Tayla recognized the Ravenclaw boy she had seen earlier in the term, during Herbology class. He was leaving the observatory when she entered.

"I wonder who he is..." Tayla thought. She hadn't seen him before this year.

She shook her head and decided to get on with her Astronomy assignment. She took out the nocturnal and her Astronomy book to review how to use it.

"Decide on the reference star - the most visible in the night sky," Tayla read. She looked up at the sky and decided on a star part of the Little Dipper. According to her book, it was called Kochab. She followed the next instructions, aligning the appropriate tooth of the inner disk with the current date on the outer disk, and holding the nocturnal in a vertical position away with the handle down.

She looked for the North Star, Polaris through the nocturnal. It was a good thing she and Sophie had found Polaris a few days ago, so she didn't find it hard.

That done, Tayla rotated the pointer until it pointed towards Kochab. "The time is...almost 12 midnight."

She smiled, quite pleased with herself. She returned the nocturnal in her bag and was glad she had practiced using it earlier at the Gryffindor dormitory. She decided she wanted to keep it for the night. She'd return the instruments to Professor Roslund tomorrow.