[Astronomy] TV: Lesson I

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Dia was not in the mood to teach so she had decided to do something she rarely did (but that had happened in the past as some older students may remember). She decided that the hour they spent in the Astronomy Tower would be spent talking, talking about whatever ticked their fancy. Though stars always tickled Dia's fancy she wasn't going to impose that on the students, well, only a little.

Sitting on the ledge of the window, it being closed against the slight chill on the night air, Dia looked out. She was dressed rather casually for the class, with her jeans on, but she smartened up a little wearing heals and a light blue blouse with a dark blazer over it to keep her warm. Though she knew many had heard about her difficulties in her personal life, Dia had come to realise that the students were more important and in this brief time they were to be her focus.

The lanterns that hung on the walls were burning brightly so to the Ministry officials in the school grounds the tower's windows would be illuminated brightly. This was done intentionally as the room was warmer with the lights on. This is exactly what Dia had been going for when she had made the decision to light them as brightly as she had chosen to.

Points:
Hufflepuff: 32
Gryffindor: 27
Ravenclaw: 23
Slytherin: 25
((points will be awarded to those who actively participate))

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie walked up the astronomy tower steps. Astronomy was one of those classes with pros and cons. A pro was the amazing Professor whom Ellie admired greatly. Another pro was the stars. Ellie loved stars, she had seen them all from every continent and most every country. Take it from her, they are beautiful where ever you are.

The cons were as follows: late nights and long stairways. Ellie didn't think she was this out of shape, but apparently, as she heaved up the stairs, she would need to go jogging or something. Reaching the top step, Ellie took a deep breath. She tightened her Hufflepuff scarf around her neck and stepped out onto the tower. She seemed to be getting to class earlier and earlier these days. Yet again she was the first student to arrive. Her breath now caught, her lungs stopped seizing. She smiled as she saw Professor Owen just a head.

"Wow, its bright up here Professor." Ellie said with a smile, coming farther onto the tower. "Are we going to be able to see the star sufficiently with all this light?" The Hufflepuff asked with a smile.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

The shuffling of feet caught Dia's ear long before the person came through the trap door. Dia turned, not rising from her perch in the window, and looked on as a Hufflepuff came into the room. A warm smile filled the professor's face. Hufflepuffs could always be counted upon to attend her class ... mostly. Dia shifted her position a little so she wasn't facing out of the window as much and noticed the smile on the girl's face. This made Dia smile more.

"Hello Ellie," Dia greeted. The Hufflepuff's question made Dia laugh a little. She nodded and said, "you certainly will but this is so they can see us as well." It was just a little Astronomer humour for the Hufflepuff. Standing up, Dia stretched a little and added, "but we won't be focusing entirely on the stars this evening. I am not in the right frame of mind to teach so we are going to have a 'get to know each other' session. If that's alright with you. I could find something for you to look at if you wanted." Dia knew the girl's love for the stars, she could see it in her eyes, and she didn't want to put the girl out.

[Erys Grace]

Scampering up the steps to the astronomy tower, Erys Grace thanked her cat form for getting there swiftly. Plus, instead of working out only her human legs while running up there, she strengthened her arms too, as cats stand on four limbs. Weaving around a few students descending the steps, the feline mrowled impatiently, dodging yet another one before flashing up and on to the landing. The moment she entered the room, Erys sensed something.. Off, about it. Professor Owen was wearing jeans. Was this some sort of casual study-period she misunderstood on her schedual? Impossible, she had impeccable eyesight. Better than anyone else, with her added cat awareness. And the room was rather bright, it nearly hurt her eyes just opening them.

Squinting as she slunk into the room, Erys stretched, basking somewhat within the warmth of the lanterns. They were lovely once you got used to the blaring light, which wouldn't be as unbearable once she changed back. Speaking of changing.. Some seconds later, the Slytherin was standing, brushing a feather off of her shoulder from the pigeon she chased earlier. She hadn't eaten it, that would've been nasty. But she had given it quite a scare. "Professor." Erys nodded in greeting, linking her fingers to flip her hand over and push, stretching the stiffness out.

Did she hear right? Were they not going to do astronomy that evening, but something else instead? A little skeptical at first, as it was smart to be somewhat cautious educational-wise, Erys arched an eyebrow after hearing something along the lines of "getting to know each other". Well, if that wasn't creepy, she didn't know what was. Smoothing out her expression, the Slytherin slunk over to a chair, sitting down and crossing her legs as she glanced about. So she was the second student here. Yaaay.[/color]

[Girty Hubbles]

The Hufflepuff’s eyes were focused on her watch, the second hand was slowly ticking around, Girty was watching it almost like a count down and as it ticked over to land on top of the twelve Girty raised her arms in the air triumphantly which as a result she ended up spilling most of her coffee. So why was Girty Hubbles celebrating you may ask yourself and at such a mere thing as the second had signalling another minute? Well that had been in fact Girty Hubbles 2,400th minute without sleep, or to put it in plain terms…Girty had been awake now for 40 hours so as you could imagine the last thing she would really wanted to do is to be attending a lesson, in the middle of the night with a professor who was not on best terms with her brother.

