Was he crying?

Ella squinted at Airey and tilted her head, trying to figure out just what was making the man's eyes water like that. She hadn't said anything wrong, right? ...Not that she could remember, anyway. ...which wasn't saying much. So instead of questioning it, she simply gave the star man a big smile and settled back into her seat.

Tobias was sleeping?

Because Ella didn't trust her classmates with her little badger, the eighteen year old took one for the team and painfully made the trip over to him. Owwww. Owwww. Owwwwwie. Then she observed the boy for a minute or two before picking up his textbook and letting it fall to the floor with a thud. "Badger BOOM." Was he awake now or? She was just going to head back to her seat now and hope so. She could always flick the foil from the chocolate coins at him if he didn't wake up. Yeah.

Speaking of, St. Patrick's Day! Was Tag going to have the best day ever? Probably. Ella smiled faintly at this and made a mental note that some rainbow cake might be in order later. Yeah.

But planets...what was a planet? Well, it was round. YEAH. There was also other stuff but um...um..."Well, they orbit around the sun and they're circular and um..." UMMMM... "Oh, those big meanies took away Pluto's planet status cause of his size or something which is entirely UNFAIR."

Chocolate. She needed chocolate. Grumpy old people feels happening.

Delilah just stared at the gold-coin looking chocolate on her desk as Airey started the lesson. What? Were they allowed to eat it orrrr...? She looked at it for another moment before her eyes turned to the front of the class. Also. WHY was Airey still looking old? Couldn't he get some tips from the now young-looking Botros?

... What was a planet? Errr. The Hufflepuff raised her hand, "It is a celestial body that revolves around the sun.. and it is larger than an asteroid?" Lamest explanation ever? Yeah, maybe. But, she was distracted by the chocolate, okay? The girl was hungry.

Ian was resting comfortably in class when he heard a loud boom and crash on the floor before he looked up through drowsy eyes to see ella standing over one of his classmates. He did this just in time to here Ella's response about planets.

What really though does the attainment of planetary status mean? Ian pondered aloud. Does it make the cellestial object eligible for some special awards?

Sander looked over at his fellow Hufflepuff who had dozed off and envied him. Too bad his nap time had to be cut short as Sander watched the Head girl wake him up.

However, for the rest of the class, it was question time. What is a planet? Sander spent a few minutes thinking of the answer and then listened as some of the students shared their answered. Once there was a pause, Sander raised his hand and gave his answer.

"Professor, a planet as defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a celestial body which orbits the sun, is round in shape and doesn't have any other objects larger than itself and its own satellites within its own gravitational influence,"

What was a planet? Grace kind of got distracted at first though. By the hufflepuff that was talking. Had he like swallowed the textbook or something? What was the union place? And like 2006 was sooooooo long ago. Her mother hadn't even been born then. She bet the professor hadn't even been born then. So like. Maybe that union was like extinct now. Which would explain why she had no idea what it was.

But she did have a idea what a planet was. She turned away from staring at the hufflepuff boy and put her hand in the air. "Isn't a planet... like something that orbits something? Like a star I think? Cause like a moon isn't a planet but it orbits something."

Marigold was happily munching on chocolate and grinning at Airey because DAWWW. HE WAS SUCH A BIG SWEETIE. Waiting to swallow the chocolatey goodness in her mouth before raising her hand to answer.

"I think that a planet is a big ball of gases and other elements," she said. Heh.

Tessa gave a smile to the Professor. "It certainly is colder than I'm used to dealing with," she replied with a nod. Granted, her school in Canada had gotten pretty chilly But the cold on top of her achy joints? It was killer...

Okay, class time. She shot smiles to her friend seated around her and reached out to take a bit of chocolate, nibbling on it as the Professor spoke.

As he began to talk about planets, she raised her hand. "A planet is a celestial body that is of a certain size that has a orbit around a sun," she described. She didn't know the exact size a planet had to be- but she was sure someone could fill in that blank in her knowledge.

Was Flamsteed okay?

Alec watched the man with a mix of curiosity and concern. Had he done something wrong? Insult a planet? Mention Astrology? ... No? Okay. Next set of questions: Did the man need a tissue or...? And why was he... well... was he crying? The boy couldn't tell but silently hoped that he only had something in his eye. Like an eyelash.

Small chuckles were released when the joke was made. Hufflepuff FIND!

Oh, they were getting started? Awesome. Curious glances had been made over at the napping Badger Boom and the way Ells was trying to wake him up. And it was St Patrick's Day? GRIN. Tag would be happy about this, yeah? Irishness. He had half a mind to find the leprechaun later, if there was enough time.

