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Seeing Stars
Author: Illyria
Date: 01-21-11 20:24
"Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a nice break and that you are all ready to learn more about Astronomy. Today, we're going to start talking about stars."
Illyria raised her wand to the ceiling in her classroom, revealing a midnight sky with thousands of glittering stars. There were gasps of wonderment from some of her students. Even after a whole term of displays such as this one, it was still amazing to see.
"What is a star?" she asked the class at large.
Melchior Dingum raised his hand. "Stars are made up of plasma which are held together by gravity. Our nearest star is the Sun."
"That's right. Five points to Ravenclaw," Professor Jones said. "Last term we learned all about the Sun, but, as you know, it's not the only star in the sky. At night, when the Sun isn't shining, we can see others. They're usually a part of constellations, which are just groupings of stars that usually form some sort of shape. Can somebody name a few constellations?"
Penn Ellison raised his hand and said, "Orion, Ursa Major, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Taurus, Saggitarius..."
"Thank you, Penn. Five points to Slytherin."
"Another grouping of stars are asterisms. Asterisms are patterns in the sky that may include parts of existing constellations. A good example is the Plough. The Plough is part of Ursa Major."
Illyria brought up the Plough on the ceiling and showed the seven bright stars that comprised the pattern.
"There are also seasonal asterisms. For example, the Winter Hexagon comprises of several different constellations and forms, you guessed it, a giant hexagon."
She brought up an image showing the constellations in question and the hexagon they formed.
"Some stars are prominent enough that they get their own names. Who can name a star other than the Sun?"
Jade Green answered, "The North Star."
"Good. Two points to Ravenclaw. The North Star is also known as a pole star, or the Pole Star, but it's real name is Polaris. There's also a South Star, called Sigma Octantis."
Illyria switched gears and said, "Now, let's talk about the life cycle of a star, or stellar evolution..."
Bad Mood
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 01-22-11 11:43
Not in the best of moods today, Julian's tried to stick to tasks that don't involve waiting on customers. When he has dealt with a customer he's been his charming, polite best but he also kept the interaction to a minimum. At the moment he's rather forcefully shoving books into a shelf that he's rearranging to accomodate a new shipment. He becomes aware of being watched and at first thinks it's Dexter but with a quick glance he sees it's Lysander.
His friend is scrutinizing him with a distinctly amused expression. Julian doesn't say anything as he returns to putting the books in order. After a moment Lysander asks, "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"You've not heard?"
"If I'd heard I wouldn't have to ask you now," Lysander replies with a light chuckle.
Julian turns to face him. "Seriously. You've not heard the rumor."
"What rumor."
"About Adriana?"
"Adriana wh...," Lysander starts to ask but then a flash of comphrehension shows in his eyes. "Fairchild? That Adriana?"
"Yes."
"What about her?"
"Rumor is she's back."
"Back? An Inferius? A ghost?"
"No. Back as in a walking, talking, breathing woman."
"That's not possible."
"That's the rumor."
"Rumors are often wrong. There was a body."
"A body but not necessarily her body."
"You've a point but even if the rumor is true, why are you so bloody angry?"
"Why couldn't it be Helena?" Julian bites out.
Lysander looks pained. He of all people knows what it is to desperately want the return of a beloved one. When he does speak it's to say, "I understand the sentiment, Julian, but what does one have to do with the other."
"Nothing really. It's just not...," Julian sighs deeply, suddenly very tired. He shrugs, not finishing the sentence. He turns to put the last couple of books on the shelf then bends to pick up the box at his feet. In a very low voice he says, "For a very brief time some of us wondered if Adriana knew something about Helena's murder but then we got word Adriana was dead too. Only now she's not. Where has she been all this time? Why would she let Bill Weasley and us, her old friends, think she was gone? Was she in hiding from something or someone?"
"You still don't know for sure Adriana is alive."
"Bill's been getting odd letters. Maybe those letters and Adriana's reappearance are connected. Maybe the investigation into Helena's murder should be reopened," Julian says more to himself than to Lyander, as if musing aloud.
