𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 | 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨

𝟓 - 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲

"a star falls from the sky and into your hands. 

then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood 

and becomes every part of you."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

💫 🔭 🕊

⸻ONCE AGAIN, ARA FOUND HERSELF CLIMBING UP YET ANOTHER SPIRAL STAIRCASE, this time leading to the Astronomy Tower. As she sluggishly climbed up the stairs, holding the handrail for stability, she stifled a yawn with her hand and rubbed at her eyes - Astronomy classes were often held before midnight so the night sky would be clear.

In later years, however, day classes would be held as well as night classes. Still, for now, all of the third-year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students would have to wake up at midnight and walk up an unprecedented amount of stairs to the Astronomy Tower for Astronomy class. Once she reached the top, gasping for air (why did Hogwarts have to have so many staircases?), she noticed that half the class had already begun to set up their telescopes and were talking to each other, waiting for the rest of the students to file in.

Professor Sinistra looked at her and chuckled, watching as Ara unpacked her telescope and hauled it across the room. Being one of the professors who could teach in the school, Sinistra was very favoured by her students. The fact that she was very laid back was an added bonus.

"How was your summer, Winger-Black?" she called over the noise. "It was good, thank you!" Ara squeaked. She had completely underestimated how much her new telescope had weighed when she brought it in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago and was now struggling to carry it across the Tower.

"Settle down, everyone!" Professor Sinistra called, once the remaining students had filed in and set up their telescopes. Clapping her hands together, she smiled at the class. "Welcome back to another year of Astronomy. This year, we will be studying and focusing on plotting and recognising the stars - we'll also be learning about the mythology associated with each constellation. At the end of this year, you will be given an empty star chart and will have to accurately plot the constellations which you can see in the night sky and write an essay based on the history behind one constellation of your choosing..." Still slightly sleep-derived, Ara perked up slightly, scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.

Around midnight, a portion of the class had begun to nod off. Ara and Granger were the only two in the class who had been furiously taking notes; Ara met her eyes and mouthed "share notes together later?" Granger nodded across the room, eyes still fixated on Professor Sinistra, who was discussing the major 12 constellations located in the night sky.

After an hour or so, Professor Sinistra clapped her hands twice; the whole classroom jumped. Smirking, she motioned for everyone to stand up. "This year, I've organised a special assigned partner project - you'll be choosing a constellation of your choice and will have to successfully plot the constellation and write a research essay on it. Before Easter, you'll have to present your findings to the class. Since different constellations are more visible and prominent in the UK seasonally, you'll be doing most of your research in the second term, but it's never too late to start. Use this lesson to pick a constellation and get to know your partner..."

As friend groups gravitated towards each other, Professor Sinistra silenced everyone with a bang from her wand. "Assigned partners, assigned by me." The class groaned, people slinking to the back of the room as Professor Sinistra rolled her eyes fondly. "Stand in a line, please - Boot, you're with Dunbar. Patil and Patil, Corner and Li, Thomas and Weasley, Turpin and Granger, Winger-Black and Potter, Goldstein and Brown, MacDougal and Longbottom..."

Muttering in dismay, students started to cross the room, looking for their respective partners. On one side of the room, the Patil sisters had already begun to set up their star charts, working together in perfect harmony. On the other side of the room, however, Michael Corner looked like he was about to pulverise Sue Li the way he was glaring at her; it was common knowledge among the Ravenclaws how the two despised each other. Spotting Potter glancing at her from across the room, she dragged her telescope behind her and reached his station.

"I forgot to mention - again, sorry about accidentally punching you in the face the other day," Ara muttered sheepishly, as she whipped a piece of parchment out of her bag. "How's your nose doing?" Potter shrugged, touching his fingers to his nose. "It feels completely fine. Thanks. Er — how did you fix it so quickly?"

"It's called Episkey - it heals small bone fractures. Works like a charm," she smiled back, stifling another yawn. "Sorry again - I think I suffered from five heart attacks right in that train compartment after the Dementor left. So much for gracefully plummeting to the ground."

"At least you only broke my nose. Remind me to never get on your bad side, Winger-Black." Potter remarked. They both laughed; Ara snorted loudly. "As long as you don't wake up half of my patients in the Hospital Wing, you should be fine. You should have seen what happened to Malfoy this afternoon after he got taken into the Hospital Wing."

Potter leaned forward. "What did you do?"

Ara made a zipping motion over her lips and winked. "Trust me, you don't need to know." Turning back to her piece of parchment, she hummed happily to herself. "I think that if we're going to present our findings to the class before Easter, we could choose a constellation that's most visible during February. We don't need to work on it right now, don't you think? So we could choose from Auriga, Camelopardalis, Canis Major, Columba, Gemini, Monoceros and Puppis."

Potter raised his eyebrows. "We just started learning about the constellations. How did you already remember most of them?" Ara laughed. "Astronomy's one of my favourite subjects and I've got a good memory. I already know most of them, so it's up to you, really."

Potter mulled over her words, thinking deeply. "Truth is, I'm rubbish at Astronomy. What about Canis Major?"

Ara flinched. "Oh," she said quietly, her smile fading. "Sure. Canis Major, then. Sure." Whipping a quill out, she scrawled the name of the constellation on the piece of paper. "So, you've got 10 stars. Sirius, Aludra, Unurgunite, Atakoraka, Furud, Mirzam, Muliphein, Adhara, Amadioha, and Wezen..."

"Sirius?" Potter asked, frowning. "Like- oh."

Ara smiled weakly. "It's alright. Yeah. Sirius is the Dog Star - the brightest star in the galaxy. Sometimes, I wonder..." As she trailed off, Professor Sinistra clapped her hands. "Class dismissed! Go on, you lot need your sleep..."

Potter waved. "Thanks for working with me. I think you'll save my Astronomy grade this year, Winger-Black."

Ara smiled back. "Yeah, thanks. It was nice working with you today, Potter." As the class slowly filed out, the Astronomy Tower fell dark yet again.

1.2k words

shortest chapter yet-

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