Jack "BtR" Saxon/Babbling draft

"Prof. Bathsheda Babbling."

- Babbling's name on a list of teachers.

Professor Bathsheda Babbling was a witch and the Study of Ancient Runes Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She likely attended the school once as a student, after purchasing her wand from Diagon Alley, and achieved a high graded O.W.L. and perhaps N.E.W.T. in Ancient Runes. At some point after her graduation, Babbling arrived at Hogwarts and applied for the position of Professor of Ancient Runes, which she was granted, and was given Classroom 6B on the sixth floor to teach in. She probably had an office elsewhere in the Castle as well. A few of her students included Percy Weasley, Bartemius Crouch Jr. and William Weasley. During the 1993–1994 school year, Professor Babbling gained Hermione Granger as a student, and taught her and the rest of her class about the ancient runic scripts of magic using various textbooks, including; Ancient Runes Made Easy, Rune Dictionary, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, Spellman's Syllabary and Advanced Rune Translation. In 1994, Luna Lovegood may have also taken her subject, as she was seen reading a section of The Quibbler that contained Ancient Runes which, if turned on their heads, supposedly revealed a spell that turns your enemy's ears into kumquats. At the end of the 1997–1998 school year, the Battle of Hogwarts took place, and it is more than likely that Babbling participated in the duelling. If she survived, it is likely that she continued to teach about Ancient Runes at Hogwarts under Minerva McGonagall.

Behind the Scenes

 * Professor Babbling's name only appeared on a list of the Hogwarts professors which was released on J. K. Rowling's website.
 * In the Harry Potter Prequel, when the police ask for their names, Sirius gives him three apparently random names: Wilberforce, Bathsheba and Elvendork. The middle name may be a reference to this professor.
 * JKR may originally have intended a male teacher to teach this subject.HP Lexicon´s transcript of JKR´s notes

Appearances

 * J.K. Rowling's Official Site
 * Harry Potter Prequel