Yea...Dylan was making himself comfortable on the Astronomy tower floor, resting back and looking straight up. His neck was starting to hurt from standing and looking...So, this was more convenient.

...and no, he didn't care if it was dirty...which was a shocker. It was just easier.

Gazing up more, he noted PISCES, another of the zodiac stars...It was most likely better for him to spot these because he'd just finished that assignment for Professor Elwood...and had made her that Zodiac set of cups...They were still fresh in his mind and all that.

That thought flashed in his mind again as he spotted TAURUS....and then AQUARIUS...

Heh, the Slytherin needed to deviant from the Zodiac for five minutes...Merlin. Further up was PEGASUS...It was funny, too...how whenever he spotted a new star, he was also thinking about the Mythology behind them. His mother had planted too much of that in his head, obviously.

Next was.. what? Alice consulted Aireyhead's list again, taking note of all the bolded constellations. What had she found so far? Ursa Major, Polaris, and finding the North Star meant she'd found the Little Dipper, so she'd also discovered Ursa Minor, right? Marking those three off her mental list, she also found she only had three left to go: Draco, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus. Before looking for them, though, she took a moment to inspect the North Star. It didn't seem like anything too special to her. Just some overestimated ball of gas.

Hmph. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at it, too.

Now to find Draco, the one supposed to have a long chain of stars, sort of wrapped near Polaris. Soon enough, she found something that fit that description and decided it was exactly that. Did it look like a Draco? No textbook, so Alice was going with yes.

Oh, look it!

Sigh. Merlin. So many stars. But Lottie had finally located the Big Dipper, also known as Ursa Major. And she wanted ice cream, again. BEAM! So, that makes this one the third constellation she's been able to find.

Plus, one star. A very important star. It was literally the star of the lesson.

So, she could stop searching for things now, right? Wrong. She was still looking, though, nothing specific now. So she went on, connecting dots, when her eyes landed on three close ones. Well, everyone knew that was Orion's belt. Which meant, that if she followed the other stars, she'll find...Orion. Yes! Excellent.

They were so lucky to have a Professor like Airey, you know? They shouldn't take him for granted. And he should give everyone ice cream at the end of the lesson. What with the dippers and whatnot.

Her neck was starting to hurt, so Alice promptly dropped down onto the floor, sitting crosslegged and leaning back so she could see comfortably. Cepheus was next on her list, after Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, and the North Star. Her eyes located Polaris again, and then going by what she already knew because no textbook, they began scanning downwards. It was just below her starting point, a bit to the side, she thought. Was that it? Cassiopeia was supposedly right under it, so she found that in no time, too.

Loads of finding today. She was totally channeling her inner Hufflepuff.

Done with observing all of the assigned things, Alice's gaze started wandering as she attempted to find her own asterism from last term. Professor Aireyhead had said their stars would eventually just dissolve into the atmosphere or something, but maybe it was still there. If it was, though, she couldn't find it. In a silent prayer for her baby star, she began hoping that Little Dylan was making nice with Lex's star and the rest of the balls of gas in the chocolate frog wrapper.

And that he was as happy as normal Dylan. Was normal Dylan happy? She peeked to the side and noticed the Slytherin Captain sprawled across the dirty floor and staring at constellations. He seemed happy enough, and that was even better than a pleasant star. Alice did a silent prayer for him, too, because she felt like it, and then resumed her star searching.

Was that Pegasus? Hi Pegasus.

Blinking some...the itchiness was gaining intensity...and then suddenly, Dylan wasn't able to see as well as before. Did that mean he needed to recast the spell? He had been nervous before...Maybe that had effected it's performance...and strength...

Repeating the wand motion from before, Dylan said "Oculo Focalis" in a firm voice...concentrating once more on the spell and it's effects. At once, his vision sharpened and everything was again clear and in HIGH focus. There.

Apparently....the spell could wear off.

ALRIGHT...what was next to see....?

There were a few that he didn't know or recognize...but he seen DRACO...and felt pleased. Dragons. He loved dragons...and 'draco' meant 'dragons'. So, that was a cool thing...and it was right by the BIG DIPPER and LITTLE DIPPER...

POLARIS. He'd found it.

...You know, since they'd talked about how it was in the handle of the little dipper...

So West hadn't actually found everything but he was pretty sure he could if he had more time and maybe a starchart in front of him. By the time he'd found what amounted to a cluster of planets, based on the angle and the part of the sky he was peeking at, the strain on his eyes was getting to be too much. West decided to stop and he stepped back from his spot.

