On their own. Cursebreaking sometimes put you in the path of other people, other cursebreakers. But most of the time, you are very much alone.

As the boy stumbled through his speech, she could see his uncertainty. Teagan's innerself wanted nothing more than to sooth his nerves...but that wouldn't do him any good. Instead, she waited til he was finished to respond. They were out of time for today, but there was enough to leave them with one parting thought.

"Thank you, Adriano, for sharing. It takes courage to be the first one, and never forget that. As a successful Cursebreaker, sometimes that is what matters. Beating others to the prize at the end of the path. Oh yes, you may be breaking enchantments on family heirlooms, or ensuring that a cursed object is safe again. But when the job gets really interesting..." Her eyes got a far away look in them, as she remembered past experiences. "It's all worthwhile."

Focusing on the group again, she flicked her wand. The papers they'd all been writing on floated towards her, landing in a neat pile on her desk. "Mr. Trapani has brought up an interesting point: the idea of dual meanings to different runes. For homework, I would like you all to write 100 words on one rune that has two very different meanings. And please, not the one you've already written about."

Moving towards the door, it opened silently before her. "I'll see you all next week."