Astronomy 13.2

[Derek (Admin)]

Astronomy 13.2: Stonhenge - Ritual Magic

RL START DATE: November 4th
APPROX IC DATE: March, 2041
TIME: 8 PM
WEATHER: Mild, Humid evening


OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION: 

ASTRONOMY JOURNALS: N/A

First Section "Anton":

[1]  [2]  [3]  [4]  [5]  [6]
[7]  [8]  [9]  [10]  [11]  [12]

Second Section: "Caesar":

[13]  [14]  [15]  [16]  [17]  [18]
[19]  [20]  [21]  [22]  [23]  [24]

Third Section:   "Dora":

[25]  [26]  [27]  [28]  [29]  [30]
[31]  [32]  [33]  [34]  [35]  [36]

[Professor Forbes (MOD)]

The large telescopes in the Astronomy Tower were shuttered, and covered with the large cloth hoods that were put on them when they weren’t in use. Professor Forbes had set up a single telescope on the forepart of the raised lecture stage in the middle of the Tower Room. As the students filed in, he greeted them, and when the hour was struck, he called for attention and started the class.
 
“Good evening. We’re going to work off site today, at Stonhenge, which we've studied academically before today," he said, and he walked down from the podium and along the front rows of each section. "It’s fairly widely accepted that Wizards of the BC period used Stonhenge to predict eclipses, and phases of the equinox. These are significant in our spellcasting because an eclipse can have serious effects on certain types of ritual magic. In short, the old style of ritual magic didn’t work when solar or lunar eclipses were happening. You can imagine what this might mean to local wizards and witches trying to practice their trade as healers, or helping crops grow," he said, and paused for a moment.

"Tonight, we’re going to visit Stonehenge, and actually use the positioning of the stones and holes to predict a lunar eclipse that’s coming. I’d like you to pair up with someone your age, or a friend. That’s because we’re going to be using some primitive instruments that will require alignment by sight. I will show you what to do when we’re there, and then you can write the correct date and time when the eclipse will happen, if you’ve done the calculations correctly. Only Third Year and older will need to hand in the correct calculation in their journals to obtain their credit for the lesson. Those of you that are still First and Second Year will simply help and observe. Easy enough? Then if everyone would come forward and take hold of some part of this telescope, we’ll be on our way,” he said.

When everyone had a hand on the telescope, he activated the portkey, and the students whooshed away to the middle of Salisbury Plain, just outside the famous standing stones.
 
To obtain attendance and First-Second Year participation credit, you only need to post here, and indicate that you went with the class via the portkey to Stonehenge. You can also RP the work at Stonehenge if you like, which would be using the various poles and sighting points, and helping the older students calculate the date by the light of the moon. Older students…If you wish to get the answer correct, or you have skill points spent in Astronomy, you may PM me for the answer of the actual date. If you want to turn in a wrong answer, that’s fine, too.

[Evelyn Rene]

Evelyn hurried up the stairs to the Astronomy tower, afraid that she was running late. She had been curled up in an armchair by the fire in Ravenclaw Tower, finishing up the homework that was due relatively soon so she might have Sunday free. It was just as she had glanced at her wristwatch when she realized the time, panicked, and grabbed her Astronomy equipment and all but ran her way to the tower. She arrived to class, out of breath and remarkably on time, and waved to the head of her house before taking a seat.

She listened with rapt attention to the assignment, excited to be able to explore Stonehenge. She had read about it before, and even learned somewhat of it when she had attended her Muggle school. However, she knew it would be absolutely fascinating to learn about what it was really used for, which her school had not been able to teach her. And now she was able to visit that miraculous place?! Things couldn't get any better.

When directed, she grabbed her bags and instruments, uncertain what she would need for the trip, and gently placed her palm upon an open place in the telescope. There was the uncomfortable sensation of being yanked behind her navel. The floor disappeared from beneath her feet and then suddenly they were traveling through a whirlwind of colors and sounds, before appearing at their destination: Stonehenge. Evelyn ungracefully fell out of the whirlwind and landed flat on her back, the air knocked out of her lungs and feeling slightly sick to her stomach. The velvety blackness of the night sky, dotted by small pinpricks of stars and the moon, swirled above her in dizzying motions.