Wand ready he pointed at his eyes. "Finite!" It was disorienting at first, his vision going back to its imperfect normal, but West felt instant relief. Were his eyes red? Did he look tired? Did anyone have a mirror? He rubbed at his eyes and returned to his desk. Glasses went on to deal with the strain, and that helped some too.

He needed a moment to recover though.

Merlin, there really were a bunch Dylan didn't know...He needed to familiarize himself with the stars better.....for NEWT reasons. This could all be on his examines and he'd fail famously. So, yea. Needed to study up on the unknowns...

HERCULES!

...and like with all the other constellations, Dylan was recalling the story behind Hercules. That myth was a pretty famous one, too. Zeus' son and...something about the underworld...and Hades...and something else about...Titans. Pegasus was his horse. He remembered that...

......Okay, so...the Slytherin hadn't really paid that much attention when his mother would talk about it.

...THERE WAS A MUGGLE CARTOON MOVIE ABOUT Hercules CALLED Hercules. He KNEW that much.

Moving on...

Ooooh. LYNX.

So anyway, how exactly was Flamsteed gonna prove if people actually did see things? West wondered if anyone had just ticked their list off without having seen the things they were ticking off? West wasn't bothering to keep a list at all, it was all in his head, and he wasn't bothering with writing it down. No need.

but it did give him a thought or two. West kept it down to ONE question though, just one. He put his hand up, "Professor, is there anyway to do a fake version of the Southern sky so we can see what that looks like and try spot constellations and stars what we aren't familiar with?"

​Now, what next? Sarah's head was aching so she decided to ease it in the hard stuff with more of the constellations she knew. She hold her hand don her throbbing head as she looked up... Orions belt was easy, the three sisters was anther name for it. She knew where it was yet decided in the spirit of the lesson to use Northern Star a starting point. Well it was not actually a starting point as she had found the belt before she moved her eyes to Polaris and guided her eyes from there. She was about to cross it off the list when she realized that it was not on the list. She knew Taurus was by it so using the belt she found Taurus.

As she had found one of the Zodiac constellations she just had to find her one, Pisces. Sarah scanned the night sky looking for it. Then she found it. So she had fount Taurus and Pisces - what next?

All of a sudden a searing pain shot through her head and she involuntarily cried "ow" and she rubbed her head furiously. Maybe that knock did something? She hoped not, Sarah did not like the healer one bit. She tried to use her techniques that she leaned in drama to put on a brave face. Looking up she began to go down her list crossing off each item as she found it. She was becoming better versed in the Hogwarts sky. While she was looking her eyes began to itch so she rubbed them, which only made them worse. It was awful, she had pains now not only in her hammering head but also in her eye

The whole purpose of the activity was to find these stars...and all it was doing was proving to Dylan that he needed to seriously study. Meh! He'd just looked over star charts...He and Bee has sat in the library together and poured over them for hours...but they were mostly LONG named stars...that were really hard to spell. Most of the time, he wasn't even sure how to pronounce them...

ANYWAY...

AURIGA...Yes. He KNEW that one quite well. For another of Professor Flamsteed's assignments, they'd been asked to create a star story...or something like that...The details were blurry...but Dylan did remember using Auriga as a base star to create his.

He'd even sketched an amazing picture to go with it...The only reason he'd really used that as a base constellation, though...was because it looked like the body of a guitar...and music was his thing. So....It made the most sense.

Oh...and PERSEUS. How had he missed that one...? And ANDROMEDA right next to that...

Ugh...Dylan's eyes were beginning to itch something fierce again....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

So anyway, how exactly was Flamsteed gonna prove if people actually did see things? West wondered if anyone had just ticked their list off without having seen the things they were ticking off? West wasn't bothering to keep a list at all, it was all in his head, and he wasn't bothering with writing it down. No need.

but it did give him a thought or two. West kept it down to ONE question though, just one. He put his hand up, "Professor, is there anyway to do a fake version of the Southern sky so we can see what that looks like and try spot constellations and stars what we aren't familiar with?"

