Astronomy Classroom

Kiara walk up to the astronomy tower, she had decided to teach Astronomy, She had always had a interest in it and know that defense class was out of her hands she could.

As midnight approached she wrote to topic on the board.

"The Moon"

"Welcome to Astronomy Class, I know many of you have on idea what this class has to do with magic, but the planets and the heavenly bodies on this solar system influence the magic here in our world, just as much as they do in the Muggle world"

Waving her hand at the ceiling, it seemed to vanish and revealed the crystal clear night sky, With a sliver of a moon in the sky and many many stars, shining brightly.

"Aside from the Werewolf society, the moon especially effects many things in the wizarding world. Certain potion ingredients can only be harvested or pick during full moon, others can only be harvested during new moon."

With a wave of her hand individual telescopes appeared in front every student.

"The moon has shared the night sky for thousands and thousands of years, it is a natural satellite around earth. Can anyone tell me what that means for 5 house points?"

(feel free to RP))

Nicolas yawned, and Diana followed.

"I'm tired." Nicolas complained.

"If you go to sleep, I won't let you see my notes." Diana warned.

Nicolas sighed, "Fine, fine." And sat up straight.

Bella raised her hand, giving the answer before she was even called upon.
"It means that the moon is in synchronized orbit of the earth." Looking rather bored, she seated once again.

Michael yawned silently, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. Astronomy wasn't exactly boring, but the hour in which it took place was what caused his lethargy. He tried so hard not to stay up too late or accidentally scribble song lyrics on his homework parchment, and for one night of the week he had to break that routine and start all over again. 'Ah well - such is life,' he supposed.

At the question, the firstborn Blackwood child raised his hand with what seemed to be a great effort. The moment the question was answered, however, his hand slumped right back down to the desk with a quiet thud.

Blinking the tiredness from his eyes, Michael sat up a little straighter and even slightly jumped when the snake fang of his earring brushed the skin of his neck. He'd forgotten to exchange it for a plain studded earring - or at least one that didn't dangle - before coming to class. 'Oh well, just something extra to remember when I get back to the common room, he mused with apathy.

Kiara nodded "Yes that is correct Miss Rosier, 5 points to Sytherin, Because of the moon ordit around earth and it's alimnet with the sun. The moon has differnt phases"

Seeing the sleep faces around the which she could understand conaidering the hour Kiara waved her hand causeing a large globe that looked like the moon.



As the globe spun around her listed off the phases as they passed by..

"Darkened moon
New moon
Waxing Crescent moon .
First Quarter moon
Full Moon
Waning gibbous Moon
Last Quarter Moon
Waning Crescent Moon
and finally new moon again"

Lunar phases are the result of looking at the illuminated half of the Moon from different viewing geometries; they are not caused by shadows of the Earth on the Moon that occur during a lunar eclipse.

The Moon exhibits different phases as the relative geometry of the Sun, Earth, and Moon change, appearing as a full moon when the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth, and as a new moon (also named dark moon, as it is not visible at night) when they are on the same side.

The phases of full moon and new moon are examples of syzygies, which occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun lie (approximately) in a straight line. The time between two full moons (and between successive occurrences of the same phase) is about 29.53 days (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes) on average (hence, the concept of a timeframe of a period of time of an approximated month was derived). This synodic month is longer than the time it takes the Moon to make one orbit about the Earth with respect to the fixed stars (the sidereal month), which is about 27.32 days.

This difference is caused by the fact that the Earth-Moon system is orbiting about the Sun at the same time the Moon is orbiting about the Earth. The actual time between two syzygies is variable because the orbit of the Moon is elliptic and subject to various periodic perturbations, which change the velocity of the Moon."

Cancelling the globe she turned back to the class.

"Your homework is the tell me in your own word why Astronomy is immortant to the magical world, and before you leave and go to bed are there any question?"

Bella rose her hand, this time waiting to be called on.

"Yes Miss Rosier?" Kiara asked.

Bella dropped her hand rather lazily, "If the moon is so "important" than why are most things associated with it, such as were-wolves not allowed by the Ministry? And another question. Why does it take an hour to talk about something that our parents don't usually want us to discuss?"

"For your first question though it is alittle out off topic in this class, Werewolves are looked on as dangerous by the ministry as they transeform with every full moon. Other then that the moon is helpful in many areas of magical plant and animal life. As for your second question I do not know why your parents won't let you dissuss astronomy Miss Rosier there is nothing forbidden about it even by the ministry"

Bella smirked. "So people who have been bitten by werewolves are dangerous and should be removed from all good society?" She sounded believably innocent, but the smirk gave all those around her good reason to believe she was feigning. Several of her Slytherin friends chuckled under their breaths.