Question. Planets. "Professor?" he called, raising his hand in the air, "Like the others have said, planets are celestial body that orbits the sun." Nodnod. "And... some of them have moons! Like... Earth has one but Jupiter has... four main, popular ones and... and..." Come on, memory! "... lots more smaller ones." Lots. He had forgotten the number. Hair!ruffle.

St. Patrick's Day--Sophie's BIRTHDAY! Well, Caleb's birthday, too, but he could worry about his own special day. Sophie was also a little distracted by the fact that the professor seemed to stop after every single word he said. In a way, though, that was good, because Sophie could hear a little better that way.

Right.

On to class now. How would she define a planet? She raised her hand. "It's an individual world floating in the solar system," she said. That about summed it up to her. "Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, too! It's mine and Caleb's birthday." So that made her extra special and AWESOME today, even if it also meant she was probably about eighty-six years old by now.

was it afternoon already.. Bay looked at his watch… "I guess it appears so Professor" he said while totally looking shocked..he thought it was morning time….. ugghhh does this mean he's missed breakfast??? NOOOOO Bay's favourite meal of the day… staring down at this gold he started to feel sad…

ohh what is a planet… he thought about this… but his brain wasn't working to well.. he raised his hand. "errr.. A planet is a big rock type thing that floats around in space… with other rock things" he's always wondered why these rocks never hit each other… but right now this was the best answer he could give..

OHHHH CHOCOLATE!!! awesome!! he's never seen these things before.. grabbing one he quickly opened it.. leaving the gold wrapper in a neat pile on his desk and he munched on the chocolate while other students gave their answers.

Professor Flamsteed's answer made Lux raise her brow, but she supposed that it was understandable considering how terrible he was looking these days, poor man. Maybe he needed some of the chocolate that he had given to them. Picking up a piece and unwrapping it, she quickly ate it. This was yet another reason for her to consider him her favourite Professor; not only was he nice and had a pet rock, but he also gave away chocolate in class!

The first question was easy enough, and Lux actually raised her hand to answer for once instead of getting ready to write notes. "I believe that a planet is a mass that orbits the sun. Some are made of rock - like the ones that were in their solar system - "and some are made of gas." That much she knew even with her slight knowledge of the subject.

Did the Professor just give her a thumbs up? Justine couldn't tell if that was adorable or just odd. The Ravenclaw decided on adorable.

She couldn't help but giggle at the Professors enthusiastic and very loud announcement, so that's what the chocolate was about. With a bright smile the girl happily, and deftly opened up one of the little gold coins and took a mouth of the delicious chocolate-y treat. The chocolate was smooth, the perfect amount of sweetness, and filled her with warmth. Yes, that was exactly what she had needed to keep energized.

Justine raised her hand at the Professors question, eager to participate. "Sir, zee vord planet comes from zee Ancient Greek for 'Vandering Star," and is defined as any celestial body zat 'as enough mass to be shaped by its own gravity. zough zis definition 'as been much contested by scientist zrough zee years, personally, I'm not quite sure if zee idea is a correct one, I believe more data is really needed before ve can properly define such a zing," Justine said, speaking clearly, so that she might be heard, she was a bit worried that as the Professor had aged that his hearing might be impaired.

Unfortunately, she didn't even get to get in a bite of her chocolate before class started. That was okay, though, on account of Alice was fairly sure she would enjoy class more than she would the sugar. Thirst for knowledge was greater than her appetite for a snack, yeah?

"Like some people said, it has go 'round a sun," not THE Sun, because the planets in her lil' box didn't go round the BIG one, they revolved around her very own, "and it has to have a great enough mass for its gravity to squish it into a roundish shape. But that planet ball that's formed still has to be big enough the clear its orbital zone, meaning it's gravitationally dominant. Either has to accrete with neighboring objects or sling-shot 'em off into space. Weeehooo goodbye smaller bodies. Don't wantcha. We're breaking up! Go live in Jupiter's orbit, I'm kickin' you OUT."

Senile!Alice giggled. A lot.

Hehehehehehehe.

Hehehe.

Adi was still eyeing the chocolate suspiciously when Benny turned up. "Hello, hello,'' he greeted his best friend. This old dragon looked so tired, didn't he? Poor Benny. "Chocolates?'' Adi whispered suddenly and thrust his set towards the other boy. If something was up with those chocolates then Adi would know. But only if Benny ate them. Hehe.
..........................................

