Charlie looked around as everyone started rattling off facts for Professor Sandhu's questions. She hadn't said much because she was more interested in learning as much as she possibly could because she needed to soak up all the information because it was the first trip and only the first week. But who was she kidding she was a nerd about astrology and astronomy.... well basically anything that had to do with the stars. Charlie was always ready for stars.

What she wasn't ready for were the stinking port keys. Who in their right mind actually enjoyed traveling by portkey? She supposed that most of the muggle students hadn't ever taken a portkey. Charlie on the other hand had, and once she let go and got in so much trouble because she hadn't even listened to her mother's instructions.

Sighing she walked over to grab her portkey. She really wanted to get this shindig going because the sooner she grabbed hers the sooner she would be back on solid ground and not feeling like she was riding a roller coaster in the dark with no sight. She really hoped that the pillow nest would be extra comfy. Just as soon as she felt the portkey cause her tummy to have butterflies she was landing on some pillows. This she could get used to. She looked around the room for the sunglasses. Finally grabbing a pair she placed them over her brown eyes before leaning back on the pillows waiting for the show to begin.

BAM!

Bernied landed in Addis Ababa the way she did everything, and with a dive and a splash into the pillow nest, she made herself comfortable and cozy. This was just the best, wasn't it? She accepted a pair of sunglasses from Schmoe and rested on her elbows, her head propped up on one hand.

Just sunbathin' in Astronomy class. SOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOL.

Isla could hear the professor talking. She was saying something about Addis Ababa and hosts. The first year had gotten way too comfortable on the pillows, though. Had she not had the energetic mind and body of an eleven-year-old, she could easily see herself drifting off to sleep. She didn't, of course.

Did she have her sunglasses? She had a second ago, but where were they now? Isla patted the pillow nest around her, and her sunglasses finally made their way into her hands. A moment later, they were on her face. She stared upward, expecting to see something right away. Patience was not her thing. Could they talk while they were waiting around? Even if it was just a whisper? Idle sitting around wasn't exactly Isla's thing either, but she could deal with it if a solar eclipse was on the other end of the deal.

She moved her arms behind her head and crossed one ankle over the other, getting herself more than comfortable. So how much longer?

Oh this was a common occurrence? Carsyn tilted her head as she made a mental note to jot that down because certainly she was not one to look for these things. It wasn't that she didn't like Astronomy, but she was mostly here because it was a required course. Though the fact that the eclipse would basically be coming to them was exciting and it made sense, she supposed now, why they had to have the lesson so early. There were lots of terms mentioned and Carsyn tried to take notes on some key terms ... or at least as best she could so she could look up the information later.

OH so she was partially right with her once in a life time?? Since the total solar eclipse was rarer than the ordinary eclipse? Or had Sandhu seen more than one of those too? Or not that rare because five per year ... except she was pretty sure they didn't all occur in locations that were human accessible which maybe was what made them rare for them to experience.

Portkeys. One each. Carsyn waited for the two professors and most of the students to go, because as a prefect she found it easier to perform the headcount as instructed while people were disappearing. And she scribbled down the number into the palm of her hand before grabbing a portkey herself in time to for the transfiguration professor to arrive and Sandhu scolding him of sorts for being late ?? But it seemed she already tasked him with sorting paperwork and so she was off...

Landing in Addis Ababa with a soft thud onto the pillow nest. Okay, can all portkey travel be like this from now on? Because this was honestly like heaven and Carsyn was content to not want to move.

Prefects, portkeys, and pillow nests, oh my! Flynn liked the funny feeling behind your bellybutton from portkeying, kind of a bit like being on a rollercoaster, which he also liked quite a bit, so he was quick to line up and reach for a portkey - a single driving glove that was cool enough that Flynn put it on as soon as it snatched him through space and deposited him so close to a pillow pile that he toppled into it, laughing. He needed the glasses though, so Flynn scrambled to his feet with much less grace than he usually exhibited and went over to grab a pair. Looking pretty cool with a driving glove and these cool shades, he returned to the pillow nest and made himself comfy.