Airey should have known that Mr. Odessa would come to him with such a question. Good thing that he had an answer too. "There is indeedy," he grinned. "If you, or anyone else, wishes to try I can offer the use of the planetarium under my supervision." Normally he would always leave the place open, but with security break in last term and a budget meant for trolls, well, he had to make a few adjustments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princesspower

​
All of a sudden a searing pain shot through her head and she involuntarily cried "ow" and she rubbed her head furiously. Maybe that knock did something? She hoped not, Sarah did not like the healer one bit. She tried to use her techniques that she leaned in drama to put on a brave face. Looking up she began to go down her list crossing off each item as she found it. She was becoming better versed in the Hogwarts sky. While she was looking her eyes began to itch so she rubbed them, which only made them worse. It was awful, she had pains now not only in her hammering head but also in her eye

"You alright there, Miss Edwards?" he asked when he heard the young Gryffindor cry out in pain. Or at least he assumed that it was pain. He couldn't imagine why else one would say 'ow'...unless that was her way of saying 'Eureka' or something like that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Checking his sundial one last time, the astronomer's eyes widened and he suddenly clapped his hands together. LOUDLY mind you. "Alright alright! That is enough for now," he called out while he moonwalked back to the front of the classroom. "I want all of you to cast Finite and remove the spell from your eyes. Students who do not know how to should ask an older student or myself to assist them. Also, before you leave, please come up here and use these eye drops from this vial," he said while holding up a very large bottle. "There are four separate ones up here and it will help with some of the strain you are probably feeling now. Just one drop per eye." See, Cece? There wouldn't he a horde of students marching to your office this time!

"Homework has already been posted, so prefects be sure to post it on your house boards as well." He didn't have time to go running around doing it himself. "Class dismissed and see you all at the campout!"

OOC: Thank you all SO SO much for bearing with this lesson despite Peeves wanting to ruin all your fun and efforts! Go ahead and RP your characters removing the charm and putting eye drops in their eyes. I will leave this thread open a little while longer for any remaining questions or RPing.

YOU MAY NOT RP THE ACTIVITY FOR CREDIT AFTER THIS POST.

Alright, he thought he could at least focus for the last few minutes of class, which was a good thing since that was all they had left. Now what else did he need to find first? Ethan glanced to the board, then to his textbook. Draco, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus were the next required constellations.

Draco was fairly easy to find.. It was somewhat in between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, the two he had just found, and his eyes followed the stars in the constellation as it seemed to be shaped like a snake. Good, that one was found, moving on to the next..

Ethan glanced back down at his textbook to see which of the remaining two would be easiest for him to locate next. Oh! They were both fairly easy.. Cepheus was right next to Ursa Minor and his eyes found the stars in that constellation. Then Cassiopeia was right next to that one. Ethan glanced down at his book once more, just to make sure he was accurate, then found the correct constellation in the sky.

And it would seem that he wouldn't have the opportunity to find anything else in the sky.. at least not during this lesson as he heard class being dismissed. With a point of his wand to his eye, he cast Finite. Ethan blinked a few times to get accustomed to the change in focus then headed up to the desk to get a few drops from the vial as he was starting to feel a bit of eye strain. Once he put a drop in each eye, he blinked again, then searched the room for any sign of Minerva. He needed to find out what was going on with her.

Done already? Frown. Could she just stay up here until it got light out? She quite liked looking at the stars like this. Her eyes were getting a bit itchy, though. Perhaps it was best to give them a rest. Sigh.

"Finite!"

Blink.Blink. Yup, her eyes definitely felt weird. Tired too. The sixteen year old packed her things and headed towards the front, stopping to use the eye drops.

Drop. Drop. Blink.

"Thanks for the lesson, Professor!" BEAM. It had been quite fun.

She had too admit, West asked a good question, one she'd been wondering about since clearly her star search hadn't gone as good as she'd hoped. She stuck her hand in the air. "If it's possible, I'd like to use the planetarium as well Professor." It'd be a big help, mhm.

Ooo and the class was over! No more eye strain! "Finite!" Phew, much better though she was gonna miss being able to see everything so clearly in the sky.

Lex skipped over to the Professor and got herself one of the vials of eye drops. Drop. Drop. Bliiiink.

Good to go!

"Excellent lesson Professor!" BEEEEAAAM. Now it was off to the kitchens for her.

"Oh definitely keen to see it professor." West hadn't seeeeen the Southern sky except in books after all. It'd be a cool thing to know and see right? He was down for sure.

West had already ended the focusing spell so he went up to get eye drops, one drop in each eye yeah? He did that in short order, tipping his head back carefully.

.... and then he lingered, waiting for others to leave.

When it was time to stop the activity, Daichi , who was already seated at his own seat looked up to listen to the Professor's instructions. Wait, now that the lesson was over that meant he could have ice cream! He HAD promised it! Plus he had been mildly quiet after he had asked it so he deserved two bowls of ice cream!

