Lesson 1: Intro to Astronomy

Eponine Fortescue stood in front of her desk, watching as her students drifted into her class. She felt a little fidgety, preferring the outdoor Flying class to the indoor Astronomy one. However, she wasn't nervous, as she was praised for her Astronomy knowledge in her student days. She felt confident she could teach first and second years what they needed to know to pass, and that was all that mattered.

As the last student drifted in, she cleared her throat and began the lesson. “Hello class. My name is Professor Fortescue. I'm your new Astronomy teacher, taking over for Professor Adela, who is now teaching Herbology. Some of you might have me for Flying as well.”

She flicked her wand, and the words “Intro to Astronomy” appeared on the board behind her. “Today we're just going to go over the basics of Astronomy before we really get into it. The first thing we must ask ourselves is, why is Astronomy important to magical education? What makes studying it different for us than it is for Muggles?”

She waited for a beat, then added, “Don't worry about raising your hands. Feel free to call out the answer if you think you know it.” Eponine always believed in a relaxed environment in a classroom.

After climbing up the countless stairs leading to the Astronomy Tower, Aurelia entered the classroom. Having been distracted by the thousands of chattering portraits on the walls, the young girl had been far too busy gazing at them in awe, watching them interact with one another, to notice how the time had flown. With a derisive little sigh, she made a mental note to always be five minutes earlier for her classes--tardiness was certainly not appreciated by any of her professors, nor by her own conscience.

Upon entering the classroom, a preliminary sweep of the surroundings revealed that she was the first student there, along with Professor Fortescue, who was sitting at her desk. Gnawing gently on her bottom lip, she turned to the professor, offering her a fleeting smile. "Good morning, Professor," she stated sweetly, corners of her lips curving upwards to form a smile. Azure orbs swept across the room once more, her pink cheeks flushing deeply, as she wandered over to a seat in the first row. She silently seated and preparing everything she needed for the lesson, spending the remainder of the time before the class pondering if astronomy classes would mainly consist of theoretical or practical learning, by observing the skies through the telescopes they had purchased. Glancing around absent-mindedly, she plunged the tip of her quill into the ink and immediately set out to write her name, date, and house on the top left corner of her notes.

As she listened to the Professor's words, she tapped her chin thoughtfully, attempting to come up with an eloquent, but meaningful answer to the question. After a few moments of silence, Aurelia glanced upwards at her Professor and stated, "Astronomy is important to magical education, because it allows us to have a greater awareness and understanding of our universe and how it began. It also allows us to understand our own solar system's origins, and perhaps, what lies in wait for us in the next million of years." The second question, however, was one that she was unsure of, for she had never lived in the Muggle world, and thus, knew little of the way in which they studied the subject.

Daisee sat and thought about Professor Fortescue's question. She didn't know the first part of the question, which was good since Aurelia answered it. However, she thought she knew the answer to the second question. She raised her hand.

"We study it differently than Muggles because Astronomy plays a part in magic, doesn't it? Like, some magic depends on the phases of the moon and the positions of the stars, doesn't it?" Daisee reasoned. "Muggles on the other hand only study it for scientific reasons, likes the tides and things. And Muggle science is the very opposite to magic in most cases, I would think."

Daisee hoped she was right.

Eponine smiled at her students encouragingly. "You are both correct. 5 points each to Slytherin and Gryffindor." Eponine added before continuing. "Now this term we will be learning about the planets of our galaxy. Does anyone know what our galaxy is called, and how many planets there are in it (including Earth)?"

She looked around the class, hoping one of them would get it.

Aurelia inclined her head slightly, flashing a quick smile to the only other student in the class--Daisee--before turning her attention back towards the Professor. Drumming her fingers lightly against the surface of the desk, she raised her hand tentatively and arched a brow quizzically, attempting to recall the few snippets of knowledge that she had acquired, pertaining to the field of Astronomy. "Professor, we are currently located in the Milky Way Galaxy," stated the girl, before hesitating for a moment at the next part of the question. "As for how many planets are located in the Milky Way Galaxy, the range is quite large, though I do believe that the latest study conducted by Muggles stated that there are at least 100 billion in our Galaxy alone."

Taison grabbed the seat next to Daisee and listened to the Professor and other students talking. When a Slytherin girl, matter of fact Aurelia, the one he toured,had replied, he was shocked by her answer. "Wow, I thought there were only 8, excluding Pluto which has been discovered to be one of Neptune's moons." he thought out loud. Aurelia is really smart, I wonder how she knows this, he thought.

Daisee beamed at Taison, who had taken a seat next to her by the time class had started. She felt like she hadn't seen him in forever. After flashing a flirty smile at him, she spoke up, "I thought the same as Taison. So does that mean our solar system is a different thing than our galaxy, then?"

Eponine smiled at Aurelia. "You're right, Aurelia. That was a trick question that you got right. Take 5 points for Slytherin." She nodded encouragingly at her Puff student Taison. "That's right- Pluto isn't scientifically considered a planet anymore, though I'll always consider it one. Take 5 points to Hufflepuff as well.

She turned back to the class. "Well, the time has gotten away from us, I'm afraid. There will be no homework, as the Term Project will be taking up more than enough of your guys time. Next lesson, we'll be learning about asteroids, and hopefully the first planet of our Solar system, Mercury. Stop by my office if you have any questions! Class dismissed!"

Humming cheerily, she started packing up as the class filed out.


OOC: Sorry for the late update, guys! RL's been hectic, as well as another HP site I'm on. The next lesson will start within the next few days