Astronomy 1:1

Adorah enjoyed the buzz of the first week of classes. The first years, no matter what semester, had a little air of chaos around them, trickling throughout the castle. She enjoyed getting to know them as they grew throughout the years. Many were starting to become prefects, which felt all too weird to her. Today, she sported a long set of red and orange robes her sister had made, a latest Juniper creation. One nice thing about having a fashion designer sister was being an unintentional model and marketer for all the clothes she made.

As the students came in, she stood at the doorway greeting them as her orange sleeves billowed around her small frame, and letting them know they could sit anywhere. As the bell rang, she went to her desk, took attendance, and then looked up at the numerous eleven year olds in front of her.

"Hello, hello! Welcome to your first ever Astronomy class! I'm Professor Zumwalt, and I'll be your Astronomy professor until the fourth year," she said, feeling odd as she let those words come out of her mouth; that was such a long time, and she wondered if she'd still be happy teaching at their fourth year. "Over the course of this subject, we are going to explore the Solar System, black holes, galaxies far away, and even our closest neighbors in space," Adorah continued excitedly.

"So, can anyone tell me - what is Astronomy?" Adorah asked generally. A few hands went up, and she let each of them take a guess, absorbing their answers. She continued as she walked around the room, as it eased some of her anxiety. "All of those are wonderful guesses, two house points to each of you who were brave enough to take a guess. If we're looking at a very simple definition, astronomy is the study of things in the sky! All the stuff out there in space is our subject, and we, as budding astronomers, are going to explore from the comfort of our own astronomical home." Professor Zumalt paused for a moment to catch how the first years were reacting. There were a few wide-eyed looks of confusion, but most of the eleven year olds were paying attention.

"When you look through a telescope to study the phenomena of space, you become an astronomer, and for as long as intelligent creatures have been present on Earth, we've been looking up to the sky and studying the stars," Adorah continued. "Astronomy is probably one of the only classes you'll study here that has a direct link in the muggle world. For nearly all of history, we wizards have worked with exceptional muggles in the field of astronomy, even passing things we have learned along so muggles can further advance their own scientific findings," Professor Zumwalt said, leaning into their first conversation for the year. "Copernicus, in fact, was the first wizard to inform muggles that the Earth is not the center of the universe. His logic wasn't exactly correct, but it ultimately began to pave the way for astronomy and the understanding of the Universe we have today," she said glancing up at the clock, noticing they only had a few moments left together.

"Well, we're about out of time so I'll have to leave my lecturing at that. This week, we just have some simple homework, a sort of getting-to-know-you questionnaire, probably something you've done in other classes. Please hand this in next week! I look forward to seeing you all then!" Professor Zumwalt said waving her wand so the door flew open, letting the students flow out as they will.

--
For full credit, RP the Lesson.
Any student who makes a guess at what astronomy is, correct or not, will receive 2 extra credit points.
For additional extra credit (3 points), fill out the sheet.

[b]Name:
House and Year:
Favorite Book:
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy?[/b]

 

[Evan DAramitz]

Evan was excited. Astronomy sounded so interesting to learn about! He followed some of his classmates, who seemed to know their way around the school already - which, amazing feat, in Evan's opinion. They finally reached the Astronomy Tower, and filed into the classroom, where a woman wearing red and orange robes was standing, greeting all the new students.

As the lesson began, she introduced herself as 'Professor Zumwalt'. Evan sat straighter as she asked the class to answer what Astronomy was. He raised his hand, and after one person gave their answer, Professor Zumwalt called on him! He was super excited to answer. "Astronomy is the study of stars and constellations," he replied proudly. "It can also be combined with Divination to read the future and past in the stars, like Centaurs do."

He had done his reading, for sure. He wanted to be the top of the class, and Evan beamed when the professor granted him two points for answering. He was excited to learn that muggle astronomers had been working with wizards for as long as Astronomy had been studied.

He raised his hand for a question after Professor Zumwalt described the relationship with Copernicus and leading muggles to realize that the Earth wasn't the center of the Universe. "Are there other famous Astronomers in muggle history that were actually wizards?" he asked curiously.

After the lesson was over, Professor Zumwalt asked them to fill out a questionnaire for their homework. Evan copied down the questionnaire that was on the board, ready to fill out for his homework later.

Name: Evan D'Aramitz
House and Year: Ravenclaw, First Year
Favorite Book: My favorite book is by a muggle author (I think) named Brandon Mull. It's a book series known as Fablehaven. It's about a pair of siblings finding out that there are secret magical creature preserves all around the world.
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy?: I'm hoping to learn about all the constellations that my mother has told me about, and maybe see if there are wizarding constellations.