It was that very same brother why Girty was here. He would hear nothing of her protests that she was tired and insisted that Girty go to the lesson, he used ever trick in the book (‘Your final grades last year in this subject were terrible’ was her particular favourite as she reckoned as soon as Professor Owen saw the name Hubbles on the exam paper her mind would have been momentarily sidetrackedfor some mysterious reason of her own.) But after he eventually told her the truth, which Girty had known to be his very reasons from the start yet she could not do or say anything else but oblige out of love for her brother.

Climbing up the steps that lead to the classroom Girty wondered if she was dressed appropriately. She could no longer get away with wearing the school robes so instead she took to wearing a pair of black jeans, a plain white shirt and a grey jumper, not the most awe inspiring of clothes and not a hint of yellow could be seen so as she poked her head through the trapdoor and saw what the Professor was wearing Girty half wish she had not turned up looking like she was going to a funeral. The tower was bright and warm and for once actually inviting, with a small smile Girty looked around at the other two students and acknowledged Professor Owen before taking up a seat at near the back of the room however she was tempted to leave almost straight away when she heard the words ‘get to know each other’.

Draining the last dregs of her now cold coffee Girty places it down on the desk in front of her and leaned back on her chair covering her face with her hands. The things she did for her brother.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

Two more students entered and Dia's head turned towards them as they did in turn. She didn't see a student at first but when a Slytherin was moving towards a desk, Dia knew who she was. "Good evening, Erys," Dia greeted. It was always nice to have Slytherins in her classes as their competitive nature made them good people to pick on for information. Erys, however, was not one to pick on and Dia respected her for that.

The next student got a wide smile from Dia. She had not seen the Hufflepuff in a while and Dia could scarcely blame her. "Hello Girty," Dia said as cheerfully as she could. Dia wanted to sit so instead of moving to the small desk she took a seat at one of the desks in the middle of the class.

Looking at the three young ladies that were present, Dia smiled. Her gaze ended on Girty and she couldn't help herself but try and make conversation with the girl. "How are you, Girty?" Dia asked, not trying to sound to anxious to know but also trying to sound like she genuinely did want to know.

[Girty Hubbles]

It was at the sound of someone moving in the classroom that made Girty remove her hands from her face and grudgingly open her eyes. The light momentarily blinded her and she saw the professor walking to the middle of the classroom and taking a seat with them. As the Professor looked at them all Girty stifle a yawn and placed all four legs of her chair on the ground just as Professor Owen engaged her in conversation. She was surprised that the professor had picked on her first, but then it did make some sense seeing as the two had always got along in the past.
Returning the Professors smile Girty shuffled around in her seat, rested her elbow on the table and propped her head up trying to make herself comfortable.

“I am tired Professor, and in good need of a long sleep.” She answered honestly. “I was on patrol last night and spent all day writing essays and marking third year’s charms homework. But other then being powered my caffeine alone I am doing very well….how are you?”

A trace of concern was present when Girty asked Professor Owen how she was, she had known many women to suffer the heartache and pain of the aftermath of a relationship with her brother and from the rumours that had spread around the school Professor Owen had not taken it all to well.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

When Girty focused on Dia, the professor smiled. She was glad to see that Girty had not taken her decision to break things off with her brother as her cutting all ties with all Hubbles. Girty and she had always been able to talk and she did not want to loose that connection due to her circumstances with a certain man. Quite the opposite in fact. While she and Dan had been together Dia had noticed Girty's stand-offish attitude towards her teacher and she had not liked it but understood the why.

Returning the smile that was given her, Dia listened to Girty's tale. A sympathetic crease of the brow showed Dia's understanding of the Hufflepuff's situation. "I'm sorry to hear that," Dia said, but then the crease turned into a frown. "And why are you marking papers?" A small giggle come during the question as the thought of Girty marking papers seemed a little strange.

Then came the dreaded question. The smile from her giggle faded and Dia looked down at the desk. She wasn't entirely sure how she was. She was certain that not one simple answer could accurately define her condition but she had to say something. Looking back up at Girty, Dia said slowly, "I think I am doing alright, considering ..." Taking a deep breath, Dia added more decisively, "I'm surviving." There was a quiet that settle following her reply. So Dia smiled widely and rolled her eyes. "But that's enough about me," she chuckled, trying to sound uneffected. "Have you done anything lately that has been exciting or different?" She posed the question looking at all present.

