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. The second years weren't much better, but at least they knew where they were going around the castle. Ther rest of the students fell back into their routine of causing trouble or studying, and Adorah was becoming more adjusted to all of it as a professor. As the students came in, she stood at the doorway greeting them 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]

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Freddie arrived at the classroom door far too early and spent half an hour lounging in a nearby window before anyone else even showed up. It was nice up here, peaceful, quiet, the view of the grounds below even better than from his dormitory. He was sure he could even see the distant roofs of Brightstone. It wouldn’t be long before he was allowed to visit the village, he hoped.

The other children arrived, and eventually they went inside. Freddie chose a seat near the front. Teachers always seemed to think the kids at the back were troublemakers, and Freddie wasn’t here to make trouble, if he could help it. He was still untangling himself from his bag when he raised his hand. “It’s when you look at the stars, and planets, and stuff,” he said. Maybe he had learned something useful at elementary school. He probably still had his solar system project somewhere, tucked in a wardrobe, or under his bed - the one where he’d colored and labelled the planets and stuck them on a sheet of black paper. It had looked pretty good, actually. He was proud of it.

Freddie carefully transcribed Professor Zumwalt’s explanation, trying his best to keep listening at the same time. He missed a thing or two, but he thought he’d probably written more than some of his classmates. Once he’d finished his sheet, he packed everything back in his bag and headed out.

Name: Freddie Lagowski House and Year: Ravenclaw / 1st Favourite Book: Newport Junction by Amelia Faust (it’s a thriller set on the Isle of White, it’s really good) What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? We did some work on planets and the solar system at my old school for muggles (I’m not muggle-born I just went there). My teacher said the moon is what makes the tide go in and out and it has something to do with gravity. Is that true or is it actually magic?

 

[Gaia Athanasiou]

Gaia wasn't too excited for Astronomy to be quite frank. She did not care for the subject, but if she had to take it for at least three years then she might as well try her best at it. So she walked to the classroom on time, took a seat, pulled out her sketchbook and began sketching. Every now and then she raised her head to pay proper attention to whatever was being discussed. She did her best not to yawn at any given moment. The Slytherin reluctantly filled in the little quiz and handed it in before leaving.

Name: Gaia Athanasiou. House and Year: Slytherin or Ravenclaw you can take your best guess at it, first year obviously since well this is a first year lesson in case you needed a reminder of the fact... Favorite Book: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? I don't know probably um yeah I don't know.

 

[Priyanka Bakshi]

Priyanka was curious about what the universe above her head was made of, so she was already waiting for astronomy lessons to start and to be able to learn everything that interested her. Therefore, the girl went to astronomy class ten minutes early to take the best seat and hear everything the professor had to say. It was certain that the first lesson would definitely be a small insight into what she would have to learn this year. Then Priya entered the classroom, only a few students had settled in the classroom, but she found a place in the first benches. She was impatiently waiting for the lesson to begin.

Only a few minutes had to wait when Professor Zumwalt began the lesson. At first, she was told how long she would teach astronomy, then what would be studied this year. And then the question was asked, who could say astronomy is. Priya at first waited to see what someone else would say and then she heard Freddie's answer, although she had her own thoughts on what astronomy was, so she decided to express them. "Astronomy is the study of celestial objects." she said. Of course, everything the professor said was written down in the notes, but then the lesson ended and before they could leave the professor gave them homework, it seemed easy. Priyanka packed her things in her bag, said goodbye and left the classroom. To look forward to next week, when the next astronomy lesson would be.

Name: Priyanka Bakshi
House and Year: Ravenclaw and 1year
Favorite Book: Lisa See "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.'' (Novel, Historical China)
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Hope to learn everything about the universe above my head in astronomy. About stars, galaxies, comets, and their positions.

 

[James Cosgrove]

Of all the things they got to learn about at Hogwarts, Astronomy wasn’t even on James’ radar, but maybe it would be something different to all the magic. Because he’d get bored with learning magic eventually, right? Probably, everything got boring with enough passing time. James headed up to the Astronomy tower and was one of the first to arrive, but that didn’t stop @Freddie Lagowski from being there already in the window. “Dude, did you sleep here? He laughed and went to find his seat so he was ready when Professor Zumwalt started the lesson.

