Laura looked at the Professor and raised her hand. "Professor, can I ask you a question, how come his son John got a knighthood for services to Science but I don't think he did sir, have you any idea why that would be?" Laura could only think that it was the fact he wasn't born in Britain but she wasn't sure.

Laura then went back to the question, she raised her hand again but this time it was because she had an answer. "Professor Polaris B was first noticed by William Herschel in 1780, he was the very first person to find out that there was two parts to Polaris." Laura smiled she was hoping she was right.

NEWTs? Yes what about that? Blink....this was going to be in that.

MERLIN WHERE WERE HER NOTES THEN?

Hastily the red head grabbed her quill and scribbled 'William Herschel' on a blank page. She then underlined it and wrote some more, like the fact that he was born in Germany but was actually British as well as the discoveries Airey mentioned.

Still no answer for the question though, because she didn't know that either. She didn't exactly spend her free time reading about Astronomy..she rather read love stories, or Nicolas Spark stories, those were way more interesting then reading about stars. PSHH.

Wait she would as well as scribble down later. Now all she did was put on a HUGE fish face and stared at Airey, waiting, waiting and waiting for more things to write.

The fourth-year sat looking at the hair trying to see it at different and not bad. Nope. She couldn't, it still was bad in her eyes. Though, she didn't say that out loud. Might be taken personal against astronauts? She had nothing against them. Except ones with bad hairstyles.

Then she tore her attention from the man and listened to all what was said. She scribbled down on her textbooks. Easy access notes, helps her revise more than having to find them all in the book. The book was huge! So at least she was doing something. She was taking notes. Because she didn't know what the German astronauts had discovered. Well, she knew about the two moons but that was said. She had no idea about his Polaris-related discovery.

She'll find out now. After students answered and after Professor Flamsteed corrected them and all.

No rush.

OWLs... NEWTs. Kat already took OWLs last term so... no biggy. She still had until next term for her NEWTs though. She didn't feel like having an early review of her six years of magical education. She could do that... next term, on her final year.

......... Well, thinking of that was sort of sad. She was going to be a seventh year soon. That sucks.

Anyway, the prefect saw no point of repeating answers again. Instead, she just took notes and copied all of the things the others said. Well, not exactly ALL. Some of them were saying... irrelevant and stuff Kat felt wasn't important. She left those back.

Still listening. Yep.

Glare.

What was he even LOOKING at. Flamstead could take his eyes and put them somewhere else besides his face because he was NOT keen on being looked at right now. Especially when his shoes were so heinous he couldn't even think properly. And that was this ruddy Professor's fault. Jerk face.

And no, he didn't know who this guy was so why would he even remotely know what he had accomplished? Because he didn't. That was why. It was like this whole school worked under the assumption that he knew everything. Smirk, well he knew EVERYTHING, but not EVERYTHING EVERYTHING. It was complicated.

So he continued to lean back and just GLARE at Flamstead.

Herschel? Hershey?

What the heck was Polaris? Had they covered that?

Or was it some kind of food? Because Hershey sounded mighty famili- WAIT.

JUST.

ONE.

MINUTE.

Hershey was a kind of chocolate, that was it! All these other people were just plain wrong and straight up saying words that Tobias didn't understand. So... so yeah that was probably something close? And they were totally learning about sweets in an astronomy lesson. After all hadn't they JUST been talking about ice cream? It was perfectly logical.

Tobias raised his hand. "Didn't Hershey have something to do with chocolate?"

Not very good chocolate... but chocolate nonetheless.

Dylan was slightly stunned when the suited man sprung up onto his desk. What even.......? He moved back slightly and just looked up. Staring, really. It was then decided that Professor Flamsteed's excitement was scarier than Professor Lafay's anger...because at least that was predictable. Yep. The Slytherin was making that call.

Anyway...

"Polaris' companion star.....which is just called Polaris B. He discovered it with a telescope that he made himself...which is rather impressive." They should build their own telescopes. At least that wouldn't have bored him to tears.

Listening as the class went on, "Chocolate? Did someone say chocolate!" His mouth was watering. Asher wanted nothing more than ice cream and chocolate. Wondering if he could find any answers in his book, Asher began flipping through the pages.

Marigold wanted ice cream. And she was glad the astronomy teacher wanted it too, even if he wouldn't let then have it.

Ohh... Herschel. She had read about him.

