Seventh Years - Lesson Three

Professor Nakamura stared out the window as he waited for his students to arrive. It was a nice clear night, which meant it’d be ideal for what he had planned. Coming back to the class, as everyone took their seats, he came to the front and began to speak. “Welcome back,” Professor Nakamura greeted before going straight into it. “We’ll be going over gamma ray bursts this evening. Originally discovered by muggle scientists during the cold war, they are extremely powerful explosions that happen in the universe. They happen when large stars begin to die and become a supernova. They are also referred to as GRBs.” Professor Nakamura paused to make sure everyone was following along. “Does this make sense so far?” He saw a few nods and decided to continue.

“They are rare, but detectable using telescopes. So now for the fun part of the lesson. Let’s pack away our things for now and go use the telescopes upstairs.” Professor Nakamura waited for the class to tidy up their things and left the classroom, following behind the last student. They made their way up to the telescope area.

The air had a hint of autumnal chill, but Professor Nakamura found it refreshing as everyone got to their telescopes. “Now, I’ve set up a detector to help us locate GRBs. Give it a moment and it’ll find one for us.” Professor Nakamura waited for a couple of minutes, then instructed the students where to look in the sky to see the gamma ray burst. It was in a galaxy over 9.4 billion light years away, and was fading, but the intense light could still be seen through the telescopes. “And there you have it,” Professor Nakamura said, noting the somewhat awed silence. It truly was a magnificent sight to behold. “I’ll see you next lesson. Don’t forget to continue doing your readings,” he instructed as the students already began to leave.

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Roleplay the lesson for full marks.

 

[Aurora Archer]

Aurora was a little in shock really. Rosie was pregnant. Aurora was sure it had to be fake, but the healer and Rosie seemed pretty certain. She just was sure that her sister knew better, but in the same breath, she could tell that Rosie was happy about it. Happy to be pregnant. She had never thought that she would want it while still pretty young, but she knew there was no changing it now. It was taking up space in Aurora’s mind and really she needed to try to focus. There were her NEWTs coming up, she needed to do well on those. The gryffindor was grabbing her things, helping Rosie with hers and then waited till rosie was ready before heading out of the dorm room.

Aurora walked into the astronomy classroom and took a spot in the room. She glanced at the professor as the man got started and smiled as he began going over the lesson in detail. They were covering gamma rays, and Aurora was making sure that she was getting down what was being said by the professor and trying to ensure that she didn’t miss anything that was important about it. She nodded to indicate that it made sense, and then packed away her things and headed up the stairs to where they were able to look out their telescopes. She sat at hers, and then began when the professor allowed them to. Looking out and being able to spot what the professor had been talking about.

 

[Monday Weeks]

As the class began to assemble, Monday Weeks dragged himself to his seat, barely suppressing a yawn. His hair, normally styled meticulously, was in a state of disarray, and the dark circles under his eyes made it clear that he had not slept much the night before, though they were hidden behind some foundation. Monday tried to focus on Professor Nakamura's introduction to gamma ray bursts, but his mind kept drifting. He forced himself to sit up straighter, determined to at least appear attentive. He quickly scribbled down some notes, his handwriting messier than usual. As the class was instructed to pack up their things and head to the telescopes, Monday let out a silent sigh of relief.

The cool night air helped revive Monday a bit as they walked to the telescope area. He appreciated the refreshing chill, which seemed to clear his foggy mind. Standing by his assigned telescope, he tried to follow Professor Nakamura's instructions, adjusting the lens and peering into the night sky. As Professor Nakamura wrapped up the lesson, Monday slowly packed his things, moving sluggishly but with a sense of satisfaction. As he walked back to his dorm, he resolved to catch up on his readings, and hopefully, on his sleep too.​