“Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I. Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies ..."
-- Hermione Granger, explaining her over-full book bag before her third year (PA4)
Ancient Runes Made Easy is an introductory textbook for the study of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts School.
Hermione Granger began reading this book during her second year, not long after signing up to take Ancient Runes the following year (CS14).
Commentary
Notes
Numerous self help books are published in English with the title "xxx Made Easy". These will often cover subjects that are extremely difficult to master and try to distil them into a simplified easy-to-read format.
In the Links bookcase screen on the original JKR.com website, a new book appeared on March 9, 2006 in the middle of the bottom shelf entitled "Ancient Runes Made Easy". Clicking on the book, it opened to reveal a key to the Rune tiles strewn in the Rubbish Bin screen (JKR).
The following is a transcription from the original JKR.com website:
The Runes are all fictional creations from the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling, and do not represent actual ancient rune symbols. Designs on the tiles are simplistic designs of magical creatures that can be found in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, except for Hydra (9), which refers to a creature from Greek mythology, and Unknown (7), which refers to the mysterious magical properties of the number seven and almost certainly the Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort.
Demiguise (0)
The Demiguise's ability to make itself invisible is used to symbolise zero.
Unicorn (1)
The Unicorns single straight horn is used to symbolise the number one.
Graphorn (2)
The Graphorns two long sharp horns are used to symbolise the number two.
Runespoor (3)
The triple headed Runespoor is used to symbolise the number three.
Fwooper (4)
The different colour varieties of the Fwooper are used to symbolise the number 4.
Quintaped (5)
The five club footed legs of the Quintaped are used to represent the number five.
Salamander (6)
The maximum number of hours a Salamander can survive out of fire is used to symbolise the number six.
Unknown (7)
The symbolic meaning of the number seven is yet to be uncovered.
Acromantula (8)
The eight eyes of the Acromantula are used to symbolise the number eight.
Hydra(9)
The Hydra's nine heads are used to symbolise the number nine.
Note minor punctuation error: Demiguise's (0) & Hydra's (9) use an apostrophe, but Unicorns (1) & Graphorns (2) do not.
Original page editor: Belinda Hobbs