James didn’t bother taking notes, he’d steal them off someone later if he felt like he needed them, or he’d just wing it probably. He sat and listened as Professor Zulwalt told them about what Astronomy was, early wizard astronomers and their contribution to the field and something about muggles being lame; he may have misrepresented her words in his head. Once the lesson was over, James quickly filled in the little homework sheet, or extra-credit, whatever she called it, then made his way out of the classroom, teasing Freddie on their way down the stairs.

Name: James Cosgrove
House and Year: Slytherin, First year
Favorite Book: I don't think I have one
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Planets and stuff?

 

[Jun Nakamura]

Jun walked into the classroom feeling a little bit like it was a waste of his time. That was maybe a little harsh, but his dad was an astronomy professor after all. He settled in anyway, taking out his supplies to take notes (although he half-expected it to be an introductory lesson like a lot of the lessons seemed to be). Jun raised his hand to answer the question, although a couple others had answered it already. "Astronomy is the study of outer space, and like Priyanka said, the objects in space. It's about things like stars and planets, but also comets and asteroids." He said it all with a vague authority, sounding a little unsure of himself at the same time.

Jun didn't need to take notes but did anyway about Copernicus. Then it turned out they had another questionnaire to fill in. That was alright, it was easy homework as far as Jun was concerned.

Name: Jun Nakamura
House and Year: Ravenclaw, First Year
Favorite Book: That's really hard. My favourite fiction book at the moment is The Trial by Franz Kafka. I can't choose my favourite nonfiction but at the moment I'm reading a lot about herbology.
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Constellation stories from different cultures. They were my favourite when I was a kid.

 

[Nadia Cade]

Nadia wasn’t sure she liked the way James Cosgrove spoke to her fellow Ravenclaw as they entered Astronomy. Was it weird that he was there before anyone else? A little more so that he appeared to be curled up in the window, but he was a Ravenclaw and Ravenclaws were allowed to be a little eccentric, expected even. “Lay off Cosgrove,” She snapped at him before taking her seat. She didn’t look back at Freddie or James; she simply slipped into her seat and gave her full attention to Professor Zumwalt. Class was what mattered now, she could deal with the boys after.

It was a pretty straightforward introduction lesson, but Nadia took notes anyway, especially when Professor Zumwalt talked about wizarding astronomers such as Copernicus and their contributions to the field of astronomy among both wizards and muggles. Nadia took notes until the end of the lesson and quickly filled in the short quiz they were given. Once the lesson was over Nadia packed up her things and made her way out of the classroom, walking behind James and Freddie in case the Slytherin got any ideas.

Name: Nadia Cade
House and Year: Ravenclaw, First Year
Favorite Book: Through the looking glass by Lewis Carroll
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Stars, Space, Planets, everything!

 

[Annika Nightray]

Nik headed into the Astronomy tower and cursed in korean the entire way up. She kept looking over her shoulder on the off chance her brother was somewhere slinking around, and then a version of her brother in her head got offended at the term slinking and so she amended it to watching. Her brother would probably also be offended by that, but she was too tired from all the stairs to care enough to monitor her thoughts anymore. As she finally managed to make it into the classroom, barely on time, she quickly headed over to Priyanka, greatful for a familiar face. Obviously she knew her roommates and had seen the rest of the Slytherins around, kind of, but she avoided most of them at the moment, she was too busy trying to get Horror to notice her. She scribbled notes, but didn’t bother getting involved in the discussion, preferring listening over participating. She didn’t see why she should need to answer the same question with the same answers as everyone else just gave. Soon the lesson ended and she packed up quickly to head out.​

Name: Annika Nightray
House and Year:
Favorite Book: I don't have one
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? Uh, about stars?

 

[Marina Vortalis]

Marina noticed her roommate Nadia as she headed into class and chose her as the safest option to sit with for today. She was going to try and sit with different people, mainly so she could avoid the whole ordeal of attachment to any single person. They’d probably ask her something she wouldn’t want to answer, since people often tried to get to know other people, right? The professor asked them what Astronomy was and she raised her hand to add to the discussion, though she hated herself for it. “It also looks at how they connect, doesn’t it? How each part sort of works with the others?” She hoped she was right, she was sure she couldn’t have been terribly far off. She knew a bit about Astronomy, enough to get by, she supposed. She took notes as was needed, and then headed out when the class was finished.
​

Name: Marina Vortalis
House and Year: Ravenclaw First Year
Favorite Book: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy? everything