Having already used the finite spell on his eyes a few minutes earlier, he stood up from his chair and hoisted his bag over his shoulder. He skipped, yes skipped over to the front of the front of the class and eyes the eye drops. .....How was he supposed to do that? He looked at how the other students were dropping their eyes and he laughed again. You know how funny that looked?!

And he could totally do that as well! Picking up a bottle, the Slytherin tilted his head back and with his fingers he held his eye open. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the bottle slightly and a drop fell in to his eye. He had to close it immediately and blinked a couple of times before doing the same thing with his other eye.

When he as done, his gaze went to Professor Flamsteed and he swiftly walked towards the man. Without saying anything, he smiled brightly and held his hands out. His eyes obviously telling 'Where's my ice cream!?'

Her head still titled upwards at the sky, Eliza heard the professor call for an end of class. She titled her head back down, eyes still in telescope mode and raised her wand to end the spell. "Finite," she cast on her eyelids and blinked several times. It was weird not being able to see as far anymore, but also, her eyes and head were a little tired from it. Maybe it's best not to use that spell too much, she thought as she walked over and used one of the droppers from the eye solution vial. One in each eye, and she was feeling better already. Good thinking, Airey. Way to be prepared!

And now that she was done with class, she could go find some more ice cream and maybe share with Min and Daichi since they hadn't been allowed any more. "Bye Professor, thanks for the lesson! And happy birthday!" She grinned big at him as she left the room.

Oh, class was over? And the professor had eye drops for them? Great! Wait... what was that about a camp out? Hmm...... trip to the announcement board it was, then. After using the eye drops, of course. Sky walked up and waited her turn. When she was handed a bottle, she tipped her head back and, making sure that the dropper was close enough that it would dribble everywhere but far enough away that it wouldn't touch her eyes, dropped a drop each into her eyes. Handing it off to the next person, she gathered up her stuff. "Happy birthday, professor! See you later!" And Carter-Hope out.

Were they done already? Too bad. "Finite!''Jory blinked and tested his eyes. Yes, he had his own vision back. Pity. He packed up his book, quill and ink. Then, he went over to one of the vials and took care to have one drop of the liquid fall into his eyes.

"Great lesson, Professor,'' Jory told the man, blinking. He never had to use eye drops before. "Also, happy, happy birthday! Until next time, Professor!'' He could feel himself getting hyper again, though he didn't know why.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

"Thanks for the lesson, Professor!" BEAM. It had been quite fun.

"You're quite welcome, Miss Ella. You have a good night and be careful walking all the way back down to your common room," he said as he waved the Quidditch captain goodbye.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She had too admit, West asked a good question, one she'd been wondering about since clearly her star search hadn't gone as good as she'd hoped. She stuck her hand in the air. "If it's possible, I'd like to use the planetarium as well Professor." It'd be a big help, mhm.

Ooo and the class was over! No more eye strain! "Finite!" Phew, much better though she was gonna miss being able to see everything so clearly in the sky.

Lex skipped over to the Professor and got herself one of the vials of eye drops. Drop. Drop. Bliiiink.

Good to go!

"Excellent lesson Professor!" BEEEEAAAM. Now it was off to the kitchens for her.

"Of course, Miss Cambridge," he nodded. The more the merrier in the planetarium really. Perhaps he should just make this an extra curricular activity if there was enough interest. "Thank you, have a good night."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

"Oh definitely keen to see it professor." West hadn't seeeeen the Southern sky except in books after all. It'd be a cool thing to know and see right? He was down for sure.

West had already ended the focusing spell so he went up to get eye drops, one drop in each eye yeah? He did that in short order, tipping his head back carefully.

.... and then he lingered, waiting for others to leave.

Airey chuckled. He had no doubt that the boy would be interested, and now it would just be a matter of finding the right time to do so. Would students be willing to use time on their weekends? They all had social calendars and Hogsmeade to occupy their time. "Oh, not tonight, Mr. Odessa. I believe your Head of House would have my head if I were to keep you out any later. Best head back to your common room."

Quote:

Originally Posted by CassiopeiaAKTF

When he as done, his gaze went to Professor Flamsteed and he swiftly walked towards the man. Without saying anything, he smiled brightly and held his hands out. His eyes obviously telling 'Where's my ice cream!?'