 

[Hachiro Kaster]

Chiro dragged himself into the Astronomy tower, his book bag slung lazily over his shoulder. His hair was ruffled, and his tie was crooked, as though he'd tied it in the dark—which he had. The climb to the classroom hadn’t helped his mood. He walked past the professor at the door, raising an eyebrow at the bright, billowing robes. “Nice pajamas,” he muttered under his breath, though his lips twitched upward slightly. He plopped himself down at a desk in the middle row, kicking his legs out in front of him as he leaned back in his chair. When the professor started her introduction, Chiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes, the overly chipper tone reminding him of his aunt who tried to make everything sound exciting - even chores, and it always managed to make him even more annoyed than anything else. The question about Astronomy hung in the air for a bit, and he leaned forward, waiting. A few eager first years raised their hands, clearly desperate for the professor's approval. Hachiro wasn’t one of them. When the professor encouraged more answers, he finally sighed, raising his hand half-heartedly. “Yeah, it’s staring at stars and pretending to be smarter than everyone else,” he said. What was the point honestly? As the lesson went on, Hachiro found himself listening despite himself. Space was… big. And weird. And kind of cool, if he was honest. Not that he’d admit it to anyone. When the homework was handed out, Hachiro grabbed the parchment and stuffed it into his bag. He scribbled the answers during the walk back to the common room, the tip of his quill scratching against the paper.
​

Name: Hachiro Kaster
House and Year: Slytherin, First Year
Favorite Book: Don’t read much, but there’s this guide to magical snakes I found once. That was decent.
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Dunno. Maybe how to tell when comets are gonna crash into the Earth or something. That’d be useful, yeah?

 

[Aaron Dela Cruz]

Aaron couldn't stop staring at the castle's endless staircases, and the paintings that moved on their own. He was still convinced there was some digital element or something in it, because despite eveyrhitng he could not quite compute that it could be anything other than that. Every corner of Hogwarts felt alive, like it had a mind of its own. And that just didn't make any sense to him. He clutched his Astronomy textbook nervously as he made his way to the classroom, trying to remember if he needed anything else. A quill? Ink? Or maybe just… not to look like he didn’t belong? As Professor Zumwalt greeted him warmly, her billowing orange sleeves adding to her aura of wizardly authority, Aaron felt a bit more at ease and took a seat near the back. When she asked what Astronomy was, he hesitated before shyly raising his hand, his Filipino accent soft but steady as he answered, “It’s, um, the study of stars and planets? Like constellations, maybe?” He had never been so anxious about answering questions before, even when he didn't know the answer but what if he got it wrong and they kicked him out of the school, would that mean he wasn't able to be here anymore? He hoped not. As the professor explained how wizards and muggles worked together in astronomy, Aaron’s eyes widened with fascination. The idea of magical people influencing figures like Copernicus amazed him, and he left the class feeling inspired and curious, clutching the homework sheet tightly.
​

Name: Aaron Dela Cruz
House and Year: Ravenclaw, First Year
Favorite Book: Ibong Adarna (a Filipino folktale he loved as a kid)
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? I want to understand how magic changes what we know about space. Do wizards see different stars than muggles?

 

[Theodore Harper]

Theo was excited for lessons, he couldn't wait to learn about the magical world. The Ravenclaw was intrigued to learn about Astronomy. His mum liked all things Astronomy, and wanted to see why it was interesting to her. The Ravenclaw quickly packed up his things, before heading up to his Astronomy lesson. Once he arrived, Theo decided to take a seat at the back of the classroom before quickly placing his things on the desk in front of him.

It wasn't long before the professor started off with the lesson and Theo moved his attention towards the professor as she got started with the lesson. The Ravenclaw put his hand up for one of the professor's questions, but didn't get picked to answer the question, which Theo didn't mind. The Ravenclaw took notes down as the professor went on with the lesson, as he wanted to do well with these lessons as well as not wanting to miss out on anything important. He nodded his head along to what the professor was saying as he wanted to show that he understood the content that was being given.

It wasn't long before the lesson had come to an end and they were dismissed. Theo made sure to take note of the homework that was being given. It seemed to be something a little easy, so Theo knew he was going to finish that homework in no time. Theo quickly packed up his things as well as tidied up his area. He says a quick yet appreciative thanks and goodbye to the professor before heading out of the classroom with his friends and classmates.

Name: Theodore Harper (Preferred to be called Theo though!)
House and Year: Ravenclaw, First year

Favorite Book:
Oh, don't know to be honest... books don't really interest me...

What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy?
I'm excited to learn about all things about the sky and how it relates to magic! My mum likes astronomy too, so I'm wondering what's so cool about it and why it interests her

 

[Lincoln Cade]

The stars were a fascinating thing to study, even if they seemed to lack any relevance to magic in general, Lincoln didn’t care, he wanted to learn about space and how wizards perceived it. He made his way up to the classroom close to the top of the Astronomy tower, it was a long way to travel for a lesson but he was hopeful it would prove to be worth it. Lincoln settled into his seat and listened to Professor Zumwalt introduce herself and told them a little about what they would be learning about in Astronomy. Lincoln took notes as she talked about Copernicus and the impact he had on muggle astronomy by changing how they saw the galaxy. It was pretty interesting to think wizards had such an impact on muggles given their current relationship. Once the lesson was over Lincoln packed up the notes he’d made and made his way out of the classroom.

 

[Sage Misaki]

Sage wasn't sure what she thought about this school, its classes, but she was determined she was going to do well at this. She walked to class, also determined that she would keep to herself and stay out of the way. Thankfully this class didn't have any idiots in it- at least, none that were any more idiotic than your regular person. She took a seat in the back. She listened to the Professor, but didn't bother with notes or answering any questions. Sage decided against doing the homework and instead just left on the long walk back to her dorm as they were dismissed.