Alyssa came out to the grounds near the Whomping Willow. The sun was shining brightly and there were no clouds in the sky. It was a good day for her to try using the Armillary Sundial again to read the time. She walked around the grounds until she found a place where there were no shadows and the sun was shining directly on the grass. She then took out her foldable table and opened it up. She placed it on the ground, making sure that it was level and not lopsided.

She then took out the Armillary sundial and placed it on top of the table. Taking out her compass from her jacket pocket, Alyssa placed it next to the sundial and moved it around until the arrowhead on the gnomon was facing north. This time round Alyssa hoped that she might get a better and more accurate reading.

Now that she had everything positioned, Alyssa waited for the sun to cast its shadow on the dial. She checked the markers on the dial and saw that the shadow fell between the Roman Numerals III and IV right on the middle marker. Alyssa guesstimated that the time was 3:30 p.m. but she needed to confirm whether she was right. She quickly looked down at her watch and saw that the digits showed 3:30 p.m. Alyssa jumped up and down with excitement, not caring whether anyone saw her or not. She had finally got an accurate reading off the sundial without the help of a watch!!

Alyssa quickly packed up her table, placed the sundial in her bag and practically ran all the way back to the castle to tell her friends the good news.