[Matthew Grace]

Matthew wasn't extremely excited for this class, Erys alone had managed to convince him to come. Arriving up in the tower while expecting a pound of homework relating to starry matter, he was slightly surprised to find Owen in jeans. "Professor." He nodded, wondering if she had no idea what his name was, considering he was still pretty fresh to the school. Reacting the same way his sister did - by covering up his surprise - he walked over to her, tilting his head questioningly.

In any other situation, some other student might be caught off guard with the question. Matthew was surprised, he'd admit, but he figured this was some sort of teacher-bonding exercise or something. Yaaay. "I was kicked out of Durmstrang." The Slytherin replied breezily, a grin on his face.

Flicking his wrist, a chair ambled over, groaning slightly as wood grazed against wood. Matthew, unlike his sister in some cases, didn't want to ask what was happening in class that day. He would, or perhaps might, do what was required of him, if he was up to it. And he would participate in class to earn his house points. Seeing as this class wasn't getting off to a fast start, the Slytherin muttered something under his breath, raising his voice afterwards to address the professor, "So what are we doing, exactly?"[/color]

[Erys Grace]

Instead of giving her brother an in-depth responce, Erys just mouthed 'participate' to him, figuring he'd get the gist of today's class. They were talking about themselves, like some alcoholic's anonymous group, except everyone knew who everyone was. Crossing her arms over her chest, more for comfort than anything else, the Slytherin cocked her head to the side, thinking an answer to Professor Owen's question. "There was an un-official quidditch practise for anyone who wanted it." She stated with a shrug, knowing it wasn't all that exciting. "And I hung out with my uncle and he gave me a pet." Grinning from ear to ear now, Erys ended it at that, only delving further into the matter if someone asked it of her.

Her uncle Victor worked at a very popular Dark Arts shop in Nocturne Alley, and she often went there to hang out or buy things, or help out. She had been given the choice of a kneazle, or an ashwinder snake, and she had chose kneazle. It looked like a leapard, except she was black with silvery splotches and a lion-like tail. Her name was Midnight, and she took quite a liking to Erys, with her hanging around the shop so often. At first she had wondered if the creature would react badly to people in her house (as many of them were suspicious/unsavory people) but Midnight had adopted a personality much like her own, and detected those in other houses instead. Such a good little kitty.
[/color]

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie smiled at the joke Professor Owen made. She appreciated it, thinking that perhaps she might become an astronomer as the Professor was. However, it was one of the many things written on her list of things to be. Ellie was still clueless about what to do with her life.

"Actually," Ellie said smiling broadly, as she usually was. "That sounds great!" Ellie had are hard day of work. It wasn't that she didn't want to do any work, as this class was really work for her, it was more that she didn't mind having a break, just to talk. It was nice to talk every once in a while.

A Slytherin walked in, ignoring Ellie, Ellie ignoring her. Ellie couldn't distinguish between the 'nice Slytherins' and the 'mean Slytherins'. She figured if this girl was a 'nice Slytherin', she would have gave a better greeting to Professor Owen and even acknowledge Ellie. Ellie smiled and took her seat. You would think her mouth would get tired of smiling. However, Ellie coped and got through the day by smiling. She would be just as bad as that Slytherin if she didn't smile.

After the Slytherin, another Hufflepuff walked in. Ellie smiled and nodded at Girty as a hello. Then another Slytherin. The two snakes didn't seem to thrilled about 'getting to know' the Hufflepuffs, but Ellie really wasn't excited about 'getting to know' the Slytherins. However, she would put on a smile for Professor Owen, if for nothing else.

[Girty Hubbles]

Professor Owen gave a very carefully thought out answer, Girty knew it would be tough for her to answer such a question after everything they, (Girty used the collective word as although Dia suffered the heartache Girty had to put up with Dan’s moaning for almost 10 months) had been through. The Hufflepuff had enough sense to not push further on the matter, it was not the time nor place to try and get a deeper answer out of Dia, for now knowing that she was ‘surviving’ would have to do. It was then her mind wondered back to what the Professor had asked before.

“Why was I marking papers? Maybe because my brother is a lazy sod!” Girty laughed at herself although it soon died out when she realised she had mentioned Dan. Brushing her fringe out of her eyes Girty kept her gaze fixed on the Professor. “I was just helping him out really, the work was piling up and he…he has not been filling all to well so I sent him to bed early.”

She was slightly worried about the direction the conversation was heading and was thankful for the change in direction of the topic and other people entering the conversation. Sliding down in her chair slightly Girty reached out and took hold of her coffee cup and started to twirl it around in her hands focusing all her nervous energy on it while half listening to what the others had to say.
A smile spread across her face when the male Slytherin admitted to being kicked out of Durmstrang and Erys informed everyone that she got a new pet. Nothing all too interesting has happened to Girty since coming back to Hogwarts. With Dan having ‘man flu’ she had took up most of his duties meaning her life was built around patrolling the corridors, helping out in lessons and marking homework’s resulting in the small bit of free time she had was spent with Alex.

