Astronomy
9th September 1971
Mary quickly buttered her first slice of toast, she had an excited blush on her cheeks and was talking a million miles an hour,
“I’m just so excited for our first Astronomy Lesson later tonight,” She said, finishing with the butter and then getting a large scoop of marmalade. “Oh, really? You haven’t said anything about it,” Marlene laughed rolling her eyes, the porridge from her spoon was nearly falling off. She noticed and quickly lifted it to her mouth, nearly dropping some onto her uniform.
“You know, I am rather excited about it too,” Lily said, “Though clearly not half as excited as Mary,” She had finished her breakfast of eggs and bacon already and was now trying to read an Astronomy book.
“I wish this day would go faster. At this rate, I’ll die of impatience before the class even starts,” Mary sighed, she looked at her marmalade toast contemplating. “I hope we learn about astrology first, I doubt it though, it’ll probably be constellations and stuff first, which is interesting too but I wanna learn astrology soooo bad,” She continued between a mouthful of toast.
“You know, I’m rather surprised that you actually have the energy this morning,” Lily said, stifling a yawn, small dark rings hanging below her eyes. “I mean after detention last night, it was rather exhausting,” Marlene nodded in agreement, “And the fact we got detention in general!” She made a disgusted sound when she finished speaking.
Mary spent the rest of breakfast trying to eat as quickly as she could, while simultaneously trying to get Marlene, who thought it was tremendously funny to eat slowly. Lily lazily flicked through another astronomy book that she had bought with her. That girl had a book for every occasion Marlene would swear.
“We should probably be leaving for potions soon,” Lily glanced up from her book, “No, I simply will not go,” Marlene said, screwing up her face, “Not if we have to sit next to your slimy friend and by that other Slytherin,” Mary looked at her a little confused, not entirely following “What do you mean ‘The other Slytherin,’” Lily was paying attention now.
“You know, the one that was with Snape on the first day” Marlene replied, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “Curly hair? Dark skin?”
“Oh yeah!” Lily smiled, “I remember, from the boats! She wasn’t that bad was she?” she said, frowning slightly, trying to think back to the first day.
“I have absolutely no idea who you are talking about” Mary replied helpfully, ”But I promise we can all sit together”
Satisfied, Marlene scooped up the final spoonful of porridge, ate it and then began gathering her things. “Come on then, let's get to class,” Mary followed behind. Lily stood up, still with a book in her hand quickly trying to finish off her page, while trying to still keep up with the others.
Late that afternoon Mary’s excitement for their astronomy lesson hadn’t toned down, she was still just as excited if not more. Now she was nearly visibly shaking. It was nearing the end of the herbology lesson, with 5 minutes left according to the clock on the wall, which was near invisible due to the vines and greenery that had grown around it. James and Sirius sat behind the three girls and had spent the whole time quietly snickering at the pictures in the textbook.
“Come on you two, start putting away now so we can be ready to leave straight away,” Mary whisper-shouted from across the table at Marlene and Lily. “Come on Mary, Astronomy doesn’t start for another 4 hours, it's not going to matter if we don’t leave straight away,” Marlene whispered back, “I reckon we sit by the Black Lake while we wait for the class to start,” Lily added only partly focusing on the conversation and on the notes in front of her.
“Girls,” Professor Pullulant, their Herbology teacher, called from the front of the class. “Sorry, Professor,” Mary said, she was a little embarrassed after being called out in front of the class.
“And for homework tonight,” Pullulant started, Marlene groaned. “McKinnon, if you don’t want to do it, that's fine, I will just have to give you detention,” She responded, Marlene, didn’t say anything back, but nodded slightly, pushing air behind her top lip and puffed it out. Mary snorted at this.
Professor Pullulant gave them 5 questions to answer about the magical properties of lavender. As the trio walked out of the greenhouse that doubled as a classroom, James and Sirius came running out pushing past them. “EXCUSE ME” Sirius yelled, already several metres in front of them.
“Thanks for the warning,” Mary muttered. “Jamsie here has just had a Genius idea, no time to waste!” Sirius yelled over his shoulder as the boys raced towards what looked to be the tree Dumbledore had advised they avoid at the start of the year.
“What on earth are they doing?” Lily asked, arching an eyebrow judgmentally.
“I don’t know,” Marlene stared after them, “Probably something stupid,” She shook her head, a small smile on her face.
Mary led them over to a patch of grass by the black lake. A willow tree stood nearby leaving them with a nice spot of shade.
“Come on, this is probably going to be the last warm day this year so let's enjoy it and sit outside,” Mary said, dropping her books onto the grass and sitting down next to them. Lily copied her, pulling out the notes she’d taken in Herbology.
“That lesson was so interesting don’t you think? I mean I knew all about the muggle uses for lavender but who knew it could do so many different things!” she chatted. “I can't wait to do this homework. I wonder what other uses it has!”
Marlene gave Mary a look. “Oh my god Lils I can’t believe you’re actually excited over homework” She smiled at the redhead. Lily frowned a little but carried on going over her notes.