"Julian."
"Yes?"
"Isn't it a good idea to first get confirmation on whether Adriana is actually alive or not?"
Julian hugs the empty box to his chest. "You don't seem very curious yourself."
"I am but I don't see the point in getting worked up over it."
Julian, in the dark mood that he is, has a snarky, spiteful reply on his lips but he bites back the words. Lashing out at Lysander about how he's got Chyler clone Astrid keeping him company these days is not going to accomplish anything. Others Julian might have said something offensive to but Lysander is one of the few people Julian cares enough about to not use the excuse of a bad mood to say hurtful things. Instead he gives Lysander a tight smile. "Guess I know what I'll be doing during my lunch break today."
As he walks past Lysander on his way to take the box to storage, Lysander gives him a brotherly pat on the shoulder before returning to the work he'd been doing before coming to check on Julian.
Animation
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 01-22-11 13:16
Professor McGonagall stood at the very front of her classroom and waited for her fifth year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students to find their seats. She had already taught one class that morning, the other group of fifth years. On Monday, she'd begun teaching them about Animation, or giving "life" to inanimate objects. She'd had them draw stick figures on pieces of parchment and then practice transfiguring them so that they moved about the page. For homework, she'd had them draw something a bit more complex than just a stick figure. Today, they would transfigure their art into animation.
She walked up and down the rows of desks to make sure that everyone had done the assignment. Her students had had free range on what to draw, and she saw a variety of images such as a winged horse standing in a field and snowflakes drifting over Hogsmeade village.
Professor McGonagall didn't expect everyone to execute the spell correctly before the end of class, but hopefully there would be some progress. She reminded them of the spell in question, demonstrated it a few times on a few drawings of her own sketched on the blackboard, and then set them to the task of animating their artwork.
Minerva was happy to have term back in session. Teaching at Hogwarts was what she did best, and it was something for which she lived. Until recently, she didn't have any family to speak of, and so being at Hogwarts had more or less been her whole life.
She had gotten away from the castle for a little bit over the holidays. Madoc had insisted she join the family for Christmas Eve, which Minerva had only done upon learning that her brother would not be in attendance. She hadn't wanted to be the cause of a family quarrel and would have rather bowed out than spend Christmas with her great nephew's family. As it turned out, Christmas Eve had mostly included Madoc's mother's side of the family, so Minerva needn't have worried.
And she'd had a nice time. She usually spent Christmas at Hogwarts with the handful of students left behind, so it had been a nice change from the ordinary.
"Nice work, Mr. AlGunud," Minerva said, as she stopped by Abdul's desk to see how he was faring with the assignment. He'd drawn a boy sitting on a magic carpet, which now zipped across the page. "Five points to Ravenclaw."
She moved on, correcting wand movements here or pronunciations there, when she came upon Marjani Batuti, who'd also managed to get her image to move without any hangups. She had draw a girl, perhaps herself, on a broomstick with a quaffle tucked under her arm. The girl flew around the page and the wind swept her hair back.
"Excellent job, Miss Batuti. Five points to Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall awarded.
She started to move toward the front of the classroom again, when a kitten padded into the room. Minerva recognized it as the one her great nephew had gotten for Christmas from his Secret Santa. He'd named her Precious, because she was so small and cute.
Precious liked to explore the castle and very rarely stayed where Madoc left her. Minerva scooped the kitten up and debated taking her out into the hall or just holding on to her until she saw Madoc again, probably at lunch time.
A few girls, and even some of the boys stopped their in-class assignments to gush over the kitten. Minerva tolerated it for a few moments and then made them get back to work. She set the kitten on her desk and willed it to stay there until she could decide what to do with it.
Deli Run with Siegfried
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 01-22-11 14:30
Bronwyn had gotten off the air a little while ago and currently sat at her cubicle, working on articles for tomorrow morning's show. She checked the Daily Prophet for any sporting events happening tonight or in the near future, in case there was something she definitely needed to mention during her bit on the morning show. Bronwyn tried to make as many matches as she could so that she could give firsthand accounts of them, but it wasn't always easy, especially when some matches took place at the exact same time. She supposed she could try using a time turner for situations like that, but she wasn't sure she was dedicated enough to want to try.