Michael tried his hardest to listen, tried to focus on the Headmistress' voice. He understood some of it, but the numbers had done the proverbial 'in one ear and out the other' routine. Hearing the instructions for homework, Michael copied it down straightaway. He wasn't sure if he would be able to read it come morning, but at least it was written. If need be he could always re-ask the Headmistress, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot.

Brown eyebrows that had been spared the yellow-blond dye furrowed at the question posed to the professor. 'What was said that we weren't supposed to discuss?' he wondered. Had he missed something?

Feeling that somehow the Headmistress had said something important and relevant to the homework assignment, Michael scribbled a second semi-legible notation underneath the uneven heading of Astronomy Homework on his parchment.

As the conversation continued between this Slytherin girl and the professor, Michael felt the tip of his nose wrinkle. He was bitten by a snake - a runespoor, according to his dad - but that didn't make him bad or a ... a were-snake or something. What also didn't help was that one of his great-uncles was werewolf, and the man was a decent fellow. A little hairy a few days out of the month than normal, but other than that a likeable gentleman. But there was something else... Michael raised his hand in a gambit to express his own opinion. His brown eyes were slightly more alert now, and completely without questions relating to their topic of study at the present time.

"Miss Rosier this is neither the time nor place for this dissussion, and they should not be removed form socity, with the wolfsbane potion the danger is reduced drasicly. Now any relevent questions to Astronomy please"

Bella shrugged her narrow shoulders. "I am glad you feel that way, Headmistress. Forgive me, I was rude. I just have a certain sympathy for were-wolves and dislike the idea that this school may go against them." she punctuated her final statement with a shy smile that Kiara had seen rarely on a certain Transfiguration professor's face. "And you teach well."

Her Slytherin friends were not laughing any longer. Raven Cluyw glared at her. "What the bloody hell are you thinking, Bella? Your father will skin you if he hears you speak that way." Bell returned the glare.
Equally careful, she responded, "Shut up, Raven. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it." The other girl leaned back into her chair and was silent.

Kiara raised her eye brow for a moment she had yet to figure Bella Rosier out. She was a little brat one second and then well behaved the next.

Sighing she said "Any other questions?"

Michael lowered his hand the moment the Headmistress mentioned the wolfsbane. That was what he'd been preparing to remark upon, and it seemed the professor was rather tired as well based on the way she had worded her question. He couldn't blame the professor - Michael doubted even the thestrals were awake at this hour.

A look as if Blackwood had bitten into something highly sour - like a lemon - crossed his face as he glanced in the direction of 'Miss Rosier'. So that's who she was. Not that Michael really knew anything about her family or whatever, having been born and mostly raised in a completely different country. Personally he didn't think her words and tone quite matched the way they were supposed to: he'd listened to more than enough music to have learned how to read vocal patterns. Michael made a mental note to be wary of this Slytherin, and was thankful that the relation he was thinking of was still in their home country.

Coming up with a random question, this time being an actual question and actually related to astronomy, Michael rose his hand again. He just hoped his semi-muddled mind could form the words into something sensible.

Bella glanced over at the Hufflepuff with his hand raised. He was sort of cute, although not her type. She preferred boys who were at least in Slytherin... still if he was as smart as he was handsome. Knock it off, Bella, she told herself, moving her eyes back to her telescope. He's probably a half-blood or a muggleborn, imagine what Severus would think. But at that moment she really didn't care what her brother or father thought.

Maybe tomorrow she would approach him, after all he was one of the first boys who had ever looked at her with barely hidden disgust instead of worship. Bellatrix Rosier loved a challenge.

Kiara nodded over to Mr. Blackwood.

"You have a question Mr. Blackwood"

Michael lowered his hand as he was called on. Quietly clearing any traces of massive yawns from his throat, he asked “Does the phase of the moon you see change depending based on where you live? I mean, would it still be a waxing crescent moon, for example, in Australia if there’s one here ... or would it be in a completely different phase?”

Bella sighed. So she had been right in her assumption that he could be intelligent... Writing a note down for future references, she dared to glance over at him again. Quickly she wrote down a list of things she would need to find out about him...

Name
Age, she was in several classes that were above her actual year level due to the tutoring she received every summer along with her natural photographic memory.
Blood lines...not as important as looks or smarts, but it would help matters.
Siblings
Hobbies

Thinking the list was long enough she directed her attention back to the Headmistress.

Kiara nodded and switched into teacher mode.