“Aren’t quidditch trials coming up this weekend?” Mary asked, “Yeah, it is,” Marlene said, perking up at the mention of the sport. “James and I are supposed to be going together, though he might be going with Sirius now,” she added, sounding bitter.
“Well, do you play quidditch?” Mary said, trying to change the subject off of the tryouts that weekend. “I do actually, I’m a beater. My brother taught me everything I know.” “What's your brother like Marls, you don’t talk about him much,” Mary asked.
“My brother is a professional quidditch player. He plays for the arrows, and I mean they aren’t the Bats but… I’m proud of him anyway,” She laughed. “Whenever the Quidditch World Cup was on when I was younger we would watch it together. He took me to my first game when I was like 8? I think?”
“That’s so cool! I have loads of older siblings and two younger brothers. I’m not really close with any of them.” Mary said, a little sadly, “But I have an older sister who I’m close with my older sister. She’s 18 though, so there is a big difference,”
“Do you have any siblings, Lily?” Mary asked, “Well, I do have an older sister, but we don’t get along very well. Mum always took her side in things and when I got my letter it was just kind of… uncomfortable? But I always had my dad! He’s the best!” “Mine too!” Mary said.
“What about your parents, Marls?” Marlene froze up a little, “Umm… well…” She ripped up a handful of grass from the ground and watched it as she sprinkled it into the wind, “Lils can I have the notes from Herbology, I didn’t take that many,” Mary and Lily gave each other a look but dropped the subject anyway.
Before any conversation could be carried on Sirius and James came running over, Sirius had a hand pressed to his cheek, and James' face was flushed. Both of them had shit-eating grins and were laughing obnoxiously. Peter followed closely behind, his uniform looked dishevelled and muddy.
“What on earth could they have possibly been doing,” Lily muttered, slightly annoyed.
Marlene jumped up from her spot on the ground, “Oi James! What on earth have you guys been up to,” She shouted across the lawn, James came running over, “Well, I saw the Whomping Willow while we were in the herbology class,” Sirius had reached them now, and he removed his palm from his cheek to reveal a nasty gash, “Jamsie here suggested that we try and hang onto the branches of the tree while it swings around,” Sirius jumped in over the top of James.
“Got it from the tree,” He said when he noticed the girl's quizzical looks, “It smacked me with one of its branches,” He snorted. “And then Peter here,” James started smacking Peter on his shoulder, “Got smacked by a branch and he got flung backwards.” James cutover Sirius.
“That is awfully idiotic,” Lily said, gathering her books and standing up, “It’s lucky none of you injured yourselves badly. Anyway, I'm heading to the library. I want to look up some things before I do the Herbology homework, I'll see you guys later?”
“Oooh wait I’ll come with you!” Mary said, standing up, “I want to check some things before our first Astronomy class, Are you coming Marlene?
“Nah that’s alright, I think I’ll talk to James for a bit. See you in Astronomy!” She waved at the other girls before turning to James.
“So did you actually lose a fight to a tree?!”
“Merlin, if I have to climb one more set of stairs I think I might just curl up and sleep,” Marlene huffed, stopping at the top of a staircase to wait for Peter to catch up to them. “I swear one year of classes in this castle and I’ll be fitter than my brother” They turned the corner to see Mary and Lily waiting eagerly.
“Finally! I thought you’d gotten lost or something hurry up, we don't want to be late” Mary grinned excitedly at Marlene. ”Come on, it's right up here!” Mary gestured to the steep narrow staircase behind her.
“Ughhghh , not another one. My legs can’t handle this,'' Marlene groaned, bending over dramatically.
“Aw come on Marls, how’d you expect to beat me in quidditch when you can’t even beat me up the stairs. Come on I’ll race you to the top” James grinned at her knowing she wouldn’t refuse the challenge. “You’re on Potter, don’t cry to me when you lose though” Marlene smirked, positioning herself at the base of the stairs.
“Count us in Lils?”Lily rolled her eyes but walked over to them anyway. “On your marks, Get set, Go!”
Marlene sprinted up the stairs two at a time not looking back to see where James was, he wasn’t in front of her though and that was all that mattered. She kept running up the winding staircase and was almost at the top when she crashed straight into someone walking down.
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, are you... Oh, it’s you,” she muttered.
“Watch where you’re going Mckinnon” Dorcas grumbled glaring down at Marlene.
She narrowed her eyes at the taller girl when James came barreling round the corner straight into the both of them.
“Sorry!” he yelped, trying to regain his balance but Dorcas had already stalked off.
“Children” Marlene heard her mutter. “Ugh I hate her so much” She whined, staring at Dorcas’s retreating back.
“Isn’t she that girl from Slytherin?” James asked, raising his eyebrows. “I’ve heard she’s a bit rude to everyone”
By this time the others had almost caught up and Marlene could hear Mary talking about astronomy again. “And I hear the Professor is really nice, I can’t wait to meet him!” Mary rambled excitedly as they turned the corner.