Tom smiled as he put on a pair of sunglasses, see this was why they should have come here in Buses, this was totally a muggle activity. He remembered when he was younger learning all about the planets in the solar system, he also knew years ago there had been some issue about a small object called Pluto, something that had caused arguments between his father and his teacher, because his fathers family would not take with the downgrading of it.

Tom just put on the sunglasses, now if only he was near a body of water, he could have done some sunbathing but as it was they were about to watch an eclipse.

"Professor why can't we get really close?" Tom asked, seriously if they were witches and wizards, why not and that would be an amazing experience watching an eclipse from like right where it was happening.

Naya got a pair of eclipse glasses and put them on. Not exactly her style, but this was about function, not fashion. Once she was properly protected, she sat on the pillows and made herself comfortable. Was laying down on the pillows allowed? That would be the perfect position for sky viewing. On second thought, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to get too comfortable. She wouldn’t want to fall asleep while waiting and miss the whole thing. Deciding that it was best to stay upright, Naya looked up and waited for the show to begin. Anytime now, she hoped.

So they have 2 professors joining for this class. Awesome. Jillian is just uber excited for their trip to Addis Ababa. Sounds like a magical place already. And just like everyone else in class, Jillian waited for her named to be called. The moment she had the portkey in her hands, she was immediately sucked into it. She didn't enjoy travelling using portkeys because it left her with this nauseating feeling that sometimes lasts longer than others. She closed her eyes for a bit and before she knew it...

PLOP.

She quickly opened her eyes and found herself sitting in a bunch of pillows- soft and nice pillows. She's allowed to stay here the entire day? No? Maybe at least allowed to bring them home? This would be a nice addition to the girls dorm room in Slytherin.

She got herself up and fixed her clothes; dusting her bottom and fixed her skirt before sitting properly and comfortably on the pillows. She grabs a pair of glasses and wears them, looks up and ready to seeeeee. YAAAY. This is it!

Cole had given his permission slip earlier to Professor Sandhu so he stood up and joined the queue to get his portkey. Portkey travel wasn't the most comfortable way of moving from place a to b but it was what they had. Grabbing on to his portkey, it started to glow and within seconds he felt the familiar stomach tug motion as he was whisked off. When he opened his eyes he landed with a thud ungracefully on the floor, not far from Claudine who looked like she had had a bad landing. Shooting her a glance Cole asked worriedly "Hey Claudine are you okay?" He had seen the slight wincing she had done. Scrambling up on his feet Cole then went to get himself a pair of sunglasses before he plopped down on an empty pillow next to Naya. Putting on his sunglasses he got comfy on the pillow and looked up expectantly. When would they see the eclipse?

It was difficult to hide the excitement from his face, especially after Sandhu went on to confirm his theory. And it was a total solar eclipse too, which only made him even more excited because of how rare they were. Was anyone else excited? Sandhu probably was, which was why he was going to bring it up the next time he talked to her.

But first, he had a job to do. And as much as he didn't like the pressure and attention that came with the badge, a large part of him didn't want to let Sandhu down when she was asking for their help. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Lucas straightened up just a bit and started doing a quick headcount as people started to take their portkeys. It was...... not an easy task, not when there were a lot of people here that were all becoming one large body and-

Breathe, Dakest, breathe.

It was only after he'd finished the headcount and made a mental note of the number that he grabbed a portkey for himself. A portkey in the form of a teddy bear that had almost half of its features missing. ........... Right. Not as if that was a sad sight to see, and one that made him feel VERY awk-

And then he was off.

And had landed soon afterwards.

Merlin.

The heat, the atmosphere, the sudden change in the environment all seemed to hit him at once and give him a familiar feeling of being overwhelmed. Breathe. BreATHE. B R E A T H. He dropped the teddy bear on the ground, uh, somewhere and gratefully grabbed the pair of special sunglasses that were being held out to him. He wasted no time in putting it on and flopping down onto the nest of pillows. There was even a small wiggle as he tried to get as comfortable as possible.