Bronwyn certainly liked her job. She was much happier sleeping nights than working them. And though she wasn't necessarily a sporty person herself, she had experience talking about sports dating back to her years at Hogwarts when she'd been the Quidditch commentator at the matches.
Still, perhaps one day she could have her own advice show or maybe play the type of music she actually listened to, instead of heavy metal music or whatever.
Bronwyn circled a few items in today's Daily Prophet and then looked up when she felt someone looking down at her from the wall of her cubicle.
"Hey."
"Hey, Siegfried. What are you doing here?"
"Wondered if you wanted to take an early lunch or if you'd had a break yet, if you're not really hungry right now."
"Actually, I'm starving. I eat breakfast so darn early because of the show, so I usually have a huge appetite by midmorning." She grabbed her purse and stepped out of her cubicle.
"Where do you want to go?"
"How about the deli?"
"That works."
Brother and sister left the WWN building and headed for Delia's Deli and Restaurant. They ordered a garlic and herb antipasto sandwich and an open-faced Italian focaccia sandwich, respectively, and sat in a booth with two chilled butterbeers.
"So how come you're not working this morning?" Bronwyn asked Siegfried.
"I've got some comp time," Siegfried replied. "Figured I'd use it to bug you since I don't see you everyday anymore."
"Aww. Miss me that much, do you?"
"Sometimes," Siegfried admitted. "Sometimes it's weird that we're grownups. You're married. We both have real jobs. It's just weird."
"I know what you mean. Wasn't it just yesterday we were going to Hogwarts?"
"Sometimes it does feel that way, but then sometimes it feels like ages ago. How's Desi doing?"
Bronwyn sighed. "I have no idea. She usually opens up to me, and she has about what's been going on with her and Xavier, but at the same time, she thinks she's so tough and will just keep it all to herself. I swear, if I see that punk, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. So, what about you? Do you have a love life to speak of?"
Siegfried actually colored a bit. "Actually, I kind of do. I've been seeing this guy I met at that New Year's Eve party I went to. I was sort of wondering if you and Toby would want to have dinner with us tonight. You haven't made any plans, have you?"
"No, I haven't. Toby doesn't have a game, and I think he gets out of practice early today. Not sure what Desi is doing. Probably working late like she always does when something is going on in her life. Where and when?"
"How about A Little Pizza Heaven, and let's say seven o'clock?"
Bronwyn scribbled into a planner she kept in her purse. "It's a date. I'll owl Toby when I get back to work so that he knows he has plans tonight."
"Doesn't sound like you're giving him a choice," Siegfried said with a chuckle.
Bronwyn shot him a sly grin. "He'll do what I tell him to if he knows what's good for him."
Their sandwiches arrived just then. Bronwyn, hungrier than ever, bit into her sandwich and savored every bite.
Annoyed
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 01-22-11 15:35
The first task Frau Hockenheim gives Fritz upon arrival is to shovel snow off the driveway and sidewalk. She doesn't drive, so Fritz isn't sure why it even needs to be done, but he does what she says and grabs a snow shovel from the garage. Like all the other times she gives him laborious tasks to complete, Fritz wishes he could whip out his wand and use magic to do the job, but he knows he can't. He's in the Muggle world and if someone were to see him use magic, he'd likely run into some trouble. Plus, he's not quite sure he knows how the German government would react versus the British Ministry of Magic. For all he knows the rules are very different or even stricter than back home.
It takes him nearly his whole two hours to do the job and by the time he returns to the house, his nose and ears are bright red. Frau Hockenheim is just where Fritz left her, seated in front of the TV, watching a soap opera.
"I'm finished," Fritz tells her in German.
It takes her a good half minute to answer him, but she still can't tear her gaze away from the TV. "Good," she says. "Now you can shovel the snow off the back porch."