"Very Good question Mr Blackwood, Depending on where you live in different parts of the world different phases of the moon can be observed. Similar to different parts of the world observe and Eclipse. If in Vancouver Canada for example had a full solar eclipses Montreal would only see a partial eclipse. It depends orbit as well. Answer your question?"

"Yes, ma'am," Michael replied, stifling a yawn as he wrote down the information he'd just heard.

Ana gazed blankly through the invisible ceiling, focusing on the stars rather than the moon.
For some reason, she found the twinkling lights that were in fact huge balls of fire and hydrogen surrounded by planets of their own, far more interesting than the lump of rock that orbited the earth like a lemming with a bad sense of direction.
She just hoped no questions would be directed at her...

Esis began her first class at Hogwarts in the most unorthodox fashion. She redecorated the classroom...

Black cloth now covered the entire inside walls and floor. Sewn to the cloth were billions of tiny stars charmed to mimic their counterparts in the heavens. The ceiling had several planets painted on it, each of them charmed to spin and move, complete with their moons.

The professor herself was dressed in one of her...odd outfits, a loose orange robe with a yellow and green striped coat tied about her waist.

"Welcome class!" she stated, cheerfully as the students filed in. "I am your A teacher, Esis. I do not go by Professor Malfoy or Professor Esis. To make it simple, I'll call you by your name if you call me by mine... If you would rather adhere to "professor" then I'll call you "student". Oky-dokey?"

She conjured a round sphere in the centre of the room and motioned for everyone to look at it.
"In the celestial heavens there are constellations. Memories placed in the canvas of the black sky to remind us of the deeds of our ancestors. To name a few... here is Orion, a great warrior, and The Pleiades, the seven sisters. It was believed that Orion was in love with the seven sisters..." she trailed off and smiled broadly.

"But in order for you to get all of this mythology referring to the heavens! We will need to go to Mount Olympus!" she conjured a mountain where the sphere had been.

"The world began according to mythology when, Gaea, the earth fell in love with Uranus, the sky. They were smitten by each others beauty and soon Gaea became Mother Earth." She changed the mountain into a word...

"Titans! The Titans were the first children of Mother Earth. They were also the first gods. Beautiful and tall they were, worthy of the admiration and love of their celestial father and lovely mother. Six titans were born to Gaea, along with six Titanesses, whom they took for their brides."

Esis conjured a one eyed monster and chuckled. "But then Gaea gave birth again, and three Cyclopes were her offspring. Uranus was terribly disappointed. The names given to the one eyed monsters were Thunderbolt, Lightning and Thunder and they were great and strong smiths. Sparks from their mighty hammers lit the heavens so brightly even their father's stars dimmed in comparison."

"Mother Earth bore three more sons after the Cyclopes and Uranus was beyond disgusted with them. They each had fifty heads and a hundred strong arms...not exactly the perfect looking creatures, here..." Esis chuckled, tossing a lock of loose hair over her shoulder. "So the sky seized them and their brothers the Cyclopes and threw them into Tartarus...the deepest darkest pit under the earth!"

A conjured pit was reflected in the floor with sparks and thunder echoing from it as she spoke.

"Mother Earth loved her children and refused to forgive her husband for his cruelty to her sons. Thus she fashioned a sickle and said to her sons, the Titans. 'Take this weapon and end your father's madness and set forth your brothers.' The older five refused the weapon as they feared their father's power and wraith. But the youngest, Cronus, who was also the strongest had no fear and he took the sickle. With strength that frightened his father, he attacked him and drove him from the heavens. Uranus gave up his powers and fled."

Esis took a breath and sighed. "Making Pontus, the boundless sea, her second husband, Gaea continued to prosper until beast and man crept from her depths."

She conjured a throne and a sickle. "Cronus was now lord of the universe, replacing his father before him. But he was afeared for his throne and he worried day and night of his son being stronger than him and taking over his kingdom as he had hid father's. Thus he took each of his children as they were born to his wife, Rhea, and he swallowed them whole. With all his children inside of him he had nothing to fear."

She took a sip of water and continued. "But his wife was saddened and wept for her children and loneliness. She went to her mother, Gaea when she became pregnant with her sixth child, the other five having been swallowed. Gaea, who was upset at her son, as he had not released his brothers, the monsters from Tartarus, whispered advice into her daughter's ear and the woman went away happy."

"When Rhea had borne her child, the god Zeus, she hid him. Then she wrapped a stone in baby wraps and gave it to her husband to swallow. The god was fooled and swallowed the stone. Little Zeus was spirited away to be raised in a secret place on Crete."

Esis sighed. "Well, that will be all for today. We will continue tomorrow. No homework! Just muse over a bit what I told you!"