Struggling to breathe and not vomit at the same time, Evelyn decided that travel by Portkey was just as bad as travel by broomstick. She was not eager to try this again and dreaded the time the class was to end and they would have to go back to school via portkey.

[Hugo Hamilton]

The evening sky was painted with the stars of spring, and the weather was mild as Hugo reached the flying bridge and crossed into the Astronomy Tower. The air was still, and the tower was nearly empty at first. Today, they'd be doing some observations and visiting Stonhenge at the same time. According to the Professor's description, they'd be using the strange marking stones and post holes of the place to actual try to predict the date of an eclipse. Hugo tried to think if he'd seen anyting in the Daily Prophet about an eclipse. He knew that the Royal Magical Astronomers usually published their sightings and findings, but therehad been nothing lately as far as he could remember. For the trip to Salisbury Plain, the Professor had prepared a portkey. It wasn't Hugo's favorite way to travel, but he was used to it now, and it was incredibly fast, and less prone to error than floo. Of course, like most magical travel, you really couldn't bring a lot with you, but he hitched up his bag and stood near the telescope until it was time to go.

He knew Valentina didn't like portkeys either. She preferred the trains and more conventional methods that she had in London. When she got there, he'd be sure to hold onto her hand as well as the telescope. He loved her hands, pretty hands. he could slip into a daydream about the girl any time, especially now that he'd had a full day of classes and now this night course. he packed efficiently for the journey, and took his Astronomy journal in place of other books, whcih he left in the classroom. The journey wasn't long, and he breathed in a completely different night air and stared off towards where the great Plinths stood. Muggle tourists had long gone home, and the Professor must also have set up some kind of muggle-repelling charms while the class was there. He followed the Professor to where they were going to start work. Since he was older, he'd be doing the actual work and finishing his calculations. For the younger students, it was mostly a night off except for helping set up. Hugo gathered the materials he needed, and set off to try to sight along the strange geometric angles of the henge.

[Valentina Jones]

One of her favorite activities was sitting under the stars with Hugo at night, and making up their own constellations from the various stars. Tonight, she was going to get her wish. She'd be able to work with Hugo all evening on a project for the class, for they were going to Stonehenge. The place was legendary, and there were so many stories about it. She'd been there with her Aunt once, when they'd gone to Southampton by muggle train, and her Aunt had detoured them to Salisbury. She'd loved that trip. The place had been very peaceful even in the daytime, and now they were going at night. If she could stay awake, they might even be able to take a walk around the standing stones, and she could show him some of it. The class assembled to go by a portkey, and Hugo held onto her hand.

When the spinning stopped, and her stomach returned somewhat to normal, she showed him what she knew, and even pointed out a distant hill with some of the prehistoric horses on it -- outlined in chalky soil and stones. The red head felt a kinship to this place in some ways, for her ancestors were Celts from various families in the UK and from Europe. It was fun walking and working in the moonlight with Hugo. She helped him measure distances, and set up markers, and paced off distances as they figured out how to use Stonehenge. Working partly with the help of the Professor, and partly from their books, they manged to come up with a few calculations. The next eclipse was in 167 days, according to what they discovered by using the peculiar measurements, and looking at how the moonlight sent shadows across the deserted landscape. There was even enough time for a nice kiss in the shadow of one of the huge standing stones. She held his hands on her waist, and the moonlight shone down on them, and she was happy. She was dead tired by the time the class was over, but it had been a memorable evening.

[Olivier LeCroix]

On the list of classes Ollie was most inept at, Astronomy ranked fairly high. Again, it was something about the highly intellectual nature of the class that made it hard for him to really get what was going on, and when it came to looking at stars, well, they all looked similar to him, and constellations were nonexistent to his eyes. The night sky was just a jumbled mess of dots in the sky - enjoyable to look at, deplorable to study. But he wasn't in sixth year yet, so he still had to study astronomy, and hope that he'd survive the ordeal with enough of his brain intact to make the long trip back down from the Astronomy Tower to his room in the basement.