[Professor Dia Hubbles]

As Dia waited for a reply from the students present, she thought she could hear foot steps echoing up towards them. Someone else was coming. When the person put his head through, Dia knew exactly who he was. He greeted her and she smiled to him. "Welcome Mr Grace," she said kindly. Dia made a point about finding out about transfer students.

Still awaiting a reply, Dia was surprised to hear the new comer answer. Turning her head towards him, Dia nodded. "I'd heard as much," she said solemnly. "Why? If I may ask." She did not want to make the new kid feel like she was picking on him but it would be interesting to hear the reasoning. One of the teachers she had worked with when she was teaching in Egypt had taught at Drumstrang so she knew a fair bit about the place, considering she had never been there in her life.

Erys, the sister of the first, spoke and Dia turned her attention to her. She didn't seem too keen on the idea of talking for a whole lesson. Whether it was because of her or because of the girl's closed nature, Dia wasn't certain but she hadn't given the Slytherin any reason to not trust her. If she had, it would have been Girty. Coming back to herself, Dia smiled. "What sort of a pet?" she asked. "Professor O'Donnell got a kneazle the other day, followed her home from Hogsmeade and she hasn't been able to shake him."

At the mention of the man Dan's name, Dia tried not to flinch too visibly. Though she was certain she was over the worst of it, Dia still felt for him and to hear that he was ill was not a comfort. She wanted to be there for him, to comfort him in his time of need. But she reminded herself of a very important thing that Bree persisted she remember. But what about what I need? Dia thought to herself. A tear came to her eye but clung onto her eye lashes. Dia quickly lifted a finger to catch it. "Oh dear," she chirped, "I've got something in my eye."

She rubbed it as though she did and she hoped the children were less clever then she knew they were that they would fall for such a rues. As she dropped her hand, Dia raised her head, wiping under her eye so her make-up didn't smudge too much. Even though she didn't feel so hot herself she had only this lesson. She could hold out that long.

[Girty Hubbles]

She had something in her eye? Girty watched on in silent wonder, finding it heart breaking to see. She had heard this excuse a fair few time with Dan, the wind blew grit in his eyes, he poked himself in the eye with the end of his quill or her favourite that it was hay fever … although Dan had never suffered from it before. It was unambiguously obvious to everyone that the two professors still cared for one another you could not mention the others name with out getting some form of emotional knee jerk reaction which would result in the eyes glazing over in tears or them falling silent most likely in fear of saying something they should not. Whatever the case was Girty knew as well as Professor Owen that the classroom was not quite the best place for such an emotional breakdown.

Moving uncomfortable in her seat Girty knew she needed to move the conversation on away from such a tricky area and seeing as she had been the one to mention Dan’s name she decided she would do the honours.

“So professor…”Girty started, trying to sound cheerful “I know you said we are not doing technically astronomy this lesson but you have such a knowledge you might be able to help. What constellations are in the sky at the moment? Me and Alex had a small debate the other night as he thought it was one and I thought it was another.”

This was in fact a lie, Girty and Alex had been outside and looking at the stars but constellations were basic stuff, but anything to help change topic and why not move it onto something that the professor clearly had a passion for.

[Alexis Heart]

Sleepy tired eyes, looked back at her when she checked her face in the mirror. Astronomy was an interesting class but she hated that it was held late. Today was a stressful day for her she had been running on fumes. She knew that the only way she was going to make it was if she stopped off in the Great Hall first and got herself a cup of coffee. Walking in she ran straight to the Ravenclaw table and luckily there was fresh pot sitting there. Grinning like a Cheshire cat she grabbed herself a mug poured in the hot, steaming liquid and poured some milk and two spoon fulls of sugar. Taking a quick sip she let it wend its way down her throat, the heat seemed to perk her up as her body warmed from the inside out. After she finished most of the cup she grabbed her bad and headed off to the towers.

Luckily she was in decent shape because the distance and the amount of stairs from the Great Hall to the Astronomy towers was harrowing. She was slightly out of breath as she climbed up the last step and entered the room. Class wasn't full yet but there were a few people there most whom she knew by face or by name, none she ever really spoke to. Moving off to find an empty spot she passed by the professor and said hello to her. Smiling politely to her and the student she was interacting with. Girty Hubbles a Hufflepuff. The two of them hadn't ever really spoken but from word of mouth she heard that she was really nice.

Setting her bag down she leaned against the wall, being as inconspicuous as possible because she would much rather blend in than stand out. She was observant though, her eyes scanned the room looking at her classmates, wondering if any of them were as tired as she was.