"Herschel was famous for discovering many double and multiple stars."

She was definitely getting ice cream after this.

Herschel, and Copernicus, and hair colours.

Of course.

Forrest nodded seriously once, and this wrong answer didn't diminish his enthusiasm, because he had read it ALL. So, after giving it a moment's thought to remember what he had read about Herschel, his hand shot in the air again.

"Multiple stars! He said it was a multiple star!" What multiple star was, Forrest had a vague idea. But Herschel and the book said so.

Ahem.
 

Where WAS West Odessa was kind of a good question? He was currently de-linting and trying to find a moment to slip in unnoticed. Because that was possible. Not like he was the tallest boy in fourth year or anything. Or like he was one of Flammy's star students or whatever.

Perhaps he should just own it. Own the fact that he was late. That he'd lost track of time as was becoming a habit lately.

West opened the door and slipped into the observatory. Maybe he'd be doing a better job of not being noticed if he didn't immediately blurt out. "Cool sextant." He'd kinda wondered why they hadn't got to use one in their Polaris lesson stuff. West found his seat and sat down. Sup Flammy.

Did he really want Nigel to answer that? Or was it rhetorical.

"It is in the same Solar System and Galaxy." See Nigel did know a little astronomy. Never did like the other astro thing.

He knew that that object was also. It did have a pretty awesome name.

"Sextant" That was what it was.

The ice cream offer had been totally not fair. Peyton could still taste the anticipation of ice cream on her tongue. Ugh. How was she supposed to concentrate now? KARMA. Airey Flamsteed, you gonna get bad karma. Hmph.

She slumped, resting her chin on her palm. Oh, look. A picture of an old man. His eyes were looking up. Looking up at the sky, probably. Peyton didn't know his name. He looked ancient. She didn't do ancient.

Ooohooohahaha! Late person was totally late. She didn't look like a Slytherin either. It cheered up Peyton. She sat up straight, suddenly interested in the lesson. Hehehahaa.

Cool gadget. Peyton's seen it at her grandmother's house before, and the woman had gone on and on about it when Peyton used it as a toy. Her hand froze mid-air when she noticed a late Odessa. Welp. No one saw that, right? Right.

"That's a sextant." Yep. "It measures the angle of a celestial object -- it's a natural thing in the sky," just fwi, "and the horizon. It's known as taking a sight."

Boy, the Professor sure said a lot of things that weren't related to ice-cream. He gave them that one bit then that was it for the whole class and everything was serious and filled with questions she didn't know the answer to. When would the activity start? She didn't want to play this twenty questions game anymore. Everyone was winning but 'cept her.

She tried listening to everything he was saying, it'd be useful later on probably and she'd found her bounce again but this time it wasn't because of excitement, it was restlessness.

Then it seemed they'd be playing more of the guessing game. What in merlin's beard...? She tilted her head...then tilted it more. She kept tilting and twisting until she fell off her seat with a small 'Eeek!' What a curious piece of equipment. All she knew about it was that it wasn't that bowl of chocolate ice-cream she wanted--oh waaaait, wait. "That, Professor, is one shiny compass." It looked like a compass, an ancient one and he said to guess.

It was either that or a painfully slow piece of execution equipment in which case this class either just got far more interesting, or there was cause for concern. Not for her though. The Professor wouldn't out her. The others now, she supposed she was about worried for them...but only a little.

Come to think of it, that idea was far cooler than a mere compass. There wasn't much you could get done with those that Polaris couldn't already help you with.

"What everyone else said," Alice started, unfazed by the professor jumping all over her desk and the sudden entrance of Slytherins. "Usually, it measures the altitude of stuff as well as the angle. Helps with celestial navigation, I think." She was thinking of other uses now, though. "Do you think it could knock someone out, too, professor? It looks kinda heavy. If you hit 'em hard enough. Like over the head or something." Totally a use for a sextant, she decided.

Ice cream still on the mind, could he tell?

Oh, sextant? Or some sort of weapon, if Alice was to be believed. Mo studied the object in the professor's hand somewhat dispassionately. He was much more concerned about the ickle who'd just wandered in late. And waaaaaaaaaay more concerned that West was late too. West was never careless. He was too tightly wound for it... in a good way.

Mo gnawed his lip at studied the professor and West and... was Anya trying to touch his hair again? He was just going to be quiet. Yes.