Once he made the long trip up here, he spotted Hugo in class, waved, and gave him a smile and a nod, noting with interest the way he and the redheaded girl (Valentina) looked at each other. Being good at reading people - at least when he wasn't completely depressed, like the time he and Hugo spoke by the lake - Ollie was notably good at telling when people were interested in each other, just as he could tell that Claude had feelings for Vox, she had feelings for him - despite also having feelings for her boyfriend - and the way in which so many other pairs of students regarded each other. If these two weren't dating, they would be soon enough - Ollie was way behind in 'social information', and still trying to catch up. It was for that reason that he didn't just go right up to Hugo and talk to him, not wanting to intrude on their time together, even if it was a class. Instead, he took a seat nearby... The news that they were going to Stonehenge was exciting to Ollie, until he learned of the assignment. Ugh... More math and calculations... Kill me now... Still, though, he didn't turn tail and run, instead grabbing hold of the portkey with the rest of the class, getting sucked into temporal nothingness and then being spit back out when they reached the other side.

[Claude Taral]

Posting via St. Mungo's - No Attendance Points Please, just Attendance Credit (per this explanation [/obligatoryexplanation]) 

Claude yawned as he sat up in bed, waiting on Professor Proxima to arrive with his Astronomy lesson for the evening. He'd become too accustomed to the earlier bedtime he'd acquired as a result of being stuck in a hospital room while he continues to take potions to repair all the magical damage to his skin, organs, and muscles from the yeti - and his not-so-wise attempt to kill said yeti, which happened more by chance than anything else to kill the beast. Truth be told, he was grateful for the rest, for his body desperately needed it while it was still healing, and he welcomed anything that kept him distracted from the fact that he was stuck here and not able to return to Hogwarts yet. Sleep also afforded him the opportunity to stop thinking about that wretched stick that barely passed as a wand and his endless thoughts about how he was going to try to make a new one the moment he was back at Hogwarts. But the most welcome effect of his sleep was that it allowed him to stop thinking about Vox, whom he missed more than anyone else, even his dearly departed Oak wand. Granted, she always haunted his dreams, particularly the memories of that broom ride they shared together before his 'adventure' tore them apart, but at least those were usually good dreams, the closest he'd been able to be to her in far too long. He still hadn't been able to contact her - the Ministry was trying to keep a tight lid on it, not alerting the Prophet of his discovery, and only allowing the Professors at Hogwarts to know so that he could study for the OWLs, under strict instructions not to tell anyone.

So tonight, as the professor arrived with a pile of books in hand, Claude longed for sleep again and didn't even notice that she hadn't brought him a telescope to peer through, as he usually did during Astronomy lessons. Instead, she informed him that he was to read up on Stonehenge and write an essay about its astronomical significance and how the positioning of its stones can be used to predict such events as lunar eclipses. Kill me now, Claude wished, yearning for his bed and pillow. However, in light of the upcoming OWLs, he forced himself to read the books, pore over all the information, and to ink his quill. The essay that he wrote was far shorter than the one he'd written for Professor Kelly for Theory, but when he'd finished the final period and glanced over it, he supposed it was at least satisfactory - for what was closing in on midnight, at least.

[Cadmus Carmondy]

Before beginning his education at Hogwarts, every piece of Cadmus loathed Stonhenge. It seemed so primeval and dull, nothing at all like the excitement of a duel or disapparating that he expected from the world of magic. But with the study of it in Astronomy, the boy had grown more fond of the site. Not so much for its purpose with magic, but for the ancient dullness which he so used to despise. Stonhenge had stood through ages, remaining mostly unshaken by the brutalty of time, even in its purpose, as their lesson that day showed. Cadmus found himself deperately clinging to its sturdiness as the world around him turbulently shifted.

No one that he knew enjoyed travel by Portkey, and that of course included himself. But the discomfort was over and forgotten quickly enough once the class ended up on soft plain, not far from their destination. Once they ventured to the actual site, Cadmus waited like an eager dog, ready for either observations of or orders from his elders.