And the lesson was starting! Ohhh! The chocolates were because of St. Patrick's day? Adi pulled his chocolates back towards him. Sorry Benny. These were his again. So what was a planet? The Puffer pondered then raised a hand. "A planet is a mass that orbits the sun and they have moon or moons.'' NodNod.

Kace heard the professor's suggestion and he nodded. "Yeah do you know where i can get a cane?" He was in need of one, unless he could use his bed post...he would decide afterwards. I mean his pain was getting worse.


He heard the professor mention it was Saint Patricks Day! He smiled and wondered why there were coins on the desk. He took them and poured them out onto his desk. He loved these little chocolates. As he was eating, the professor moved on.

What did he know about planets? He had a little clue. He raised his hand, "Professor i know planets are made of gas. But what kind of gas i am kind of fuzzy on. Some planets have like 3 moons too i remember learning about..." he said not being 100 percent positive.

It wasn't Caelen's finest moment, asking where stars came from at night. It was like that morning when she hit herself in the chest while braiding, or when she hit her hand with her fork while trying to eat breakfast. But she had a reason for the last one. Well... it wasn't a good reason. She was trying to draw something and she wasn't too good at multitasking. Nope, nope, nope.

Also, note to self: buy those star thingies and somehow make them look like actual stars. Because... STARS were cool.

As she heard that it was st. Patty's day, her stomach jumped a bit. Te redhead's birthday was coming up! All of her anger from the other class melted away. Because she was going to be twelve. And that was one year older than eleven. She was growing up, and at her own pace! A smile broke out on the small girls face. yay, yay, yay, yay!

But that also made her think. She was here for almost a whole year already, and what did she DO? Besides explore the castle when she had the time and muck up a potion once, she didn't really do much this year. And that was a problem. She wanted to look back on each year and be able to laugh. Or at least feel sooooome kind of emotion. Because the only emotion she was getting right now was first. And that wasn't even an emotion! As she sat in her seat, she made a silent pact to actual DO something by the time she graduated this year.

Also, Spock voice. Hello. Professor. Whats. With. The. Voice. Because it was slow and booorinnng. Though weirdly fitting for the moment. But she listened. Or at least tried to. It was hard to think of other things besides her upcoming birthday and the stars she was going to put on her wall.

"A planet is a giant mass of rock or -wait someone said gas- in space. And each planet has like its own ecosystem in place. And a planet has to be a certain size or it's considered a dwarf planet." She was getting a little off topic. But still. It WAS about planets after all. It wasn't like she was talking about squirrels or nacho's. Speaking of which, she was kind of hungry.

It wasn't rubbish. She'd gone looking and couldn't find it! Legit! Didn't he notice how long she'd been out their spinning like a gig in all directions trying to locate it? Her vision was going but it wasn't that bad. For now she could still make things out, like the chocolate on the desk she really wanted and consequently couldn't afford to be kicked out of class because of. If only she could taste one...just one. It might make this easier on her--

She could stay?? "Eeep! Thanks Professor!" The Gryffindor thew herself into her seat, completely forgetting for that moment the fact that her joints and muscles hadn't been cooperating of late. A sharp string of pain ran through her causing her to suck in a sharp breath and sit perfectly still waiting for it to subside. Merlin, she missed being able to sit any which way she liked. This was another level of torture added to the million and one things wrong with her since this aging.

Owwwwwww >__<

After the last of the pain finally died she was able to pay attention to the Professor...okay no...no she wasn't gonna lie. The Professor should have known better about bringing chocolate into the class. Lex hadn't heard a single word he said, in fact she didn't hear anything anyone was saying as her hand ripped open the first chocolate coin. Her focus was so intent you could have sworn she was working through some runes for curse breaking but it was really her getting reacquainted with her one and only love.

Of late she hadn't been able to find her candy bag. This was all the sugar she'd get for another Merlin knows how long.

Suuuuuugar. Her precious, lovely, sugar. She just wanted to snuggle up in bed with it forever...'cept it wouldn't last forever....could she and the chocolate have a moment please? This was almost too much for her.

See he did not hear him. Which was the perfect time to say it. Oh chocolate. That was what it was. Not that Nigel was hungry for it. He listened to Flamsteed finally start class. Well this should be interesting in the very least. Ah, the first question.

You know what. Alice's explanation made perfect sense. Simple yet brilliant. Now back to answering the question.

"Pluto"

Never forget Pluto. It was still a planet. Just a dwarf

zzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzZzzzzz-

THUD!