They reached a large wooden door and pushed it open to reveal the top of the Astronomy tower. There were a few tables around the back of the classroom and a large mat that had cushions scattered around it leaving a large space at the front for telescopes and star gazing. The group made their way to the carpet and they each took a cushion each.
“Good Evening Class, I am Professor Edward Stallard. I will be your Astronomy teacher for this year,” He said to the class, smiling warmly. He had a bright twinkle in his eye, and his hands were clasped together. “Instead of going over boring basics for the whole lesson I’m just going to go over them quickly so we can get started on the interesting stuff,” Marlene could tell she was going to like this teacher already.
“Of course, there is the obvious: don't go too close to the edge of the tower or you’re going to fall off. Don’t be foolish in the classroom and run around like zoo animals, you’re going to fall off the ledge, or you’re going to break something. Either way, it's far more paperwork than what I’m willing to do.” He chuckled softly to himself.
Stallard continued on with a few of the rules and other things in his class. He said he wouldn’t set homework often but instead would have a quiz at the end of each week with the topic from that week. “Alright well let us begin,” He clapped his hands together.
“I love this class already,” Mary whispered to Marlene and Lily. The latter was getting out a sheet of parchment, a quill and an ink pot. “Me too,” Marlene whispered back, facing herself back to the front.
“So in today's lesson I’m going to go over some of the more commonly known constellations and stars in that constellation,” He began, walking to the side of the classroom to where a board stood. On the board were diagrams of four different constellations. There was Canis Major, Canis Minor, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.
“And the final constellation is Canis Major. The constellation Canis Major is commonly referred to as The Greater Dog. In the constellation the brightest star in the sky, Sirius,” In the corner of her eye, Marlene could see Sirius puff his chest out a little bit, she giggled at his big-headed, foolishness.
Professor Stallard continued listing off a few properties and how you were supposed to find them in the sky. “Righty, well now that we’ve gone through that, how about one at a time you all come up and find Canis Major, it should be the easiest for you to find tonight,” He said, picking up what looked to be an attendance register.
“Sirius Black,” he chuckled to himself, “Seen as your name is one of the stars we’ve covered here today, why don’t you go first,” Sirius stood up from where he was sitting on the floor, “Alright Professor, this should be easy,” Sirius said, confidently striding up to the telescope at the front of the class.
And as he said, he found the constellation quite quickly. James was next, and he too found it pretty quick but not nearly as quick as Sirius. Peter was next and he found Canis Major nearly straight away.
“Nice one Pettigrew, I can tell that you’re going to do quite well in my class,” Stallard said, patting Peter on the back. Peter was proud of this and stood a little taller than before.
Marlene was the first to go out of her friends. She was a little nervous but tried to remember what Professor Stallard had said about founding the constellation. First, she found Orion and then located the three stars that were his belt. She then went southeast until she found Sirius, and in turn then, located Canis Major.
She stood back from the telescope and cheered, “Hell Yeah!” she said “That was easy, Professor. Give me something harder next time.” Stallard chuckled, “Good job McKinnon, if you keep up and pay attention in this class I’m sure the whole year will be easy for you,” Marlene smiled proudly sitting back down, she put her knee up and rested her head on it and crossed her other leg over her foot.
Mary went next and she struggled a bit to find the stars, much to her dismay Professor Stallard had to help her. When she found the star she came and sat back down next to Marlene and rested her head next to hers.
“That wasn’t so bad,” She said, trying to convince herself more than anything.
Lily seemed to have the same struggle, but she didn’t want the help of Stallard and eventually, she did find the constellation. Frustrated, she came back to where the other two sat. “That was stupid,” she said huffing.
“Alright Class, that is everything that I have prepared for today's lesson,” Lily quickly packed up her bag. “I will see you all next lesson, and do keep in mind, I don’t expect anyone to be perfect yet,” He smiled and students began packing.
Lily was the first to stand up, throwing her satchel of books and supplies over her shoulder. Mary and Marlene packed their books up, while Lily waited for them impatiently. “Thanks, Professor,” Marlene called over her shoulder and waved to him on their way out of the classroom.
On the way back to the common room, Marlene boasted about how easy it was for her to find the constellation. Mary and Lily didn’t say much in return and both were annoyed at not being able to do as good as they had expected of themselves.
When they reached the common room Marlene turned to them, “You know, don’t worry that you guys didn’t get it straight away, I promise it’ll get easier.” She looked at both of her friends who didn’t seem so convinced.
They walked up the steps to their shared dorm room. “If you guys really need help with it, I’m sure we could ask Stallard, he seems super nice,” She smiled at them both.
Lily nodded clearly still frustrated and Mary threw her arms around her friend, “Thanks, Marls,” she said, sounding exhausted.
Marlene changed into pyjamas, clambered into bed and settled herself down. Salem climbed into bed with her purring.
“Goodnight,” Marlene called to her friends, but both girls seemed to already be asleep.