"It's almost twelve. Maybe I should do it on Friday."
"You'll have to do it on Friday all over again anyway. Might as well get started."
The whole time she speaks, she doesn't even bother to look at him. Fritz usually does find this annoying, but he always lets it go. If it weren't for the Christmas gift she gave him, Fritz would think she really doesn't give a flip about him or the work he does for her at all.
"It's kind of pointless, isn't it?" Fritz asks.
"Why are you being so difficult today?"
"Why can't you do anything other than stare at that TV?"
Frau Hockenheim actually turns to look at him. "Excuse me?"
"Everytime I come here, you can't be bothered to talk to me. You talk at me, but you don't talk to me. I find this completely annoying and rude."
"I think you should leave now," she simply says.
Fritz hesitates, unsure if she means for now or forever, but then he turns on his heel and goes without another word.
Running Into Emma (Daria)
Author: Blossom
Date: 01-22-11 17:03
Daria descends from a third floor office, pausing at the bottom, looking up and down the lane. The street is crowded for a nothing special Wednesday in January but it is a time when many are on their lunch breaks so she attributes all the foot traffic to that.
Thinking of it being lunch time has Daria's mind going to food. Other than a small glass of apple juice, Daria hadn't had breakfast. The only snack's she had was a snack in only the loosest sense as it was her licking peanut butter from a knife after having spread peanut butter on slices of bread this morning at Blossom's while someone else smeared jam on and a third person topped off with another slice of bread then sliced each sandwich into four triangles. These would be served to the older children for lunch today along with a carrot-pea mixture and slices of apples and bananas as well as purple grapes. Though peanut butter and jam is a popular favorite among most of the children, the day care does limit serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each month because of the fact that peanut butter is actually high in fat and calories. The fat is mostly the "good" kind but Blossom and the others prefer to avoid serving high fat foods daily. This also allows them to feel less guilty for those times there are indulgences such as the tiny fairy cakes from Briar's Bakery.
Daria turns in the direction of The Leaky Cauldron, trying to decide whether to eat something from Diagon Alley, to go elsewhere, to go home, or to return to the day care in Hogsmeade. Something spicy and warm sounds good but exactly what? With no concrete destination in mind yet, she walks slowly, not paying much attention to the faces or places she's passing. That is not until one of those passing faces stops, backs up, and says, "Daria! Hi, it's really good to see you. How have you been?"
Daria stops midstep, her eyes focusing again. Not someone she really cares to see but can't be helped now. She forces a smile. "Hi, Emma. I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm great! What are you doing these days? Still at St. Emrys?"
"I'm still at university though I should be graduating at the end of Trinity Term this year. I also work some for my sister at her business in Hogsmeade."
"I just love the gaming center, or should I say we do. Dennis and I get very competitive with wizarding paint ball."
"Ophelia mentioned you have a boyfriend. I take it then that you are still together."
"Yes, and I hope we are for a very long time. I'm insanely happy. Dennis is just the most fabulous person. I'm just on my way to meet him now. He was seeing about a piece of jewelry for his mum from Amber's. He should be done by now so we're going to lunch. Come with us. I'd love for you to meet him."
Daria and Emma had been friendly at Hogwarts but hadn't been friends per se. She finds it strange now that Emma is acting like they are long lost besties or something. Still, if Emma wants to be friendly then Daria can be friendly right back. Weren't her therapist and she just talking about Daria needing to work on not transfering her insecurities off to other people in the form of anger or resentment or the like? Emma is the perfect person for Daria to work on that with.
Giving Emma a genuine smile she replies, "I'd like very much to meet Dennis and catch up with what's going on with you."
"Is curry all right for lunch? Dennis has had a particular craving."
"I was just thinking that something hot and spicy for lunch would be wonderful."
Falling into step together, Emma and Daria walk further into Diagon Alley with Emma telling her about the restaurant they'll be going to for lunch. As they walk, Daria thinks that if nothing else comes of it, at least she'll get a decent lunch from the sound of it.