It was almost time!

Catherine squeezed Cecelia's hand back before her best friend let go to go collect her portkey. The Ravenclaw waited until she got assigned her own portkey. She only had time to briefly glance at the empty can when the feeling behind her navel made itself known and she was off to Addis Ababa.

Although the pillows had been mentioned, Catherine wasn't expecting to land nearly on top of them. She caught her balance before it was too late and stepped aside to take a look around. Taking a pair of sunglasses, she moved to stand next to Cecelia before putting them on.

Blimey, they were really right on time.

Heath shrunk down in his seat as he felt the professor’s eyes on him. For one wild moment, he thought she was going to ask if he had anything to add, but to his relief, she didn’t. Oh, so he (and pretty much everyone else) had guessed correctly. They were going to Ethiopia to view an eclipse! Heath had never seen a total solar eclipse before; this was going to be interesting! So could they go yet? Apparently not…

Heath listened intently to the professor’s lecture - or as intently as his excitement would allow. Syzygy, occultation, transit… the new terms buzzed around in Heath’s mind as he jotted down a few notes. Now they were finally getting to the good part! Heath’s eyes widened slightly as the professor mentioned portkeys. Oh, so that was what was in the bag! He should’ve guessed. Well, at least he’d been right about the special eclipse-viewing glasses.

Heath remained in his seat until he was sure the prefects had finished their headcount. When his name was called, he grabbed his bag and stepped forward to claim his portkey - a used gum wrapper, ugh! He clutched the wrapper tightly, watching as it began to glow in his hand. He had just enough time to brace for the inevitable jolt to follow before he felt a strong tug at his stomach, and he disappeared.

The next thing Heath knew, he was flat on his back in a pile of pillows. Yeah, he was just going to lie here for a while until the wave of queasiness subsided. He doubted the Addis Ababa University would take kindly to him puking on their pillows! It looked like he’d be used to portkey travel by now, having taken them to and from his brother’s quidditch matches many times - there was no way around it with Fiy playing for Canada and the rest of the family in London - but no matter how many portkeys he took, it never failed to make him nauseous.

After giving his stomach some time to settle, Heath brushed his hair out of his eyes and took a pair of sunglasses. He re-positioned himself on the pillows, looking up just in time. Wow, this was awesome! He kept his eyes glued to the skies, paying careful attention just like the professor said. Wait, was he supposed to be taking notes on what he saw? Because that would be hard to do while wearing these sunglasses! Come to think of it, was there going to be a quiz on the eclipse when they got back? Heath had no idea, but he could worry about that later. For now, he was too busy enjoying the show!

She'd no sooner gotten comfortable, than she'd been approached by a particularly curious youngin'. Thing was, she was normally SUPER into the questions and would love to answer things, but she'd also been awake for what was now coming quickly on twenty hours and she just wanted to SLEEP. Which was what she was planning to do while the kids had their tour of the university.

"Well, because it does not really get any closer," she said, pulling her sunglasses off to look at the first year. "Eclipses are a matter of shadow and perspective, so if we were, for example, standing on the moon, there would be nothing to observe."

"If you need more help with it, you can always come by my office and I'll see how we can model it for you. Meanwhile, though, I do believe the eclipse is beginning right about now."

And indeed, it was! Simran barely slipped the sunglasses on in time to see the shadow of moon move across the sun in the way that had taken her breath away all those years ago. It was, as always, a shorter experience than she would have preferred, but no less beautiful than it had been the first time she had seen it.

Once it was over, she stood, somewhat dazed, and took off the sunglasses. "Now, the Astronomy students will split you lot into groups for the tour of the facilities. Don't wander off, don't get lost. We'll be back here at 12 for lunch, and the portkey home is at 1."

"Go be inspired."

She, meanwhile, would take a nap.

OOC: And on that note, I must (belatedly) end our lesson and close the thread. I hope you and your characters've all had lots of fun, and I can't wait to see you at our next lesson!