"You as well, Mr. Katharos," he laughed while pointing towards the door. As much as he personally wanted to go down to the kitchens for some ice cream himself...students really ought to be heading back to their common rooms soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DecemberMoon

And now that she was done with class, she could go find some more ice cream and maybe share with Min and Daichi since they hadn't been allowed any more. "Bye Professor, thanks for the lesson! And happy birthday!" She grinned big at him as she left the room.[/SIZE]

GRIN!BEAM!GRINBEAM!

"Thank you!" he said, his mood soaring to new heights once again with her birthday congratulations. "You have a good night now."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Oh, class was over? And the professor had eye drops for them? Great! Wait... what was that about a camp out? Hmm...... trip to the announcement board it was, then. After using the eye drops, of course. Sky walked up and waited her turn. When she was handed a bottle, she tipped her head back and, making sure that the dropper was close enough that it would dribble everywhere but far enough away that it wouldn't touch her eyes, dropped a drop each into her eyes. Handing it off to the next person, she gathered up her stuff. "Happy birthday, professor! See you later!" And Carter-Hope out.

"Thank you, Miss Carter-Hope," he grinned with a small wave towards the Slytherin. "Be sure to practice finding Polaris on your OWN now." As in without using magic, yes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

"Great lesson, Professor,'' Jory told the man, blinking. He never had to use eye drops before. "Also, happy, happy birthday! Until next time, Professor!'' He could feel himself getting hyper again, though he didn't know why.

Oh more compliments and birthday wishes! This was simply fantastic and brought an even bigger smile to his face. The fact that no one had been injured this lesson just added to things as well. Oooooooooozing happiness he was. Oooooooozing.

"See you soon then, Mr. Stonewell," he grinned.

Turning back to the board, Airey began to clean things up and organize some of his star charts for the campout.

She had been noticed... oh dear, this was yet anther time her plan to be a better person failed. Back in primary and in her pre-Hogwarts days her brothers told her that she was an attention seeker and drama queen. So when she came to Hogwarts she Hhad decided to curb all habits that were called attention seeking. Yet as she rubbed her head she knew that she could not lie. So she decided to say it in a off hand manner. "Oh, I just fell back and hit my head".
As if i was no big deal she took her wand "finite" she casted on her eyes. Big headache time, from both her head and eyes. She picked up one of the drop and attempted to put a dallop into her eye, yet her eyelids closed furiously. They were not taking any drops. "Professor, the only way I can take eyedrops in lying on the couch with my mom holding my down and my dad holding my eyes open, they do not like ANYTHING near them" she said "is there anything else I can take, like a potion on pill". Maybe she would just not have it. With her eyes so fussy the chances of Sarah wearing eye make up in the near future was bleak, NOTHING would go near her eues while Mr and Mrs Eyelid were in charge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princesspower

She had been noticed... oh dear, this was yet anther time her plan to be a better person failed. Back in primary and in her pre-Hogwarts days her brothers told her that she was an attention seeker and drama queen. So when she came to Hogwarts she Hhad decided to curb all habits that were called attention seeking. Yet as she rubbed her head she knew that she could not lie. So she decided to say it in a off hand manner. "Oh, I just fell back and hit my head".
As if i was no big deal she took her wand "finite" she casted on her eyes. Big headache time, from both her head and eyes. She picked up one of the drop and attempted to put a dallop into her eye, yet her eyelids closed furiously. They were not taking any drops. "Professor, the only way I can take eyedrops in lying on the couch with my mom holding my down and my dad holding my eyes open, they do not like ANYTHING near them" she said "is there anything else I can take, like a potion on pill". Maybe she would just not have it. With her eyes so fussy the chances of Sarah wearing eye make up in the near future was bleak, NOTHING would go near her eues while Mr and Mrs Eyelid were in charge.

"Afraid I do not have a potion that could do the trick," he said with a shake of the head. "If it takes a team effort to administer eye drops to you, then I suggest you come to my office and grab one of your friends. We can use the couch there to administer them to you." Orion help him if her eyes were too sore to complete her assignments or focus in lessons the following morning. He was already on the bad side of most of the teaching staff, which amused him, so he would prefer if he didn't make matters worse. "Come along, Miss Edwards. We'll get you aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall settled," he sang as he lead the young Gryffindor out of the classroom and locked it behind him.

An icy breeze seeps its way through one of the open windows and leaves a thin layer of frost on the stone windowpane. The frost hungrily expands its way down the wall as if in search of something as the door to the classroom closes.