"-bludger shoes!"

With a sudden confused yelp from his subconscious, Tobias was suddenly jolted back into the land of the living (thanks to that DELIGHTFUL wake up call from the Head Girl). He was confused for a minute, because he'd had sort of forgotten where he was and all, and the it hadn't exactly been a GENTLE awakening. In fact, Toby's heart was still kind of pounding, and he figured that hearing his familiar war cry catchphrase had been what led to his own... uh... exclamation.

Ella was walking away from him. Ella. Ella.

Tobias didn't even have time to mock!glare across the room, because he was registering more things and trying to snap back and focus. And, oh! Cutty was here. Toby offered his friend a sleepy smile before blinking around at the rest of the room.

Oh... oh wait. They were starting? ALREADY?

Well, something had been asked but... well, Toby needed a minute. So instead he just sort of nodded meaningfully at what people were saying, looking super super cereal and like he absolutely agreed with all of those things he could totally hear and understand. Yeah. He also hadn't fallen asleep. Nope.

Wait. Did that prefect just say pLUTO?!

Toby raised his hand at once, eager to provide his input. "Viva la Pluto!"

See? HE WAS CONTRIBUTING AND EVERYTHING.

Layla had been about to send a spray of water at the little sleeping badger, but then someone had beaten her to the proverbial punch. Oh well.

Opening one of the chocolate coins and popping it in her mouth, she thought about the professor's question. Or rather, what she could say that hadn't already been said. But, the word had a pretty standard definition that didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. Grr. But then she remembered something that she'd learned back in middle school. "A planet is a stellar object large enough to be rounded by it's own gravitational pull, but not large enough to cause thermonuclear fusion and give off light," she answered after swallowing. Though there were some lights on Earth that were bright enough to be seen from space......... but she was pretty sure it wasn't the same thing.

He had to mention their elderly brain. Meh. It didn't matter as much as chocolate did. And since they were allowed to eat, Beverly peeled the golden wrapper off one of the coins and started munching. YUM.

Airey got a thumbs up from this very happy old teen.

Breaking another piece of chocolate and shoving into her mouth, Bev raised her hand. Very slowly and just barely above her head, but it was raised. "It's a ball of rock and/or gas that orbits a star. Like Earth." Answer and example. That deserved more chocolate.

Nom, nom nom! :3

Oh, chocolate? Hello, yes. Mo rummaged through his cup of coins, sniffing and biting each one, and generally ignoring the question from the professor. More important stuff was happening right now.

Oh, except this was class. Yes, right, hello. What was the question? Pluto? Planets? Chocolate?

"I agree with Alice. She's smartest girl at Hogwarts. Planets have to be big enough that scientists don't arbitrarily throw them out, like Pluto. And round... d'they have to be round, though?"

Oh.. yeah.. Brynn, whose brown eyes had been focused on the chocolate pot of chocolates, really didn't hear much after please eat up. Something about planets, which she was more than certain were nothing but giant rocks floating around in the sky. She vaguely heard some of the student answers as she peeled back the foil on one of the coins, probably someone already said the rock thing.

Instead of saying that again, if indeed someone had said it if they were even on that question, Brynn set about eating her candy as she "took notes." Sure, there were actual words being written down - at least the ones she heard while her thoughts weren't distracted by chocolate. But mostly her notebook was filled with doodles of stars and possibly a solar system of planets. That worked for Astronomy, right?

Suddenly, Annabeth felt she needed to reply the teacher's question. She didn't dare to reply questions in Astronomy class as she thought she didn't know anything on the issue. Though, something in the teacher's eyes had encouraged her to open her mouth this time. Anna raised her hand,
"A planet is a big astronomical object which orbits a star. It doesn't give off light as a star and its gravity can attract satellites as the Earth attracts the Moon." She smiled. It should be enough.

Bart had shuffled in kind of quietly before class had started. Not really talking, his cold he had gotten wasn't making him want to be social. AAAaaaaachooo he took his arm and wiped his nose on his robe. This was horrid he hated being sick. Sniffle sniffle. When class started he tried to listen the best he could to Professor Flamdude, but he was talking rather quietly. Though he did get the describe a planet.

Sitting playing with his quill for a bit he got bored. So when bored he decided to answer the question. Raising his hand he waited for his term. "See professors planets are like quidditch balls. They are round, different colors, different sizes, and each orbit around the sun at different paces, such as quidditch balls fly around the pitch at different speeds depending on the ball and the players." That was the best way he could think to explain them at least.